Biography
Matt Bomer is an American actor who gained worldwide recognition after appearing in the comedy Magic Mike and the television series White Collar. Film critics also liked the artist’s work in the project “The Normal Heart”. For the main role in this drama, Matt received a Golden Globe Award. On the Hollywood horizon, Bomer has established himself as a multi-faceted actor, participating in many independent projects.
Career
By 2005, Matthew had already become familiar to viewers. He had roles in “North Shore” and “Illusions of Flight”. In 2006, Matt took part in the prequel to the acclaimed slasher film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. His track record was supplemented by the television series “Lost” and “Chuck.” But Matt gained universal love and fame after the release of the serial detective story “White Collar” with his participation.
Matt's recent works include a cameo role as a desperate rich man in the film In Time, the role of a seductive stripper in the comedy Magic Mike, and the role of a hopelessly in love vampire in the series American Horror Story.
Childhood and youth
Matthew Staton Bomer, better known as Matt Bomer, was born in October 1977 in the town of Webster Groves, located in the suburbs of St. Louis. In addition to Matthew, two more children were growing up in the family of Sissy and John Bomer. Matt's father was a professional football player and gained fame playing for the Dallas Cowboys.
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Matt Bomer in childhood
The children inherited their love of football from their father, and Matthew was involved in this sport from childhood and even intended, like his father, to become a professional football player. In addition to sports, young Bomer had another serious hobby - theater. At the age of 8, the boy was so eager to try himself as an actor that he begged his mother to find him an agent. Since the woman did not take her son’s words seriously, he had to prepare for acting himself. Therefore, Matt honed his skills by acting in school plays and musicals.
After graduating from school, Bomer faced a choice: sports or art. I settled on the latter, which I never regretted later. Soon Matthew becomes a student at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, graduating in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Matt Bomer: interview about personal life, career and cinema
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Last Updated: 11/17/2018 How Magic Mike actor Matt Bomer conquered Hollywood on his own terms? To become a star in Hollywood and realize the American Dream, you often have to embrace a character and abandon your true self. That's the experience of Monroe Star, the central character in the new Amazon Prime drama The Last Tycoon. A wunderkind studio executive abandons his Jewish name (Milton Sternberg) and heritage to become a power player in the golden age of cinema. But for Matt Bomer, who plays Star in the 10-episode adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's unfinished novel, the opposite is true.
After making his name on American television, most notably as a hard-nosed conman in 81 episodes of White Collar and then in 13 episodes of American Horror Story, Bomer found international recognition in 2012. He played a ripped male stripper who makes women go crazy for Magic Mike and the equally wild sequel to 2020's Magic Mike XXL. In a showcase of his range, he won a Golden Globe that year for his driving performance as HIV/AIDS sufferer Felix Turner in HBO's The Normal Heart. But his "first real acting role" was to spend several years as a young man raised in a loving, conservative Christian family in the Bible Belt of Texas pretending he was right.
"I created the character to survive"
"I created the character to survive," the 39-year-old actor says at a friend's restaurant in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, after a photo shoot. Out of self-preservation, Bomer signed up for the school's football team as well as the school's playdate. He continued this for years. “I used to work on gas pipelines with my brother. I'm sure some of the people I worked with were ex-convicts,” he says. “I had to learn to defend myself in these conditions.”
He did such a convincing job that his brother thought he was joking when he came out to him at the age of 24. When he summoned the courage to write to his parents two years later, they simply couldn't believe it. "In fact? Are you surprised?". There was radio silence for six months until he finally returned home and received the scolding he had always feared. “You know who was cooler at this?” - he says. "My grandmother and grandfather. My grandma blows my mind. To me, she illustrates what a loving, accepting Christian is.”
Matt Bomer looks at his life from the perspective of the time before he came out to his parents and after that. “It’s night and day,” he says. Thirteen years later, is the relationship mended? "Yes". He pauses. "I'll just say yes." When you're a family, you just put certain things in one place to love each other. I'm very, very grateful to have a family."
The actor came out publicly in 2012 while performing at the Desert AIDS Project's Stephen Chase Awards for his work in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Last year he quietly married Simon Hall, 53, a high-profile Hollywood publicist who used to represent him. Halls' clients include Tom Ford, Ridley Scott and Ang Lee. The couple was together for more than 10 years. They have three boys born through a surrogate: Keith, 12, and nine-year-old twins, Walker and Henry.
“I feel pressure, extra pressure to go higher and further.”
