Matt McCooey was born in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture in Japan. He was born to an English father Chris McCooey and Kumiko Aoki. He studied acting at Aberstywyth University and graduated from the Drama Studio of London in 2004. In 2014, he rose to prominence as DC Bill Wong in the crime drama programme "Agatha Raisin". He recently voiced the new character Kenji in the children's television series "Thomas & Friends" in 2020.