Martin Matte is an actor & comedian who seems to be picking up more and more steam.  However, he has been in the public’s eye for the better part of 15 years in various roles.

His roots are comedy, doing stand-up shows, but his image has transformed into a comedic actor over the years — which is probably what he is best known for now.

Currently he is the lead actor in the TV sitcom Les beaux malaises on TVA (the show’s website is HERE).  The show is going into its second season.  In a nutshell, it’s about a father (played by Matte) and a mother raising their children, and addressing a good number of serious topics, but from a comedic angle.   Although the show has only one complete season under its belt, the show cleaned house this year that the 29^th Prix Gémeaux;  best male actor, best female actor, a production award, and best comedy.   Anything that can pull off those types of awards after just one season (and not even very many episodes) says something about Matte’s acting.

Prior to Les beaux malaises, Martin Matte had a good number of other roles.  He was Honda’s official face in TV ads for their cars (each advertisement came with a humorous punch line, such as the now-famous “cow” ad… in which we see Matte, during rush-hour, screaming out his window “move it cow!”… with a zoom-out a few moments later showing a dairy cow standing in front of the car).

He also was one of the main stars in Caméra Café for a number of years.   I first saw the original, very popular France version of Caméra Café on TV5 monde when I was living abroad.  I didn’t realize at the time that it was adapted into many other languages and countries around the world (including into an English language Irish version).  It was only later that I realized there was a Québec adaptation of it.   I’ve seen a few episodes of it, and Matte’s performance is hilarious.

He has played several other comedy TV roles, he’s been the host of national award ceremonies, he’s a regular invitee on the talk show circuit (morning, noon and night) and he still does stand-up.

Because most of his work is Montréwood­-centric.  If you visit Montréal, see if you can find out what Matte is staring in at that moment, contact the television network or comedy company, and try to sign up in advance to be part of the live studio audience (unfortunately Le beaux malaises is not one of the productions filmed in front of a live studio audience).   I’m sure it would lend quite a unique experience to your Montréal trip, and give you a good number of stories when you return home.

If you search for clips of his work, you undoubtedly will reel with laughter.  A good starting point might be Riez Encore Spectacles.   Please stick to official sites which support the work of our artists, and don’t pirate (our artists are part of our cultural fabric).