Matt Bomer’s early career was a mix of theater roles and on-screen roles and that mix has led to some of his best movies and TV shows. Theater has played a role in some of his best projects, as some of his movies have adapted previous stage works. That has allowed Bomer to continue working in both mediums and showing his impressive array of talent to many different audiences.
Bomer’s career in film and television has led to numerous accolades for him. He has nominations for Emmys, Golden Globes, and more under his belt. While he is often thought of as a charming actor whose looks might get him some of his roles, he has proven himself an impressive chameleon over the years, playing con artists, journalists, dancers, spies, and even murderers. His best movies and TV shows make it clear that Bomer much more than looks the part.
Glee
Cast
In order to escape the stressful reality of high school, a group of misfits decides to join William McKinley’s glee club. Fox’sGleewas created by Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk,and Ryan Murphy, with Leah Michele, Jane Lynch, and Matthew Morrison leading the cast. The series ran for six seasons between 2009 and 2015 and won six Primetime Emmys.
Though Matt Bomer has actually been in quite a few projects involving music, not many people knew that he had an impressive set of pipes until he appeared in a role inGlee. Bomer, however, was not a main cast member, which is why this particular role is not ranked any higher.
Gleefollowed a group of high school students who were all interested in using their talent to pursue careers in the arts. First, however, they had to make it through high school in a place that treated them as the biggest losers of the school after they joined the Glee Club. While the series started off as more of a satire, it grew into a teen musical drama series by the end, tackling everything from bullying to sexuality to growing up. The show might not have always had an even approach to storytelling, but it had a lot of impressive guest stars.
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Chuck
When computer whiz and tech store employee Chuck Bartowski receives a mysterious email from an old friend, he ends up with top-secret government information uploaded into his brain. Soon, he finds himself working on secret missions with a CIA agent and NSA operative.
Chuckis a spy comedy that never quite found its audience. Though the show was enjoyed by critics and developed a small and loyal following, it did not become the kind of ratings success NBC might have hoped for.
Chuckfollowed the titular character (Zachary Levi) as he accidentally became embroiled in spycraft. He worked for a company that sold appliances and technology but ended up with files about different spies and operations were sent to him by an old friend who had once betrayed him. That friend, who recurred on the show for a few years, is played by Matt Bomer.
Bomer plays Chuck’s former friend and college roommate who was actually recruited to become a spy in college, which is why he betrayed Chuck in the first place, protecting him from a lifetime of being a spy. Chuck is the only person Bryce believes he can trust when he gets his hands on the Intersect, which is what kicks off the series, but also helps lead to a lot of twists and turns in the early seasons of the show.
Bryce is a really fun character for Bomer and there are shades of the character he would bring to life inWhite Collarhere. As Bryce, Bomer has a more action-oriented role, but he also gets to be charming, calculating, and play his real emotions close to the vest.
Magic Mike
There have been threeMagic Mikemovies, and presumably, that is all there will be as the third provides a conclusion to the main character’s story. While the movies are primarily a starring vehicle for Channing Tatum, the larger ensemble includes Matt Bomer.
Magic Mikefollows a male exotic dancer who wants to follow his dream of opening his own custom furniture store. One of the jobs he takes to save money is dancing. Though he leaves dancing behind at the end of the first movie, he is drawn back in by the friends he made while dancing in the second, and finds a way to use his dancing skills in another career path in the third. Matt Bomer plays one of the dancers he works alongside.
Bomer’s Ken is portrayed as something of a hippie, someone who seems like they would belong in the 1960s more so than the modern age.Bomer is great as someone who is spiritual, interested in things like zodiac signs and forging connections to others, and he has some great dancing skills, which are not showcased in his other projects.
The Sinner
The Sinner is a crime anthology series created by Derek Simonds that ran for four seasons on the USA Network. Bill Pullman is the star in each season, which all examine a different crime committed by the unlikeliest of culprits. The series was originally supposed to be an eight-part mini-series, but the success of season 1 caused USA to continue it as an anthology.
This role is very different from many that Bomer has played. He shows himself as a real chameleon here.
The Sinneris inspired by a novel of the same name, but the television series acts as an anthology. Each season of the show sees the same detective work a different case with new characters introduced.
