Published: September 17, 2008 8:37 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
JC Interview Exclusive: Matthew Montgomery
Matthew Montgomery
Junior's Cave is proud to present to our pages Actor/Producer Matthew Montgomery who has starred and co-produced in some of the hottest Indie films currently out. He took time from his extremely busy schedule to answer some questions in this fun interview. Enjoy!
Isaac: Hello Matthew, it is a pleasure to feature you in our magazine. I read in your bio that you were born in Houston but raised in Corpus Christi, Texas. Elaborate a little about growing up in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Matt: Hey there! Thanks so much for spot lighting my career and having me featured on your magazine. Appreciate it. Growing up in Corpus Christi, Texas was something that I most certainly felt fortunate with. It's a quaint beach town with beautiful weather and everyone running around in flip-flops and shorts that are way too short. It's peaceful and friendly, albeit right-wing conservative and very Republican. However, when you're a kid, you really don't give a shit about stuff like that. You just wanna hit the beach. And gawk at the surfers.
Isaac: Your father was a big role model. You were surrounded by your father's friends who all were actors, film makers, artists, and writers. How did this help shape your decision to become an actor and producer?
Matt: I think it gave me sense of comfort with diversity in people and culture. However, I would say my decision to become an actor was more shaped by something more elusive that I have no definition of nor can even really recall. It was something I wanted which was engrained in me long before I was exposed to that environment. I've wanted to be an actor ever since I could crawl, speak, or blink for that matter. I decided to be an actor when I was a fetus.
Isaac: You received your first taste of being in front of the stage in a 6th grade production of E. B. White's "Charlotte's Web". What were your first thoughts running through your head after you completed this play?
Matt: I will never play another character where I have to wear a tail. Ever.
Isaac: You went on later to do a high school rendition in which you went from side character to lead in Irving Berlin's "Annie Get Your Gun" as Frank Butler. How did you prepare for this role? And did you think that this would lead to were you are at now?
Matt: As much fun as doing that play was, I don't exactly consider it a pivotal moment in my life to be honest. And since I can't sing worth a damn, it's a good thing. I guess, if anything, it was a reiteration that this was something I really wanted to pursue in the long run and be serious about. It wasn't ever just a hobby for me - even in grade school. It was always something I took far more seriously than other people around and I believe that was because I saw it as preparation for a potential career instead of something to pass the time at school. I rehearsed longer hours, was always the first off book and memorized, and spent my nights going over subtext and intention instead of watching reruns of ALF and Growing Pains on prime time TV. It's always been my life. But I did love watching ALF!
Isaac: You went on to study theater at U. S. C. under the guidance of Eve Roberts. What did you learn from this experience?
Matt: She was a tough cookie, that one. I loved studying with her. She was the first coach to introduce me to the importance of looking at text and understanding what the writer is trying to convey. What he/she wants to say. She also taught me how not to laugh on stage - something I had an embarrassing problem with for some strange reason. I would be in the middle of the scene, it would be going amazing and then I'd start cracking up. I think it was a nervous tick when I felt things were going too well - it scared me in a weird way. And she would slam her script down on the floor and scream at me. It was hysterical at first but eventually I knew I needed to knock it off and focus. That was what she taught me. Focus. And to believe in myself. She very much believed in me.
Isaac: Let's talk about your first feature film role as Mark Reeves. The film has received many great reviews and was "Top Ten Best Seller" for TLA Video for 2003 and 2004. How did you prepared for your first role in a film? How did it differ from performing live on stage?
Matt: I was nervous as hell when I did this movie since it was to be my feature film debut and only had my little experience and instincts to work off of. In a way, I think I over prepared for Mark. I did an insane amount of technical research and medical research of head trauma and memory loss. I could've earned a medical degree with the amount of work I did. In a sense, it gave me an idea of what could have happened to Mark. But in the end, it's not like I was writing the script. I found that the thing that helped me the most was really just listening to the other person in the scene and playing off that. It didn't matter what kind of amnesia I had. What mattered was that my character was falling in love with another man for the first time in his life. That's a pretty big deal on its own.
