Matthew Marsden is an English actor and singer. In the United Kingdom he is widely remembered for playing the character Chris Collins in the popular soap opera, Coronation Street. However, he is best known in the USA as a film actor. He has played the roles of Paris in Helen of Troy (TV miniseries), Dr. Jack Byron in Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, Bill Natolly in Tamara, Captain Alexander Slater in Resident Evil: Extinction and a mercenary sniper nicknamed "Schoolboy" in Rambo (2008). He next appeared in the blockbuster Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as Captain Graham, leader of the UK Special Forces.

Marsden's acting break came in 1995 when he joined the cast of the ITV soap opera, Emmerdale, playing the upper-crust Daniel Weir, lover of Linda Glover. He remained in the role for three months before the character was written out. He went on to play the role of surfer Philip Kennedy in Island—a Jersey-based ITV soap.

On 3 March 1997, he joined the cast of the successful soap opera Coronation Street as mechanic Chris Collins and he remained with the series until 29 March 1998. Marsden quickly became one of the soap's top pin-ups and during this time he was besieged by fan mail and was also voted Best Newcomer at the National Television Awards. Following his departure from Coronation Street, Marsden decided on a change of direction and a fleeting career as a pop star followed. He signed a £500,000 record deal with Columbia Records and released his debut single in July 1998 called The Hearts Lone Desire, which reached number 13 in the UK singles chart. He followed with a second single, She's Gone (a cover of Daryl Hall's soul classic) with his label-mates Destiny's Childproviding backing-vocals, which reached number 24 in the UK singles chart. A third single and an album were also recorded, however Marsden's career as a singer stalled when he parted company with his record label.

He returned to acting, portraying Paris in the USA networks mini-series Helen of Troy; Army Ranger Dale Sizemore in Ridley Scott's blockbuster film Black Hawk Down and he also starred opposite Michael Caine in John Irvin's feature Shiner for Miramax Films. He went on to star in Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (the sequel to Anaconda), and he also starred in Tamara, a supernatural thriller by Final Destination screenwriter Jeffrey Reddick. He has also made appearances in the films DOA: Dead or Alive and Resident Evil Extinction. He co-starred with Sylvester Stallonein Rambo, which was released in 2008.