Matter landed his first professional acting job in 2007 playing the lead role of bait shop owner Josh Riley in the
Syfy original film
Loch Ness Terror, (broadcast as
Beyond Loch Ness), which also starred
Brian Krause and
Don S. Davis. While filming
Loch Ness he sent an audition tape to the producers of
The Best Years which led to him gaining the main cast role of bartender, and cocaine addict, Trent Hamilton in the series's first season. The risks paid off, and he was cast in the role of bad boy genius
Zane Donovan, first appearing in the season two episode "E=MC...?". The character would go on to develop a romantic relationship with the town's Deputy Sheriff
Jo Lupo played by
Erica Cerra. His role was recurring throughout seasons two and three. Season four saw a soft reboot of the show - following a time-traveling incident, the characters return to an alternate timeline, with character dynamics and relationships shifting. This led to Matter's role as Zane being expanded as he became part of the main cast, which continued through to the show's fifth and final season. During this time, he also had guest roles on
Warehouse 13, portraying one half of a married couple alongside
Eureka castmate Cerra and on
NBC's
Fear Itself, playing a lovelorn zombie. In 2009/2010, Matter appeared as a recurring guest star on
The CW shows
Melrose Place (as record producer Rick) and
90210 as Greg, a teacher and subsequent love interest to
Erin Silver. In 2009, Matter played a small role in
Zack Snyder's
Watchmen film, portraying one of the
Minute Men, Byron Lewis/Mothman. He also appeared in the short film accompanying the 'ultimate cut' DVD release of the film entitled
Under the Hood, a faux documentary on the Minute Men. From 2012 to 2013, Matter played the lead character of Evan Cross, a millionaire inventor searching for anomalies following the brutal killing of his wife by an
Albertosaurus, in
Space's science fiction series
Primeval: New World, a spin-off of the British series
Primeval. In 2013, this role earned him a
Constellation Award in the Best Male Performance in a Science Fiction Television Episode category, for his performance in the episode "Truth". He was also nominated for a
Leo Award in the Best Lead Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series category, for the same episode. Due to low ratings, the series was not renewed for a second season. In March 2014,
Deadline Hollywood announced that he had landed the role of Lieutenant Graden Hales in the
TNT commissioned pilot of
Marcia Clark's
Guilt by Association alongside
Julia Stiles, which TNT ultimately declined to pick up. He subsequently appeared in guest roles in various American and Canadian series. In
CTV's
Motive he played a man driven to murder in revenge for his sister's death; in the short-lived
NBC series
Constantine he played a father struggling to deal with the supernatural and in the
TNT police procedural
Rizzoli and Isles he portrayed a Detective turned murderer. He also had a recurring role in the third season of the
CBC series
Arctic Air as Tag Cummins, the love interest of the series female protagonist, Krista Ivarson, portrayed by
Pascale Hutton. Additionally, Matter appeared in the 'VIP Lounge' online content produced to accompany the show, which was available through the series page on the
CBC website. Matter appeared in the 2014
Calgary International Film Festival's closing gala film, dark-comedy/thriller
Ally Was Screaming. He was nominated for a 2015
AMPIA Rosie Award, for his role as Andrew, the abusive estranged husband of the titular Ally. In November 2014 he was announced as one of the
Whistler Film Festival's Rising Stars, a program designed to promote the next generation of Western Canadian actors poised for international careers. He also attended the festival's screening of
Ally Was Screaming, alongside his castmates. Matter joined the main cast of
Global's medical drama
Remedy in 2015, for its second season. He played the role of ER Resident Dr Peter Cutler, who develops a romantic relationship with surgeon Dr Melissa Connor, portrayed by Matter's
Primeval: New World castmate
Sara Canning. In 2016, he guest starred in two episodes of
Bravo's ''
Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce as seedy artist Joaquin. In the same year, he starred as surgeon Dr Clay Castleberry in the Hallmark Channel original movie Stop the Wedding'', which was adapted from the novel of the same name by
Stephanie Bond. The film's director
Anne Wheeler went on to win Best Direction (Television Movie) at the 2017
Leo Awards. He subsequently starred in the
W Network film
A Snow Capped Christmas, (broadcast as
Falling for Christmas in the US on
Up), as former ice-hockey player and single father, Luke. 2016 also saw Matter star alongside
Erin Krakow in the
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries film
Finding Father Christmas, based on the novel by
