Matt Graver

Matt, an officer in the CIA's special activities division, leads the task force. He recruits Kate for the mission but hides the real goal: disrupt Lieutenant Díaz's business to reach the boss, Alarcón. When Kate asks, Matt says the CIA can't operate alone inside the United States and that the FBI's presence is a technical necessity. He brings in Alejandro, a former Mexican prosecutor, to do the real work.

After Ted attacks Kate, Matt and Alejandro question him violently to learn which other cops work for Díaz. Later he tells Kate and Reggie their presence is a technical necessity, and an angry Reggie says the two should leave. Kate insists on staying, to learn the true mission.

After the Kansas City bombing, the government orders Matt to apply extreme measures against the cartels. He and the Department of Defense decide to start a war between the cartels. Matt hires mercenaries, helicopters and encrypted communications and calls Alejandro. The two kidnap Isabel Reyes and stage a DEA raid. When the road ambush kills 25 Mexican police officers, the operation hits the news worldwide.

The government learns two of the Kansas City bombers were American and orders the mission dropped. The Secretary of Defense orders Matt to kill Isabel and Alejandro to erase the evidence. Matt warns Alejandro and tells him to kill the girl, but Alejandro refuses. When he sees by satellite that Alejandro appears to have been killed, Matt eliminates the gang, defies his orders and brings Isabel to the United States for witness protection.

Matt and the team take Isabel into Mexico to leave her at a Federal Police depot in rival-cartel territory. The corrupt police turn on them, and Matt and his men kill 25 officers to escape. The scene becomes news, and the US government tries to undo what it started. Afterward, Matt follows the tracker hidden in Isabel's shoe into the desert.

Matt Graver was created for Sicario (2015), with a script by Taylor Sheridan. Josh Brolin plays him in both films. In October 2026, Deadline reported he returns for the third, with Padraic McKinley directing and Steven Knight writing.