Life & Work with Alex Matthews of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Matthews.

Hi Alex, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
There I was, a little frothing creature of the night. Or more commonly referred to as, “a high school theater kid.” I was on stage, halfway through my monologue as Tobias Ragg in Sweeney Todd, when suddenly…

I forgot my next line.

Oh crud. You hear that?…

Me neither. Because it’s silent.

The silenceeeee. The horrifying, pounding, overwhelming silenceeeee from a crowded audience waiting to see if you’ll be able to remember what they paid $8 to come sit and watch. They’re thinking, scheming, prayinggg for your downfall. Oh, you disagree? I don’t know, dude. In my opinion, an audience can’t help but enjoy when things go haywire. Why do you think people watch NASCAR? To see people turn left for an hour? Or are they secretly hoping to see a fiery crash sponsored by Doritos and Home Depot?

Alright, back to the stage.

I was fumbling for my line, searching my brain tirelessly. What was it? What was ittt? But then, suddenly, after seeing something on stage that reminded me of my next bit of lines, I remembered! The words exploded out of my memory like a New York rat scampering to the airport after learning of Wisconsin’s biggest food export.

The play continued on from there. The audience didn’t get their fiery crash, and it’s safe to say we had a good time with the rest of the show.

But hold up, hold up…why in the world would ANYONE put themselves through that?? Everyone’s beady eyes staring into your soul, judging you and seeing all of your insecurities, while you scavenge for lines in your brain, only to reach the end of the show and, to quote Jeb Bush, ask of them… “Please clap?”

I guess the same could be asked of why someone would go on a roller coaster, go sledding, or go play CoolMath4Kids.com without asking your parent or guardian’s permission before going online…

Because of the absolute thrill. The thriiiillll!! The thrill of putting yourself out there! For taking a risk! For pushing through the fear despite the terror and judgement. Many, many, many actors would say the same thing.

For me? This addiction to the thrill? It started before I ever took a step on Valley High School’s stage.

A few years prior, my brother Ben needed help with a short film for his video production class. Curious, I stood in front of the camera with my lines sorta-memorized, playing a secret agent searching for his target. And immediately, I was hooked. Not just because of getting to wear a sick jacket and sunglasses. But because I got to say things I would never get to say in my ordinary life. Because I got to use my sub-par karate skills to create a fight-scene. Because we figured out how to rig up a stunt in our garage with our Dad that made it look like someone flew over the staircase! The creative endure of making a short film with my family…it unlocked a hungry goblin in my brain from his cage, burping out the realization… “I need more.”

From there, I did all the plays, short films, acting competitions, improv shows, and open mics you could do in high school. Then, I took the big leap and moved from Iowa to Los Angeles, where I went to school at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. And ever since graduation in 2022, I’ve had a crazy, cooltastic, wild run! After doing countless student films, soap-opera verticals from hell, and small bits and parts in shows like Amazon’s Countdown or unreleased Disney/Hulu pilots, I just recently became SAG-AFTRA! Woo!! I’m so excited for the next phase of my career. Who knows where it will lead? Fingers crossed for a background chimp in the next Planet of the Apes movie. But doing all of these projects, the good and the bad, allowed me to meet some amazing, widly talented, and kind people that share my love of making stories. And it’s made all the difference.

More than anything, I have my family to thank for all their support as I navigate this exciting, horrifying, thrilling, brutal career choice. Because sometimes, I think about that moment on stage when I forgot my line, and I know that the audience would’ve loved to see a fiery crash. But my closest friends and family want nothing but the best for me, and I couldn’t be more grateful. Without their support, my mental health would be in shambles and I would probably be doing anything else other than following my dreams. So thank you to everyone supportive of my journey!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been about as smooth as fifteen-year-expired-extra-chunky peanut butter imported from El Camino de la Muerte in Bolivia.

Growing up in Iowa, where the craziest thing to happen was a potential wind advisory in 2007, or thinking drugs were just, “a thing from the movies,” it was safe to assume…I was not prepared for Los Angeles.

Of course, I could go on and on about all of the things that have gone wrong. The student film that decided to use real knives instead of prop knives. The insane roommate drama. The relationships falling apart. The one time I accidentally hooked someone’s street mattress to the back of my car and dragged it five miles to a CVS parking lot without noticing. Look, these are common things that happen to people in LA. Everyone can relate.

But here’s the thing. I found myself saying the word “despite” more and more over the years.

Because despite all of the setbacks, heartache, and accidental street mattress burglary, I am here. I am in a wild place, full of insanity, but despite all that, I am here. And luckily, I have friends who go through similar insanity, and we all help each other through it!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
You know when a third-grader runs up to you, wants to tell you something, and then, instead of speaking, accidentally sneezes on you? And there’s snot everywhere? …That’s me, baby! I’m everywhere!

I’m an actor! Writer! Director! Podcaster! Editor! And, not surprisingly, poor!

First and foremost, I’m an actor! I’ve been in all kinds of short films and vertical soap operas, had small parts in TV shows, random roles in some feature films, and even did a mime performance for three days on the UCLA campus. I love acting on screen, doing anything from goofy, over-the-top comedies to insanely brutal horror films, but my favorite being the classic-coming-of-age stories. That’s the genre I get most excited about and could do a million films with. Yet most of my performances go unseen via self-tapes (besides my poor roommates.)

And I love writing! Scripts! Sketches! Novels! You name it, I’ve probably tried to write it! Except smut. Haven’t really dipped a toe in that yet, for lack of a better term. Or maybe that was the perfect term. But I have a three-part novel series called Waking Up that you can find on Amazon, around 30+ sketches I’ve written with friends on YouTube called Unearthed Tapes, and one time I wrote “poop” with a sharpie inside a stall in an In-N-Out. Everyday, I try to write a little to a lot, whatever I can muster. But I’d be nowhere without spellcheck or my friends saying, “are you sure that’s a good idea?” So thank you spellcheck and friendz who help ma writ good.

I’m also an editor! I edit people’s podcasts from all over the country, from groups of moms giving travel tips to a man on a mission to find the point of life. It’s been a fascinating way to learn about all kinds of things and clip those things for social media. The life of an editor can be mundane, but when you perfectly cut out a retake to the point where you can’t even tell someone had to restart? Good golly. That’s pretty neat.

I’m alsoooo a podcaster! Yes! Thank god someone in Los Angeles started another podcast. People were scared they were gonna stop. My podcast is called Met by Coincidence, where I talk with people I’ve met anywhere from 10 years to 10 minutes ago. It’s been great reconnecting with friends and making new ones. Feel free to check it out wherever you listen to podcasts! Or don’t! Live your life!

All in all, I’m a creative little nugget in a big ol’ city of creative nuggets. And it’s awesome to meet all kinds of people from different walks of life, all congregating in one large KFC bucket to make some cool stuff.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I’m always looking to meet new people to work on creative projects or be a guest on my podcast! You can reach out to me via my social medias. I’m chronically addicted to my phone so there’s a good chance I will see your message. Reach out via email: alexwadematthews@gmail.com or my instagram, @alexander.matthews or @metbycoincidencepodcast.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rss.com/podcasts/met-by-coincidence/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexander.matthews
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@unearthedtapes

Image Credits
Ben Matthews
Serena Jordan @Serenaslens
Vincent Madero @vincent_madero
Dominque @shotbydominque