Matt Johnson (born October 5, 1985) is a Canadian director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He began his career working in independent docufiction productions, and attracted accolades for his debut feature The Dirties (2013), which won Best Feature Narrative at the Slamdance Film Festival. Johnson and Jay McCarrol co-created and co-starred in the Viceland sitcom television series Nirvanna the Band the Show (2017–2018), an adaptation of their earlier web series Nirvana the Band the Show (2007–2009).
In 2016, Johnson directed the conspiracy thriller Operation Avalanche. He achieved critical and commercial success with the biopic BlackBerry (2023), winning directing awards from the Canadian Screen Awards and Vancouver Film Critics Circle. He later directed Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (2025) for which he won a Canadian Screen Award for his supporting performance. Tony (2026), a biopic about chef Anthony Bourdain, is his first American film.
Johnson's work includes elements of pseudo-documentary filmmaking and improvisation, often using hidden camera techniques and location filming without permits. He has frequently played fictionalized versions of himself in both his own productions and those of other filmmakers.
Personal life and education Johnson was born in Toronto, Canada, on October 5, 1985. He is of Icelandic descent on his father's side. Johnson attended John Fraser Secondary School in Mississauga. He was introduced by his then-girlfriend to Jay McCarrol, who attended nearby Erindale Secondary School. McCarrol and Johnson became friends and creative collaborators, producing many student films together. Johnson completed an MFA at York University in 2015.
Johnson married filmmaker Carly Balestreri in August 2026. He has served as an executive producer on her short films.
Career 2007–2021: Early work
One of Johnson's earliest directorial works was the independent docufiction sitcom web series Nirvana the Band the Show (2007–2009), which he co-created with McCarrol. Johnson and McCarrol star as fictionalised versions of themselves in a musical duo who attempt to book a gig at the Rivoli in Toronto.
Johnson achieved widespread critical acclaim in Canada with his feature directorial debut The Dirties (2013), a low-budget independent film starring Johnson as a bullied high school student. The Dirties won the Grand Jury Sparky Award for Feature Narrative at the Slamdance Film Festival, and Johnson was nominated for Best Editing at the 2nd Canadian Screen Awards.
Following The Dirties's release, Johnson and producer Matthew Miller established the production company Zapruder Films. The company's debut feature, Operation Avalanche (2016), was directed by Johnson and starred him alongside Owen Williams as CIA agents who become embroiled in a conspiracy to fake the Apollo 11 Moon landing. Operation Avalanche premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Johnson had received an offer to premiere the film at the Toronto International Film Festival, but he declined, reasoning that the film would be lost in the large number of films shown there. Lionsgate released Operation Avalanche in the United States on September 16, 2016. The film received generally positive reviews from critics. Johnson was nominated for Best Director at the 5th Canadian Screen Awards.
Johnson and McCarrol adapted Nirvana the Band the Show into a television series, Nirvanna the Band the Show, which premiered on Viceland in 2017. Several episodes of the first season screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. Two seasons aired across 2017 and 2018. A third season was partially produced but not released due to Viceland's discontinuation. Johnson and McCarrol co-created and starred in the animated children's show Matt & Bird Break Loose (2021), a spiritual successor to Nirvanna the Band the Show.
In addition to his own productions, Johnson has acted in the film Diamond Tongues (2015), and Kazik Radwanski's films How Heavy This Hammer (2015), Anne at 13,000 Ft. (2019) and Matt and Mara (2024). Between 2018 and 2021, Johnson taught film at York University.
2022–present: Career expansion
Johnson directed the 2023 biographical film BlackBerry, which dramatises the rise and fall of the BlackBerry line of mobile phones produced by Canadian tech company Research in Motion. Co-written by Johnson and Miller, it stars Glenn Howerton as Jim Balsillie, Jay Baruchel as Mike Lazaridis, and Johnson as Douglas Fregin. BlackBerry premiered in competition at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival on February 17, 2023, and attracted widespread critical acclaim. The film won the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award from the Toronto Film Critics Association. It also became the most nominated film in the history of the Canadian Screen Awards, with 17 nominations, and won 14 awards including Best Motion Picture and Best Director, making it the most awarded title in the organisation's history. In 2024, Johnson served as jury president of the Compétition Cheval Noir at the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival.
Following the success of BlackBerry, Johnson and McCarrol received funding from Telefilm Canada to develop a feature film adaptation of Nirvanna the Band the Show—a project they had been workshopping as early as 2009. Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie premiered on March 9, 2025 at South by Southwest. The film won critical acclaim and was nominated for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2025. It earned eight nominations at the 14th Canadian Screen Awards, winning Best Motion Picture. Johnson won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Comedy Film. Additionally, Johnson and McCarrol won Best Original Song for "The Alphabet Song". Johnson and McCarrol reprised their roles in Joel Haver's short film Nirvanna the Band Tries to Get an Animation Made.
