Matthew Ruf

You would be hard-pressed to find many actors with as much experience around this industry and art-form as Matthew Ruf. Born on Thanksgiving day (November 27) of 1986, Matthew Ruf is the son of Theatrical Director and Educator, Mitchell Ruf, and Kean University's Secretary of Comunnications, Eileen Ruf. Matthew and his sister, Mageen, spent much of their childhood as audience members and cast members amongst their father's productions. This is an art form he knows well. In fact, while most children may have been learning their ABC's and nursery ryhmes, Matthew was singing songs to "Big River" and "Jekyll & Hyde". With--quite literally--a lifetime of experience in the industry, various credits adorn Matthew Ruf's resume. Like many, he began much of his early career appearing in his High School Musical Theater productions--but also appearing as background in "Crutch" (a local feature film shot in Stanhope, NJ). Eventually he graduated his talents to the collegiate level, performing for Kean University in "Urinetown" and "Pirates of Penzance". While in college, he got an incredible opportunity to play his first lead in a feature film, "The Treasure of Anna Hawkins"--a film shot entirely in Long Island. This experience, while extremely low budget, became a great learning experience for Matthew in the process of film production. Eventually, he made the decision to pursue--more specifically--filmmaking as his career focus, and chose to attend New York Film Academy. It is here that Matthew honed his craft further as an actor and a filmmaker. Matthew received his MFA from NYFA in LA after 2 years of study culminating in a thesis project that was accepted into various festivals. That film was, "Hello", which he produced, wrote, and starred in. Studying in Los Angeles was a great experience for him and allowed him to become great friends with many like-minded creative individuals. One of these individuals he continues to work with--director, Fritz Frauendorf. Just recently, Matthew has created his own production company--RufCut Pictures. This summer, RufCut Pictures plans to make its first production, "Jersey Birdies" come to life.