Matt Parkman

Name: Matt Parkman
Portrayed by: Greg Grunberg
Superpower: Telepathy; Reads minds
Age: 35

Matt Parkman is a police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. He would like to become a detective, but has flunked the test three times due to his dyslexia. Parkman is a mind-reader; he can hear the thoughts of people around him, which he first realizes after hearing the thoughts of Molly Walker, a little girl who was hiding from a serial killer nicknamed Sylar. When he found the girl, suspicion of how he knew her location led to his arrest.

After proving his ability by reading an FBI agent's mind in the interrogation room, he is offered a position to assist in the investigation. Things turn dangerous when a man who appears to be Sylar shows up. Stopping the mysterious man from harming a little girl in the building, Matt tries to comfort the girl while Audrey, the FBI agent, gives chase. Ultimately, the man escapes, but not before displaying apparent telekinesis and standing after being shot. Later, Matt came home to his wife, Janice, with whom he is going to couple's therapy. Though he apologizes for missing the day's session and tries to tell her about his amazing day, she is still upset with him and doesn't want to hear it. Janice also comments about how, when she got promoted, he seemed to resent her for it. Matt told her he didn't mean to, but she just further shuts off to him. Hearing Janice think she wants him to leave, Matt responds "I will" verbally and then storms out.

At a bar, Matt hears most, if not all, the thoughts of the various patrons. However, when he comes across a patron whose mind he cannot read, he begins to hear the other voices fade out. The mysterious other man sits and stares at Matt until Matt finally collapses on the floor, unconscious.

Matt wakes up strapped to a table with Mr. Bennet standing over him. Mr. Bennet explains that they had to drug him, as Matt is telling him what he remembers last. Matt asks if he is FBI or CIA. Mr. Bennet states that the organization he works for does not have initials. Matt tries to read Mr. Bennet's mind but can't. Mr. Bennet tells Matt that with his friend around he can't read his mind. His "friend" turns out to be the mysterious man from the bar. Nevertheless, Matt is still able to discern the name of Bennet's daughter, slightly impressing Bennet with his developing power. Mr. Bennet then tells the mysterious man to "Go deep", followed by a scream from Matt.

Matt wakes up on his couch a day later, suffering from what he thinks is a hangover. His wife tells him he has been missing for a day and has been frantic with worry. Matt reads her mind and realizes that Janice has actually been worried about him. He uses his mind-reading ability to listen to her thoughts and give her everything she wants. They stay home from work, he cooks for her, and is the perfect lover. Later he goes to a local convenience store to buy her ice cream and overhears the thoughts of a man planning to rob the store. Matt talks the man out of what he is about to do. The would-be robber leaves his gun on a shelf and runs out of the store. Matt picks up the gun and attempts to calm the customers in the store by telling them he is a cop. However, they instead fear him because he is holding the gun and a headache Matt had is aggravated by their fearful thoughts. Matt's perception gets hazy and he appears to lose consciousness.

The following day, Matt approaches his wife with the intention of revealing his newfound power. As he attempts to explain his power, his recent mysterious behavior leads his wife to think about a secret which she feared he had discovered. Suddenly uncertain, Matt left without uncovering the secret. At work, Matt and Audrey Hanson run down a possible lead on Sylar after discovering a badly burned corpse with a fingerprint branded into the bone. Instead of finding Sylar, they find a man with radioactive powers. Matt ignores Janice's calls to his cell phone throughout the day, despite Audrey's suggestion he should listen to her. In the brief but intense stand off, Matt manages to diffuse the situation by using his telepathy to allow the man to speak with his comatose wife. Afterward, Matt calls Janice and says he'll be coming home soon to talk with her. At the end of the day, Matt is informed by his old partner that he was being given another chance to interview for a detective position. After congratulating Matt, his friend immediately calls Matt a "loser" in his mind and and gleefully thinks about how he is sleeping with Matt's wife behind Matt's back. A shocked Matt punches his "friend" in the face but is restrained by the other officers before walking out of the locker room.

In "Seven Minutes to Midnight," Matt receives a one month suspension without pay for punching his former partner for having an affair with Matt's wife. Unaware of his suspension, Audrey Hanson asks Matt for assistance in interviewing Ted Sprague, the man from the previous episode who has the power to emit radiation. Matt talks with the man and discovers that, like himself, Ted was abducted from a bar just after seeing the Haitian and woke up two days later with no memory of events. Ted says he experienced headaches and has a strange mark on his neck just like Matt's. Unfortunately, Homeland Security takes Ted into custody before Matt can learn more, although Ted tells Matt to "find the Haitian". Audrey later notifies Matt that Ted has escaped from custody, leaving behind a burning car. Matt's wife, Janice, admits to her affair with his former partner and asks Matt if their marriage is over. Matt says he doesn't know.

In "Fallout" Matt and Audrey investigate the crime scene at Union Wells High, where they suspect Sylar was intercepted by two other people near the school. Matt and Audrey don't consider Peter Petrelli a suspect in Jackie's death, but interrogate him anyway and learn that Sylar's target was the cheerleader Claire.

Matt tells Audrey Hanson that he has never cheated on Janice. He is flattered when he hears her thinking that he is "cute." She orders him not to read her mind and tells him she believes he loves his wife. Matt acknowledges that this is true, but says he doesn't want to call her because he doesn't want to be a "chump." Audrey tells him he will only be a chump if he doesn't attempt to work out his problems with Janice.

Matt later attempts to read Claire Bennet's mind when she is being interviewed by Audrey at the police station about Jackie Wilcox's murder. However, he is unable to hear anything except static, which he recognizes as having also happened to him before he was abducted from the bar. Suspicious, he and Audrey stake out Primatech Paper and Matt recognizes The Haitian from the bar with Mr. Bennet. He attempts to overhear Mr. Bennet or The Haitian's thoughts and is able to pick up just one word: "Sylar."