Matthew Brandon Ross, also known as Matt Ross was born on January 3, 1970, in Greenwich, Connecticut in the United States. He is an actor, director, and screenplay writer from the United States. Glenn Odekirk in The Aviator, Gavin Belson in HBO’s Silicon Valley, and Luis Carruthers in American Psycho are among his most well-known roles. Frank & Lola, which he wrote and directed, premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and was later distributed by Universal Studios, is another of his works. Matt Ross is married to Phyllis Grant, a writer. Isabel “Bella” and Dashiell “Dash” Ross are the couple’s two children. Let us get to know more about this American actor. Stay on the page to see more about Matt Ross.
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Net Worth
Ross’ net worth is estimated to be $6 million. The fortune comes from his career as an actor, director, screenwriter, producer, editor, and cinematographer.
Career
Ross received tremendous acclaim for his portrayal of Alby Grant in HBO’s Big Love. In the series, he played a character that lasted five seasons. In the 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck, he played Eddie Scott. For his part in this film, he was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. In the first and fifth seasons of FX’s anthology series American Horror Story, he played Charles Montgomery, in 2011 and 2015. He earned the Un Certain Regard Prize for Best Director at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival for his feature film Captain Fantastic, which featured Viggo Mortensen. Ross had previously made seven short films. The Language of Love, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, is one of these short films. 28 Hotel Rooms, his feature film directorial debut was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012.
Matt Ross in Silicon Valley
Actors may get away with playing wide, silly characters on a comedy like “Silicon Valley” as long as they’re amusing. However, Matt Ross, who plays Hooli CEO Gavin Belson, the series’ main nemesis took the role seriously. He played the role of a genuine and serious but also ambitiously misguided individual.
“Gavin enjoys being the center of attention. I think he genuinely believes he’s ‘making the world a better place.’” – Matt Ross
Ross was attempting to avoid becoming a caricature. At the very least, he was attempting to play his humanity and sincerity. There is humor in people who are like Gavin Belson in the real world, and he is sure a large deal of their happiness derives from winning, conquering, and being thought of as important in some manner. Ross thought there was comedy in that. Ross has highlighted many times why the HBO show works as a comedy and a “really fantastic workplace drama” at the same time.
The explosion of online TV channels, according to Ross, who helmed the Oscar-nominated picture “Captain Fantastic,” has created avenues for everyone — writers, directors, performers, and so on. He noted in an interview that it’s becoming increasingly frequent to see the freshest new creative visions on TV, citing Jill Soloway, who created “Transparent” for Amazon.
Quotes by Matt Ross
- “When I’m directing, I really try not to be tied to anything. I don’t even have the sides in my hands. I have other things – ideas that I want to make sure I don’t forget or that I want to accomplish. The endeavor isn’t about propping up the screenplay; but about the communal effort of exploration from a lot of different departments – the actors, the DP, the costume designer – all these people and myself.”
- “I think one of the most difficult things about the lifestyle is that when it’s winter, and there is no running water, you still have to go outside to use the bathroom. You know, we all live very comfortably, no matter what socio-economic level we’re at – if you have electricity and running water, you live better than the kings of the 16th century.”
- “Film is a pretty poor medium to deliver a message. I’m not trying to do that. I’m just trying to ask a lot of questions and hopefully you can draw your own conclusions about whatever meaning might be there or what point there is; but I was conscious of wanting to create something that for a lack of a better word had a positivity and earned that.”
- Essentially, no one can control what other people think of the final outcome. Once it’s done, the audience will like it or not, they may even think I’m an idiot. They can also think I’m brilliant or whatever, I can’t control that. What I can control is the joy in putting it together, the process of the work itself. I try and create an atmosphere where we’re all enjoying the work. That’s the only thing you can hold on to, the only true thing.
- “When you listen to someone’s songs, their soul comes through.”
Matt Ross’ Captain Fantastic and directorial ventures
An unorthodox family living in the woods of the Pacific Northwest is at the center of Matt Ross’s second film as a writer-director, Captain Fantastic. Ben, played by Viggo Mortensen, is the patriarch, and his six offspring are Bodevan (George MacKay), Kielyr, Vespyr, Rellian, Zaja, and Nai. They go hunting, fishing, exercising, studying, and celebrating festivals like Noam Chomsky Day together. Ben’s wife, who is recovering from an illness with her estranged parents, is noticeably absent.
Matt Ross knows his way as a director. He thinks that the most shocking element in both of his films as a filmmaker is that “You’re a boss in a way. You’re navigating other people’s energy levels, their needs, and their personalities. It accounts for 90% of the work. You believe it’s all creative, but you’re actually a leader. It’s such a demanding task, and I believe that certain people are temperamentally unsuited to it. I’ve gained a lot of knowledge. You have two faces: public and private. On the one hand, you are the captain of the ship and must act accordingly.” For him, that means attempting to be as open, warm, and welcoming as possible, as well as remaining calm and kind.
