Matthew Charles Berry (born 2 May 1974 in Bromham, England) is one of the hammiest actors working in Britain today. Whilst he has had leading and supporting roles on several cult sitcoms, he is probably most well-known to denizens of the Internet as George the Volcano
from a series of ads for Volvic mineral water.
Also a terrific singer and musician. His output falls somewhere between Folk Music and Progressive Rock, with influences that include Mike Oldfield and The Doors. Berry has released eight studio albums to date, and has even opened for Steven Wilson at the Royal Albert Hall.
Has hammed in:
- Garth Marenghis Darkplace as Todd Rivers playing Dr. Lucien Sanchez.
- The IT Crowd as Douglas Reynholm.
- The Mighty Boosh as Dixon Bainbridge.
- Snuff Box as Matt Berry.
- Toast of London as Steven Toast.
- House of Fools as Beef.
- Community as Roger DeSalvo.
- The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water as Bubbles the Dolphin (replaced by Jeff Bennett in the video game based on the movie)
- Harvey Beaks as Doctor Roberts (also later replaced with Jeff Bennett).
- Moon as Overmeyers.
- Portlandia as Squiggleman.
- Twelve Forever as the Butt Witch.
- The 2006-2007 Volvic and Volvic Revive "Volcanicity" commercials as George the Volcano.
- Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods as Vitalstatistix.
- Major Lazer as Professor Teacher.
- Disenchantment as Prince Merkimer.
- Matt Berry Does... as himself, narrating.
- What We Do in the Shadows (2019) as Laszlo Cravensworth.
- Year Of The Rabbit as Detective Inspector Rabbit
- Moominvalley as Moominpappa.
- The Last Dragonslayer as King Snodd.
- The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run as King Poseidon
- The Book of Boba Fett as 8D8
- Krapopolis as Shrub
- Fallout (2024) as Mr. Handy, Snip-Snip, and Sebastian Leslie
- The Wild Robot (2024) as TBA
Discography:
- Jackpot (1995)note
- Opium (2008)
- Witchazel (2011)
- Kill the Wolf (2013)
- Music for Insomniacs (2014)
- Matt Berry & The Maypoles Live (2015)
- The Small Hours (2016)
- Television Themes (2018)
- Phantom Birds (2020)
- The Blue Elephant (2021)
Tropes associated with this ham:
- Accent Upon The Wrong Syllable: Most prominently while playing Stephen Toast, but his other characters tend to dip into it occasionally.
- The Cast Show Off: Every time he gets to sing.
- Jerkass: With the exception of Todd Rivers/Lucien Sanchez and Doctor Roberts, all his characters are kinda dicks.
- Large Ham: If Tom Baker and BRIAN BLESSED had a son, this would be the result.note
- Typecasting: Many of his live-action roles (such as in Toast of London, The IT Crowd, and What We Do in the Shadows (2019)) feature him as a hamtastic, lecherous, Small Name, Big Ego Jerkass.
Tropes associated with his music:
- Album Title Drop: The word "witchazel" is uttered by a demonic voice towards the end of "Take My Hand".
- Canon Discontinuity: Jackpot is not counted as an official release, which makes Opium his proper first album.
- Cover Album: Television Themes contains covers of television themes.
- Design Student's Orgasm: The cover◊ of Music for Insomniacs, and the single◊, "Music for Insomniacs Part IV", both of which he painted himself.
- Epic Rocking: "The Pheasant" (8:41), "Solstice" (9:26) and "Night Terrors" (9:51). Music For Insomniacs consists of two pieces that last for just over 23 minutes.
- Face on the Cover: Most of his albums, with the exceptions of Music For Insomnics and The Blue Elephant.
- Insomnia Episode: Music For Insomniacs was made during a bout of insomnia.
- Last Note Nightmare: There's one at the end of "Take My Hand", where it suddenly changes from a gentle indie folk kinda feel to bizarre dischordant electronics, finishing off with a witch-like cackle.
- Live Album: Matt Berry & The Maypoles Live.
- Milestone Celebration: Gather Up — a four-disc compilation that includes rarities and demos — was released in 2021 to coincide with ten years of Berry being signed to Acid Jazz.
- Progressive Rock: A huge part of his music. He cites Mike Oldfield as a major influence.
- The Something Song: "A Song For Rosie".
