Quick Facts
Biography
Matthew Jared Evans (born August 9, 1996) is an American actor, filmmaker, and musician. He is best known for his role in the Columbia Pictures film, Bad Teacher for which he won a Young Artist Award in 2012 as Best Supporting Young Actor in a Feature Film. Born in San Luis Obispo, CA, Evans performed in musical theater and has appeared in a number of television shows and feature films. Matthew sings and plays string bass, guitar, and bass guitar. He is also an award winning filmmaker.
Early life and career
Son of actor and motivational speaker, Leona Evans, Matthew J. Evans began his theatrical career at the age of four. He worked in theaters along the Central Coast of California playing such roles as Winthrop in The Music Man, the title role in Oliver!, Chip in Beauty and The Beast, and Michael in Peter Pan. At the age of nine, Evans started acting professionally in film and television. He has appeared in Scrubs, The King of Queens, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, I Didn't Do it, and received a Young Artist Award in 2014 for his guest starring role on Lab Rats. Feature films have included Smiley Face with Anna Farris, Downstream, and Bad Teacher directed by Jake Kasdan.
Filmmaking
Evans produced and directed his first documentary short film, "A War Story, A Love Story" in 2010. When Evans was 14, he made Poetic Justice Projectwhich received the Gold Jury Prize, Youth Visions Contest at the Social Justice Film Festival. In 2012 his short documentary film A Quest For Peace: Nonviolence Among Religions featuring interviews with Arun Gandhi, won the Filmschool Prodigy Camp Scholarship Seattle International Film Festival's FutureWave Competition and the Youth Fest Documentary award at the International Family Film Festival in Hollywood. The film was also a finalist at the Emerging Filmmakers Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival and the only youth filmmaker finalist for the Ron Kovick Peace Prize at the My Hero International film festival in 2014. In September 2014, the Peace in the Streets Global Film Festival presented Evans with the Art of Making Peace Award at the United Nations High Level Forum on a Culture of Peace.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Film | Role | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Smiley Face | Bobby | Greg Araki |
| 2008 | Birthmark | Ben | David Woods |
| 2010 | Downstream | Young Wes | Simone Bartesaghi |
| 2011 | Bad Teacher | Garrett Tiara | Jake Kasdan |
| 2015 | The Royal Road to Romance | Albert Crane | Martin Desmond Roe |
| 2016 | Dismissed | Alex | Benjamin Arfmann |
Television
| Year | Show | Role | Episode/Dir. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Scrubs | Kid #2 | My Day at the Races/ Michael Alan Spiller |
| 2006 | All of Us | Owen | Robert and Neesee Get Real/ Debbie Allen |
| 2006 | It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia | Boy in ICU | Dennis and Dee Get a New Dad/ Daniel Attias |
| 2006 | The King of Queens | Ethan | Mama Cast/ Rob Schiller |
| 2007 | Drake & Josh | Bobby | Tree House/ Roger Christiansen - Josh Is Done/ Adam Weissman |
| 2007 | Zoey 101 | Scooter | Favor Chain/ Adam Weissman |
| 2008 | Cavemen | Kid | Caveman Holiday/ Lee Shallat Chemel |
| 2013 | Lab Rats | Alistair | Perry 2.0/ David DeLuise |
| 2014 | Instant Mom | Ronny Sluff | Buy Any Jeans Necessary/ John Fortenberry |
| 2014 | I Didn't Do It | Ross | Bicycle Thief/ Joel Zwick |