Matt Hobby is an American actor and comedian, known for his portrayals of Pastor Jeff Difford in Young Sheldon, Philip in the HBO television series Boardwalk Empire, Rudy Truitt in Hart of Dixie and Pat Landy in The Grinder.

Matt Hobby
Hobby in 2012
Occupation(s)Actor, comedian
Years active2005–present
Spouse
Mary Grill
(m. 2011)
Children2

Career

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Matt Hobby began his acting career in 2008 when he played a character in the direct-to-DVD film The Cult of Sincerity.

He has appeared in television series such as Mom, Don't Trust the B**** in Apartment 23, Onion SportsDome and Fresh Off the Boat. He appeared as Rudy Truitt in the drama series Hart of Dixie for ten episodes. He also played Philip, a servant (later butler) of the Thompson House, in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire.[citation needed]

Hobby played the role of Pastor Jeff Difford, a pastor of the church in the CBS television series Young Sheldon from 2017 to 2024. For the first two seasons, he was a recurring character, but he was promoted to the main cast starting with the third season.[1][2] Hobby's real life wife, Mary Grill, portrays his character's new wife in the show.[3]

In 2022, Matt started the popular podcast, Pay or Request, co-hosted with writer and comedian Joe Schiappa.

Personal life

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Hobby is married to actress Mary Grill. The couple have twin sons named Ernie and Lyle.[4]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2008 The Cult of Sincerity Bo Direct-to-video
2011 DEC. 26 Elf Short film
2013 Big City, Bright Lights
Breakup at a Wedding Alison's Male Best Friend
2016 Spaghettiman Pot Doctor
2018 One Way Wolf Blitzer Freaky Friday Isaac Short film

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2010 Diamonds Wow! Mark Zuckerberg Episode: "Zuckerberg's Facebook Apology"
2012 Boardwalk Empire Thompson House Servant Philip 5 episodes
2013 Don't Trust the B**** in Apartment 23 Host Episode: "Dating Games"
2013–2015 Hart of Dixie Rudy Truitt 10 episodes
2015 Highly Evolved Human Doctor Unknown episodes
Mom Chip Episode: "Dropped Soap and a Big Guy on a Throne"
2015–2016 The Grinder Pat Landy 5 episodes
2015 The Genderton Project Television movie
Skits-O-Frenic Climber Episode: "What the Duck?"
2017–2024 Young Sheldon Pastor Jeff Difford[5][6] Recurring (Seasons 12); main role (Seasons 37)
45 episodes
2018 The Emperor's Newest Clothes Tailor (voice) Television short film
2019 Fresh Off the Boat Kurt Episode: "Cupid's Crossbow"
Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell Carl Dugan Episode: "Five-Card Duds"

References

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  1. ^ Petski, Denise (June 5, 2019). "Matt Hobby Promoted to Series Regular on Season 3". Deadline Hollywood. Deadline. Archived from the original on December 6, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  2. ^ "Episode 6: Matt Hobby". www.podbean.com. Podbean. August 7, 2020. Archived from the original on February 14, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  3. ^ Borden, Jane (February 9, 2016). "LA's cutest comedian couples who perform together". www.timeout.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  4. ^ "Young Sheldon: Meet the cast's real-life families | HELLO!". Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  5. ^ "Young Sheldon season 4 air date, cast, plot, trailer and everything you need to know". www.digitalspy.com. Digital Spy. June 11, 2019. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  6. ^ Halterman, Jim (January 8, 2020). "'Young Sheldon': Pastor Jeff's Love Sermon Gets Saucy in Winter Premiere (VIDEO)". www.tvinsider.com. TV Insider. Archived from the original on July 11, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
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