Isaac: Talk about your role as Glen Phillips in Rob Williams' gay romantic comedy "Long-Term Relationship" in which you served as co-producer. How did you prepare for this role? What was the most difficult part about this role? What was the best part about playing this character?
Matt: Long-Term Relationship was the first time I produced as well as starred in a film. I had apprehensions in the beginning about my capability and competence in a dual role like this but found it was something that came quite naturally to me. The most difficult thing is trying to juggle being the lead in a film and also trying to put it all together as the producer at the same time. You sort of feel like a bobble head with your head going every which way and it makes you kinda dizzy. The best part about playing Glen was his light heartedness and sort of naïve way of initially looking at love and relationships and then guiding him through his arc as he changed into someone quite different by the end of the movie. I mean….he was kind of a mess.
Isaac: You also co-produced and stared in Rob Williams' second feature for Guest House Films' "Back Soon" as Guillermo 'Gil" Ramirez. Please outline what is your character all about in this film and what made you decided to star in and co-produce this film.
Matt: Same director, same cast, same producers - TOTALLY DIFFERENT MOVIE. This was the first draw. I loved the team on LTR. We all worked great together and had a blast putting together that movie. So it felt instantly nostalgic and a perfect fit for us to come back and do it again with a completely different story to tell. Back Soon is a gay romantic drama with a supernatural twist and is very deliberate, slow and methodical. Gil is someone that's been down the wrong side of the tracks and now struggling to make his way to a better life when his past catches up with him and sends him around some unexpected turns involving another man he begins to find himself surprisingly drawn to.
Isaac: How do you prepare for love scene? If you are involved, does that person ever get jealous?
Matt: Intimate scenes are typically discussed in great detail between all actors and the director involved. By the time we make it to the set, everyone is on the same page and it becomes more about making sure we visually capture what we discussed. It's very mechanical. Luckily, I've never been in a situation where my boyfriends have been jealous of what I do. I mean, after all, a blow job is still a job.
Isaac: Elaborate on some current and upcoming projects you are working on at the moment.
Matt: I'm producing a gay Christmas comedy appropriately titled Make the Yuletide Gay starring Adamo Ruggiero (Degrassi), and we go into production this coming December. I'm currently in a play called WeHo at the Celebration Theatre in West Hollywood - a ridiculous commentary on what a gay soap opera would be like on prime time TV. It's hilarious. Also, I starred in a couple of films that will come out next year - one called Pornography: A Thriller, a psychological thriller about a fictional urban legend surrounding the death of a former porn star, and The Redwoods, a gay romantic tragedy revolving around two strangers who fall in love under not the best circumstances. And, finally, I've produced a film that's just left theatres and will hit DVD shelves in November called 3-Day Weekend, a sexy gay comedy drama about a group of guys that get away for a long weekend and come back a little more changed than they anticipated.
Isaac: What would you consider to be the ultimate role to play as an actor for you?
Matt: Blind.
Isaac: Name one film that you saw that made you proud to be an actor? And why?
Matt: I recently watched this little indie film called August Evening that takes place in Southwest Texas and centers around this Mexican family and their journey and struggles after losing a family member and what this does to their relationships with each other and their own self -reliance and faith. It was done on a shoe string budget in an area that I'm very familiar with and with characters that I know quite well and grew up with. It reminded me why I not only love being an actor, but why I love working in the independent film industry. Everyone has a story, something they want, something they need to say. I'm grateful that I have the chance to be heard, and that my own creative voice can be just as strong as the next persons' and doesn't have to be determined by budget restrictions or lack of studio support. I just love telling and watching great stories. August Evening is one of my favorite movies because it reminded me to have faith.
Isaac: What are you hoping to gain from your whole experience in the industry?
Matt: I hope to be gained from, not necessarily to gain for myself. Sure, I'd like to be successful and respected by my peers and colleagues, but moreover, I want for what I say to have an affect on people and make them think. Maybe open their minds, or their hearts. A little idealistic, I know.
