Niall Matter

Niall Matter
Matter at the Leo Awards in July 2013
Born	(1980-10-20) October 20, 1980 (age 36) Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2007–present
Spouse(s)	Sara (m. 2016)
Children	1

Niall Matter (pronounced May-ter), born October 20, 1980, is a Canadian actor, known for his roles as Zane Donovan in the Syfy original series Eureka and Evan Cross in the Space series Primeval: New World. In 2015 he joined the cast of Global's medical drama Remedy in the role of ER Resident Dr. Peter Cutler.

Born in Edmonton, Alberta, of Irish and Russian descent, Matter grew up on his parents' farm. He is a third-generation oil rigger, having worked on the oil rigs in Northern Alberta for eight years. After getting himself in trouble at age 17, his parents sent him for a three-month stint on the oil rigs to work with his grandfather. He has acknowledged that it was this experience that helped him to focus on his studies and pass his high school exams. He continued to work on the oil rigs until the age of 25, while simultaneously moving to Vancouver and attending Vancouver Film School in pursuit of his long-term goal of an acting career.

At the age of 25 Matter had a serious accident while working on the oil rigs, where he was nearly crushed inside the cab of a 17-ton drilling rig. His quad muscle had been detached from his femur, and he nearly lost his right leg. It took six months for him to be fully rehabilitated. On returning to the oil rigs, he witnessed another accident in which another man lost his legs. This convinced him that it was time to move on, so he quit, returning to Vancouver, where he lied his way into a bartending job before landing his first acting role.

Matter landed his first lead role in the Syfy original film Beyond Loch Ness. While filming Loch Ness he sent an audition to the producers of The Best Years and ended up being hired for the role of Trent Hamilton.

This role led to a guest role in the Syfy television series Stargate Atlantis. He then had an audition for Eureka, in what he believed was a one-episode guest star role. He was cast in the role of Zane Donovan, first appearing in the season two episode "E=MC...?" His role was recurring in seasons two and three. In season four he joined the main cast, in an expanded role, through to the final season.