Matkai Burmaster

Matkai Burmaster is a Canadian actor and director best known for his contributions to the LGBTQ+ community and for being an advocate for greater LGBTQ+ inclusion in the film industry. He is also the co-founder of indie streaming service, Fearless (https://fearless.li). Matkai has performed in, written, and/or directed a slate of LGBTQ content including It's Complicated (with Tony Babcock), So That Happened (starring Ally McLean), Stripped, Committed, The Stamp (starring Destinee Smith), The Toothbrush, The Morning After, and True You. As an advocate, Matkai has spoken at various events including at TO WebFest in Toronto, Entrepreneur Week in Sudbury, and is known for his online advocacy on Instagram and via multiple video projects including It's Complicated, which aims to help LGBTQ+ teens and their allies. Matkai has also hosted workshops in LGBTQ advocacy, entrepreneurship, and masterclasses in acting for film & television for adults. As an actor, Matkai has worked on projects for virtually all major networks in Canada and the US including Canada's CTV, CBC, and CityTV as well as CBS, Fox, Discovery Channel, Disney, and the CW. Matkai has also directed shorts and series that have appeared at film festivals across North America and the UK. Matkai has also been an active member of the theatre scene working with companies such as Theatre Cambrian, Sudbury Theatre Centre, Inspirato, Gay Play Day, and Awkward Owl Productions. In his early twenties, Matkai Burmaster was the founder of Sudbury's premiere theatre and film studio, Verve, which he ran successfully until its closure in 2018. Sudbury is where Matkai was born and grew up, having attended Sudbury Secondary School where he triple majored in Drama, Dance, and French Immersion. Matkai was also his class valedictorian and graduated with honors. After high school, Matkai studied Theatre at York University and Film, TV, & Voice Over Acting at Seneca College in Toronto. Matkai (born as Matthew-Kai Eli Richard Burmaster-Hansen) is the son of Bev Burmaster, a nurse, and Patrick Hansen, a government official with the CRTC. Matkai was a home birth in his home town of Sudbury where he lived until the age of 18. He has three sisters and was known to have a cat growing up.