Matt Bomer appears in the third season.That season sees the detective investigating a fatal car accident in upstate New York, which actually reveals many layers of mystery. Bill Pullman stars in every season as the detective while Bomer appears as an expectant father who reaches out to the detective following the accident.
This role is very different from many that Bomer has played. He shows himself as a real chameleon here. While Bomer’s Jamie is, at first, charming and a member of high society, seemingly much like his other characters, Jamie rapidly unravels during the season. He suffers from panic attacks and flashbacks to his time with the friend who was killed in the accident.He reveals himself as violent and unstable, responsible for multiple deaths in the series, but watching Bomer go back and forth between the two sides of Jamie’s personality is part of what makes the show so fascinating.
The Boys in the Band
The Boys in the Band is a 2020 adaptation of the 1968 play, set in New York City. It follows a birthday party that spirals out of control when a surprise guest and a revealing game force seven gay friends to face hidden emotions and concealed truths.
The Boys In The Bandis a unique movie because it is adapting a play, and in fact, features the cast of the 2018 play in their principal roles. The play is a revival of a 1968 play, which was previously adapted into a movie in 1970 as well. This time, however, is the first time the principal cast has been played by openly gay actors.
The movie, like the play, mostly takes place on a single set as the bulk of the story revolves around celebrating the main character’s birthday. The main character, and most of his friends, are gay, some are out proudly, while others pass as straight. Much of the story is devoted to them comparing their experiences and their views on love and monogamy.
Bomer stars as Donald, a friend of Zachary Quinto’s main character.Donald is someone actively trying to tamp down his sexuality, attending therapy and having moved to the Hamptons to get away from the supposed homosexual lifestyle in New York. It’s a poignant role for Bomer.
The Boys In The Bandwon a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film (Limited Release).
American Horror Story
American Horror Story is a Horror Anthology series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. The franchise has seen stars like Connie Britton, Jessica Lange, Denis O’Hare, Zachary Quinto, Evan Peters, and Dylan McDermott. Each season follows a new premise and spans an array of horror genres like witches, ghosts, serial killers, and more.
Each season ofAmerican Horror Storyfocuses on a different horror. The anthology series has employed several actors in multiple roles, and Matt Bomer is one of them. He appeared in two different roles in two seasons of the show.
In season four,Freakshow, Bomer appears as Andy Stiles.The season takes on killer clowns, serial killer grooming, and more alongside the backdrop of a traveling carnival. It’s a role that takes place in a single episode as he appears as a sex worker who is ultimately killed by Dandy.
In season five,Hotel, Bomer appears as Donovan.This season centered on a hotel in which many atrocities have occurred and anyone who dies there ends up as a ghost there. Bomer’s Donovan, however, is not a ghost, but a vampire whose loyalty to the Countess means that he is willing to kill and feed on just about anyone even though he keeps up a gentlemanly appearance.
It is a little surprising that Bomer has not appeared in any additional seasons ofAmerican Horror Storysince he has worked with showrunner Ryan Murphy on multiple projects now. Donovan is a fan-favorite character and many believed he would return for more roles.
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The Normal Heart
The Normal Heart is a drama film set in early 1980s New York City, chronicling the emergence of the HIV-AIDS crisis. It addresses the social and political challenges faced by gay activists and medical allies as they strive to raise awareness and confront widespread denial of the epidemic.
The Normal Heartmarks another Ryan Murphy project for Bomer. LikeThe Boys In The Band,The Normal Heartis also an adaptation of a stage play. Both plays also focus on the stories of gay men in New York.The Normal Heart, however, is about activist Ned Weeks (Mark Ruffalo) during the 1980s AIDS crisis in New York. Bomer plays his closeted lover Felix.
The Normal Heartchronicles how difficult it is to get anyone to pay attention to the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. While Ruffalo’s character is an activist, Bomer’s is a journalist, and Julia Roberts plays a doctor attempting to study the illness to better understand and prevent it. All of their roles are inspired by real people, though the names have been changed.
It’s a deeply affecting story, and Bomer did not just give an emotional performance, but also physically transformed for the role.He lost a significant amount of weight while filming to portray Felix’s own battle with AIDS.
