Home and Away star reveals he was raped by two men when he was 18 - and his dad's savage reaction after telling him about the assault
The 56-year-old, who played Adam Cameron on the soap from 1989 to 1994, spoke out about the horrifying ordeal in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald.
He explained he had attended a business presentation about becoming a real estate agent when the assault occurred.
After the event, he was offered a drink by his prospective mentor but immediately 'became dizzy'.
'This other bloke [then] came out of nowhere. I was paralysed, I was a strong young kid, I was a good sportsman, but I was paralysed,' Mat said.
The men raped the actor who 'blacked out'.
The following day Mat revealed he woke up and found himself in the same room but there was no one around.
'I was in a fair bit of pain, and I was late for work. I told my dad, I said, "I think I've just been raped", and he ignored it,' he revealed.
Mat received a call the day after the tragic ordeal informing him he had landed a role on Neighbours.
He eventually became a household name when he starred on Channel Seven soap Home and Away in the nineties, playing the role of Adam Cameron.
But he shocked fans when he left the long-running soap after five years and 500 episodes.
In 2019, Mat revealed the real reason he left acting was for love.
'After I left Home and Away, I travelled for three years and when I came back I was 27. I met a woman that I loved and we wanted a family,' he told The Daily Telegraph.
'And with that comes responsibility so I sought out some secure work and that's the government role I have been working in ever since.'
Mat has been investigating identity theft for the government since 2001. He and his wife share two two daughters, aged 24 and 21.
During this TV career, the Victorian-born actor also had roles on Blue Heelers, MDA, City Homicide and Offspring.
He still dabbles in acting, with Mat playing the character of Mike in a the 2021 drama film, A Small Punch In a Little Town.
The film, directed by former Blue Heelers producer Luke Robson, is about a young man who coward punches an outsider visiting a small community.
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