Matt Cornett is an American actor and singer born on October 6, 1998, in Rogers, Arkansas. He is best known for playing E.J. Caswell in Disney+’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019–2023). He has won two Young Artist Awards, starred in Zombies 3, and continues to expand his career with new projects in 2025.
Matt Cornett is a multi-award-winning American actor and singer who rose to fame through his role as E.J. Caswell on the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, which ran from 2019 to 2023. Born in Rogers, Arkansas, Cornett moved to Los Angeles at age 13 to pursue his passion for acting. He earned his first Young Artist Award in 2014 for his guest role in Southland and a second in 2016 for Bella and the Bulldogs. Beyond Disney, he has appeared in Zombies 3, The Goldbergs, and Criminal Minds. As of 2025, he is starring in the coming-of-age film Summer of 69 and has been cast as the lead in the Amazon Prime Video series Every Year After, showing his clear ambition to grow beyond the Disney universe.
Quick Bio Table
| Detail | Information |
| Full Name | Matthew “Matt” Cornett |
| Date of Birth | October 6, 1998 |
| Birthplace | Rogers, Arkansas, USA |
| Profession | Actor, Singer |
| Nationality | American |
| Known For | E.J. Caswell in HSMTMTS, Zombies 3 |
| Awards | 2× Young Artist Awards (2014, 2016) |
| Height | 6 feet (1.83 m) |
| Net Worth | Estimated $1.5–5 million |
Who Is Matt Cornett?
There are plenty of young actors who move to Hollywood with big dreams. Most go home quietly. But Matt Cornett stayed — and he made it count. Born on October 6, 1998, in Rogers, Arkansas, Cornett is an American actor and singer best known for his role as E.J. Caswell on the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, which aired from 2019 to 2023. What makes his story genuinely compelling is that none of it came easily. He didn’t have connections, a famous family name, or an industry shortcut. What he had was talent, relentless work ethic, and the courage to leave home at thirteen.
In 2012, at the age of 13, Matt Cornett relocated from Rogers, Arkansas, to Los Angeles with his mother to pursue an acting career, marking a significant transition from his rural upbringing. His family played a crucial role in supporting this decision, with his older brother providing financial assistance to make the move possible. That kind of sacrifice doesn’t get forgotten — and it clearly lit a fire in him. From that moment on, Cornett threw himself into every opportunity that came his way, building a career one small role at a time until the big ones started calling.
Early Life and the Road to Hollywood
Growing Up in Rogers, Arkansas
Small-Town Roots, Big-Time Dreams
Matt was born the youngest son to Art and Rhonda Cornett in Rogers, Arkansas. Matt and his older brother and sister grew up in an idyllic rural atmosphere. Rogers is a quiet, close-knit community — not exactly the place most people associate with Hollywood stardom. But sometimes the kids who grow up far from the spotlight are the ones who want it most. For Matt, the desire to perform showed up early, long before he ever set foot on a professional set.
A Passion That Started on Stage
He played both a farmer and a flying monkey king in the Benton County School of the Arts stage production of The Wizard of Oz. That detail says a lot about his versatility, even as a kid. Whether he was playing a humble field worker or an over-the-top villain king, he brought commitment to the role. That kind of imaginative flexibility — the ability to inhabit wildly different characters — became a defining strength of his acting career down the road.
The Decision to Leave Everything Behind
Choosing to pack up and move to Los Angeles at thirteen is the kind of decision that takes either enormous confidence or enormous faith. For Matt Cornett, it was probably both. Upon arrival in Los Angeles, Cornett quickly immersed himself in the entertainment industry, securing early work in national commercials that helped build his initial professional experience. These opportunities provided a foundation for his entry into acting while he navigated the competitive landscape of Hollywood as a teenager. Most kids his age were worrying about homework. He was worrying about auditions — and somehow managing both.
The Early Career Climb — Guest Roles and First Wins
Breaking In With Southland and the Young Artist Award
The Debut That Set the Tone
Cornett started his acting career in the television series Nightmare U, where he played the role of Daniel. It was a small start — a web series that not many people watched — but it was a professional credit, and in Hollywood, those matter. From there, the momentum began to build slowly but steadily as he kept showing up, kept improving, and kept saying yes to every opportunity.
