Matt Lanter | |
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Born | Matthew MacKendree Lanter April 1, 1983 Massillon, Ohio, U.S. |
Alma mater | University of Georgia |
Occupations |
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Years active | 2004–present |
Spouse | Angela Stacy (m. 2013) |
Children | 1 |
Matthew MacKendree Lanter (born April 1, 1983) is an American actor and model. He began his modeling career in 2004. The same year, he acted in the film Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius and the television series Point Pleasant . He went on to appear in numerous television series and films, including Commander in Chief and 90210 . He later voiced Anakin Skywalker in the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars , continuing to portray him in the identically named TV show and other media of the Star Wars franchise.
Lanter was born on April 1, 1983, in Massillon, Ohio. [1] His father worked in insurance, and his mother was a school secretary. He has one older sister. When Lanter was eight, the family moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Lanter played baseball in his youth and was a batboy with the Atlanta Braves for two seasons. [2] He majored in business at the University of Georgia. [3]
In 2004, Lanter was a contestant on Bravo's reality show Manhunt: The Search for America's Most Gorgeous Male Model . He did not win the competition. [4] In November of that year, Lanter appeared as a caddie in the biographical film Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius . [5] Between June and July 2005, Lanter appeared in three episodes of the Fox supernatural drama series Point Pleasant , playing the role of Nick. The show received low ratings and did not last a full season. [6] [7] He has since appeared in television shows such as Grey's Anatomy and Big Love . [8] In April 2005, he signed on to become a series regular portraying the role of Horace Calloway on ABC's political drama series Commander in Chief . [2] The series premiered in September 2005, ran for one season and was cancelled in June 2006. [9]
In 2008, he took on the lead role as Zach Conroy in The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream , as a member of a figure skating pair. [10] Later that year, [11] Lanter starred in Disaster Movie as the character Will. [12] The film later appeared on Empire's 2010 poll The 50 Worst Movies Ever, in which it scored number 14. [13] Lanter appeared in the slasher film Sorority Row , which was released in September 2009. It received negative reviews from both critics and audiences. [14] [15]
In 2009, he began a major recurring role on The CW's 90210 portraying Liam Court. [8] In March 2010, he signed on for another parody project with Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, 20th Century Fox's Vampires Suck . He played Edward Sullen, a spoof of Edward Cullen from the Twilight saga. The film was released in August 2010. [16] In 2011, Lanter appeared in the psychological thriller The Roommate as Jason. [17] Although it received unfavorable reviews from critics, it was a moderate success at box office in North America; however, it was overshadowed by that year's Super Bowl. [18] In 2012, he worked on the films Liars All and A Chance of Rain. [19] He also voices Harry Osborn, Flash Thompson and Venom in the TV series Ultimate Spider-Man , [19] which premiered on April 1, 2012. He also voiced the role of Sled in Secret of the Wings, [20] which was released later that year. [21]
In March 2013, Lanter was cast as a co-star in The CW's science fiction drama series Star-Crossed (originally titled Oxygen). [22] [23] Star-Crossed is about a romance between a human girl and an alien boy (Lanter) when he and six others of his kind are integrated into a suburban high school 10 years after they landed on Earth and were consigned to an internment camp. [24] From 2016 to 2018, Lanter began playing the role of Wyatt Logan in the NBC series Timeless . [25] In February 2019, it was announced that Lanter was cast as George Hutchence in the Netflix superhero series Jupiter's Legacy . [26]
Lanter played Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker in the 2008 animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars and later all seven seasons of the TV series of the same name. He has stated that his fellow cast members and the other people who worked on the show are "like family" to him. [27] He also portrayed the character in Star Wars Battlefront II and Star Wars Rebels . [28] He has said that Hayden Christensen, the actor who had previously had the role in Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Episode III – Revenge of the Sith , had a "very, very difficult job" demonstrating the character's arc from hero to villain, and considers himself fortunate that he had more time to show the transformation. [28]
