Matteo Simoni (1987) is a multifaceted actor who has quickly become one of Belgium's most sought-after young talents. He has showcased his versatility and depth on some of the most successful TV series, films and theatre plays. He is the winner of multiple awards and was selected by the Berlinale Film Festival as Shooting Star 2018, one of ten most promising young European actors. Matteo is best known in Belgium for playing 'Smos' on the hit comedy series Safety First (2013-15) and his portrayal of 'Rocco Granata' in the biopic MARINA (2013), a film by Oscar nominated director Stijn Coninx. For this role, he learned to speak Italian fluently and was nominated Best Actor at the Ensors, the Belgian film award. He also had prominent roles on other Belgian films and TV series, most recently on the hit comedy Callboys (2016), by visionary Belgian director Jan Eelen, which gathered a record breaking 38% of all television viewers in front of the screen every week. The show has been picked up for a second season, which will air in autumn 2019. Most recently, Matteo played the lead role in Gangsta (2018), by Adil el Arbi and Bilal Fallah, the directors of the critically acclaimed Black (2015) and Bad Boys 3. This year he will be working on the international TV series Cold Courage, The Racer, an Irish film about the Tour De France by Kieron J. Walsh, and Rookie, the feature film debut by Lieven van Baelen.