A Crime Drama Guest Role That Changed Everything
He played the guest role of Lou in the crime drama television series Southland, for which he earned a 2014 Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series – Guest Starring Young Actor. Winning an award for a single guest appearance is no small thing. It told the industry something important: this kid from Arkansas wasn’t just filling space. He was performing. At just fifteen years old, he had hardware on the shelf — and a reason to keep pushing.
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Building a Résumé One Role at a Time
Throughout the late 2010s, Cornett built his resume with guest appearances on shows including Life in Pieces (2016), Game Shakers (2017), and Criminal Minds (2017), as well as hosting Disney Channel’s Movie Surfers. Each credit was another brick in the foundation. Guest roles are often dismissed as minor, but they demand real versatility — different sets, different directors, different co-stars every time. Matt was sharpening his skills constantly, and the results were starting to show.
Bella and the Bulldogs — His First Recurring Success
The Role That Made Nickelodeon Take Notice
Stepping Into a Hit Show
He is known for his recurring guest star role as Zach Barnes in the comedy television series Bella and the Bulldogs, for which he earned a 2016 Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series – Recurring Young Actor. Back-to-back Young Artist Awards within two years is an achievement most young performers never reach. It signaled that Matt wasn’t a one-time wonder — he had genuine staying power, even in supporting roles.
Chemistry and Comedic Timing
This role marked a pivotal transition for Cornett from one-off guest spots to a more sustained presence on a major network series, providing his first opportunity to develop a character over multiple episodes and build deeper on-screen chemistry with the ensemble. Playing the same character across multiple episodes forces an actor to think about arc, nuance, and growth — skills that many young actors don’t develop until much later. Cornett was learning fast, absorbing lessons from every scene partner and director he worked with.
The Value of On-Set Culture
On set, Cornett highlighted the collaborative and playful atmosphere of Nickelodeon productions, where daily interactions fostered a family-like bond among the cast, allowing for moments of “goofing off and having fun” amid scripted scenes. That relaxed, trusting environment is often where the best performances are born. When actors feel safe with each other, they take risks — and risky choices are what separate memorable performances from forgettable ones. Matt was soaking all of this in.
The Breakthrough — High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
Landing the Role of E.J. Caswell
How the Casting Came Together
The remainder of the cast was made public in February 2019: Olivia Rodrigo as Nini, Kate Reinders as Miss Jenn, Sofia Wylie as Gina, Matt Cornett as E.J., Dara Reneé as Kourtney, Julia Lester as Ashlyn, Frankie Rodriguez as Carlos, Larry Saperstein as Big Red, and Mark St. Cyr as Mr. Mazzara. Landing in that ensemble — alongside what would become one of the most talked-about Disney casts in years — was a massive leap forward. The show hadn’t aired yet, but the buzz was already building.
Who Is E.J. Caswell?
E.J. is a jock who fell for Nini at theatre camp after she broke up with Ricky. On the surface, that sounds like a typical teen drama setup. But the character was written with real complexity — a popular athlete who genuinely loves musical theater, navigates insecurity and pride, and grows substantially over four seasons. As E.J. Caswell, he is cast as Chad Danforth and the understudy for Troy in the first season, cast as Gaston in the second season, and Sven in the third season while also directing the camp’s production of Frozen. The character’s range directly mirrored Matt’s own versatile skill set.
Songs, Scenes, and Emotional Depth
Cornett sings his character EJ’s songs on the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series soundtrack. He has also sung an original song for the series titled ‘A Billion Sorrys.’ For the series, Cornett has sung about nine different songs, including ‘Breaking Free,’ ‘What I’ve Been Looking For,’ and ‘Start of Something New.’ Being a “triple threat” — actor, singer, dancer — is the golden standard in musical entertainment, and Matt proved he could hold his own in every department. His vocal performances were polished, emotionally honest, and clearly came from a place of genuine passion for the material.
Zombies 3 and Expanding Beyond Disney
Playing the Villain A-Lan
A Different Kind of Disney Character
In 2022, Cornett plays the role of A-Lan in the sci-fi musical film Zombies 3, which was released on July 15, 2022. Switching from the earnest, likable E.J. Caswell to a Disney villain requires a completely different energy — and Cornett leaned into it. Cornett mentioned in an interview with TooFab that he is thrilled about playing the role of a Disney Villain. That enthusiasm wasn’t performative. Playing a villain forces actors to justify behavior that audiences are meant to question, which is a much trickier creative challenge than playing the hero.