After BlackBerry, Johnson was "inundated" with pitches for various biopics, including for a film focusing on celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. Following a meeting with actor Dominic Sessa, Johnson and Miller conceived that the biopic would focus on Bourdain's early career. The film, titled Tony, released in August 2026. It is Johnson's first American film as well as his first feature that he does not star in. It received positive reviews. In July 2026, Johnson directed Tony actor Stavros Halkias' stand-up special, titled Uncle Stav. Filmed over four shows in Baltimore, the special premiered on Netflix on September 8.
Johnson will direct a film based on the card game Magic: The Gathering, which he plans to make as the first part of a trilogy. He will also direct a film inspired by Slava Pastuk's 2010s cocaine smuggling operation, starring Finn Wolfhard and distributed by Neon. As early as 2023, he was developing a "TSA comedy" with Josh Safdie.
Filmmaking style and process Johnson's films are often styled like documentaries, utilising handheld camerawork and an improvisational, iterative filming process. The Dirties, Operation Avalanche and Nirvanna the Band the Show and its 2025 film adaptation were not formally scripted but improvised by the actors, with Johnson and the crew continually refining the narrative structure based on the footage captured. Additionally, various scenes were shot in public spaces, often without filming permits, and involved actors improvising interactions with unsuspecting members of the public in the style of a hidden camera show; sometimes these interactions would lead to major changes in story. Johnson dislikes the description "found footage" applied to his films, preferring "fake documentary". Critics have compared his blend of fiction and documentary filmmaking to the 2006 mockumentary film Borat and the reality television series Jackass and Nathan for You.
Johnson is also an advocate of the liberal application of the concept of "fair use" in United States copyright law, and has worked with lawyer Chris Perez to develop legal arguments for the use of copyrighted material in his films. The title sequence of each Nirvanna the Band the Show episode parodies the opening sequence of an established film or television series.
Johnson has frequently played fictionalized versions of himself in his own productions. For Operation Avalanche, Johnson used his own name for his character to make it easier to navigate interactions with on-screen individuals not involved in the production. Additionally, he portrayed characters named "Matt" in Anne at 13,000 Ft. and Matt and Mara. Johnson stated: "I do have a monomania about making these movies, which have taken over my life. In many ways, I think the guys I play are a chance for the Shadow Me to have a life—the outgoing, confident, consequence-free kid. The real me is an inversion of that: more risk-averse."
Filmography Film Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 2013 The Dirties Co-wrote and co-edited with Evan Morgan 2016 Operation Avalanche Co-wrote with Josh Boles 2023 BlackBerry Co-wrote with Matthew Miller 2025 Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie Co-wrote with Jay McCarrol 2026 Tony Co-wrote with Todd Bartels, Lou Howe and Matthew Miller
Executive producer Year Title 2026Crash Land
Television YearsTitleCreatorDirectorWriterProducerNote2017–2018Nirvanna the Band the ShowDirected and co-wrote all 16 episodes2021Matt & Bird Break LooseCo-directed and co-wrote all 3 episodes2026Uncle StavStavros Halkias comedy special
Web YearsTitleCreatorDirectorWriterProducerNote2007–2009Nirvana the Band the ShowDirected and co-wrote all 11 episodes with Jay McCarrol
Music videos Alvvays - "Dreams Tonite" (2017)
Acting roles YearTitleRoleNotes2007–2009Nirvana the Band the ShowMattWeb series; fictionalised version of himself2013The DirtiesMattFictionalised version of himself2015Diamond TonguesJohn MathesonHow Heavy This HammerHardware Store Employee2016Operation AvalancheHimselfFictionalised version of himself2017–2018Nirvanna the Band the ShowMattTelevision series; fictionalised version of himself2018Spice It UpPassport Photographer2019Anne at 13,000 Ft.Matt2021Matt & Bird Break LooseMattVoice; television series2023BlackBerryDoug Fregin2024Matt and MaraMattThe HeirloomBelligerent Veterinarian2025Nirvanna the Band the Show the MovieMattFictionalised version of himself
Awards and nominations
Canadian Screen Awards YearCategoryWorkResult2014Best Editing The Dirties2017Best Motion Picture Operation AvalancheBest Director2024BlackBerryBest Adapted Screenplay Best Supporting Performance in a Comedy Film2026Nirvanna the Band the Show the MovieBest Original Song
Toronto Film Critics Association YearCategoryWorkResult2013Jay Scott PrizeThe DirtiesRogers Best Canadian Film Award2017Operation Avalanche2024BlackBerry2025Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie
Vancouver Film Critics Circle YearCategoryWorkResult2019Best Supporting Actor in a Canadian FilmAnne at 13,000 Ft.2023BlackBerryBest Screenplay for a Canadian Film Best Director of a Canadian Film2025Nirvanna the Band the Show the MovieBest Actor in a Canadian FilmBest Screenplay for a Canadian Film
Miscellaneous OrganizationsYearCategoryWorkResultSlamdance Film Festival2013Grand Jury Sparky Award for Feature NarrativeThe DirtiesSpirit of Slamdance Sparky AwardKingston Canadian Film Festival2017People's Choice AwardOperation AvalancheToronto International Film Festival2025People's Choice Award: Midnight MadnessNirvanna the Band the Show the MovieCritics' Choice Super Awards2026Best Actor in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie
Notes
References
External links