Check out our interview with Award Winning actor Matt Hamilton who can be seen in the new Disney+ reboot of the classic 1989 comedy feature with Tom Hanks, Turner & Hooch as Trent Havelock, a Senior Deputy Marshal to Scott Turner (played by Josh Peck). The only thing “Trent” loves more, is to chase down bad guys and take all the credit, especially publicly He loves the attention, fame, glory and everything that comes with it, but the one thing he isn’t a fan of is, dogs. Turner & Hooch is an hour long 12 episode order centered around “Scott Turner,” his new surroundings and the new dog he inherits as a big unruly dog. He soon realized the dog he didn’t want might be the partner he actually needs. Turner and Hooch not only stars Matt, along side Josh Peck, Lyndy Fonseca, Carra Petterson, Anthony Ruivivar, to name a few. The series hails from writer/executive producer Matt Nix from Burn Notice and Disney-owned Studio 20th Century Fox TV. Turner & Hooch is set to premiere July 16th, 2021.
Matt was a 2019 Leo Award Winner for Best Male Performance in The Actress Diaries, a 2018 Best Male Performance Nominee at the International Academy of Web Television and a 2015 Leo Award Best Actor Nominee for also, The Actress Diaries. On top of these awards and nominations, Matt won Best Performance for The Fence at the Sunscreen Film Festival. Matt has over 45 Film and Television credits including, the hit series, Supernatural, Marvel’s Legion, The Babysitters Club on Netflix, among many others. On top of his accomplishments in acting, Matt is also a screen writer, who has placed in numerous contests and festivals which include, Praxis Fellowship, LA International Screenplay Contest, StoryPros, Storyline, Leo Awareds and many others.
Follow Matt @_matt_hammer
Hi Matt, please tell us a little about you?
Just a little? Fine. Grew up in Victoria, BC, Canada (it’s like little Vancouver), then move to Vancouver (it’s like bigger Victoria). Just a Canadian kid who grew up on beer, bacon, and hockey. I’m a sports lover, NHL, NFL, MLB, NBA. Just stick it in my veins. Huge, HUGE movie lover. That was my first love (outside of Carmen Electra). Nothing better than sitting down with a glass of wine on the couch and watching a movie. Or re-watching. I re-watch favs often.
Describe yourself in 3 words?
Gregarious, athletic (tries), jack-ass
How did you get started into the business?
Actually got into acting through screenwriting. I graduated Vancouver Film School for Screenwriting and have my BFA in Writing from the University of Victoria. So after that, I started doing shorts, sketches, things like that and starring in them. And one of my longest friends Leah Gibson, was an actor (still is, she’s killing it. Leah send me money) and she sent me this long message about how I needed to go to Vancouver and get an agent, what kind of things I’d be auditioning for, etc etc. So, I did. And I’ve still got the same agent today. (Hi Candace, get me a job please thanks)
How has this changed your life?
Good question. Changed maybe in the sense that it just changed the trajectory of where I was going, not sure if it’s a positive or negative. Just different. I started acting pretty late in the game, getting an agent at 29 or 30. But it allows me to express myself creatively, which is not something I would’ve thought I’d make my living at.
What is the best and worst part of being an actor?
Best part is getting to meet all sorts of awesome people and be creative with them. Yes, there are assholes too but there are assholes in every line of work. There’s nothing like the high of finishing an awesome day on set with great people. It’s the best.
The worst is probably the job security. Sometimes you never know when or where your next paycheque is coming. Unless you’re Leah Gibson (Leah, again. Send me money).
Tell us about your work on Disney+ reboot of the classic 1989 comedy feature with Tom Hanks “Turner & Hooch?”
The reboot is a series and it’s a continuation of the movie. Tom Hanks’ character’s son is the new lead of the show, and he’s played by Josh Peck. And Josh is hilarious, awkward, and awesome. He’s so great. Don’t tell him I said that because it’ll go to his head.
So, it’s an action/comedy show that really leans into the comedy so it’s very unique. There aren’t a lot of other shows like it on TV. And it’s really for everyone, not just dog people, not just younger people, not just fans of procedurals. It checks a lot of boxes and does so organically. It’s not reaching for anything. It really is the best thing I’ve ever been apart of.
