Martin Matte

Martin Matte 2017

Martin Matte (born April 14, 1970) is a Canadian stand-up comedian and actor from Laval, Quebec. He created and starred in the television sitcom Les Beaux malaises, and is the current spokesperson for Quebec grocery store chain Maxi, a position he has held since 2016.[1][2]

Career

Matte studied marketing and administration at the Université du Québec à Montréal, and comedy at the École nationale de l'humour, before beginning his career as a radio host on CKOI-FM and CKMF-FM.[3]

Stand-up comedy

While working as a radio host he began to perform as a stand-up comedian, winning the award for Revelation of the Year at the Gala Les Olivier in 1999.[3]

In 2000 he launched his first solo stand-up comedy show, Histoires vraies, following up with Condamné à l'excellence in 2007[4] and Eh la la...! in 2017.[5] He has won numerous Olivier and Artis awards for his comedy shows, as well as the Félix Award for Best Comedy Album for Condamné à l'excellence in 2010.[6]

Netflix recorded a performance on the Eh la la...! tour for the comedy special La vie, la mort...eh la la..!, making Matte the first Quebec comedian to get his own Netflix special.[7]

In 2023, Matte is slated to host a short-run prime time talk show on TVA.[8]

Acting

Matte at Gala Les Olivier in 2016

He had early supporting roles in the television series km/h and Les Bougon.

He had a regular role as Bruno Gagnon in the Quebec version of Caméra Café, playing the role from 2002 to 2006 before returning to the series in 2009.[9]

Les Beaux malaises, which starred Matte as a fictionalized version of himself in a comedy based on his own family life, premiered on TVA in 2014.[1] It ran for three seasons until 2016,[10] before ending with a special episode in 2017.[11] Matte won two Gémeaux Awards for best actor in a comedy series during the show's original run, in 2014[12] and 2015.[13] It then returned for a single new season in 2021.[14]

He has also appeared in the films Nitro and Threesome (Le Trip à trois).[15]

Fondation Martin-Matte

In 1986, Matte's brother Christian suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident, which permanently impaired his short-term memory.[16] Frustrated by the lack of resources for people in his brother's situation, in 2007 Matte launched the Fondation Martin-Matte, which finances the construction of adaptive housing facilities and other social and recreational projects to improve quality of life for brain injury survivors.[17]

As of 2023, the foundation operates eight Maison Martin-Matte facilities across Quebec, with others under construction.[18] Actor and writer Fabien Cloutier, who played the fictionalized version of Christian in Les Beaux malaises, is also a spokesman for the organization.[19]

In 2022, Christian Matte was featured in a rare television appearance, alongside Martin on Télé-Québec's documentary series L'Avenir nous appartient.[20]

Personal life

Matte and his wife, Vicky Pomerleau, split in 2017,[21] which formed part of the storyline for the 2021 revival of Les Beaux malaises.[22] He has more recently been romantically linked with actress Laurence Leboeuf.[23]

References

  1. ^ a b Brendan Kelly, "Les beaux malaises' Martin Matte invites anglos to be in on the joke". Montreal Gazette, May 12, 2016.
  2. ^ Fournier, Marie-Eve (2016-11-21). "Maxi embauche Martin Matte pour redorer son image". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  3. ^ a b Agnès Gaudet, "Martin Matte". Le Journal de Montréal, February 20, 2015.
  4. ^ Pierre O. Nadeau, "Martin Matte condamné. à l'enrichissement!". Le Journal de Québec, November 19, 2009.
  5. ^ Véronique Lauzon, "Martin Matte, le gars d'un seul projet". La Presse, September 20, 2017.
  6. ^ "Le chanteur Maxime Landry gagne deux Félix à l'Autre gala de l'ADISQ: Maxime Landry gagne deux Félix à l'Autre gala". Canadian Press, November 1, 2010.
  7. ^ Stéphane Morneau, "Martin Matte sur Netflix : en terrains connus". Métro, October 15, 2019.
  8. ^ Vanessa Hébert, "Martin Matte propose un avant-goût de son nouveau talk-show, et ça promet". 7 Jours, March 24, 2023.
  9. ^ Dany Bouchard, "Martin Matte rentre au bureau". Le Journal de Québec, February 23, 2009.
  10. ^ Marc-André Lemieux, "Martin Matte boucle Les beaux malaises". La Presse, March 14, 2016.
  11. ^ Stéphanie Nolin, "Hilarante bande-annonce de la finale des Beaux malaises présentée ce dimanche". Showbizz, January 18, 2017.
  12. ^ "Gémeaux : l'émission Les beaux malaises s'illustre". Ici Radio-Canada, September 14, 2014.
  13. ^ "Un autre triplé pour Les beaux malaises au Gala des Gémeaux". Ici Radio-Canada, September 20, 2015.
  14. ^ Marie-Lise Rousseau, "De beaux et sombres malaises". Métro, January 26, 2021.
  15. ^ Éric Moreault, "Le trip à trois: débandade". Le Soleil, December 19, 2017.
  16. ^ Élisabeth Lepage-Boily, "Martin Matte se rappelle l'accident de son frère dans un texte déchirant". Showbizz, August 28, 2021.
  17. ^ Hugo Pilon-Larose, "Une maison Martin-Matte à Blainville". La Presse, March 24, 2015.
  18. ^ Mélanie Côté, "Saguenay pourrait avoir sa Maison Martin-Matte". Le Quotidien, May 26, 2023.
  19. ^ "525 000$ en bougeant dehors". La Presse, March 6, 2021.
  20. ^ Adam Bourbonnière, "Rare et beau moment télévisuel entre Martin Matte et son frère, Christian". 7 Jours, February 10, 2022.
  21. ^ Sandrine Vincent, "Martin Matte n'est plus en couple". Le Journal de Québec, July 26, 2017.
  22. ^ "Martin Matte : le beau malaise de la séparation". Ici Radio-Canada Première, January 26, 2021.
  23. ^ Élizabeth Lepage-Boily, "Stéphane Rousseau taquine Martin Matte sur sa relation avec Laurence Leboeuf et les couteaux volent bas". Showbizz, November 24, 2022.