Before Grey's Anatomy, Camilla Luddington Met Her Husband While Working at a Restaurant

Her character in Grey's Anatomy [1], Jo, may be a bit unlucky in love, but in real life, actress Camilla Luddington has been paired up for years. She and her fellow actor husband Matthew Alan first met while working at an LA restaurant together [2], and the two dated for more than 10 years before he popped the question [3] on New Year's Eve 2018. The couple then tied the knot [4] in August 2019, and together they share two children [5]: 3-year-old Hayden and Lucas Matthew, who was born soon after their first wedding anniversary in August 2020. Here's what you should know about Camilla's longtime love.

He Uses a Stage Name

Though he was born Matthew Gerbig [7], Camilla's husband changed his name to Matthew Alan after his career started to take off. It's unclear when or why he decided to make this change. As Matthew Alan, he's appeared in countless TV shows, including Lost, Sons of Anarchy [8], Murder in the First, 13 Reasons Why [9], Snowfall, Lovecraft Country [10], and Castle Rock, among several others.

He Went to School to Become a Teacher

Matthew wasn't planning on becoming an actor. Initially, he attended Western Kentucky University in the hopes of becoming a teacher. As he explained to Daily Actor during a November 2019 interview, he had already started his master's degree [11] in teaching before he caught the acting bug. "I kind of just fell upon this play that I fell in love with at the time and just kind of changed gears entirely," he said. "It was called The Laramie Project. And so I read that play and that's when I was like, 'Oh, I like the idea of actually performing and acting for a career.'" Rather than finishing grad school, Matthew decided to enroll at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in LA.

He Was Originally Cast in the First Season of Castle Rock

Though you may know Matthew as Chris Merrill from the second season of Castle Rock, the actor was originally supposed to appear in the show's first season [12] in a different role. "I was supposed to play one of the prison guards in season one, and about three days before filming was supposed to begin, I broke my foot on another job and I had to pull out," he explained to Daily Actor. Fortunately, he was able to land a much bigger role later on. "It was just a reminder to me to just let things happen the way they're supposed to happen," he added.

He Starred in a Notorious Folgers Coffee Commercial

Back in 2009, Matthew appeared in a commercial for Folgers Coffee alongside actress Catherine Combs (who played his sister), and it was one of his first big projects. Of course, he never expected the commercial to develop a fan following [13] due to its weirdly romantic dynamic between the two siblings. "I thought it was great at the time," Matthew told Vanity Fair during a December 2015 interview. "For me, booking a job like this, it was huge, but I had no idea what to expect from it. I definitely didn't expect it to kind of blow up on me, ending up the way that it did, for sure." The commercial even inspired comedy sketches from big names like Daniel Tosh and Chelsea Handler [14].

He Appeared on an Episode of Grey's Anatomy

You may have missed it, but one of Matthew's acting credits [15] includes a guest role during a season 13 episode of Grey's Anatomy [16]. In the episode he plays David Fisher, a father who opposes medical care for his sick son on religious grounds. Sadly, Camilla's character wasn't on the case (but her onscreen husband at the time, Dr. Alex Karev, was).

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