MATTHEW SETTLE

 At the age of 19 Matthew Settle moved to New York City and was a member of a rock group. Settle decided to pursue a career as actor when his inability to play an instrument caused him to rethink the direction his career would take. After many drama classes, failed pilots, and TV movies The Johnny-comes-lately into the film business was finally capable of landing his first role of major importance in I Still Know What You Did Last summer (1998). He was nearly 29 years old.Born on September 17, 1969, in Hickory, NC, Settle is the youngest of two daughters and four boys. His father was a Baptist preacher, and his mother was an church organist. In 1983, the family relocated to Sevierville. Settle was an avid Dolly Parton fan and sold records at Dollywood's nearby amusement park. He then decided to be a musician. After being exiled from his rock group from New York, he hawked meat and seafood off trucks located on Long Island before Jay Julian Robert De Niro's lawyer who enrolled him in acting school. Settle borrowed money from friends to pay for the classes, and then moved out to Los Angeles to begin his career.Settle made his debut on screen with Sarah Paulson as an Irish-American settler in the 1996 CBS pilot Shaughnesy. He later played an aspiring frat boy in the movie of the week What happened to Bobby Earl? (1997), Kate Jackson and Kristian Alfonso. He plays a small part in the television film Murder in Mind (1997) along with Ellen Burstyn, Kristin Davis.