Ignacyo Matynia
Ignacyo Mateusz Matynia is a Polish born, American raised actor known for his performance in the feature film Break Every Chain as Police Officer Jonathan Hickory. He's starred in multiple made for TV films such as the Lifetime original film My Nightmare Landlord, The Man in the Guest House and Breaking Girl Code His notable television credits include guest starring spots on Law and Order: SVU, Vida, Marvel's Luke Cage, Forever and Dietland.
Early life
Matynia was born in Busko Zdroj, Poland and moved with his family to the United States, settling in Brooklyn, NY. After graduating from Xaverian High School, he began his studies at the SUNY University of Albany with a desire to go to medical school. But it was there that he began his passion for acting, he dropped out of college to pursue this as a career, while working part-time as a DJ.Career
In 2014, Matynia was discovered by Sedly Bloomfield of the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, who became his mentor. His studies led him to star in over 40 short films, some of which earned him numerous awards and nominations at film festivals, including the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema. That same year, he made his feature film acting debut in The Grievance Group. He then went on to appear in guest roles on television shows including ABC's Forever, Marvel Studios' Luke Cage, Starz' Vida and NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.In 2018 and 2019, after moving to Los Angeles, he was cast in the feature films Like Dogs and One and the Same, the latter of which was released by Gravitas Ventures on Blu-ray and on demand on March 23, 2021.
In 2020, Matynia was cast in The Institute and Break Every Chain, two of the first films that were able to proceed with production, with COVID-19 safety measures in place. The latter film, in which he plays police officer Jonathan Hickory, who wrote the autobiographical novel the film is based on, held its world premiere on February 20, 2021, in Tempe, Arizona.