Matt Nable

Matthew Nable (born 8 March 1972) is an Australian film and television actor, writer, sports commentator and former professional rugby league player. After playing in the Winfield Cup Premiership during the 1990s for the Manly-Warringah and South Sydney clubs, he wrote and starred in the rugby league-centred drama The Final Winter in 2007.[2] Nable went on to act in films such as Killer Elite and Riddick. He appeared on The CW's Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow as Ra's al Ghul. As an author and as an actor, he is credited as Matt Nable, a name he generally used during his sports career.

Matt Nable
Nable in 2015
Personal information
Full nameMatthew Nable
Born (1972-03-08) 8 March 1972
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
PositionLock, Second-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1991–92 Manly Sea Eagles 5 1 0 0 4
1995 South Sydney 3 0 0 0 0
1996 Carlisle 16 4 0 0 16
1997 London Broncos 4 1 0 0 4
Total 28 6 0 0 24
Source: [1]

Early life

Nable grew up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney and also, as a young boy, spent two years at Portsea, Victoria, when his father, Dave, a soldier, was stationed there,[3][4] and another period of his childhood in Albury. His father had also worked as a trainer for the Australian national rugby league team, and his brother, Adam Nable, would become a professional player as well.[5][6]

Career

Sporting

Matt Nable rose through the junior ranks at the Manly-Warringah club[4] and made five appearances for the Graham Lowe-coached team over 1991 and 1992. Following this he wouldn't appear in the premiership until 1995 when he played three games for the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

After another season in England where he played for Carlisle before moving to the London Broncos,[7] Nable quit football and then tried his hand at boxing, fighting for the state light-heavyweight title as an amateur.[8] He then worked as a beer salesman and personal trainer,[9] but eventually decided to leave paid employment to become a writer.

Writing and acting
Nable in 2012

After encouragement from his mentor, Booker Prize-winning novelist Thomas Keneally,[4] Nable wrote a screenplay for The Final Winter based on his unpublished novel of the same name.[10] With friends he also managed to raise $1.6m and they worked together to make the film which was released in 2007, and earned critical praise[11] but was a box office failure.[12]

Nable went on to act in the United States as a Los Angeles detective in the 2008 television movie S.I.S..[13]

In 2009, his book We Don't Live Here Anymore was published,[14] in 2011 he published his second book Faces in the Clouds, which won critical praise.[15]

He worked as a writer on Channel 7's rugby league comedy programme, The Matty Johns Show.[16]

Nable appeared in the main cast of critically acclaimed and award-winning SBS drama series, East West 101,[4][17] and in the 2011 action film Killer Elite alongside Clive Owen, Robert De Niro,[14] Yvonne Strahovski, Jason Statham,[17] and Dominic Purcell.

Nable starred in the 2012 Australian drama series, Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms. The same year he was announced as a cast member of another Australian TV series, Underbelly: Badness. He also had a role in the film 33 Postcards.

He appeared in the 2013 sci-fi film Riddick alongside Vin Diesel.[18]

In March 2014 it was reported that Nable would appear in the Nine Network's upcoming miniseries Gallipoli.[19]

On 4 September, 2014, Stephen Amell announced on Facebook that Nable would portray the role of Ra's al Ghul on the third season of Arrow.[20] Despite Liam Neeson (Ra's al Ghul in The Dark Knight Trilogy) expressing an interest in reprising his role for the television series' third season and the CW Network reaching out to him, he was unavailable[21] and Nable was cast as Ra's instead. IGN's Jesse Scheeden said he brought "charisma and danger to the part".[22] Nable portrayed the character in ten episodes of the third season. He reprised his role in a first season episode of Legends of Tomorrow.[23]

In October 2019, Nable starred in the opening cinematic of the 2019 Bathurst 1000, broadcast on Fox Sports Australia.[24] Nable has since featured in numerous Fox Sports cinematics, promotions and advertisements, primarily for their Rugby League division, Fox League.