Growing His Disney Legacy
He has worked on two Disney projects with his co-star Meg Donnelly. They were co-stars in Zombies 3 and Season 3 of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. That kind of creative overlap across franchises shows just how valued Cornett had become within the Disney ecosystem. Directors and producers who work with him keep bringing him back — which is one of the clearest signals of professional reliability and on-set talent.
Embracing the Challenge of New Genres
Moving from a feel-good musical series into a sci-fi villain role is the kind of genre jump that separates actors who are comfortable from actors who are hungry. Matt Cornett clearly belongs in the second group. His willingness to take on tonally different material, even within the Disney umbrella, showed an ambition to grow — not just to stay comfortable inside the brand that made him famous. That instinct would serve him extremely well in the years ahead.
2024–2025 — A New Chapter in Matt Cornett’s Career
From Disney to Indie Films and Streaming
Karma: Death at Latigo Springs — A Horror Thriller Arrival
In 2024, Cornett portrayed Niles in the horror thriller Karma: Death at Latigo Springs, directed by Elizabeth Blake-Thomas, where he joined an ensemble cast including Tony Todd and Natasha Henstridge in a story about a young woman haunted by nightmares tied to her mother’s hometown. Sharing screen time with legendary character actor Tony Todd is a real signal that Cornett is operating at a higher level now. Horror is a completely different discipline from musical drama, and stepping into that space with a credible, atmospheric project was a smart career choice.
Summer of 69 — A Coming-of-Age Comedy
Building on his Disney foundation, Cornett took a lead role as Max Warren in the 2025 coming-of-age comedy Summer of 69, Jillian Bell’s directorial debut. In interviews, Cornett highlighted the project’s risqué elements as a departure from teen-oriented fare, noting Max’s role in Abby’s personal growth and his own interest in multifaceted characters beyond franchises. That willingness to embrace material outside his comfort zone — and to talk openly about it — shows a maturing artist who knows exactly where he wants to go.
Cast as Lead in Amazon’s Every Year After
Cornett was announced as the lead role of Sam in Every Year After on July 17, 2025. Landing a lead role in a major streaming series for Amazon Prime Video is a significant step up in scale and visibility. Based on Carley Fortune’s beloved novel, Every Year After gives Cornett a platform to prove himself to a wider, more mature audience — one that may not have followed his Disney journey from the beginning. It represents exactly the kind of career crossroads that defines whether a young star breaks through or fades out.
Conclusion
Matt Cornett’s story is a genuinely compelling one — not because it was handed to him, but because he built it from scratch. He left behind a quiet life in Arkansas as a kid with a dream, and through consistent work, award-winning performances, and smart career choices, he turned that dream into reality. From a Young Artist Award-winning guest role on Southland to leading a major Amazon streaming series at 27, the trajectory is clear and still climbing. What makes Matt stand out isn’t just talent — it’s durability, versatility, and the kind of genuine enthusiasm that audiences can feel through the screen. Whether he’s playing a lovable theater jock, a sci-fi villain, or a dramatic lead on a prestige streaming platform, he brings full commitment every single time. Keep watching this one — the best chapters are still being written.
FAQs — Matt Cornett
1. Who is Matt Cornett?
Matt Cornett is an American actor and singer from Rogers, Arkansas, best known for playing E.J. Caswell on Disney+’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series from 2019 to 2023.
2. How old is Matt Cornett?
Matt Cornett was born on October 6, 1998, making him 27 years old as of 2026.
3. What is Matt Cornett’s net worth?
His net worth is estimated between $1.5 million and $5 million, earned primarily through his acting career in Disney series and films.
4. What awards has Matt Cornett won?
He has won two Young Artist Awards — one in 2014 for his guest role in Southland and one in 2016 for his recurring role in Bella and the Bulldogs.
5. What is Matt Cornett doing in 2025?
He starred in the comedy film Summer of 69 and was cast as the lead in the Amazon Prime Video series Every Year After, marking a major career expansion.
6. Is Matt Cornett a singer as well as an actor?
Yes, Matt Cornett is a trained singer. He performed multiple songs as E.J. Caswell in HSMTMTS, including originals like “A Billion Sorrys” and covers like “Breaking Free.”
7. How tall is Matt Cornett?
Matt Cornett stands at 6 feet tall (approximately 183 centimeters).
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