Editing Matt Chapman

[[File:TwitterWashedUpActor.jpg|thumb|250px|The actor that [[Peasant's Quest Movie Trailer|played]] [[Rather Dashing]], [[pizzaz|himslef]]!]]

'''Matthew "Matt" Alan Chapman''' (born [[$11.01|November 1]], 1976) is one half of [[homestarrunner.com]] creative duo [[The Brothers Chaps]]. Alongside older brother [[Mike Chapman]], he serves as one of the principal creators of the [[Homestar Runner (body of work)|Homestar Runner]] body of work. Matt is the voice actor for nearly all of the characters on the site.

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== Career ==
[[Image:Chapman_Matt_personal_photo.png|thumb|150px|The young gun]]
===Education===
Matt attended film school at {{w|Florida State University}}, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1998. His [http://web.archive.org/web/20041210033717/http://www.fsufilms.com/films/moviedetail.cfm?movieid=129 thesis film ''Perchance''] was a 15-minute short about the adventures of a boy named Toby and his dog Marmalade.

In 2003, The Brothers Chaps [[FSU Talk - 7 Nov 2003|returned to FSU for a speaking event]].

===Pre-Homestar===
After graduation, Matt moved back to his native [[Atlanta]] but [[PAX East - 8 Apr 2018#Star Wars: Mechanics of the Force|had difficulty finding film work]] in the city. Instead, he found work for internet company {{w|Earthlink}} (formerly MindSpring), in [[The Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show Interview - 7 July 2014|customer service]] and [[Georgia Tech - 26 Apr 2007|creating icons and banner ads]]. His MindSpring email address was included on the [[Luau Main Page]].

===Homestar Runner===
The [[Original Book|original Homestar Runner storybook]] was co-written by [[Mike Chapman]] and [[Craig Zobel]] in the summer of 1996. Matt did not contribute to the book, later joking that "I worked in a movie theater that summer and they told me to shut up and to go away. NOW who's shutting up and going away?"{{ref|2}} Later that year, he and Mike co-created [[Super NES|a ''Mario Paint'' animation]] featuring the Homestar characters as a Christmas gift for their older brother [[Donnie Chapman|Donnie]] {{--}} the first Homestar Runner cartoon.

In 1999, after both brothers had graduated from college, they moved into an apartment together in Atlanta. Wanting to create a project together, and fascinated by the possibilities of [[Flash]] animation, they decided on Homestar Runner and launched a site to host their animations in January of 2000.{{ref|3}}

[[Flashforward 2006 Seattle - 28 Feb 2006#More History, The Store, and Related Topics - 4:00 p.m.|In August of 2002, he was able to quit]] in favor of working on Homestar Runner full time due to income from the [[Store]]. The first day after quitting, he was assigned {{w|jury duty}}. "It sucked. My first day of self-employment and I got put on a jury."{{ref|1}}
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===Acting===
<blockquote>"Mike pretty much just refused to do any voices, so that's why I had to end up makin' 'em all up. I always say I was the youngest of five kids, so I had to make them pay attention to me somehow. So, throughout my life I just talked in dumb voices {{--}} but I never thought of it as a thing I ''do'', or wanted to be a voice actor, or any of that sort of thing; it was just a stupid thing that I did that probably annoyed most people, and I found a way to make it pay for me."{{ref|4}}</blockquote>
[[File:TwitterNightCourt.png|thumb|Puppet Time]]
Though never formally trained for voice acting, Matt developed the skill through a hobby of mimicry, doing impressions as a kid that ranged from [[The Simpsons|Marge Simpson]] to [[Guns N' Roses|Axl Rose]].{{ref|5}}
Matt voices nearly the entire cast of Homestar Runner [[characters]] ([[Marzipan]], voiced by [[Missy Palmer]], and [[Pom Pom]], who 'speaks' with [[Giant Magazine Interview|a sound effect created by Mike]], are the main exceptions). As such, he is also the primary puppeteer for the [[Puppet Stuff]] series and live appearances of the puppets.

