Matthew Johns
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew Johns | |
| Date of birth | July 27, 1971 | |
| Place of birth | Cessnock, Australia | |
| Nickname | Matty | |
| Position | Five-eighth | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| Cessnock | ||
| Professional clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (points) |
| 1991-00 2001 2002 |
Newcastle Wigan Cronulla |
176 25 (9) 21 |
| Representative teams | ||
| Country Origin New South Wales Australia |
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* Professional club appearances and points |
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Matthew Johns (born July 27, 1971 in Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia) is an Australian entertainer who had previously enjoyed a successful career in rugby league alongside his younger brother Andrew Johns. He has adopted a couple of comic personas, namely Reg Reagan, a retired 1970s footballer and Trent the flight steward. In 2005 we have been introduced to the American fitness freak of Yugoslav origin, Randy Discotelli.
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[edit] Rugby League career
Matthew Johns is the son of a coal miner and country rugby league player Gary Johns. After playing junior rugby league in Cessnock, he joined the Newcastle Knights in 1991.
He played as five-eighth for the Knights, playing outside his younger brother Andrew Johns at halfback for nine seasons. The highlight of his career with the Knights was the 1997 Australian Rugby League grand final victory over the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. Salary cap problems led to him leaving the Knights at the end of 2000 to play a season with the Wigan Warriors. He returned to the National Rugby League in 2002 to play a season with the Cronulla Sharks before a shoulder injury forced his retirement at the end of the season.
Johns was part of the Australian squad that won the 1995 Rugby League World Cup, playing eight matches for his country. He also played four State of Origin matches for New South Wales.
[edit] Entertainment career
Matthew Johns' first foray into entertainment began in 1999 when he adopted the persona of Reg Reagan in a low budget film In Search of the Holy Grail which appeared at the Newcastle Film Festival. The film also starred fellow Knights players Andrew Johns, Matthew Gidley and Robbie O'Davis. The Nine network showed excerpts of the film on The Footy Show.
The Reg Reagan character was developed further in an article in the Sydney Morning Herald in 2000 where Johns described the character as a late 1970s Australian (or ocker) who smoked only Winfield Reds and drank KB beer. Fans of Johns' new side Cronulla started wearing copies of the T-Shirt worn by Reagan with the slogan "Bring Back the Biff" to games.
In 2002, Johns became a regular on the Footy Show with Reagan and a new character, Trent, a gay flight attendant from San Francisco. After his retirement, Johns signed deals with the Nine Network and Sony Music Entertainment. He appears on the Footy Show and as a commentator on Nine's broadcasts of rugby league matches. He has recorded a DVD titled "All of Me" released in June 2004 featuring skits by Reg Reagan and Trent the flight attendant. Since then he has released a follow up entitled "Blood, Sweat and Beers" and also features on The Footy Show's Best Of DVD collection from 1994-2002 edition onwards.
As Reg Reagan, Johns recorded a song called "Am I Ever Going to See the Biff Again?" in 2004, sung to the tune of The Angels' 1977 hit "Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again?". His backing band the Knucklemen featured John Brewster of the Angels and Kevin Borich of the Kevin Borich Express on guitars, Paul deMarco of Rose Tattoo on drums and Paul Christie of Mondo Rock and The Party Boys on bass. Released in June 2004, it made a top twenty debut on the Australian singles charts on July 5, 2004. He released a book through Pan McMillan in August 2004.
Johns' first feature film appearance will be in the Khoa Do- directed "Footy Legends", to be released on August 3rd, 2006. Johns will also appear in a film adaptation of You Wouldn't Be Dead For Quids by Robert G Barrett as Billy Dunne, a bouncer and main character Les Norton's best mate at the Kelly Club.
Johns' father commented on his son's hobby of dressing up in various costumes as a child in an interview with the footy show in 2001. He commented that if his son wasn't a professional Rugby League player. "he would probably have become a cross-dresser." This was in reference to a photo of John's dressed in a female leotard.
Johns is also a regular contributor to Channel 9's 20 to 1.
[edit] Works
- In Search of the Holy Grail (film) (1999)
- All of Me (DVD) (2004)
- "Blood Sweat and Beers* (2005)
- "The Final Winter" (2007)
[edit] External links
- Reg Reagan web site
- State of Origin Offical website Rugby League Player Stats
- Wigan Warriors profile
