Matteo Lane
Lane in 2014
Birth nameMatthew Lane
Born (1986-06-28) June 28, 1986 (age 37)
Arlington Heights, Illinois, U.S.
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • television
  • film
  • music
Alma materSchool of the Art Institute of Chicago (BFA)
Years active2011–present
Genres
Subject(s)
Spouse
Rodrigo Aburto
​
(m. 2023)​
Websitematteolanecomedy.com

Matthew "Matteo" Lane (born June 28, 1986) is an American comedian, actor, singer, and illustrator.

Early life and education

Matteo Lane was born in 1986, raised in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and lived on the North Side.[1] Through his mother, Lane is of Mexican and Italian descent.[2] His father is a Vietnam War veteran and is of Irish descent.[3][4] Lane's Italian family originates from Agrigento and Messina in Sicily.[5][4] Born Matthew, he was nicknamed Matteo by his Italian family.[4] Lane, who is gay, has an older brother who is also gay. He speaks English, Italian, Spanish, and French, and studied German in high school.[4] Lane started to sing opera at the age of 15 under vocal coach Nick Falco.[4] At the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he studied oil painting and drawing.[1][6] Lane studied art[7] for five months in Umbria[4] as an oil painter and opera singer before returning to Chicago.[5] He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2009.[8]

Career

As a singer, Lane performed in bars in Boystown before starting his comedy career circa 2011 at open mics in Chicago. He moved to New York to work as a storyboard artist circa 2012. In an interview, Lane stated that it was "the most boring job in the world." He later quit the position to pursue comedy.[6] After being featured in "New Faces"[5] at the 2014 Just for Laughs festival, MTV invited Lane to appear on Guy Code. He was later in Joking Off and was cast in MTV's Ladylike along with Nicole Byer, Jade Catta-Preta, and Blair Socci. Lane was on a panel for a segment about Kim Davis on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.[1] In 2018, Lane represented Italy at "The Ethnic Show" at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal.[5] He is the host of the Snapchat comedy Ghost Hunt.[9]

Lane is an advocate for the gay community.[10] He has been the victim of several homophobic incidents during his shows.[6] On being an openly gay comedian, Lane reports, "I think it's slowly getting better but it's all such new territory in so many ways. I'm not saying they are not gay comics that have existed — I know these people exist".[3] He added that "I'm just saying this is the first time ever that gay, queer, male comedians are sort of on the spotlight that straight comedians are being seen in. So it's all kind of just new. It's all new and discovered and all new territory. I think it's exciting."[3]

His favorite performance venues in New York City are Comedy Cellar, The Stand, and New York Comedy Club.[11] He is a co-star and creator of the IFC series Janice and Jeffrey.[10]

Lane and Emma Willmann were co-hosts of a queer-themed podcast, Inside the Closet[3] which ended in February 2023. They are both also featured in Netflix's The Comedy Lineup.[12] On May 1, 2018, Lane and Nico Tortorella were featured on a Nancy podcast.[13]

In 2018, Lane was recognized by The Advocate as one of the LGBT Icons, Innovators, and Disruptors for his work in the field of stand-up comedy.[7]

Influences

Lane has said his biggest influence in comedy is Joan Rivers. He said about her, "I didn't realize you could use comedy as kind of a weapon. It was so empowering to watch her on stage."[14] He also said Ellen DeGeneres and Kathy Griffin were his influences.[15] Lane's favorite singers are Mariah Carey, Patti LaBelle, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, and Jennifer Hudson.[9]

Personal life

On coming out, Lane stated in an interview that "I've spent my entire life feeling shame for being gay and once I came out of the closet, I realized that I'm proud to be gay."[3]

He is a long-time friend of composer and pianist Henry Koperski, with whom he sometimes performs.[16]

In a 2017 interview, Lane stated that while he does not discuss Donald Trump directly in his act, his "material in itself is a stand against Trump."[6]

On August 19, 2023, Lane announced via Instagram that he and partner Rodrigo Aburto were married.[17]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2015 Moving On Guy Short film
2023 Molli and Max in the Future Bryan Oceancolgate

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2015 Clipped Dominic Episode: "World's Rudest Barbershop"
2018 Crashing Himself Episode: "Roast Battle"
2018 The Comedy Lineup Himself Episode: "Matteo Lane"
2020 Magical Girl Friendship Squad Corvin (voice) 6 episodes
2022 Matteo Lane: The Advice Special Himself Stand-up special
2023 Matteo Lane: Hair Plugs & Heartache Himself Stand-up special
2023 Survival of the Thickest Waiter Episode: "You Did What in Public, Bitch?"
2023 Matteo Lane: The Advice Special Part Two Himself Stand-up special

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Swartz, Tracy (September 10, 2015). "Chicago area native adds another MTV series to his resume". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  2. ^ "Going Behind, Ahem, the Scenes with Your 'Ghost Hunt' Host Matteo Lane". INTO. December 9, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e Bendix, Trish (September 4, 2018). "Does Netflix Have a Queer Comedy Problem?". INTO. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Nunn, Jerry (February 27, 2018). "NUNN ON ONE PERFORMANCE Chatting with the multilingual Matteo Lane". Windy City Times. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d Fiasche, Gianni (May 17, 2018). "Reviews of the Week by Snob Reviews: The many lives of Matteo Lane". The Suburban Newspaper. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d Musto, Michael (June 12, 2017). "Comic Matteo Lane: 'If You're Gay, Walking Onstage is Inflammatory'". Out. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  7. ^ a b "2018's Icons, Innovators, and Disruptors". Advocate. March 8, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  8. ^ "SAIC Alum to Star in New MTV Prank Show".
  9. ^ a b Lambe, Stacy (January 11, 2018). "My 5: Comedian and Snapchat Host Matteo Lane's Most Influential Divas (Exclusive)". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Taylor, Jeff (June 15, 2018). "Meet the Logo30: Matteo Lane". LOGO News. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  11. ^ "Matteo Lane: 'The Pressure of New York Comedy Is Greater'". CBS New York. December 5, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  12. ^ Husband, Andrew (August 31, 2018). "In Which Emma Willmann And Matteo Lane Turn An Interview Into A Podcast". Forbes. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  13. ^ "Nancy podcast episodes". NPR. 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  14. ^ Yohannes, Alamin (May 6, 2022). "Bob the Drag Queen, Mo Amer, Catherine Cohen, and more comedians reveal what shaped their comedic voice". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  15. ^ Mauro, Diana Di (September 19, 2018). "Kickass Comedy: An Interview with Matteo Lane". Art Life and Stilettos. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  16. ^ "Matteo Lane JFL42, Toronto ON, September 21". Exclaim. September 22, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  17. ^ instagram

External links