Raines’ Captain

Background:

Canadian character actor Matt Craven entered the film scene with a role in Ivan Reitman's hit sex comedy starring Bill Murray, Meatballs (1979). Since then, he has appeared in such films as Hog Wild (1980), Blue Steel (1990), K2 (1992), A Few Good Men (1992), Killer (1994; a.k.a. Bulletproof Heart), Crimson Tide (1995), The Juror (1996), Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (2000), The Clearing (2004) and Deja Vu (2006). He recently played Shia LaBeouf’s writer father in the thriller Disturbia (2007) and will star with Rebecca De Mornay in the upcoming Canadian film called American Venus.

Meanwhile, TV audiences could catch the 5' 10" curly-haired actor in the TV series "Tough Cookies" (1986), "Harry" (1987), "High Incident" (1996-1997) and "L.A. Doctors" (1998-1999). Currently, he is co-starring with Jeff Goldblum in the new detective show "Raines," which premiered on NBC on March 15, 2007.

As for his stage works, Craven debuted in a stage production of “Dracula” and has appeared on the off-Broadway productions of “Blue Window” (later returned on PBS production) and “Crackwalker.”

Matthew John

Childhood and Family:

In the small Canadian town of Port Colborne, Ontario, Matthew John Crnkovich, who would later be more popular as Matt Craven, was born on November 10, 1956 to parents Nick Crnkovich and Joanne Leslie (ran a hairdressing business). Following his father’s death, six-week-old Matt and his two-year-old sister Debbie followed their mother moving St. Catharines, Ontario, where he spent his formative years. An accomplished athlete, young Matt enjoyed playing hockey in the winters and baseball in the summers. In high school, he was the starting running back on the football team.

Matt married his present wife, Sally Sutton, in 1992. They have two children together, a son named Nicholas and a daughter named Josephine.

Disturbia

Career:

Having done such odd jobs as fireman, oiler, truck driver, maintenance worker, lineman and bartender, Matt Craven, who never auditioned for anything at all, eventually tried his hand in acting when he got the part of Jonathan Harker in Niagara Falls Music Theatre's production of “Dracula.” Afterward, he headed for Toronto to pursue an acting career.

In 1979, he landed his film debut with a supporting role in director Ivan Reitman's hit Canadian comedy movie Meatballs (1979), which was also the first film appearance of Oscar-nominated comedian/actor Bill Murray. That same year, he co-starred as a young punk called Lennie in the Oscar-nominated 29-minute Canadian film by Giles Walker, Bravery in the Field.

Entering the new decade, Craven made his TV-movie debut on ABC’s sci-fi horror The Intruder Within (1981) and co-starred with Jack Andreozzi, Lainie Kazan and Adam Arkin on CBS’ failed comedy series "Tough Cookies" (1986). He also supported Alan Arkin in the short-lived ABC sitcom "Harry" (1987) and acted opposite Kim Cattrall in Martin Lavut's indie Canadian crime-romance film Palais Royale (1988). On stage, he appeared in the Off-Broadway production of Craig Lucas' "Blue Window" and later reprised the role in the 1987 PBS American Playhouse production.

The 1990s saw Craven teamed with Michael Biehn playing two good friends and avid climbers who try to climb the world's second highest mountain, K2 (1992), in Franc Roddam's film adaptation of Patrick Meyers' play of the same name. He also supported Anthony LaPaglia and Mimi Rogers in Mark Malone's drama thriller Killer (1994; a.k.a. Bulletproof Heart), playing LaPaglia's friend and assistant named Archie.

"What really impressed me is that Steven wasn't only looking for good actors for ‘High Incident’ (1996). He wanted good people, too." Matt Craven.

Craven returned to the small screen in 1996 as Ofc. Lenny Gayer on ABC cop drama series created by Steven Spielberg, "High Incident." Unfortunately, despite its good reviews and fair ratings, the show was cancelled after the end of its second season in May of 1997. On his character from "High Incident," Craven described: "Len is a good cop. He's tough, but he is also a character with a lot of depth."

The subsequent year, he snagged another TV series regular, this time as Dr. Tim Lonner, on the CBS medical drama "L.A. Doctors" (1998-1999), alongside Ken Olin, Rick Roberts and Sheryl Lee. Afterward, in the new millennium, he appeared alongside Glenn Close, Cameron Diaz, Calista Flockhart, Amy Brenneman and Holly Hunter in writer-director Rodrigo Garcia's debut film, Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her, which was shown at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival and won the Un Certain Regard Award.

Craven subsequently co-starred with Sarain Boylan and Brad Garrett in the made-for-television feature Bleacher Bums (2002), based on the play by Richard Fire. The next years, he was cast alongside Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet and Laura Linney in Alan Parker's drama thriller The Life of David Gale and with Robert Redford, Helen Mirren and Willem Dafoe in Pieter Jan Brugge's directorial debut, The Clearing, in which he played FBI Agent Ray Fuller.

Recently, moviegoers could catch him in Tony Scott's science fiction crime thriller film Deja Vu (2006), starring Denzel Washington. His latest film, Disturbia, a thriller film by director D.J. Caruso in which he portrayed Shia LaBeouf’s writer father, was released on April 13, 2007 and has been on top of US film chart for two weeks. Meanwhile, TV audiences could watch him in his new show, a crime drama series called "Raines." In the detective series that premiered on NBC on March 15, 2007 as a mid-season replacement, he co-stars as Captain Dan Lewis, opposite the show’s lead Jeff Goldblum.

As for his upcoming film project, Craven has wrapped American Venus, a Canadian film by writer-director Bruce Sweeney in which he co-stars with Rebecca De Mornay.

Awards:
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