Life in Hollywood is much more progressive now than it was in the 1930s. Back then, as depicted in The Last Tycoon, the Nazis apparently had a significant influence on what could and could not be produced, and the studios agreed. However, even in 2017, the actor still appears publicly very rarely. “I have dear friends who are still in the closet,” Bomer says. But he doesn't judge. “This is a completely subjective decision. I have children. I didn’t want them to think that I thought of them as something to hide.” Does he consider himself a pioneer? “I feel pressure, extra pressure to go above and beyond so that I can hopefully set a good example and create a path for other people who come behind me, and I certainly trust those in front of me.”
However, he understandably does not want to be constantly labeled as a "gay actor", believing that the label is unnecessary and unhelpful, perpetuating the stigma. “I think labels are dangerous,” he says. “As an artist, the last thing you want is one label to identify you. You want to have complete freedom over your personality.” Does he feel like he missed out on roles after coming out? “I had some great experiences. But I have also been blessed with a generosity of spirit and artistic openness that some people may never know because of who I am. So I can't complain. The artists I want to work with don’t have a stigma anyway.”
That didn't stop him from playing the romantic lead in The Last Tycoon, playing opposite Lily Collins, the daughter of one Phil Collins. This is a great production. Matt Bomer says that "the pilot was the most expensive pilot Sony has ever produced." Not least because of his impeccable 1930s wardrobe. It was designed by Janie Bryant, who famously created the edgy looks of Don Draper and Roger Sterling. “What she did for Mad Men menswear was pretty much a complete transformation in terms of men dressing up a little more,” he says.
The double-breasted suits in this series were tailored to Bomer's ribcage to create the right silhouette. He says he could barely breathe in some scenes. He had to practice the Alexander Technique to maintain good posture and execute his lines. And he had to "lose a lot of weight" to portray a character with a congenital heart defect who hadn't eaten for a week.
This isn't the first time Bomer has had to make drastic changes for a role. “There was a time when I was losing 40 pounds for The Normal Heart. He then gained 20 pounds for Magic Mike. It was just unreal and your body says, “What’s going on?”
Muscle strengthening was an issue. He built a simple home gym in his garage and prefers working there rather than working with a trainer. As a busy dad, he enjoys an effective, time-based, high-intensity workout. "Twenty minutes, and if you do it right, you'll be wet at the end," he says. “I still have the super-ego voice of all those coaches from Texas in my head any time I do anything physical, so I can usually do a pretty decent solo.”
Is he worried about the long-term consequences of extreme body transformations? “I was just discussing this with my doctor yesterday. And he said, “You know, I won't do anything like that in the near future. I'm not saying you can't ever do it, but just don't do it any time soon."
“As an artist, the last thing you want is one label to identify you.”
In his next starring role, Getting Out, he plays a father who tries to get his teenage son involved in hunting in the wild. When Bomer's father watched the film, he recognized himself. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim and will be released in October. This helped restore them. “I shamelessly stole from my father [for the character] because it was something I knew,” he says. Matt Bomer had what he describes as a "Mark Twain childhood." It's catching frogs on a stream in St. Louis, fishing and hunting with my dad. “It was the way I was taught to have a father's camaraderie,” he says. “I didn’t like deer hunting. I would go with my father, but I never liked it and I never killed a deer.”
However, something like the great outdoors was about to happen. Matt Bomer just returned from a country vacation with his husband and kids on a lake in Canada. They were kayaking, fishing, swimming, catching little critters.” And there was no reception on the phone. They take one family trip every summer.
Now that Bomer is a father himself, how would he describe his parenting style? "I'm so desperate to be friends with my kids," he says. “We have a lot of fun together. But there are times when I need to set a boundary. They are all different, their level of affection is different, they need each other. They come into the world as their own people and you just try to give them the structure to be their best selves and find their way in the world.”
However, when he's on the set of a film, he can't help but spoil them with gifts. “I do so much shopping for the kids out of guilt when I'm away. I firmly believe that Amazon hired me because they know how much I spent on their site."
Source: MrPorter
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About the site
Ekaterina Boychuk
Movies
Bomer's creative biography began in New York, where he moved after graduating from university. Here the young artist began attending castings and auditions. Soon he was accepted into one of the theaters. For some time he appeared on stage, playing minor roles, but his theatrical period ended after the first offer to act in films. Matt made his debut in the TV series All My Children. This soap opera aired on ABC in 2001.
Matt Bomer (still from the series Guiding Light)
Then another role in the series, this time longer - “Guiding Light”, in which the young actor played for almost 3 years. Since working in this film took up a lot of time, Bomer had to quit his part-time job - in his free time from filming, he worked as a courier in a company located in the Twin Towers of New York. By a happy coincidence, Matt quit his job just a couple of months before the September 11 tragedy.
