Matt Wilson (Home and Away)
| Matt Wilson | |||||||||
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| Home and Away character | |||||||||
| Portrayed by | Greg Benson | ||||||||
| Duration | 1988-91, 2002 | ||||||||
| First appearance | 17 January 1988 | ||||||||
| Last appearance | 29 May 2002 | ||||||||
| Introduced by | Alan Bateman (1988) Julie McGauran (2002) |
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| Book appearances | The Matt Wilson Story | ||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||
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| Occupation | Student at Summer Bay High (1988) Waiter (1989-91) Lifeguard (1989-91) |
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| Father | Gary Wilson |
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| Brothers | Shane Wilson |
| Wife | Tracey Wilson |
| Uncles | Rex Wilson |
Matthew "Matt" Wilson is a fictional character in the Australian soap opera Home and Away, portrayed by Greg Benson. He debuted on-screen during the pilot episode airing on 17 January 1988. He was introduced as a recurring character and was later promoted to a series regular. He left the series in 1991 and returned for a guest appearance in 2002.
On 10 January 1988, one week before Home and Away debuted, The Sun-Herald announced that model and actor Benson would be starring in the series. Benson auditioned for a small part in the serial's pilot episode. He went on to play an extra and was credited as "Surfer". However, producers decided to sign Benson to appear in the series on an episodic basis as Matt. Benson was later employed as a "fully fledged" regular cast member. Benson used to appear as a model in advertisements, he credited this as the reason he managed to secure his role in the serial.
In 1990 Benson and co-star Craig Thomson who plays Martin Dibble travelled to the UK in an attempt to secure a record deal. However, Benson later said that he wanted to remain in the serial “for a while” but would not rule out the possibility of a career in music. By 1991 he was one of only seven original cast members still appearing in Home and Away.
Matt initially moved to the city to live with his parents. They had previously moved there after living all their lives in Summer Bay. Matt is described as having a dislike for city life, so he soon moved back to the town. Matt also tried to work in the Bayside Diner, but his love of the sea meant that he could not stick with it. In the ‘’Home and Away Annual”, Kesta Desmond said that Matt is the serial’s “hunky beach boy” who wears a permanent tan. Matt is also “most at home” when he is on a surf board. Matt is a confident character, Benson said that Matt is “well sure of himself”. As Matt is a keen surfer, the role worked well for Benson who grew up on the coast and learned to surf.
Producers chose what Matt's attire would consist of; including socks and a wrist watch. Benson told a writer from Look-in that he was often "too lazy" to change his socks because he did not think the audience would notice. He also had a similar attitude towards Matt's watch because it was "always stuck on 9:30" and visible to viewers; preferring his own as it was in working order. His actions resulted in him getting into trouble with the producers, who insisted he should wear his character's clothing.
Matt went on to be one of the serial’s “major pulling powers” because of the “hunk” categorisation the producers were determined to keep the character in the series as long as possible. The thought of being ‘’Home and Away’s’’ “sex symbol” made Benson cringe because he decided that the label was more associated with Hollywood actors. Benson lived about an hours away by car from the ‘’Home and Away’’ studios. He said he chose to drive to work instead of taking the quickest travel option of a train to avoid the many female fans of Matt. Benson said “It’s quite embarrassing when you’re not used to it”. After the producers renewed Benson’s contract he admitted that he wanted to see Matt to have more character development.
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