Robin Jones Gunn, as local lawyer/hotelier Ian McAndrick. At the time of broadcast, the film became the most watched premier in the network's history. Matter and Krakow reprised their roles in a sequel to the film, entitled
Engaging Father Christmas (broadcast as
A Family for the Holidays in Canada and as
Winter Wedding in the UK) which premiered on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries in November 2017. He appeared in the 2016 Canadian wrestling-comedy film
Chokeslam as Tab Hennessy, wrestling manager and boyfriend to the film's protagonist, Sheena 'Smasheena' DeWilde, portrayed by
Amanda Crew. Matter attended the film's premiere at the
Calgary International Film Festival on October 2, 2016 alongside his castmates. The film won four awards at the 2017
AMPIA Rosie Awards, including Best Director for
Robert Cuffley. Matter attended the 2nd annual "Hearties Family Reunion" in December 2016, where it was confirmed he would join the cast of the
Hallmark Channel series
When Calls the Heart for its fourth season, which began airing in January 2017. First appearing in the episode "The Heart of the Community", he portrayed Shane Cantrell, a single father struggling to connect with his son, who later begins a tentative relationship with Faith Carter (
Andrea Brooks). 2017 saw Matter make guest appearances in two
CW dramas. In May he appeared in the season three episode of
iZombie, "Some Like it Hot Mess", playing the role of nightclub owner Sage Denning. The episode was directed by his
Remedy castmate
Enrico Colantoni. In November he made an appearance on the channel's long-running series
Supernatural, in an episode of the show's thirteenth season, entitled "The Big Empty", playing the character of sadistic shape-shifter, Buddy. In October of the same year, Matter appeared in an episode of the first season of
ABC medical drama
The Good Doctor. Based on the
South Korean series of the
same name, the drama follows the life of autistic-savant surgeon Shaun Murphy (
Freddie Highmore). Matter appeared in the episode "Pipes", playing the role of Mark Allen, an expectant father facing life and death decisions over surgery on his unborn child. In late 2017, Matter filmed the role of ice-hockey player Adam in the
Hallmark Channel television film
Frozen in Love, which was broadcast in January 2018, as a part of the channel's annual 'Winterfest' programming. The film was developed from an original idea by Matter's co-star, actress
Rachael Leigh Cook. Filming took place in
British Columbia in November and December 2017. Matter went on to win a
Leo Award in the "Best Lead Performance Male, Television Movie" category for his performance in the film. 2018 saw Matter star in the
Hallmark Channel original movie
Love at First Dance as former 'Most Eligible Bachelor' Eric alongside dance instructor Hope, (
Becca Tobin), which was broadcast as part of the channel's annual 'June Weddings' event. In July of the same year, Matter starred as college professor Nick Miller in the
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries franchise the
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, which star
Candace Cameron Bure, in an installment entitled
The Disappearing Game. He went on to reprise the role in eight further films in the series, broadcast between 2019 and 2021. July 2018 also saw Matter appear in an episode of the first season of
ABC series
Take Two, guest starring along with
Seamus Dever. The pair played brothers in the episode entitled "Death Becomes Him". He went on to play a supporting role in the 2018 feature film
The Predator, which was released in September 2018. Matter reprised the role of Ian McAndrick in a third film in the
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 'Father Christmas' series, entitled
Marrying Father Christmas filmed in March 2018 in
Vancouver, British Columbia, again costarring
Erin Krakow and directed by
David Winning. The film premiered in the USA on the
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel on November 4, 2018, as part of their "Miracles of Christmas" seasonal programming. In the same year he starred in the
Lifetime original movie
Christmas Pen Pals alongside
Sarah Drew and
Michael Gross, which aired on the channel on December 15, 2018, as part of their "It's a Wonderful Lifetime" seasonal programming. In 2019, Matter was cast in the Hallmark Channel television film
Country at Heart, alongside
Jessy Schram, as songwriter Grady Parker. The film aired in October 2020 as part of the Channel's "Fall Harvest" seasonal programming. In August, he joined the cast of Hallmark Channel television film
Christmas at Dollywood alongside
Danica Mckellar and
Dolly Parton. In November 2020, Matter starred in the Hallmark Channel film
Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater, alongside
Ashley Williams. The film aired as part of the Channel's annual "Countdown to Christmas" programming. ==Personal life==