Matt Healy was born in Paisley in Scotland and changed his name when he took up acting because there was already an actor known as David Healy. When he was three years old he moved with his parents to Oldham in Lancashire, which was where he was brought up, attending Oldham College and the University of Salford College. After leaving college he travelled abroad until deciding to take up acting as a full-time career, but admits that he spent a lot of time 'resting' and taking on manual jobs between finding roles. In 1997 he appeared as a gay stripper who ends up doing the Full Monty in a touring version of the comedy play 'Girls' Night Out' and appeared in several corporate videos and bit parts in television series. He was almost considering giving up acting when, in 2004, he auditioned for the role of devious Matthew King in television soap opera 'Emmerdale'.