Biography
Matthew Louis Shear is an American actor known for his work in independent film and frequent collaborations with director Noah Baumbach. He began his career with a small role in Taking Woodstock (2009) and appeared in Mistress America (2015), The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017), and Marriage Story (2019), and played Lucius Isaacson on The Alienist (2018–2020). In 2025, he made his directorial debut with Fantasy Life, which he also wrote and starred in.
Also known as
Matthew Louis Shear
Photos
Profile images from TMDB · click to enlarge
1 image
Roles across career
Titles counted once; a person can act and direct on the same film (roles merged).
17
Acting credits
1
Directing
1
Writing
1
Other crew
Most critically rated
Highest TMDB score (min 100 votes)
- 1
★ 7.7Marriage Story
2019 · movie · as Terry - Theater Actor
- 2
★ 7.6Horace and Pete
2016 · tv · as Zach
- 3
★ 7.5The Alienist
2018 · tv · as Lucius Isaacson
- 4
★ 6.9Love Life
2020 · tv · as Ben
- 5
★ 6.5Mistress America
2015 · movie · as Tony
- 6
★ 6.5The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
2017 · movie · as Gabe
- 7
★ 6.3Old
2021 · movie · as Sidney
- 8
★ 6.2Taking Woodstock
2009 · movie · as Earthlight Player
Most commercially successful
Highest TMDB vote count (attention / reach proxy; not box office)
- 17,475 votes
Marriage Story
2019 · movie
- 24,950 votes
Old
2021 · movie
- 31,281 votes
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
2017 · movie
- 4
1,207 votesWhile We're Young
2015 · movie
- 5712 votes
The Alienist
2018 · tv
- 6597 votes
Mistress America
2015 · movie
- 7482 votes
Taking Woodstock
2009 · movie
- 8160 votes
Horace and Pete
2016 · tv
Career timeline
By release / first air year · movie & TV merged