Lanter had not known for whom he was auditioning when trying for the role. He was told he would be playing a character called "Deak Starkiller" who Dave Filoni, the director of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated film, suggested he portray as a mixture of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. [27] Lanter had minor roles in Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) as various alien scavengers and stormtroopers. [29] On December 13, 2019, he appeared in The Mandalorian episode "Chapter 6: The Prisoner", portraying Lant Davan, a New Republic soldier. [30] He returned to his role as the voice of Anakin Skywalker in the miniseries Tales of the Jedi , which became available on Disney+ on October 26, 2022. [31] [32]
Lanter married his longtime girlfriend Angela Stacy on June 14, 2013. The two had been in a relationship since 2009. [33] They had a daughter together in 2017. [34] In March 2022, Lanter underwent emergency surgery for a closed-loop intestinal obstruction, which had given him "intense abdominal pain". [35] He is a Christian. [36]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | Manhunt | Himself | Contestant |
2005 | 8 Simple Rules | Brendon | Episode: "The After Party" |
2005 | Point Pleasant | Nick | 3 episodes |
2005–2006 | Commander in Chief | Horace Calloway | Main role |
2006 | Big Love | Gibson | Episode: "Eviction" |
2006 | Heroes | Brody Mitchum | Recurring role |
2006 | Shark | Eddie Linden | 3 episodes |
2007 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Ryan Lansco | Episode: "Fallen Idols" |
2007 | Monk | Clay Bridges | Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Birds and the Bees" |
2007 | Grey's Anatomy | Adam Singer | Episode: "The Heart of the Matter" |
2007 | Judy's Got a Gun | Isaac Prentice | Television film |
2008 | The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream | Zack Conroy | Television film |
2008 | Life | Patrick Bridger | Episode: "Everything... All the Time" |
2008 | The Oaks | Mike | Episode: "Pilot" |
2008–2014, 2020 | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Anakin Skywalker / Okalin / Ratter (voice) | 95 episodes [37] |
2009–2013 | 90210 | Liam Court | Main role |
2012 | Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated | Baylor Hotner (voice) | 3 episodes |
2012 | The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange | Matt the Pear | Episode: "Generic Holiday Special" |
2012–2017 | Ultimate Spider-Man | Harry Osborn / Patrioteer / Flash Thompson / Agent Venom / Venom / Klaw / Anti-Venom / Tiny Octo-Bot / S.H.I.E.L.D. technician / police officer (voice) | 46 episodes [37] |
2014 | Star-Crossed | Roman | Main role |
2015 | The Astronaut Wives Club | Ed White | 3 episodes |
2015 | CSI: Cyber | Tristan Jenkins | Episode: "Corrupted Memory" |
2016 | Star Wars Rebels | Anakin Skywalker (voice) | 2 episodes |
2016–2018 | Timeless | Wyatt Logan | Main role |
2017–2018 | Star Wars Forces of Destiny | Anakin Skywalker (voice) | 6 episodes |
2019 | Avengers Assemble | Winter Soldier / Reporter #2 (voice) | Episode: "Vibranium Curtain" [37] |
2019 | The Mandalorian | Lant Davan | Episode: "Chapter 6: The Prisoner" |
2020 | Lego Star Wars Holiday Special | Anakin Skywalker / Rodian (voice) | [37] |
2021 | Jupiter's Legacy | George Hutchence | Main role |
2022 | Lego Star Wars Summer Vacation | Anakin Skywalker / Rodian (voice) | [37] |
2022 | Tales of the Jedi | Anakin Skywalker (voice) | Episode: "Practice Makes Perfect" [37] |
2023 | S.W.A.T. | Aaron Skinner | Episode: "Blowback" |
2024 | Star Wars: The Bad Batch | Olly / Stormtrooper #1 (voice) | Episode: "Point of No Return" |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Lightsaber Duels | Anakin Skywalker | [37] | |
2008 | Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Jedi Alliance | Anakin Skywalker | ||
2009 | Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Republic Heroes | Anakin Skywalker | [39] | |
2011 | Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars | Anakin Skywalker | [37] | |
2011 | Star Wars: The Old Republic | Darth Sadic / Agent Galen | ||
2012 | Kinect Star Wars | Anakin Skywalker | [37] | |
2014 | Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes | Venom | [40] | |
2015 | Disney Infinity 3.0 | Anakin Skywalker / Venom | [41] | |
2016 | Lego Marvel's Avengers | Ulysses Klaue | ||
2017 | Star Wars Battlefront II | Anakin Skywalker | [42] | |
2022 | Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Anakin Skywalker |
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. The sequel to The Phantom Menace (1999), it is the fifth film in the Star Wars film series and second chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga". The film stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, and Frank Oz.
Hayden Christensen is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader in the Star Wars media franchise. He first appeared in the prequel trilogy films, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), and later reprised his role in the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) and Ahsoka (2023).
