Born in Hutchinson, Kansas, Mat grew up in and around Kansas City before moving to Glenwood Springs, Colorado just before his freshman year of high school. In Glenwood, Mat caught the acting bug, performing in local productions in Glenwood and nearby Aspen, then returned to Kansas to study theatre and film at the University of Kansas. A proud Jayhawk, Mat graduated in 1998 from KU and moved to Los Angeles where he made several appearances in television and in national commercials including Cold Case, Six Feet Under, JAG and Navy NCIS. in 2000, Mat made his professional theatre debut in James Still's Amber Waves at Indiana Repertory Theatre. He also spent two seasons with the award winning Creede Repertory Theatre in Creede, Colorado. 

In 2006, Mat returned to school after being accepted into the National Theatre Conservatory's MFA program in Denver, Colorado. While there, he appeared in several productions with the Denver Center Theatre Company, including Merry Wives of Windsor, Richard III and A Christmas Carol. His studies culminated with the NTC Rep, where he was thrilled to play the title role in Macbeth and Betty/Joshua in Cloud 9. While in Denver, Mat spent two seasons with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival in Boulder, performing in five productions, including The Three Musketeers, where he played D'Artagnan, Hamlet and Love's Labour's Lost. In 2008, Mat received a Denver Post Ovation nomination for Best Year by an Actor for his work at both CSF and DCTC.

After receiving his MFA from NTC in 2009, Mat moved to New York and appeared on stage in the world premiere of Ed Cordona's American Jornalero for Working Theatre and in Sonnet Rep and Matchbook Productions' daring interpretation of Richard II, performed on low flying trapeze. Mat has also appeared in White Collar and had a recurring role as Agent Keener on Martin Scorsese's Boardwalk Empire. He also recently was seen on NBC's new hit Smash. In 2009, Mat met the beautiful and talented actress, January LaVoy. The two were married in September, 2011 in Astoria Park. In 2012-2013, Mat will be touring North America with the first national tour of the Tony Award winning play, War Horse. The twenty city tour kicks off in Los Angeles this June!