Matthew Buchanan
Matthew Buchanan is a fictional character on the American soap opera One Life to Live. Born onscreen in 1999, the character was rapidly aged in 2001 with the casting of Eddie Alderson, re-establishing his birth year as 1994. Alderson stayed with the series until the ABC Daytime finale in 2012. Upon resuming as a web series via The Online Network, Robert Gorrie was cast in the role and debuted April 29, 2013, ultimately revising his birth year to 1992.
Matthew is the only child between supercouple Bo Buchanan and Nora Hanen, as well as the grandson of business tycoon Asa Buchanan. The character's most significant storylines include his friendship with Starr Manning, played by Alderson's real-life sister, Kristen Alderson, his romances with Destiny Evans and Danielle Manning, his time as a paraplegic thanks to a car accident, as well as his feud with Nate Salinger ignited by Matthew's murder of his father, Eddie Ford.
Storylines
1999–2007
In September 1998, Bo is devastated when his son Drew, a police officer, is killed in the line of duty. Bo's wife Nora hopes to conceive a child to give Bo a reason to live; out of desperation she turns to former flame Sam Rappaport. The pregnancy pulls Bo back onto his feet, but he and Nora later divorce when Bo learns that Nora's son had been fathered by Sam. Sam dies in 2003, leaving a letter behind stating that Bo is actually Matthew's biological father. In May 2005, Matthew suffers the death of his former "sister" Jennifer, Sam's daughter. It is revealed that Jennifer had been murdered by Matthew's stepfather Daniel Colson in his effort to cover up the murder of Paul Cramer, who had been blackmailing Daniel. Matthew changes his name to Buchanan on June 17, 2005 as a Father's Day gift to Bo. Matthew has shared a long friendship with Starr Manning, who often manages to get him tangled up in her schemes.2008–12
In 2008, high school freshman Matthew has trouble fitting in, but is helped by his mother's ward, upperclassman Cole Thornhart. Matthew befriends a feisty and intelligent girl named Destiny Evans, who cannot understand his need to be liked by the popular crowd. Early in 2009, Matthew tries impress a girl named Becca Salzman by "admitting" to his parents that he proudly smokes marijuana. Matthew narrowly escapes being sent off to military school, and thinks everything is coming together when Becca dances with him at a school dance. When Becca and her cohort Justin humiliate Matthew publicly by attributing the dance to a dare, an upset Matthew runs out and urges Cole, whom he knows is high on drugs, to drive him away. They crash, and Matthew is paralyzed from the waist down indefinitely. He is devastated by the news, but does not blame Cole. Matthew meets with a young doctor named Greg Evans, Destiny's estranged older brother. Greg later promises that he can help Matthew walk again by performing a tricky surgery. Afraid of the risks, Bo and Nora refuse. A furious Matthew hires ruthless lawyer Téa Delgado to sue his parents for the right to make his own decision about the surgery. Bo and Nora bond on the eve of Nora's marriage to Bo's brother Clint Buchanan, and Matthew and Destiny see them kiss. Immediately prior to the wedding, Matthew threatens to tell Clint if his parents do not yield and allow him to have the surgery. They refuse, but Matthew ultimately does not reveal the truth to Clint to spare his feelings. In court, Téa also attempts to coerce Bo and Nora using the secret of their kiss, despite Matthew's forbidding her to do so. When Téa viciously cross-examines Matthew's half-sister Rachel Gannon on the stand, Matthew fires her. Matthew wins the case and decides to proceed with the surgery. To prevent him from going through with it, Bo and Nora steal Matthew away to a London boarding school, where he meets Danielle Rayburn, Téa's daughter. With Destiny's help, the teens escape and flee back to the United States, where Matthew has the surgery. He regains his ability to walk, and Destiny confesses that she is in love with him, but Matthew soon shares a kiss with Dani; they eventually begin dating. However, when the two go out for the school musical they are introduced to a new transfer student named Nate Salinger. Dani falls for Nate and dumps Matthew at Bo and Nora's wedding. Heart broken, Matthew almost sleeps with a prostitute hired by his older brother David, but later reveals to Destiny that he paid the hooker, Fawn, not to sleep with him. Angry at Nate, Matthew harasses him at the country club, where Matthew is a member but Nate an employee, and at basketball tryouts. When the thug Bull is looking for the $50,000 which James Ford had stolen from his father, and which was discovered by Nate, Matthew points Bull towards Nate, resulting in him being kidnapped, and ransomed by Dani and her father, Todd Manning. Matthew is further angered when his father Bo gives Nate's mother Inez a job as his assistant.Matthew goes to work for his Clint at Buchanan Enterprises as he idolizes his uncle. While there, he catches Rex Balsom breaking into Clint's office, and turns him over to security, allowing Clint to blackmail Rex into keeping quiet about Clint's abduction of David, and later to blackmail Echo DiSavoy into keeping quiet about Rex being Clint's son. When Clint hatches a plan to get Inez to seduce Bo, and has Eddie Ford kidnap Nora, Clint hints to Matthew that both of his parents are having affairs. This leads Matthew to Inez's apartment, where he witnesses her kissing a drugged Bo. Rex rescues Nora from Eddie's room at the Minuteman Hotel. Leaving Inez's home in tears, Matthew drives away. While trying to call Clint, he nearly collides with a car containing Rex and Nora. Matthew drives off, but Rex's car crashes.