Darth Vader is a character in the Star Wars franchise. He is the primary antagonist of the original film trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is the protagonist of the prequel trilogy. Originally a slave on the planet Tatooine, he becomes a powerful Jedi. He is lured to the dark side of the Force by Chancellor Palpatine, and becomes the Sith Lord Darth Vader. After being severely wounded in a lightsaber battle, he is transformed into a cyborg. He is the husband of Padmé Amidala and the biological father of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. Within the original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinness. In the later-released prequel trilogy, a younger version of the character serves as one of the two main protagonists, alongside Anakin Skywalker, and is portrayed by Scottish actor Ewan McGregor. In the original trilogy he is introduced as Ben Kenobi, an alias he uses while in hiding from the Empire. He is a mentor to Luke Skywalker, to whom he introduces the ways of the Jedi. After sacrificing himself in a duel against Darth Vader, Obi-Wan guides Luke through the Force in his fight against the Galactic Empire. In the prequel trilogy, set two decades earlier, he is initially a Padawan (apprentice) to Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, and later mentor and friend of Luke's father Anakin, who falls to the dark side of the Force and becomes Vader. The character briefly appears in the sequel trilogy as a disembodied voice, speaking to protagonist Rey, and serving as the namesake of Ben Solo. He is frequently featured as a main character in various other Star Wars media, including the streaming television miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi, in which McGregor reprised the role.
Count Dooku of Serenno, also known by his Sith name Darth Tyranus, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, created by George Lucas. He is an antagonist in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, appearing in both Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), played by Christopher Lee, as well as associated media, such as books, comics, video games, and television series. Actor Corey Burton has voiced Dooku in most of his animated and video game appearances, most notably Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003–2005), Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and the miniseries Tales of the Jedi (2022). Lee reprised the role in the 2008 animated film that launched The Clone Wars series.
Qui-Gon Jinn is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, played by Liam Neeson. He is a main character in the prequel film trilogy, serving as one of the protagonists of The Phantom Menace (1999). He appears briefly as a Force ghost in the 2008 animated series The Clone Wars, the season finale of the 2022 live-action series Obi-Wan Kenobi, along with Attack of the Clones and The Rise of Skywalker as a disembodied voice, with Neeson reprising his role in all of the above. Qui-Gon also appears in two episodes of Tales of the Jedi, which depicts some scenes from his life before the events of The Phantom Menace; Neeson voices adult Qui-Gon in the series, while his son Micheál Richardson voices Qui-Gon as a padawan.
R2-D2 or Artoo-Detoo is a fictional robot character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He has appeared in ten of the eleven theatrical Star Wars films to date, including every movie in the original trilogy, prequel trilogy, and sequel trilogy. At various points throughout the course of the films, R2, an astromech droid, is a friend to C-3PO, Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. R2-D2 and his companion C-3PO are the only characters to appear in every theatrical Star Wars film, with the exception of Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018).
C-3PO or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the Star Wars franchise who appears in every movie of the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, C-3PO was designed as a protocol droid intended to assist in etiquette, customs, and translation, boasting that he is "fluent in over six million forms of communication". Along with his astromech droid counterpart and friend R2-D2, C-3PO provides comic relief within the narrative structure of the films, and serves as a foil. Anthony Daniels has portrayed the character in eleven of the twelve theatrical Star Wars films released to date, with the exception of Solo: A Star Wars Story, where the character does not appear.
Yoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, first appearing in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with The Force and is a leading member of the Jedi Order until its near annihilation. In The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda was voiced and puppeteered by Frank Oz, who reprised the role in Return of the Jedi, the prequel trilogy, and the sequel trilogy. Outside of the films, the character was mainly voiced by Tom Kane, starting with the 2003 Clone Wars animated television series until his retirement from voice acting in 2021. Yoda is an iconic figure in popular culture due to his distinct pattern of speech and role as a wise mentor.
The Skywalker family is a fictional legendary human family in the Star Wars franchise. Within the series' fictional universe, the Skywalkers are presented as a bloodline with strong inherent capabilities related to the Force and sometimes lightsaber skills. Luke Skywalker, his twin sister Princess Leia Organa, and their father Darth Vader are central characters in the original Star Wars film trilogy. Darth Vader, in his previous identity as Anakin Skywalker, is a lead character in the prequel film trilogy and so is his wife and the twins' mother Padmé Amidala; while his mother Shmi is a minor character in the first and second films respectively. Leia and Han Solo's son, Ben Solo, renamed himself Kylo Ren and is the main antagonist in the sequel film trilogy, while they and Luke serve as supporting characters. Shmi, Padmé, and Han are the only members who are not Force-sensitive. The Skywalker bloodline, alongside the Palpatine bloodline, are the two bloodlines that are the strongest with the Force.
