Actor Turk Matthews chatted with Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos about starring in the new film “Dreaming Hollywood,” which was directed by Frank Martinez.
“I think it was just an experience of a manifestation of hard work over the years,” he said about this film. “It became a muse for Frankie Martinez and me to display our talents that haven’t had a vehicle to be seen due to a highly competitive field. There are a lot of talented people who never get their one chance. Hopefully, this is it for us.”
“What I loved most about the character Ray Balfi is deep down he isn’t as despicable as you may think, on the surface,” he said. “He’s more complex than that. You see in everyday life, that almost everyone has a little good in them. A lot of it comes from their upbringing.”
“Ray had a tough life and though he may be good at heart, he struggles because he never had proper guidance. Which made him really fun to play by having to portray a likeability to someone who is not very good on the surface. A dream for actors,” he said.
‘Entourage’
“My experience working on ‘Entourage’ was really fun,” he admitted. “It was one of the first gigs I got in the industry. Let’s face it working with beautiful women all day everyday kind of helps the long hours pass on set. I got to learn a lot about how the set works by being a constant observer. I got a lot out of it which helped me in my future ventures.”
“As for working with Kevin Connolly, he is a great actor and it was great watching him work on his craft. I didn’t have much involvement with the main actors outside a few scenes. I worked primarily in Ari’s office played by Jeremy Piven,” he said.
The digital age
On being an actor in the digital age, he said, “Being an actor in the digital age is still a little weird to me. Growing up you could only be seen if you made it to the big screen or if someone propped your b movie up at their mom and pop video store because the owner liked it.”
“Now there are so many venues and so many actors that I feel it’s harder to stand out. You have to really create a good niche. The goal is to get some sort of cult following these days and build from it,” he said.
Advice for hopefuls
For young and aspiring actors, he said, My advice to young aspiring actors is you know who you are and to master that. Don’t try to be something you’re not or something you want to be. If you’re doing it for fame or to be adored you’ll get discouraged and give up.”
“The true way of creating characters is showing vulnerability and true human reactions. There are far too many actors today that want to be the cool guy or girl and that doesn’t tell the director’s story. You have to embarrass yourself and be comfortable doing it. After that, you’ll realize that that’s how you’ll impress your peers,” he explained.
Regarding his dream acting partners in the business, he said, “This is a tough one. There are so many talented actors and actresses. As far as an actress, I think I would like to work with Aubrey Plaza. I love her quirky, dry humor and feel she would be really great to work off in a scene. Not to mention she is easy on the eyes as well. As for a male, it’s got to be Bill Murray. He’s talented on many levels and can pull anything off from comedy to drama.”
On his definition of success, he said, “Success to me personally means accomplishing something you set out to do for yourself, not for everyone else. You have to live with yourself and do what makes you happy. If you can accomplish that goal, you’re a success.”
Matthews concluded about “Dreaming Hollywood,” “If like great directing and great storytelling this is a movie for you. Nowadays with all the superhero movies and big special effects content, the stories of real human emotions get lost in the woodwork. ‘Dreaming Hollywood’ could be a breath of fresh air for someone looking to get away in a quirky world filled with unique characters.”
