[1] She is known for her roles as Colleen Blessed on Power Play, Joan Campbell on Covert Affairs, Kate Filmore in the science fiction movie Cube 2: Hypercube, and U.S. president Michelle Travers on The Night Agent.

She has also appeared in films such as Apartment Hunting (2000), Angel Eyes (2001), Men with Brooms (2002), Cypher (2002), Civic Duty (2006), The Tree of Life (2011), and Maudie (2016).

[3] Matchett was a cast member on the A&E Network TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery[5] (2001–2002), with Timothy Hutton in which she played several characters, including a recurring role as Lily Rowan.

In 2008 and 2009, she played Dennis Hopper's character's daughter, Jules, in the critically acclaimed Starz series Crash.

[12] She also played a supporting role in Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life, with Sean Penn and Brad Pitt.

[14] In 2023, Matchett was cast in a recurring role as U.S. president Michelle Travers in the Netflix drama television series The Night Agent.