Filmography
Nable at the Killing Them Softly Australian premiere

Film
Title Year Role Notes
The Final Winter 2007 Mick 'Grub' Henderson also writer
33 Postcards 2011 Tommy as Matthew Nable
Killer Elite 2011 Pennock
K-11 2012 Villalobos as Matthew Nable
Around the Block 2013 Jack Wood
The Turning 2013 Max
Riddick 2013 Colonel R. 'Boss' Johns
Fell 2014 Thomas
Son of a Gun 2014 Sterlo
Bluey 2015 Mr. Mystery Short film
Hacksaw Ridge 2016 Lieutenant Colonel Cooney
Incarnate 2016 Dan Sparrow
Jasper Jones 2017 Sergeant
1% 2017 President Knuck also writer
Standing Up for Sunny 2019 Male Interviewer
The Dry 2021 Grant Dow
Poker Face 2022 Billy
Transfusion 2023 Johnny also writer and director
In Cold Light TBA† The Inspector post-production
That's Not a Knife TBA† Himself documentary; post-production
Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television
Title Year Role Notes
S.I.S. 2008 Melville Atkinson Television film
East West 101 2011 Detective Neil Travis Main cast (season 3)
(credited as Matthew Nable)
Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms 2012 William George "Jock" Ross Main cast
Underbelly: Badness 2012 Detective Sergeant Gary Jubelin Main cast
(credited as Matthew Nable)
Arrow 2014–15 Ra's al Ghul Recurring role (season 3)
Winter 2015 Federal Agent Jake Harris Main cast
Gallipoli 2015 Sergeant Harry Perceval Miniseries
Legends of Tomorrow 2016 Ra's al Ghul Episode: "Left Behind"
Barracuda 2016 Frank Torma Miniseries
Quarry 2016 Thurston 2 episodes
Hyde & Seek 2016 Detective Sergeant Gary Hyde Main cast
Blue Murder: Killer Cop 2017 Detective Mark Standen Miniseries
Dead Lucky 2018 Matt O'Reilly Miniseries
Mr Inbetween 2018–21 Dave Recurring role
The Sounds 2020 Jack McGregor Main cast
The Twelve 2022 Nathan Spears Main cast
Last King of the Cross 2023 “Big Tony” Stone Main cast
Year Of 2023 Alan Prichard 10 episodes
Bay of Fires 2023 Thaddeus TV series

Bibliography

Books
  • We Don't Live Here Anymore (2009)
  • Faces in the Clouds (2011)
  • Guilt (2015)
  • Still (2021)

References
  1. Rugby League Project
  2. Purcell, Charles (6 September 2007). "Final whistle". Sydney Morning Herald. Australia: Fairfax Media. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  3. Mathieson, Craig (31 August 2007). "The field of broken dreams". Age. Australia: Fairfax. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  4. "Matt Nable on writing and acting". Life Matters. Radio National. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  5. Cohen, Joanna (14 February 2008). "Matt Nable on The Final Winter: The RT Interview". rottentomatoes.com. Flixster, Inc. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  6. AMNRL (2007). "New York Knights star Adam Nable welcomes brother Matt and his hit rugby league movie The Final Winter for its US premiere in Manhattan on October 10". American National Rugby League News. United States: Super League America, Inc. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  7. "Club-by-club guide to the Super League". The Independent. UK: independent.co.uk. 13 March 1997. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  8. Maddox, Garry (1 September 2007). "A league of his own". Sydney Morning Herald. Australia: Fairfax Media. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  9. Chester, Rodney (6 September 2007). "Hard yards for Final Winter". Courier-Mail. Australia: News Limited. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  10. Sutherland, Claire (6 September 2007). "The Final Winter in a league of its own". Herald Sun. Australia: News Limited. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  11. Williams, Daniel (31 August 2007). "Footy for Thought". Time. Time Inc. Archived from the original on 9 October 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  12. Maddox, Garry; Kerry Coleman (4 December 2007). "Comeback of the day". Sydney Morning Herald. Australia: Fairfax Media. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  13. Shattuck, Kathryn (24 August 2008). "What's on Today". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  14. Penguin Books (2010). "Matt Nable". Contributors. Penguin. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  15. Flynn, Chris (18 June 2011). "Matt Nable's sibling story a class act". The Australian. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  16. Ritchie, Dean (5 July 2010). "Afternoon of hot dogs and heroes". Daily Telegraph. Australia: News Limited. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  17. "Matt Nable as Detective Neil Travis". East West 101. SBS. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  18. "From running on rugby league fields to acting on the Hollywood big screen". Fox Sports. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  19. "Rising star Kodi Smit-McPhee set to headline epic Gallipoli TV drama". news.com.au. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  20. Ng, Philiana (4 September 2014). "'Arrow' Finds Its Ra's al Ghul". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 1 June 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  21. "Liam Neeson Actually WAS Offered the Role of Ra's Al Ghul for Arrow". Movie Pilot. 11 October 2014. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  22. "Arrow: "The Climb" Review". IGN. 10 December 2014.
  23. "'Legends of Tomorrow' recap: Too little, two years too late". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  24. Bathurst, home to the most adored mountain of them all | Supercars, retrieved 30 May 2021
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