Matthew ‘Matt’ Davis is an American actor, who is probably best known for his appearances in the comedy film “Legally Blonde”, and the drama series “The Vampire Diaries.”
Age, Ealy Life, and Education Background
Matt Davis was born under the Taurus zodiac sign on 8 May 1978, in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is 45 years old as of 2023. He is of Welsh ancestry, but otherwise has not disclosed much about his childhood – his parents’ names remain unknown.
Davis went to the Utah-based Woods Cross High School, matriculating to the University of Utah, where he developed an interest in acting. He honed his acting skills at the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts, based in Pasadena, California.
Career
Before he rose to stardom as an actor, Matthew was a pizza delivery boy who once delivered to the renowned Cuban-American actor, Andy Garcia.
Film Appearances
Davis made his film debut as Private Jim Paxton in the 2000 Joel Schumacher-directed war drama movie “Tigerland.” In 2001, he landed the starring role of Warner Huntington III in the Golden Globe Award-nominated comedy movie “Legally Blonde”, and shared the screen with the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair and Luke Wilson. The film centers around the story of a sorority girl, Elle Woods (played by Witherspoon), who tries to win back her former boyfriend, Huntington III, by enrolling at Harvard to pursue a Juris Doctorate degree. In the process, she deals with stereotypes against blonde women, but eventually finds success as an attorney. It was a commercial success, and had a box office collection of over $140 million.
Davis’ next notable movie credits include the 2002 sports drama “Blue Crush,” in which he appeared alongside Michelle Rodriguez and Kate Bosworth, and the 2005 vampire action movie “BloodRayne,” which is based on an eponymous video game, sharing the screen with Kristanna Loken in the latter. Davis appeared in five more films including “Wasting Away” and “S. Darko” before he landed the role of Aaron in the 2010 Tom Sturridge and James Keach-starring romantic drama “Waiting Forever.”
TV Series
Matthew landed the starring role of Adam Hillman in the ABC comedy-drama “What About Brian” in 2006 – the series was co-produced by Jeffrey Jacob ‘J.J.’ Abrams’ firm, Bad Robot Productions. Matthew’s next notable appearance was in the legal thriller “Damages” (2009-2010), created by the production and writing trio Daniel Zelman, Todd A. Kessler and Glenn Kessler.
From 2009 to 2017, Matthew portrayed Alaric Saltzman in The CW supernatural teen drama, “The Vampire Diaries.” Saltzman is a vampire hunter who becomes a history tutor at Mystic Falls High School in a bid to find out who killed his wife and avenge her death. He is later turned into a vampire (in season 3) after becoming closer to Damon and Elena. Matthew shared the screen with Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley and Nina Dobrev, who portrayed Damon Salvatore, Stefan Salvatore and Elena Gilbert respectively. In 2013, Matthew starred as Jeff Sefton in The CW psychological thriller, “Cult,” which was followed by a three-episode appearance in the police procedural drama “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”
Matthew reprised his role of Saltzman in the fourth and fifth seasons of “The Vampire Diaries” spin-off “The Originals,” which follows the story of the original vampire family, as they settle in New Orleans City, where they encounter old friends and confront new enemies – it stars Joseph Morgan, who plays Niklaus Mikaelson, Daniel Gillies playing Daniel Mikaelson, and Charles Michael Davis as Marcel Gerard. From 2018 to 2022, Davis reprised his role as Saltzman in “The Originals” spin-off entitled “Legacies.”
Davis is active on Instagram (@immatthewdavis) with around 1 million followers. He is also active on Twitter.
Personal Life
Davis dated several women in the past; in 2000 and 2001, he was in a romantic relationship with the actress and singer Zooey Deschanel. Davis subsequently married twice – he began dating the actress Leelee Sobieski in March 2008, and they exchanged vows in September 2008, but their marriage was short-lived, and they parted ways in February 2009. In 2016, “The Vampire Diaries” star became engaged to Brittany Sharp, who is a former Miss Georgia, USA. Moreover, Davis was in an on-and-off relationship with the sci-fi TV series “Alphas” starlet, Azita Ghanizada. They dated in 2004, 2008, and in 2017.
Matt’s second marriage began when he walked the aisle with the American actress Kiley Casciano, on 23 December 2018. Casciano is a native of Lawrenceville, Georgia, who was born on 4 October 1992, and is possibly best known for her appearances in the film “The Tomorrow War,” the mini-series “Black Bird,” and the TV series “Cloak & Dagger.” The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Ripley Davis on 31 March 2020. Their second daughter, Dorothy Lavender Davis, was born on 24 Jan 2022 – they shared the news of Dorothy’s birth with their fans on their respective Instagram accounts when they posted her picture resting on her mother’s chest.
Rumors and Controversies
In October 2020, Matthew and his “Vampire Diaries” co-star, Paul Wesley had a Twitter feud over the 7 October 2020 Vice Presidential Debate. In a now-deleted tweet, Davis wrote ‘It’d be nice if the moderator would stop interrupting Mike Pence and let him finish his point’ and Wesley responded with, ‘It would also be nice if Pence answered the questions he was originally asked rather than deflecting.’ Their Twitter fight began when Davis replied to Wesley’s tweet with, ‘Paul likes to vote for criminals and losers, just like he did in 2016. Your opinion on the matter carries little weight as far as I’m concerned. Next.’ Matthew later apologized to Wesley on 8 October for being rude and ‘getting snappy.’
Height, Weight, and Physical Appearance
Davis is of White ethnicity and has a set of blue eyes and light brown hair. He has an athletic body, weighs approximately 170lbs (78kgs), and is 6ft 1in (1.85m) tall, with chest, waist and bicep sizes around 42ins, 31ins, and 15ins respectively. Some of Davis’ distinctive features include a pointed chin and a toned body.
Net Worth
Davis has made a name for himself in the American showbiz industry, and has accumulated a good sum from his acting career. His net worth is around $2 million as of 2023.