Battaglia played college football at the University of Louisville.[1] Battaglia played at Louisville as a linebacker from 1983 to 1986 and was named Second Team All-South Independent, All-American by the Associated Press in 1985, leading the nation in tackles in 1985 & 1986, with 153 and 166 tackles respectively, averaging 15 tackles per game both seasons. Battaglia broke former All-Pro Otis Wilson's college tackling record and was named Most Valuable Player by his teammates and coaches.[2] Battaglia had a brief career in professional football with the 1987Philadelphia Eagles and recorded a sack of Chicago Bears quarterback Sean Payton.[3]
Battaglia is an Emmy winning producer,[4] has co-produced a two time Golden Globe nominated film and has been an actor in over 90 films, network pilots and television shows.
In 2011, he was an executive producer of Last Shot with Judge Gunn, which he sold straight into syndication with 130 episodes in season one. He won an Emmy in June 2012 as Executive Producer for its first season on the air. The show won an Emmy for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Drama.[5]
Battaglia sold 2 one hour dramas to Fox, in which the studio bought the rights to and financed the costs of the pilot script(s). The first one was Pyrates, in which he was partnered with Oscar winner Ridley Scott's production company Scott Free Productions and producer Tony To. Bad Monkeys received a pilot and script order by Fox Studios and the script was written by writer Jeff Eastin, best known for creating White Collar. He co-produced on the 2009 horror film Kill Theory, directed by Chris Moore.[5][7]
^Battaglia, Matt (February 28, 2019). "About | Matt Battaglia". Matt Battaglia site. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
