Home » Posts tagged 'Martin Matte'
Tag Archives: Martin Matte
The Three “Martins” : Martin Petit (#194)
This is the last of the posts in the “Martins” series.
Martin Petit’s career path is not unlike those of the “Martins” in the two previous posts; Maxim Martin and Martin Matte.
Petit’s first big breaks into the public arena were through improve in the 1980s, and as a member of a comedy troupe and at the Juste pour rire (Just for Laughs) festival in the 1990s. His participation at some of the best known comedy festivals was much more high profile than most comedians – eventually allowing him to take the reins as master of ceremonies.
In the early 2000s, he made the leap to high-profile radio. The mid-2000s saw him host his own morning radio shows. Later he was given the opportunity to host one of the most popular radio shows in Montréal, “Le monde est Petit” (“The World is Small”, a play on his surname) on NRJ.
Petit’s radio-presence made him a household name, and added to the furor and high-ticket sales for his one-man comedy shows. He became a “must-have” figure for various events, and he became a host for Radio-Canada’s annual gala, with 1.5 million viewers.
He embarked in acting with his role in the very successful film Les Boys 2. His acting career continued as a cast member of the very popular TV show, Un gars, une fille.
He was a co-writer of Montréwood’s most successful movie in 2011 (in terms of box office sales), Starbuck.
He currently has his own sitcom television show, Les pêcheurs; one of the better-known weekly TV shows in Québec.
Martin Petit’s official website is http://www.martinpetit.com/ (with ticket information for his upcoming shows).
The website for the TV show, Les pêcheurs is http://lespecheurs.radio-canada.ca/emission-infos/
The Three “Martins” : Martin Matte (#193)
The last post looked at Maxim Martin. This post will look at Martin Matte.
Martin Matte’s own career is not unlike that of the other two celebrities in this “Three Martins” blog-post series.
However, of all the three Martins, Martin Mattes’ career has perhaps seen the biggest success. He has been one of the most high-profile, highly sought after celebrities of the last couple of years in Montréwood. For the sake of comparisons, in terms of his celebrity status (if I were to compare him to other celebrities in the same age bracket), his star power perhaps is to Montréwood what Matt Damon’s would be to Hollywood (although their career paths and focus are very different).
Martin Matte’s background was stand-up comedy, from which he launched his career in the 1990s — and which he still occasionally does (he was one of Québec’s most successful comedians of the 2000’s). But since then, he has gone on to become a very successfully sitcom actor and charity activist.
His longest sitcom career was on Caméra Café for 4 years (until 2006).
He now is the main actor in the very successful sitcom, Les Beaux Malaises on TVA.
Considering how famous he is, I find it surprising he has not done much acting in movies. He has done one movie, however – Nitro, in 2007
Click HERE for a funny scene between Martin Matte & Guylaine Tremblay (the subject of an earlier post) on TVA’s website.
A short, comical scene from the sitcom Les Beaux Malaises on TVA’s YouTube channel can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfXLtUJpoPg
One of the main reason he has become quite popular is because of his regular television appearances. It is difficult to not see him, almost on a daily basis, somewhere on Montréwood television. He is regularly on the most popular talk shows (for example, I think he has probably been on Tout le monde en parle more than most semi-regular guests). He’s often seen in television advertisements and he’s usually front and centre in television gala events, as well as a regular on morning and daily variety shows.
Regardless of where you are in anglophone Canada, If you’re just starting to watch Francophone television, Martin Matte is a must-know in order to help sort out the “who’s who” in your mind.
The official website of his charity foundation is here: http://www.fondationmartinmatte.com/.
The Three “Martins” : Maxim Martin (#192)
Here’s the first celebrity in the 3-part “Martin” series: Maxim Martin.
I’ll keep this one short since I’m doing the Montréal-Toronto trip today on the highway (I’m actually quickly writing this post from an OnRoute roadstop on the 401).
Originally Franco-Manitobain from Manitoba, Maxim Martin made his entry into Québec’s pop-culture with a big leap from doing comedy gigs in Winnipeg to doing comedy at the Juste pour Rire festival in the 1990s. Québec has since been his home.
Considering how well known Maxim Martin is, he’s not controversial or extreme in any sense. But there are some notable things about him.
His love-life has occasionally been the subject of tabloids and talk shows, and he doesn’t shy away from it in his own media appearances or comedy acts. For many years, he has been a single father.
He regularly talks about his adolescent daughter, Livia, in his comedy acts and on other media platforms – and he she has appeared in television herself. Apparently she has a twitter feed which has garnered a lot of attention.
Although he’s a comedian at heart, Martin has been a radio host on one of Montréal’s most popular radio stations, he has been the co-host of a morning television bric-a-brac show, he has hosted regular sports slots on TVA Sports (he’s a big sports fan, and he has reported quite a bit on junior hockey leagues), and he’s also an actor.
Two recent films in which Martin has starred are the thriller films Manigances (2012 & 2013).
One thing worth mentioning is that he is one of the “greener” pop-culture stars on environmental issues. His website even features elements on his thoughts on the idea, and the David Suzuki Foundation once did an online feature of Martin. Maxim Martin at one point hosted an environmental program on the Canal Vox television station.
After a 2-year stage comedy absence, he came roaring back this week with sold-out shows at Théatre St-Denis in Montréal. Just to give you an idea how popular he is, I tried for two days to get tickets in Montréal, without success, owing to how much demande there was for tickets (I guess it really was the show to see!). Oh well… next trip. Back to Toronto now.
His official website (with his blog, performance info & other) is www.maximmartin.com
The Three “Martins” : Introduction (#191)
Here’s a little Quiz for you (answers will be at the bottom) …
- Did you know that “Martin” is the most common surname (family name) in France?
- But in Québec, “Martin” is not the most common surname. What is it?
- Montréwood’s, Québec’s and Canada’s Francophone pop-culture scene has three well-known “Martins”. Most Francophones know them. Who might they be?
Hints:
- The first one is Franco-Manitoban (from Winnipeg). His surname is “Martin”.
- The second one is from Québec. His given name is “Martin”
- The above two guys look very similar (their physiques are so similar that some people actually mix them up).
- The third one is also from Québec. His given name is also “Martin”, but he looks nothing like the first two.
- All three are stand-up comedians, but they also have their own television programs — either as actors or as hosts.
- All three are in high demand for television and event appearances; so much so that we have seen them as regulars on the talk show circuit, in gala events, and as invited interview guests for years. Bluntly put, all three are staples of the Montréwood and Francophone pop-culture scene.
- Additional hints:
- The first one has an adolescent daughter, Livia, who is regularly referred to in the media when they talk about her dad.
- The second one likes to talk (I mean really likes to talk)
- And you would think that the third one likes to fish.
- All are around the same age
Stumped?
Here are the answers:
- Most common Québec surname: “Tremblay”
- The three famous “Martins” :
- Maxim Martin
- Martin Matte
- Martin Petit
See if you agree with everyone else that Maxim Martin and Martin Matte look alike. Here are google images of them:
We’ll learn more about these Martins in the next three posts.
In the meantime, I’m off to see if I can still get tickets for Maxim Martin’s big comedy show here in Montréal tonight (I drive back to Toronto tomorrow… so tonight’s my last chance to take in his show). Talk to you again soon!!
Martin Matte (#56)
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 29th 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).
Quebec Culture Blog 