He has also appeared on the site as [[normal-human characters]] through live-action footage or imagery:
*Various members of [[Limozeen]], primarily [[Larry Palaroncini]]
*[[Litigation Jackson]]
*Dave Bjornborg and Schenkel McDoo of [[Taranchula]]
*[[Dolph Hauldhagen]]
*[[Sir Loodabert Comma]]
*[[Rather Dashing]]
*[[Videlectrix Guys|Videlectrix One]]
*[[Minor Thy Dungeonman Characters#Fat, Fat Friar|Fat, Fat Friar]] and [[Minor Thy Dungeonman Characters#Vegetable Cart Man|Vegetable Cart Man]]
A complete list can be found [[:Category:Matt Chapman Filmography|in his Filmography category]].

===Film and Television===
[[File:TwitterAquabats.jpg|thumb|Rough-horsing and house-rousing with [[The Aquabats]]]]
{{seealso|The Brothers Chaps' Other Projects}}
During Homestar Runner's heyday, Matt would occasionally contribute to other projects {{--}} providing voices for the web series Preschool Protocops or radio commercials for [[Mellow Mushroom]],{{ref|6}} and contributing [[Songs#Songs by Matt Chapman from Sealab 2021|songs]] to {{w|Sealab 2021}}. Both of The Brothers Chaps occasionally contributed to friends' movies, typically in producer or art roles.

Beginning in the 2010s, Matt branched out to seeking more work in television production; he moved to Los Angeles for several years. He worked on various shows as a writer, actor, or animator, most notably ''{{w|Yo Gabba Gabba!}}'', ''[[The Aquabats|The Aquabats! Super Show!]]'', and ''[[Gravity Falls]]''.

Around this time, The Brothers Chaps had a development deal with [[Disney]] Television Animation. After pitching a more standard television show, they eventually produced the web short series ''[[Two More Eggs]]'' (2015-2017), which was created in a similar freeform style to Homestar Runner. 

====Gravity Falls====
{{seealso|The Brothers Chaps' Other Projects#Television}}
During the 2010s hiatus from the site, Matt worked on Disney TVA's ''[[Gravity Falls]]'' as a writer and voice actor in several episodes.
{|- border =0 width="100%"
|-
| valign="top" |
=====As writer=====
'''Season 1'''
*"Boyz Crazy"
*"Dreamscaperers"
*"Gideon Rises"
'''Season 2'''
*"Scary-oke"
*"Into the Bunker"
*"Little Gift Shop of Horrors"
*"Society of the Blind Eye"
*"Not What He Seems"
*"A Tale of Two Stans"
*"Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons"
*"Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future"
| width="5%" |
| valign="top" |
=====Characters voiced=====
*Mermando
*Fight Fighters game voice
*Sev'ral Timez band members
*Abuelita
*Ye Royal Discount Putt Hutt commercial announcer
*French Lillputtian
*Hand Witch
*Hiker
*Clay cyclops
*Will E. Badger
*Greasy's Diner cook
*Marius von Fundshauser
*One of the puppeteers for the live-action credits sequence of "Sock Opera"
*Handlebar Bros.
*Northwest Butler
*Crampelter
*Keyhole
*Paci-Fire
*Additional voices
|}

== Music ==
Matt creates music as a songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist. He has performed music as members of [[Limozeen]], [[Taranchula]], and [[sloshy]] both on the site and in live performances.

Outside of Homestar Runner, Matt has released music as part of groups The New You, Mark Margarine, and {{w|Air-Sea Dolphin}}.

=== Favorite Music ===
Matt has expressed a general interest in independent music.{{ref|2}} In [[Wonkavision Magazine Interview|a 2003 interview]], Matt provided five favorite records (in no particular order): 
*{{w|Vince Guaraldi|Vince Guaraldi Trio}} — ''{{w|A Charlie Brown Christmas (soundtrack)|A Charlie Brown Christmas}}''
*{{w|Minutemen (band)|Minutemen}} —  ''{{w|Double Nickels on the Dime}}''
*{{w|Neil Young}} — ''{{w|Rust Never Sleeps}}''
*[[De La Soul]] — ''{{w|De La Soul Is Dead}}''
*{{w|Sebadoh}} — ''{{w|Bubble & Scrape}}''

== Personal Life ==
[[File:MikeMattandDon.png|thumb|With brothers Mike (L) and Donnie (R)]]
Matt is the youngest of [[Don and Harriet Chapman]]'s five children; [[PAX East - 8 Apr 2018|he has stated]] that being ten years younger than older brother [[Donnie Chapman|Donnie]] meant that he was exposed to more '70s pop culture than he otherwise would've been aware of. Mike and Matt lived together in an apartment during the early days of producing Homestar Runner.

