Matthew Wadsworth Davis (born May 8, 1978) is an American actor. He is mostly known for his roles as Warner Huntington III in Legally Blonde, Adam Hillman on the ABC comedy-drama What About Brian from 2006 to 2007 and Alaric Saltzman on The CW fantasy drama The Vampire Diaries from 2009 to 2017 as well as the spin-off series Legacies from 2018 to 2022. He starred on the short-lived CW mystery and horror drama Cult as Jeff Sefton, and had a recurring role on the CBS police drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Sean Yeager.

Davis was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. He attended Woods Cross High School^[1] and the University of Utah.

In 2000, Davis was cast in the Vietnam War film, Tigerland as Private Jim Paxton and in the second installment of Urban Legend film series as Travis / Trevor Stark.^[2][3] The following year, Davis co-starred with Reese Witherspoon and Selma Blair in the comedy Legally Blonde (2001), as Witherspoon's love interest Warner Huntington III.^[4][5] The film was a commercial success and garnered generally positive reviews from critics, grossing over $96.5 million in North America and $141.7 million worldwide.^[6] He also appeared in Michael Bay's war drama, Pearl Harbor as Second Lieutenant Joe McKinnon in 2001.^[7] Davis then played the role of Matt Tollman in the 2002 surfing movie Blue Crush.^[8]

In the mid-2000s, Davis appeared in films such as Seeing Other People (2004), Heights (2004), Into the Sun (2005), BloodRayne (2005) and Bottoms Up (2006).

From 2006, Davis began starring in the ABC comedy drama television series What about Brian as Adam Hillman, a lawyer and the best friend of the titular character.^[9] He was in the show for two seasons until it ended in 2007.

Davis starred in The CW fantasy drama The Vampire Diaries, as Alaric Saltzman since 2009 and starred in the short-lived CW mystery and horror drama Cult, as Jeff Sefton that same year. He also played the role of Jeff Drake, an award-winning director of adult films in the comedy film Finding Bliss in June 2010.^[10][11][12] Davis had a recurring role in the CBS police drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation from 2013 to 2014 in the 14th season, as swing shift CSI Sean Yeager.^[13][14] He appeared in the sixth episode titled "Passed Pawns", the eighth episode titled "Helpless", and the 13th episode titled "Boston Brakes".^[15] He later returned to the hit The CW show The Vampire Diaries for its sixth season as Alaric Saltzman once again as a series regular.^[16] Davis starred in The CW series Legacies, a spin-off of The Originals, from 2018 to 2022 where he reprised his role as Alaric Saltzman.^[17][18] He also starred as Nick, a local businessman in the 2019 Hallmark Christmas film, Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses alongside Jill Wagner.^[19]

Davis was married to actress Kiley Casciano on December 23, 2018, and their two daughters were born in 2020 and 2022, respectively.^{[20][21][22][23]} The couple's marriage ended on February 2024. Davis and Casciano shared joint custody of their daughters. ^[24]