biography

credit: Mike Tabolsky

BIOGRAPHY

An award-winning actor, Amy Matysio is one of Canada’s most exciting and dynamic performers. Currently in development with Minds Eye Pictures on her half hour comedy series inSAYSHAble, Matysio has spent the last decade blazing her way to become one of the most successful and respected young artists in Canada, and she has. She recently wrapped co-starring in both the new Showcase comedy series Single White Spenny, and the mockumentary feature The Blood Chronicles.

On screen, Matysio made her Feature Film debut in the thriller, The Unsaid, starring Andy Garcia. Since then notable appearances in Film and TV include her breakout role playing opposite Ryan Reynolds as “Darla” in New Line Cinema's hit comedy Just Friends, sharing screen time with Woody Harrelson in the Charlize Theron produced Sleepwalking, the hit indie feature Mulligans, playing numerous times in Canada's award-winning sitcoms Corner Gas and Little Mosque on the Prairie, and the Stephen King thriller Dolan's Cadillac starring Christian Slater, in which Director, Jeff Beesley, had the cameo written for her.

Matysio’s work has been called “explosive”. A celebrated stage actress, Matysio’s body of work is full of notable and diverse roles. Cast at the age of 21 as Shakespeare’s Ophelia, she has continued to grow an impressive resume working with exceptional Theatre Companies playing on renowned stages. She is known for her turns as the Queen of the Nile in Antony and Cleopatra, the psycho-sexed hostage taker in the North American Premiere of Mo and Jess Kill Susie, and the ‘Woman’ in Theatre Ecstasis’ world premiere of Burn. However, it was her recent work in The Syringa Tree, the tour-de-force one-woman show featuring 23 characters, black and white, male and female, young and old, in which one reviewer touted as “One of the most powerful performances ever seen", that had audiences on their feet for every single performance.

An accomplished improviser making her mark, Matysio is five-time Canadian Comedy Award nominee, a Canadian Improv Games alumni, and has been an ensemble member of the General Fools Improvisational Theatre Company since 1997. Improvising for 15 years, she has also been a main-stage player with the renowned Vancouver TheatreSports League, and has been a featured performer at numerous North American Improv Festivals including Tournament of Wonders (Toronto), Dad’s Garage World Domination TheatreSports Tournament (Atlanta, GA), and North America’s largest improv festival, Improviganza (Edmonton, AB).

As a host, she has had the honor of emceeing “The Mayors Business and Arts Awards”, “The 2008 Lieutenant Governors Arts Awards”, as well as NWL’s annual fashion fundraiser, in which she co-produces and has successfully raised over $30,000 for charity. With her fearless comedic charm, she has branded the Canadian Cancer Society award-winning YouTube PSA's for men’s health, in the ‘Real Men Screen’ campaign. In the winter of 2010, she put a face to The Room Live at Sundance, and had the opportunity to sit down with cast/crew, writers, directors, in an on-line chat show format. Guests included Juliette Lewis, Rodrigo Garcia, and the cast of the Sundance smash Tucker and Dale vs. Evil.

With a very distinct, and extremely dynamic sound, she regularly lends her voice to various radio comedy, drama and commercial work. She has voiced pieces for such National and Regional programs as “Go!”, “Ideas”, CBC’s "Live Gallery”, and put a voice to the award-winning novel Lullabies for Little Criminals for CBC’s “Between the Covers”. She is also the co-writer of First Generation Urbanite, which aired as a comedy pilot for CBC radio, and just received a Canadian Comedy Award nomination for 2010. She is also the co-host for "The Ultimate Waste of Time Hour", a podcast now available on itunes!

Born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, she holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Regina and has studied at the University College of York St. John in England. She now splits her time between Canada and Los Angeles.