Matt Austin

Interests: Hockey, sailing, archery, guitar, piano, poetry, old trees, tall grass, bottom lips, big eyes, soft cookies, cheeze wiz

Favorite quote: "Be courageous."

Things that inspire me: A brilliantly composed or sung song, a brilliantly written or acted film, black and white photography, hearing people laugh.

But I find I'm most alive when I'm acting or writing or directing. I'm not a fan of dead time or standing still. I always have to be moving. I always have to be doing or thinking of something.

To relax, I: Make nachos and watch movies. And or...sit in a park and play music...And or...have a long shower.

If I had one wish, it would be: To inspire people.

In the next year I see myself: Starting production on the feature film adaptation of In Between, finishing production on a short film..staying in love and catching up with the people I've been away from.

When I'm not working, I'm: Napping, writing, or strumming my guitar.

Tattoos: How many do you have, and what do they mean? I have 4 Tattoos with 2 on their way.

I have a Tribal Sign on my left pec. It's the first tattoo I got. I had visited the shop about 8 times before, and that particular design always called to me. A week or so after I turned 18 I went in and I got it. I have no idea of its origin or meaning.

I have a Japanese word on my right deltoid. It means "Tranquility". It was the closest translation I could get to "Relax". When I was in university I used to have the word RELAX written in big black bold letters on a piece of paper next to my mirror. This was just an extension of what that meant to me..but on my body. So I could see it in every mirror.

Below that tattoo I have a "Red Maple Leaf" the size of a half dollar. I'm from Canada. I'm proud.

On my left wrist, in courier font, I have the last name of my friend Andre Noble that passed away a few weeks before I left for my journey to New Zealand. He was a gifted actor and the best soul I have ever encountered. He and I were founders of an acting ensemble in Toronto. We acted opposite each other in the play that I wrote (In Between). Together we had some very big plans and were writing a new play and screenplay together. I put NOBLE on my wrist to always remind to try and be noble in my life and art and so he's always on my pulse.

Favorite Musicians: Radiohead, Beastie Boys, White Stripes, Hot Hot Heat, The Doors, Zeppelin, Broken Social Scene, Beatles, Sloan, Pixies,

Favorite Actors: Andre Noble, River Phoenix, Johnny Depp, Michael Caine, Phillip Seymore Hoffman, Matt Damon, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Travolta, Pacino, Brando, Ian McKellen, Ewan McGregor, Ethan Hawke

Favorite Filmmakers: Wes Anderson, P.T Anderson, Woody Allen, Ron Howard, John Hughes

Favorite Films: The Last Starfighter, Back to the Future, The Graduate, Pulp Fiction, Parenthood, Giant, Anything with River Phoenix

He studied film at both Centennial and Humbert College.

Won an writing award for his first short film, "If Six Were Nine".