Matt Johnson
Biography
Matt Johnson is a Canadian filmmaker who directs, writes, produces and acts, and whose movies lean on improvisation and documentary-style techniques. Born in Toronto, he started out in low-budget docufiction, co-creating the web series Nirvana the Band the Show before his first feature, The Dirties (2013), took a top narrative prize at Slamdance. He and producer Matthew Miller then launched Zapruder Films, whose debut, Operation Avalanche (2016), he directed and headlined and which screened at Sundance. He has also acted for other directors, in Diamond Tongues (2015) and Matt and Mara (2024). BlackBerry (2023) earned him directing honors from the Canadian Screen Awards and the Vancouver Film Critics Circle, while Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (2026) brought him a Canadian Screen Award for supporting performance in a comedy. He later directed Tony (2026).
41years old
Turns 42 on October 5in 329 days
- Born Toronto
- Star sign: LibraThe sign runs September 23 to October 22
Movie Career
- Films
- 6
- Career span
- 13 years2013 to 2026
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First role
Johnson's first feature as director, The Dirties, earned him wide critical praise in Canada. The film took the Grand Jury Sparky Award for Feature Narrative at Slamdance, and Johnson got a Best Editing nomination at the 2nd Canadian Screen Awards.
A role that slipped away
Johnson declined an offer to premiere Operation Avalanche at the Toronto International Film Festival, saying the film would be lost among the many films shown there. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival instead.
Behind the camera
Johnson and producer Matthew Miller founded the production company Zapruder Films after The Dirties was released, and its debut feature was Operation Avalanche.
A first
Johnson's Tony, a biopic about chef Anthony Bourdain, was his first American film and his first feature in which he does not star.
Behind the camera
Johnson directed the stand-up special Uncle Stav for Tony actor Stavros Halkias, filmed over four shows in Baltimore and set to premiere on Netflix.
Matt Johnson movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Eight actors appear in two of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Ethan Eng's page
Krista Madison's page
Jared Raab's page
Jay McCarrol's page
Josh Boles's page
Michael Scott's page
Also two films together2 more actors
- Owen WilliamsOperation Avalanche (2016) and The Dirties (2013)
- Steve HamelinNirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (2026) and BlackBerry (2023)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.