Corrie’s Tommy star ‘inspired’ to kickstart acting career by famous brother
Coronation Street's Matt Milburn made his first appearance as Tommy Orpington in 2016 and recently reprised the role – but his acting career is all down to one person
Coronation Street star Matt Milburn revealed his famous brother inspired his acting career.
The actor is best known for playing Joe Spencer on Hollyoaks from 2003 until 2006. He moved onto Coronation Street years later, making his first appearance as footballer Tommy Orpington in 2016.
In real life, Matt is the younger brother of soap star Greg Wood. The 44-year-old forged his own career with roles such as Trevor Royle in Hollyoaks and infamous Corrie villain Rick Neelan.
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Matt admitted watching his brother on stage is what inspired him to kick start an acting career of his own. “Watching my brother in his first college play ignited my fire for acting,” he told TV Times.
“I did a BTEC in Sports Science as I thought I wanted to be a PE teacher,” Matt explained. “Then I did A-Levels, and was about to do sports journalism at university when my first opportunity to act came along.”
Not only was Matt inspired by Greg, but his brother also helped him land one of his first ever roles. He recalled: “Greg was due to film a play for his mates at university, but he got a part in Brookside, so he put my name forward without telling me.
He added: “It was called Dealer’s Choice by Patrick Marber – it’s about poker. We filmed it in the basement at night, and it was the best buzz! About three weeks after that, I got an audition for Hollyoaks – it was like my university.”
Teasing the dramatic storyline, Matt said: “I was made up. It’s something a bit different. Having looked at the scripts, it just turned to excitement. Now I’ve filmed a bit of the story already, and it’s gone really well.”
