Matt Graham was played by Matthew - Matt - Holmes, born on July 17th, 1976 in Albury, New South Wales. Mischievous and happy by nature, Matt is a stark contrast from the television roles he seems to always play, but he insists he enjoys playing the complex ones.
Matt, a relative newcomer to television, scored guest roles and bit parts in All Saints and two of the Blackjack episodes previous to landing his permanent role on Blue Heelers. Taking up the prestigious role of Constable Graham meant Matt relocated from Sydney to Melbourne and he began filming on the set in July of 2005, immediately settling in and feeling comfortable with the Blue Heelers ‘family’. He admitted it was difficult working to such a tight schedule on the set, where an hour of solid drama is produced every week, with just two days of rehearsals, but he reveled in the learning experience.
Matt’s first episode, ‘Good Times’, aired on September 21st, 2005, and Constable Graham landed right in the thick of a station bubbling with tension over Susie and Alex’s battle for the acting sergeants position, a passionate people person in Kelly and Tom trying to sort out an old friends monster problems. Matt’s appearance on Blue Heelers also coincided with the guest appearance of the seasoned John Jarrett. It was both actors first time on the top drama.
Matt, who is represented by Encompass Management – who also represents fellow Heelers Simone McAullay and Danny Raco – might not have impressed viewers with his character traits in his first few episodes, but many warmed to him greatly following an encounter with a sobbing Kelly during her lengthy stalker saga later in the year.
As Matt’s time on the show progressed, he proved himself to be one definite hot and cold character. Passionate about upholding the law, he also had an unbreakable trust of some people and not of others. He stood by those he knew were innocent, even if it meant putting his own career in jeopardy, and this often got to his colleagues, especially Amy.
When Blue Heelers came to a close, fans felt it a shame that Matt hadn’t really got the chance to prove his worth to the Australian public yet. But this is sure to turn around, as Matt has now begun filming on Nine’s new drama series ‘Sea Patrol’, which stars former Blue Heelers golden girl Lisa McCune in a title role, as well as a wealth of Australian talent he is sure to fit in right along side. Sea Patrol debuts on the Nine network in 2007.