Matthew Cooke is a multifaceted individual who has made a significant impact in the realms of acting, filmmaking, and activism. Since July 2015, his social justice and advocacy commentaries have garnered over 100 million views on Facebook, with numerous high-profile individuals and organizations sharing and promoting his content, including the ACLU, World Star Hip Hop, Bernie Sanders, Cornel West, Susan Sarandon, Julian Lennon, DL Hughley, Adrian Grenier, RYOT.org, FilmingCops.org, The Anti-Media, The Free Thought Project, and many more.
Cooke's work in filmmaking has been recognized with numerous accolades. In 2016, he was commissioned by the Bernie Sanders Presidential campaign to create endorsement videos featuring Sanders, Mark Ruffalo, Rosario Dawson, Danny DeVito, and others. Cooke has also been invited to speak at prestigious institutions such as NYU, University of Texas, and TEDx in Vienna, and has been honored to join Sankofa, an organization founded by Harry Belafonte to promote social change.
Cooke's documentary filmmaking credits include "Deliver Us From Evil," which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Film and appeared on over 100 critics' "best of" lists. He also produced and edited the critically acclaimed HBO documentary "Teenage Paparazzo," which featured Adrian Grenier, Matt Damon, Whoopie Goldberg, Alec Baldwin, and Rosie O'Donnell.
In 2013, Cooke wrote, directed, and narrated the documentary "How to Make Money Selling Drugs," which featured Eminem, 50 Cent, Susan Sarandon, Woody Harrelson, and David Simon. The film was distributed by Tribeca Film and became the #1 documentary on iTunes and Amazon Prime for over six weeks. It also won the audience award at every festival it screened and earned the International Documentary Association's "Best Writing Award" for 2013.
Cooke's credits on "How to Make Money Selling Drugs" include editor, cinematographer, motion graphics designer, and art director. He has also worked on other projects, including "Survivors Guide to Prison," which features a star-studded cast, including The Prophets of Rage, Patricia Arquette, Deepak Chopra, Russell Simmons, and many more.
In addition to his work in documentary filmmaking, Cooke has also acted and directed short films and comedy sketches for Fuel TV. He has also written the screenplay for a sequel to "The Falcon and the Snowman" and is currently developing his narrative feature film debut, "Rapid Eye Movement and Note To Self(ish)," which he will write, direct, and star in.