Matt is married to [[Jackie Chapman]], who had a brief cameo in [[Peasant's Quest Movie Trailer]]. They currently have two daughters, the older of whom is named [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10172649/ Ida].

During the extended [[hiatus]] of Homestar Runner's production, Matt moved out to Los Angeles for several years and [[The Brothers Chaps' Side Projects|worked on]] various children's television series in Los Angeles. He moved back to [[Georgia]] around 2014.

==Fun Facts==
*Several interviews or appearances have specifically mentioned foods:
**When they were young children, Mike fed Matt cupcakes with toothpaste in them; Matt retaliated by feeding Mike vinegar toast.{{ref|7}}
**Matt was making egg salad sandwiches with bits of bacon while Mike was being interviewed.{{ref|8}}
**On [[University of Saskatchewan Talk - Mar 25 2004|a trip to Canada]], Matt discovered an interest in {{w|poutine}}.{{ref|9}}
**Matt ordered onion straws (describing them as "dismantled {{w|Blooming onion|Awesome Blossoms}}") during an interview at a bar.{{ref|10}}
<!-- *Matt can be seen as an audience member in an episode of ''[[IMDb:tt0163507|Whose Line Is It Anyway?]]''. completely unverified. is this mentioned by Matt in an interview or documented anywhere? WLIIA filmed in LA making this unlikely-->
*Matt and Jackie owned a cat named [[Mabel]], who was featured in the [[Strong Bad Email]] [[website]]. Mabel was memorialized in [[hygiene]] after she passed away in 2007.

== See Also ==
*[[Mike Chapman]]
*[[The Brothers Chaps' Fansite Acknowledgments]]
*[[HRWiki:Matt's 2006 birthday card|Matt's 2006 birthday card]]
*[[@ronginald]] — Matt's former Twitter account
*[[:Category:Matt Chapman Filmography|Matt Chapman filmography]]

=== References ===
''Additional videos and interviews are available at [[Interviews and Public Appearances]] and [[Links#Articles|Articles]].''
# {{note|1}} [[Legion Studios Interviews#Matt Chapman interview|''Legion Studios'' interview]], August 2003
# {{note|2}} [[Run Devil Run Interview|''Run Devil Run'' interview]], early 2003
# {{note|3}} [[Tastes Like Chicken Interview|''Tastes Like Chicken'' interview]], June 2003
# {{note|4}} [[Ron & Fez Show Interview - 19 Dec 2008|''The Ron and Fez Show'' interview]], December 2008
# {{note|5}} [[Adventure Gamers Interview - 12 Dec 2008|"Strong Bad's the Brothers Chaps interview", ''Adventure Gamers'']], December 2008
# {{note|6}} [[retroCRUSH Interview|''retroCRUSH'' interview]], late 2001
# {{note|7}} [[Atlanta Journal-Constitution Interview - 21 Jul 2003|"Toon Bros.", ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', July 2003]]
# {{note|8}} [[UMFM Interview - 20 May 2003|''UMFM'' interview]], May 2003
# {{note|9}} [http://web.archive.org/web/20040620133913/http://www.thesheaf.com/newspub/comments.cgi?view=1062 "An evening with Homestar Runner", ''the Sheaf''] May 2004 (archive link)
# {{note|10}} [[Inkhole Interview|''The Inkhole'' interview]], July 2004

== External Links ==
*{{w|The Brothers Chaps}} Wikipedia article
*[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1480095/ Matt Chapman's IMDb page]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090821221324/http://2005.sxsw.com/interactive/conference/panels/?action=bio&id=Z157891 Panelist biography] from [[SXSW Panel - 14 Mar 2005|SXSW 2005]] (archive link)
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20060209234918/http://www.flashforwardconference.com/speakers?name=matt_chapman Speaker biography] from [[Flashforward 2006 Seattle - 28 Feb 2006|Flashforward 2006]] (archive link)
*[https://gravityfalls.fandom.com/wiki/Matt_Chapman Matt Chapman] at the Gravity Falls Wiki

[[Category:Chapman family members|Chapman, Matt]]