Matthew Settle

Intro

Matthew Settle is an American actor associated with two very different television ensembles: the soldiers of Band of Brothers and the families of Gossip Girl. His Ronald Speirs belongs to a dramatization of military history, while Rufus Humphrey is a fictional father and former musician navigating contemporary New York. Between those roles and beyond them, Settle has appeared in films, other television dramas and the Broadway musical Chicago. The changing scale of those productions provides a more complete picture of his work than either familiar television character alone.

Career snapshot

Born Jeffrey Matthew Settle in Hickory, North Carolina, in 1969, he was the youngest of six children. His early screen career included Will Benson in the 1998 thriller I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. That film gave him a substantial role before the historical television projects for which he later became known. He subsequently appeared in series including ER and The Practice. These credits established a working television and film career before Gossip Girl made him a continuing presence in the lives of its central younger characters.

The entry point

In HBO's 2001 Band of Brothers, Settle played Captain Ronald Speirs. The miniseries follows Easy Company during the Second World War and was produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. Its connection with audiences continued well beyond the original broadcast. The National WWII Museum's programme for its 2022 anniversary symposium listed Settle among the participating cast, identifying him with Speirs and including him in discussions about the production. That event places his performance within the continuing conversation between the dramatization, the people who made it and the history it depicts.

Screen identity and style

Settle returned to a large historical television production as Jacob Wheeler in Into the West in 2005. Later, Gossip Girl gave him a contemporary recurring role from 2007 to 2012. Rufus Humphrey is the father of Dan and Jenny, played by Penn Badgley and Taylor Momsen, and his own history as a musician remains part of the character. The adult relationships, including his connection with Kelly Rutherford's Lily, run alongside the younger cast's storylines. Settle therefore played both a parent responding to his children's choices and a man carrying a personal past into those decisions.

Collaborations and patterns

In a 2008 interview with the TV Addict, Settle said that playing Rufus had prompted him to read parenting books. He also explained that he was taking guitar lessons rather than arriving as an experienced guitarist. Those details distinguish an actor's preparation from the skills already assigned to his fictional character. Asked about watching the programme, he praised the editing and the professionalism of the younger cast. His account offers a practical view of a weekly drama as a collaboration, with the final performance shaped by work in front of and behind the camera.

Era reflection

In 2010 Settle made his Broadway debut as Billy Flynn in Chicago at the Ambassador Theatre. The role brought him into the musical's world of criminal defence, publicity and carefully managed appearances. During his engagement he also took part in the production's Talkback Tuesdays programme, with a discussion scheduled after the May 25 performance. The Broadway run added live musical performance to a career primarily known through the screen. Later film credits recorded in the museum's career summary include The Express, So Undercover, Love Sick Love and the horror film Ouija.

Legacy and rediscovery

The two credited photographs here come from public events during the Gossip Girl years. Anthony Quintano photographed Settle at the New York premiere of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps in September 2010; that attendance is not presented as a film credit. Thomas Attila Lewis photographed him at the Writers Guild Awards East in February 2011. Together they show the performer outside his fictional settings. For a viewing route through the work itself, Band of Brothers, Into the West and Gossip Girl offer contrasting examples of his place within an ensemble and of the periods those productions portray.

Selected screen roles

• I Still Know What You Did Last Summer: Will Benson — 1998
• Band of Brothers: Ronald Speirs — 2001
• Into the West: Jacob Wheeler — 2005
• Gossip Girl: Rufus Humphrey — 2007–2012
• Chicago: Billy Flynn — 2010 Broadway engagement

A career in pictures

Two distinct event photographs from 2010 and 2011; premiere attendance is identified separately from acting credits.

Writers Guild Awards East (2011)

Public appearance

Thomas Attila Lewis photograph dated February 5, 2011.

Wall Street premiere attendance (2010)

Public appearance

Anthony Quintano photograph in New York, September 20, 2010. Attendance, not a role in the film.

Rewatch notes

• Played Ronald Speirs in Band of Brothers.
• Played Rufus Humphrey in Gossip Girl.
• Made his Broadway debut as Billy Flynn in Chicago in 2010.