“Guiding Light” brought the actor his first popularity. But real glory was still far away. Until 2009, Matt starred in several more TV series, such as “Birds of War: Diary of an Unknown Aviator”, “Back from the Dead” and “North Shore”. This was followed by more serious projects, including the films “Illusion of Flight” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” In the last film, Bomer played the main character for the first time and became recognizable.
Matt Bomer and Taylor Handley (still from the film "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre")
Real resounding success awaited Bomer after appearing in the popular series “White Collar,” where the artist appeared in the image of FBI officer Neal Caffrey, who had previously engaged in theft of art objects. This American television film was released in 2010 and immediately became a hit, turning the actor into a superstar. The film turned out to be so successful that it was soon broadcast by television channels in many European countries and beyond.
While involved in the White Collar project, Matt managed to star in other films, where directors persistently invited him. Among the most successful are the film Magic Mike and the dystopian film In Time, where Bomer starred with Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried.
Matt Bomer (still from the series "White Collar")
In 2014, Matt’s new projects were released. This is the film “The Normal Heart” and the fantastic films “Love Through Time” and “Space Station 76”. Participation in the film The Normal Heart brought Bomer no less fame than White Collar. Matthew played a homosexual with AIDS. The main role went to Mark Ruffalo. The series also stars Julia Roberts and Taylor Kitsch.
Bomer later shared that he read the play on which the film is based when he was 14 years old. He realized that he belonged to a sexual minority. Since then, Matt dreamed of playing in a film based on this play.
Matt Bomer and Mark Ruffalo (still from The Normal Heart)
Getting a role in it turned out to be difficult: while director Ryan Murphy immediately agreed to cast Matt in the role of Felix, the screenwriter and author of the play Larry Kramer considered the artist too handsome for the image of the hero with AIDS. In order to get into the project, the performer had to lose almost 20 kg, while before filming the actor’s weight was 75 kg (with a height of 182 cm). To do this, he even went to a special clinic, where, under the supervision of doctors, he drank only water and juices for 2 weeks. After 3 months, Kramer, having seen Bomer, no longer objected to his participation in the series.
Soon, Matt Bomer took part in the casting for the lead role in the film Fifty Shades of Gray. But the management of Focus Features (Universal) rejected the artist’s candidacy. Preference was given to Jamie Dornan. The main female role was given to Dakota Johnson. Fans of the novel of the same name were outraged by this choice. A petition was posted publicly demanding that candidates Matt Bomer and Alexis Bledel remain in the project to play the roles of Christian Gray and Anastasia Steele. The organizers of the alternative managed to collect 50 thousand signatures, but the management of the film company did not listen to the opinion of the public.
Lady Gaga and Matt Bomer (still from the series "American Horror Story: Hotel")
Not upset after an unsuccessful audition, Matt takes part in the filming of the second part of the Magic Mike franchise, which is called Magic Mike XXL. In this simple comedy about a team of nightclub dancers, Bomer once again played a stripper.
The actor also received the main role in the TV series American Horror Story: Hotel. This is the 5th season of the FX channel's top-rated TV movie, which was about a series of mysterious murders on the territory of an old hotel. In the film, the actor was accompanied by Lady Gaga, Wes Bentley, Chloë Sevigny and others.
Later, the artist expanded his filmography with work in the western The Magnificent Seven, as well as the main role in the drama series The Last Tycoon, based on the unfinished work of Francis Scott Fitzgerald.
Simon Halls and Matt Bomer
Much is known about the actor’s biography. Fans closely follow his career and personal life. There is much less information about his husband. It is only known that he is a co-founder of the Huvane Baum Halls agency and manages the affairs of more than 140 thousand actors. There is almost no information even about the age of Simon Halls. According to some reports, he is 50 years old, which means that he is 10 years older than his star husband.
The couple got married in 2011. Simon Halls and Matt Bomer claim that their love only grows stronger every year. They willingly go out into the world and are not at all shy about reporters. The couple is raising three boys, two of whom are twins. Children Simon Halls and Matt Bomer were born to a surrogate mother. Growing up in a same-sex family, according to the parents themselves and eyewitnesses, does not in any way hinder their development. The influence of the creative environment, on the contrary, benefits them.
The American Gay, Lesbian and Straight Friends Network in Education presented Matt Bomer and Simon Halls with an award for their contributions to creating a society where every child learns to respect and accept all people. Actor Joe Manganiello, Matt's colleague in the film Magic Mike, gave a touching speech at the award ceremony. He said that thanks to couples like this, a world is created in which their children do not need to be afraid of who they are, where they can accept others in accordance with their own feelings, and not under the yoke of a hypocritical society.