Anthony Daniels is an English actor and mime artist, best known for playing C-3PO in 11 Star Wars films. He is the only actor to have either appeared in or been involved with all theatrical films in the series, and has been involved in many of their spin-offs, including television series, video games, and radio serials.
Star Wars: Clone Wars is an American animated television series developed and directed by Genndy Tartakovsky and produced by Lucasfilm and Cartoon Network Studios for Cartoon Network. Set in the Star Wars universe, specifically between the Star Wars prequel trilogy films Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, it is amongst the first of many works to explore the Clone Wars. The show follows the actions of various prequel trilogy characters, notably Jedi and clone troopers, in their war against the droid armies of the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the Sith.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is an American animated television series created by George Lucas. It is part of the Star Wars multimedia franchise, and is set predominantly between the events of Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005). Lucas, who closely collaborated with supervising director Dave Filoni on the series, called it a continuation of the previous Genndy Tartakovsky-produced 2003 Clone Wars series. The series began with a theatrical feature film that was released on August 15, 2008, and debuted on Cartoon Network two months later on October 3, 2008.
Ahsoka Tano is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. She was introduced as the 14-year-old Togruta Jedi Padawan of Anakin Skywalker in the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) before appearing in the subsequent animated television series ; the sequel series Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018); in the live-action film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) as a voiceover cameo; and in the miniseries Tales of the Jedi (2022), voiced by Ashley Eckstein. In 2020, Ahsoka made her live-action debut in the second season of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, portrayed by Rosario Dawson. Dawson reprised the role in a 2022 episode of the spin-off series The Book of Boba Fett, and the 2023 series, Ahsoka.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a 2008 American animated epic space opera film directed by Dave Filoni, produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. and Lucasfilm Animation, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, becoming the first Star Wars film to not be distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the first fully animated film in the Star Wars franchise and takes place shortly after Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), at the start of the titular Clone Wars. In the film, Count Dooku and Jabba the Hutt's uncle Ziro orchestrate a plan to turn Jabba against the Galactic Republic by framing the Jedi for the kidnapping of his son. While Anakin Skywalker and his newly assigned apprentice Ahsoka Tano attempt to deliver the child back to his father, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmé Amidala lead separate investigations to uncover Dooku and Ziro's plot.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Lightsaber Duels is a Wii fighting video game based on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and is the second Star Wars fighting game released, following Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi. The game was released on November 11, 2008 to coincide with the start of the series' first season. It features the same voice actors to reprise their roles from the show, such as Ashley Eckstein, Matt Lanter, James Arnold Taylor, Matthew Wood, Corey Burton, Nika Futterman, Tom Kane, Phil LaMarr, and Terrence Carson. A companion game, Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Jedi Alliance, was released on the Nintendo DS on the same day.
Sheev Palpatine is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He first appears on screen in The Empire Strikes Back (1980), in which he is credited as The Emperor, and is the overarching antagonist of the three film trilogies in the Skywalker Saga, in which he is portrayed by Ian McDiarmid. The character is also known by his Sith name, Darth Sidious, which was first used in the novelization of The Phantom Menace (1999). In creating Palpatine, Lucas was inspired by real-world examples of democratic backsliding during the rise and rule of dictators such as Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Adolf Hitler.
Captain Rex is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He was introduced as a main character in the animated The Clone Wars 2008 film and the related television series of the same name. Rex is a clone trooper of the Grand Army of the Republic, cloned from the Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett, and serves the Galactic Republic under the command of Jedi General Anakin Skywalker and Jedi Commander Ahsoka Tano. Since his introduction in The Clone Wars, he has also appeared in the 2014 Star Wars Rebels television series, the 2021 Star Wars: The Bad Batch television series, the 2022 Tales of the Jedi television series and various spin-off media. Like all clone troopers in The Clone Wars, Rebels, The Bad Batch and Tales of the Jedi, Rex is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. In Ahsoka, Rex made his live-action debut in the episode "Part Five: Shadow Warrior", voiced by Temuera Morrison in sequences set during the Clone Wars.
Mace Windu is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in the prequel trilogy. Jackson later reprised the role with voice only in the 2008 animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the 2019 sequel film The Rise of Skywalker, whilst Terrence C. Carson voiced the character in other projects, such as The Clone Wars animated television series. The character also appears in various canon and non-canon Star Wars media like books, comics, and video games.
Lego Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2 is a 2009 comedy short film directed by director Peder Pedersen and produced by M2Film for Lego and Cartoon Network in collaboration with Lucasfilm.