# Matthew Davis

Matthew Wadsworth Davis (born May 8, 1978) is an American actor. He is mostly known for his roles as Warner Huntington III in Legally Blonde, Adam Hillman on the ABC comedy-drama What About Brian (2006–2007) and Alaric Saltzman on The CW fantasy drama The Vampire Diaries (2009–2017) as well as the spin-off series Legacies (2018–2022).
Davis starred on the short-lived CW mystery and horror drama Cult as Jeff Sefton, and had a recurring role on the CBS police drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Sean Yeager.

## Early life

Davis was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. He attended Woods Cross High School and the University of Utah.

## Career

In 2000, Davis was cast in the Vietnam War film, Tigerland as Private Jim Paxton opposite Colin Farrell and in a dual role as Travis / Trevor Stark in the second installment of Urban Legend film series. The following year, Davis co-starred with Reese Witherspoon and Selma Blair in the comedy Legally Blonde (2001), as Witherspoon's love interest Warner Huntington III. The film was a commercial success and garnered generally positive reviews from critics, grossing over $96.5 million in North America and $141.7 million worldwide. He also appeared in Michael Bay's war drama, Pearl Harbor as Second Lieutenant Joe McKinnon in 2001. Davis then played the role of Matt Tollman in the 2002 surfing movie Blue Crush.
He continued with appearances in films such as Seeing Other People (2004), Heights (2004), Into the Sun (2005), BloodRayne (2005) and Bottoms Up (2006). That same year he began starring in the ABC comedy drama television series What about Brian as Adam Hillman, a lawyer and the best friend of the titular character. He was in the show for two seasons until it ended in 2007.
Davis starred in The CW fantasy drama The Vampire Diaries, as Alaric Saltzman since 2009. He also played the role of Jeff Drake, an award-winning director of adult films in the comedy film Finding Bliss in June 2010. In April 2012, Davis was cast as Jeff Sefton, a journalist blogger on the short-lived CW psychological thriller series Cult. He also had a recurring role in the CBS police drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation from 2013 to 2014 in the 14th season, as swing shift CSI Sean Yeager. He appeared in the sixth episode titled "Passed Pawns", the eighth episode titled "Helpless", and the 13th episode titled "Boston Brakes". He later returned to the hit The CW show The Vampire Diaries for its sixth season as Alaric Saltzman once again as a series regular.
Davis starred in The CW series Legacies, a spin-off of The Originals, from 2018 to 2022 where he reprised his role as Alaric Saltzman. He also starred as Nick Sinclair in the 2019 Hallmark Christmas film, Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses alongside Jill Wagner.
In April 2024, it was announced that Davis would star in the NBC drama series Grosse Pointe Garden Society.

## Personal life

Davis was married to actress Kiley Casciano on December 23, 2018, and their two daughters were born in 2020 and 2022, respectively. The couple's marriage ended in February 2024. Davis and Casciano share joint custody of their daughters.
In April 2020, the headline #matthewdavisisoverparty trended on Twitter following a series of controversial posts by Davis that many fans had deemed racist and xenophobic. In response, he tweeted: "What I am NOT: is a racist, bigot, xenophobic, transphobic, homophobic, white supremacist, pedophile. All vile names I’ve been called by those on the Tolerant Left. Anyone who knows me knows these slanderous and despicable accusations are flagrantly untrue."

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2000 | Tigerland | Private Jim Paxton |
| 2000 | Urban Legends: Final Cut | Travis Stark / Trevor Stark |
| 2001 | Pearl Harbor | Joe McKinnon |
| 2001 | Legally Blonde | Warner Huntington III |
| 2002 | Lone Star State of Mind | Jimbo |
| 2002 | Blue Crush | Matt Tollman |
| 2002 | Below | Odell |
| 2003 | Something Better | Skip |
| 2004 | Seeing Other People | Donald |
| 2004 | Shadow of Fear | Harrison French |
| 2004 | Heights | Mark |
| 2005 | Into the Sun | Sean Mack |
| 2005 | BloodRayne | Sebastian |
| 2006 | Mentor | Carter |
| 2006 | Bottoms Up | Johnny Cocktail |
| 2007 | Wasting Away | Mike |
| 2009 | Finding Bliss | Jeff Drake |
| 2009 | S. Darko | Pastor John Wayne |
| 2010 | Waiting for Forever | Aaron |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006–2007 | What About Brian | Adam Hillman | Main role |
| 2008 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Pearson Junior "PJ" Bartlett | Episode: "Trade" |
| 2009 | Limelight | David | Television film |
| 2009 | In Plain Sight | Lewis Folwer | Episode: "Rubble With A Cause"; as Matt Davis |
| 2009–2010 | Damages | Josh Reston | Recurring role |
| 2009–2017 | The Vampire Diaries | Alaric Saltzman | Main role (seasons 1–3, 6–8); Recurring role (season 4-5) |
| 2013 | Cult | Jeff Sefton | Main role |
| 2013–2014 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Sean Yeager | 3 episodes |
| 2017–2018 | The Originals | Alaric Saltzman | Special guest star (seasons 4–5) |
| 2018–2022 | Legacies | Alaric Saltzman | Main role |
| 2019 | Christmas Wishes & Mistletoe Kisses | Nick Sinclair | Main role |
| 2025 | Grosse Pointe Garden Society | Joel | Main Role |