Today, the gay community is increasingly filled with celebrities who have finally decided to openly declare their orientation. Largely thanks to these people, modern society is learning to be tolerant. Love and talent have no age, gender or skin color. It is celebrity couples who can show ordinary people that feelings cannot be hidden, and everyone has a chance to be happy, have a family and do what they love.
Simon Halls and Matt Bomer are one of the most famous and beautiful gay couples. Each of them is a professional in their field, which does not prevent them from raising wonderful children and being loving spouses for each other.
Personal life
For a long time, the popular actor avoided questions about everything that did not relate to work. Bomer's personal life was hidden behind a thick veil. At the beginning of 2010, the artist once again, answering questions from a journalist from Details, tried to avoid the question of his gay orientation.
Bomer later openly admitted that he is gay and has long been in a close relationship with publicist Simon Halls. The men's wedding took place in 2011. Now Matt and his husband are raising three sons. The two boys are twins born by a surrogate mother.
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Matt Bomer and his husband Simon Halls
According to Bomer, his feelings for his husband have not faded over the years, harmony reigns in their home, and their sons do not have a complex about their unconventional family. Photos of family have long become an integral part of Matt’s personal Instagram account.
Fans of the actor cannot help but be surprised by his almost 100 percent similarity with his British colleague Henry Cavill, who is known for his participation in the projects “War of the Gods: Immortals,” “Man of Steel,” “Justice League” and “The Tudors.” What distinguishes him from Bomer is his traditional views on family life, as well as his slightly more powerful build (with a height of 185 cm, Keville’s weight is 85 kg).
Coming out
Matt Bomer's personal life has been and is the subject of heated discussion. Rumors about his unconventional orientation began to leak into the press at the very beginning of his career. To all provocative questions, Matt answered that he did not want to talk about his personal life, but he was undoubtedly happy.
After the release of the movie Super Mike, where Matt played a stripper with piercing eyes and an amazing body, women attacked him. But, alas, they were all disappointed.
The first evidence of the actor’s gayness was a photo in which he was captured kissing a man. At first this was taken as a joke or a provocation, but later it became clear: Matt was not joking. The man in the picture turned out to be Simon Halls, a famous publicist from Hollywood.
In 2012, Matt made his “coming out of the closet.” The actor publicly admitted that he is gay and married to Simon Halls. This happened during the presentation of the award for best supporting actor in the film “The Normal Heart”, which touches on the topic of AIDS. Matt rose from his chair, kissed his husband and expressed his gratitude to director Ryan Murphy.
Matt considers the topic of his personal life private and does not like to discuss it. However, everyone knows that he is married to a man and has three children.
Matt Bomer now
An interesting project for Bomer was the 2018 science fiction film “Duplicate” about a young man in whose body two personalities coexist and communicate with each other via video. The image of the main character on the screen was recreated by Ansel Elgort. The same year, the premiere of the drama “Viper” took place, in which Matt played a war correspondent who was captured. His mother, played by Susan Sarandon, without waiting for action from the military command, herself goes to the hot spot in search of her son.
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Matt Bomer in 2020
In 2020, the actor delighted fans with his appearance in the TV series Doom Patrol, which received good ratings. The story is based on DC comics. The celebrity’s plans include completing work on the main role in the film Monty Clift. This is a biographical film about the relationship between movie stars Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor.
Tom Daley (diver) and Dustin Lance Black (writer)
Another owner of unconventional love.
This, by the way, is again love at first sight. Despite the big age difference (the screenwriter is 20 years older than the jumper), the young man fell in love with the guy so much that he told everyone about it, and he was only happy about this turn of events. Now they live happily together, just like Natasha Koroleva’s son with the girl from “House-2”, who showed her charms and surprised the public not so long ago.
Clear, what else can I say?
More piquant already
For happiness
Filmography
- 2001 – “All My Children”
- 2006 – “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning”
- 2009-2014 – “White Collar”
- 2012 – “Choir”
- 2012 – “Magic Mike”
- 2013 – “Space Station 76”
- 2014 – “The Normal Heart”
- 2014 – “American Horror Story: Freak Show”
- 2015 – “American Horror Story: Hotel”
- 2016 – “Goodfellas”
- 2016 – “The Magnificent Seven”
- 2016-2017 – “The Last Tycoon”
- 2018 – “Duplicate”
- 2018 – “Titans”
- 2019 – “Doom Patrol”
