Matthew Charles Porretta (born May 29, 1965) is an American television-, voice-, and film-actor, known for his appearances in Wings, Beverly Hills, 90210, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. He has also appeared on Broadway and in video games, where he is known for his voice role as the titular character in Alan Wake and its sequel Alan Wake 2, and as Dr. Casper Darling in Control.
Life and career
Porretta was born in Darien, Connecticut, into a show-biz family: His father, Frank Porretta, was a famous tenor, opera singer and musical theater actor. His mother, Roberta Palmer Porretta, former Miss Ohio 1956, was a spinto soprano. She returned to school after raising their children and went on to an international opera career after graduating from the Juilliard School of Music.[1]
By the age of 25, Matthew Porretta was already a veteran of Broadway and a student at the Manhattan School of Music. In 1990 he broke into television with recurring roles on shows like Wings and Beverly Hills, 90210. His first major movie role came in 1993 when he portrayed Will Scarlet O'Hara in Mel Brooks' spoof Robin Hood: Men in Tights.[2] Four years later, Porretta starred as Robin Hood in the first two seasons of The New Adventures of Robin Hood.[3] Since 1997, he has been starring in independent movies, commercials and tv shows.
His debut role on stage was Marius Pontmercy during the national tour of Les Misérables (musical), between 1989 and 1994. In 1994, he was part of the original Broadway cast of Stephen Sondheim's Passion.[4] Despite not performing in the movie, filmed shortly after the Broadway Production ended,[5] Porretta reprised his role as Count Ludovic for Passion - Original Broadway Cast Recording,[6] which won the Best Musical Theater Album at 37th Annual Grammy Awards.
Porretta has four siblings. The eldest, Frank Porretta III, is a successful opera singer. His other brother, Greg, has a diverse artistic background across multiple disciplines [8] and has guest-starred with Matthew on television. His sisters, Anna and Roberta, are also in the entertainment industry; Anna was a writer for Talk Soup.
Porretta has two sons with ex-wife Gleice; Luigi (born May 22, 2001) and Enzo (born April 13, 2008). The children were born while Porretta and Gleice were in a relationship. The couple eventually married in 2012 and divorced in 2014. Porretta is still living in Darien with his sons.
In December 2016, he was involved in a bar fight in which a customer hit the actor with a beer mug after Porretta, intoxicated after a couple of drinks, walked in the man's direction and stumbled towards him. The attack not only resulted in cuts to his left eye and cheek but also a facial fracture and injuries to his spine and nasal septum. Porretta needed emergency surgery to save his left eye, and still has vision issues as a result of the attack.[9][10] In March 2017, Porretta filed a lawsuit against the bar owner and alleged attacker. The lawsuit moved forward in June 2019, and in 2023 the man accepted an offer from state prosecutors and pleaded guilty to second-degree assault. Under the state’s offer, he received a jail sentence of five years, suspended after serving between six and 18 months. He is expected to receive up to five years of probation.[11][12][13]