Eddie Ford's body is found at the Minuteman several hours later. Rex is injured from the car accident and Nora is missing.
The next day at school, Matthew argues with Nate Salinger, calling Nate's mother a homewrecker. Matthew and Destiny share their first kiss, both feeling that their families had betrayed them. Matthew is enraged at his father until Inez finally admits that she had drugged Bo to make him think that they had sex, but did not. Rex uncovers evidence that Clint had been at the Minuteman Hotel, and when Bo and Nora charge him, Clint reveals to Bo and Nora that he was covering up for Matthew, and has a tape recording where Matthew confesses, and he gives that tape to his parents. Clint went to the Minuteman to cover up all the evidence, including planting the murder weapon at Inez' apartment. Bo and Nora drop the charges against Clint, but keep quiet about Matthew, leading many to wonder why the charges were dropped. A reporter pressures Destiny for information about the Buchanans and the Eddie Ford murder, and Destiny accidentally implies that Matthew killed Eddie. Matthew later confesses to Destiny. She comforts Matthew and the end up making love for the first time.
Destiny avoids Matthew until he tracks her down and they are held hostage by a gun-wielding Marty Saybrooke who has kidnapped Matthew's infant cousin, Liam. Matthew steps in front of the gun to protect Destiny. Destiny's brother, Shaun Evans accidentally overhears the teens discussing their tryst, but Destiny manages to talk her way out of it. However, Matthew assures Destiny that their one-night stand meant something to him. Later Destiny confides in Dani that Matthew killed Eddie; Nate overhears this and he heads to Matthew's apartment to confront him. Nate punches Matthew as soon as he opens the door, he falls back and hits his head on the coffee table. To protect Matthew, Clint confesses to the crime himself, thinking that he won't serve any time due to his heart giving out on him leaving Matthew devastated. He then confesses to his parents and suddenly collapses. Matthew regains consciousness at the hospital and mistakenly believes it is the year 2009. Matthew undergoes emergency surgery for a subdural hematoma. However, following the surgery, Matthew falls into a brief coma. On June 15, 2011 when all hope is lost for Matthew awakens. Bo and Nora send him to a facility in nearby Philadelphia for rehab. In July 2011 Destiny takes a pregnancy test which confirms she is pregnant. She then confesses to an incoherent Matthew. In November 2011, Matthew briefly flatlines before he is revived, and finally wakes from a six-month-long coma and realizes Destiny is pregnant. Matthew is furious with Nora when he learns she coerced Destiny into keeping the baby and confides in Destiny that he doesn't know how he feels about being a teenage father. After a pep talk from David, Matthew steps up and agrees to be a father to his child. Destiny and Matthew welcome their son, Drew named after his later brother on January 13, 2012.
2013—
Matthew is first seen post SORAS with Dani's oxy by his parents. He then left and headed to the opening of Shelter, formerly Capricorn, with his old friend from London. He later moves out of his parents house and in with Jeffrey King.After chatting online with Michelle, he drove to Toronto and learned she was a fake.