Matthew McVarish

Matthew was born in Glasgow, on March 3rd 1983, the youngest of seven children. His father, Eddie Smith, was an airplane engine inspector at the Rolls-Royce factory in Hillington and his mother, Maureen Smith, taught in various primary schools in greater Glasgow. He grew up in East Kilbride, leaving home aged seventeen to crew for various touring bands, including Motorhead, Craig Davi, Deacon Blue, Stereophonics and U2. At nineteen, he moved to Edinburgh to pursue his passion for acting and received a BA at Queen Margaret University, during which he began writing and producing plays. He legally changed his surname to McVarish, in honour of his father's uncle, Matthew McVarish, who died in combat in WW1 and who he had already been partly named after, as the Equity Card for "Matt Smith" was already taken by another actor. Since graduating in 2005, he has worked in TV and theatre in UK and internationally, except briefly returning to complete an MA in Acting in Classical and Contemporary Text at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Matthew is now a published songwriter and playwright. His debut show, "To kill a Kelpie", ran Off-Broadway then toured USA. Another of his plays, "Remember you are beauty full", was described by The Herald as "The best play in any theatre this year!" Aside acting and writing, Matthew is an accomplished human rights activist, encouraging various governments to table parliamentary motions to improve child protection laws. As an official delegate of the United Nations in New York, Matthew has chaired numerous global discussions on children's rights. In recognition of his activism he was granted an honorary doctorate and received the prestigious "Top Scot" Award (previous Top Scots include JK Rowling and Andy Murray)