Rising Star Matthew Solomon: “Find the friends you know will talk you out of wanting to give up”

Support support support. Find community. Find the friends you know will talk you out of wanting to give up. Find your community, non-acting community, to give you perspective. Stay inspired beyond the world of film. And be kind to yourself. This road is a long one, an exciting one, a frustrating one, and the people who refuse to give up are the ones who make it happen. Tattoo that somewhere on your body because it can be difficult to remember.

I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Matthew Solomon.

Born in San Francisco, Matthew Solomon is a film and television actor based out of Los Angeles. His extensive training includes Steppenwolf Theatre West, University of Southern California’s Dramatic Arts program, Ecole Philippe Gaulier, and the La MaMa Etc. Theatre in New York City. Solomon can currently be seen as the lead character in Followed, which Thrillist just named as one of the best horror movies of 2020 (so far)! He also had a recurring role on the hit HBO series “Ballers.” Being from Northern California, he is 100% organic, aside from his glasses. Those are plastic.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I grew up the youngest of three kids in a very creative but also ambitious family. Between the five members of my family, we eat for ten, argue for fifteen, and have enough passion for 20. My parents gave me a lot of space to explore my creativity, and the vim and vigor we all share is definitely why I’ve been able to climb up through the acting world. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

I wanted to be an actor starting very young, but I figured it was too unrealistic. Even as a kid I was weirdly pragmatic, I admire people with the confidence to run after something when they don’t know if it will work. Then when I was 17 years old, a theater teacher told me that an acting career doesn’t just look like starting as a young actor and becoming famous. There are so many ways to be a working actor. I couldn’t think about doing anything other than acting after that.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

The most interesting thing happened off-set, in France actually, at clown school. I spent two weeks studying physical comedy and clowning last summer where the teacher is famous for using humiliation as a teaching method. He told the class the sound of my laugh made him want to vomit. I would absolutely go back and train with him again, I loved it.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Once I was on set, we were shooting my last scene of the day, or at least what I thought was my last scene. Turns out I hadn’t read the call sheet entirely and I had to deliver a page-long monologue. Fortunately, we had a company move so I had maybe half an hour to sit down and learn the entire thing, nailed it on the third take. So double-check your call sheet. You’ll save yourself some panic.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

Unfortunately with COVID, I don’t have a lot of opportunities to be actively working on projects. I did a radio play that just released on NPR called May 4th Voices. It’s about the Kent State shooting in 1970 and Tina Fey was also one of the actors featured in it, so having that and Followed out is exciting. Meanwhile, we are seeing the film industry opening back up so I’m excited to jump back into work.

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

The first reason is the one everyone has been talking about: having people who look and sound like you represented on screen is necessary. And seeing your identity, your experience, represented through a broad lens teaches people that your future isn’t a stereotype. For instance, I felt very resentful of the gay bestfriend trope growing up, I didn’t understand why we didn’t get our own stories. I would have killed for a gay prince.

Another reason, seeing people from cultures or backgrounds or experiences that are different than your own is massively important because it makes you open-minded. I’ll never understand why people feel threatened watching an experience that is outside of their “normal.”

Lastly, it creates jobs! There is a clear correlation between class and race in this country. We in the film community need to be championing oppressed people and doing our part in establishing actual equality.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

Find internships with studios, networks, casting offices, agencies, and learn everything you can from the other side of the casting process. It’s been one of the most helpful choices I’ve made in my career.

Expect it to take a long time. I had someone say give yourself 7 years before you start to see the ball rolling. They were very on the money with that.

Be a fun and relaxed person to hang out with. The best work comes from people wanting to work with you again. Contribute to turning your work space into a healthy environment.

Don’t be afraid to ask for things! Reach out to people. Send those risky emails! People love to connect with each other (and talk about themselves) so reach out to that person you’ve been afraid to and ask for coffee.

Remember that you are enough.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Support support support. Find community. Find the friends you know will talk you out of wanting to give up. Find your community, non-acting community, to give you perspective. Stay inspired beyond the world of film. And be kind to yourself. This road is a long one, an exciting one, a frustrating one, and the people who refuse to give up are the ones who make it happen. Tattoo that somewhere on your body because it can be difficult to remember.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

You know my mom tells me I’m a person of enormous influence all the time, so I’m glad somebody else finally sees it.

In all seriousness, I would really like to see a cultural shift towards acknowledging the spectrum that is gender, and the spectrum that is sexuality. These things are not fixed the moment you are born, they are fluid, they develop and change. Especially with gender identity, there are so many cultures that historically viewed gender as something beyond a binary. So let’s start with expanding gender beyond the binary!

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I really have to shout-out my costar from Followed, Sam Valentine. She has a podcast called OneBrokeActress and truly, I learned so much from that podcast. She has given me so many pep talks, answered so many questions, and is always there to help. She’s also SUPER talented.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Life isn’t about fixing your mess. It’s about taking the broken parts of you and building them into the structure.” My acting teacher, friend and life guide Alexandra Billings told me that one. It’s changed the way I see myself.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

I’m gonna cheat and choose two, because these are people I aspire to be like and who I would die to work with. Michael Stuhlbarg, who is an incredible actor. He transforms so much for each role he takes on. And Joe Swanberg who is one of my favorite writer/directors.

How can our readers follow you online?

Check me out @thatmatthewsolomon on Instagram, and @saddiscoboy on Twitter! I’m on Instagram much more though.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!

Thank you, it was lovely getting to talk and I appreciate the chance to share my story! Black Lives Matter and I hope by the time this prints the cops who killed Breonna Taylor will have been arrested.