When the movie debuted on television, Bomer was named TV Line’s Performer of the Week. He was also nominated for an Emmy and won a Golden Globe for the role.
Doom Patrol
Doom Patrolis an adaptation of one of DC’s most beloved and bizarre superhero groups. The series stars Brendan Fraser (Robotman/Cliff Steele), Matt Bomer (Negative Man/Larry Trainer), April Bowlby (Elasti-Woman/Rita Farr), Diane Guerrero (Crazy Jane), and Joivan Wade (Victor Stone/Cyborg). Even though the world doesn’t appreciate or accept them, the Doom Patrol protected the world for four seasons between 2019 and 2023.
This role is drastically different from another TV role Bomer was best known for at the time.
Matt Bomer has long been a fan cast option for numerous superhero roles whenever the rumor of a live-action appearance surfaces. Bomer has, however, had the chance to play a superhero, or at the very least, a member of a team of superhero misfits in the Max seriesDoom Patrol, inspired by the DC comic book team of the same name.
The series follows the adventures of the group, all who have trouble with their abilities, and all who have traumatic origin stories they have not been able to work through.Bomer stars as Larry Trainor, a former member of the US Air Force who ended up possessed by a negative spirit after an accident. It has left him with some radioactive abilities, but also permanently scarred and wrapped in bandages that help anchor him.
This role is drastically different from another TV role Bomer was best known for at the time. For one thing, Larry is angry and sarcastic instead of oozing Bomer’s usual charm. For another, he is not someone jumping at the chance for adventure, instead, preferring to sit out of the action.While Bomer plays the character in flashback scenes when his face is visible, and he voices the man under the bandages, he shares the role with Matthew Zuk, who often plays the fully bandaged Larry.
Matt Bomer also voiced the character when Larry Trainor appeared in episodes of the live-actionTitansseries.
Fellow Travelers
Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey star in Fellow Travelers, a historical romantic thriller that follows two men who meet in the 1960s and begin a decades-spanning volatile romance. Hawkins Fuller (Matt Bomer) is a careful, financially astute man who keeps himself from romance to focus on his career - but when he meets an idealistic young man named Tim Laughlin (Bailey), the two fall for one another during one of the most tumultuous times in the nation’s history.
This miniseries took the world by storm when it premiered on Showtime in 2023. Part of that is due to the fantastic performance of Jonathan Bailey opposite Bomer, who was best known for his work in Netflix’sBridgertonat the time.Bailey and Bomer share fantastic chemistry in the series.
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Fellow Travelerschronicles a love affair between two men that spans decades of American history. While it’s a love story, it also works as a political thriller because both men are embroiled in politics. Bomer’s character is a World War II veteran and employee of the State Department. Bailey’s is a congressional aide. Their story begins when they meetat the height of McCarthyismand suspicion in the 1950s, having to keep their homosexuality a secret.
The miniseries tracks the emotional and turbulent connection they share with the backdrops of the war in Vietnam in the 1960s, the rise of disco in the 1970s, and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. It’s a unique exploration of what it meant to be gay in those eras.
Bomer was nominated for an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his role.
White Collar
White Collar is a crime drama television series featuring Neal Caffrey, a skilled con artist and art thief, portrayed by Matt Bomer. After being captured by FBI agent Peter Burke, Neal agrees to help the FBI catch elusive white-collar criminals as a consultant, leveraging his unique skills. The series explores the evolving partnership and mutual trust between Neal and Peter, blending elements of crime-solving and personal redemption.
Though most of Bomer’s best roles have been in television,White Collaris undoubtedly Bomer’s best TV series.It’s easily the role he has become best known for, and it isone that allowed him to play a variety of roles while still being the same character.
White Collarfollows a career criminal who is a con artist and a thief. When the criminal is finally nabbed by the FBI, the FBI offers him a consulting gig to lighten his sentence. He and the same FBI agent who arrested him are paired up, working white-collar cases together, and eventually, becoming friends.
The nature of Bomer’s character means that he often charms people out of information, pretends to be other people, tries out whole new personas, and downloads a lot of information in monologs for the audience. All of that demonstrates how incredibly talented he is.AWhite CollarrevivalstarringMatt Bomerhas been in development since 2020.