And I love the cast. Carra Patterson (HAS THE CUTEST BABY EVERY BTW), Brandon Mclaren, Anthony Ruiviar, Lyndsy Fonseca, Vanessa Lengies, Paul Campbell, Cristina Rosato and I could go on and on and on (my homie Tristan will get mad if I don’t mention him so there you go bro).
But trust me when I say you guys are in for a treat.
And your role as Trent Havelock?
Without giving away too much, Trent is the douchebag, hero US Marshall. Gets all the big cases, all the best busts, and provides a friendly foil to our heroes throughout the season.
How do you prepare for a role?
I bullied Josh for two month prior just to really get into the character. That was fun. And easy. But seriously, just do the research. With covid, you couldn’t shadow a Marshall or do a ride along or anything like that unfortunately so then it’s up to my old pal google. Get a good sense of what the job is. Then you go into your character work, backstory. Find out what makes your guy tick. The trick is finding the rooting interest because even the biggest dicks think they’re the good guy. So trying to find that so the audience will go with your character, even if maybe they don’t like him.
What other projects you have been part of?
I’ve been a part of a lot of projects which hopefully you haven’t seen. I’m kidding. Kind of. I did a show called The Actress Diaries which I’m proud of. It’s funny, sweet, charming. It was a web series and went on to win awards at festivals and stuff. That was good.
I did The Babysitters Club, Legion, a couple episodes of Supernatural and Continuum. Those were fun. And a lot of TV movies, which aren’t my favourite (Canadian spelling, leave me alone) but a lot of people like them.
What kind of roles do you like or would like to play and why?
I would LOVE to play a baseball player in a movie. I want to be Kevin Coster (duh) so bad. But I want to do an action movie and a horror movie really badly. My character in Turner and Hooch is basically a dream role for me. Kind of action guy, kind of a dick (it’s fun to play assholes), and the show was really great with letting me (and everyone) improv so most days were so much fun.
What is the most rewarding part of your work?
When I cash my paycheque.
Okay, but seriously, just being a part of something that makes you happy.
But also the paycheque.
How would your best friend describe you?
Let’s find out.
“How do I describe Matt? Hmm. Ok. Not handsome. Certainly not charming and DEFINITELY not funny. Ok? Good enough? Oh FINE! I’m lying. You caught me. He’s all of those things. He’s funny, he’s super charming and he’s moderately good looking. Gross. Why’d you make me say that stuff. Yuck.” – Joe Sutherland
Thanks a lot Dan, that cost me 50 bucks.
What’s next for Matt Hamilton in 2021?
I shot a Christmas movie a couple months ago, that will come out, yup you guessed it, at Christmas. I have a couple writing projects in development that are moving a lot slower than I would like but such is life. Other than that, auditioning and hopefully sitting on a lake and drinking a beer all summer.
Now talking about Instagram, can you share some tips for keeping your account interesting?
You’d have to ask someone with an interesting account. But seriously, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I try to balance the business part by making it funny.
What is your favorite healthy food?
I’m boring but I like baked chicken, rice, and asparagus.
And your favorite cheat food?
Probably pizza. My buddy owns this awesome pizza spot in Vancouver called AJ’s Brooklyn Pizza Joint and it is so good it makes me want to punch things.
How would you explain your fashion style?
I would explain it as “needs help”.
What is your own definition of happiness?
Well, happiness is tricky because I think happiness is fleeting. No one stays happy all the time unless they’re on MDMA. So what I look for is being content with moments of happiness. Finding those happy pockets, that’s what I look for.
If you could meet someone living or dead, who would it be and why?
Probably Obama just because he feels like the best hang. And it would be awesome to sit down and hear what it’s like to be a President, and all the insanity that goes on with that.
I also wouldn’t turn down having a beer with Ryan Reynolds. Couple Vancouver guys. That would be a blast.
Best advice ever given?
Don’t worry about things you can’t control.
Do you support any charity?
Yes, the Make a Wish foundation. Specially in BC/Yukon chapter. I find it such a rewarding charity where you get to make a difference for kids who were given a tough hand in life. And it’s hard, because some of the kids don’t make it long enough to play the hand so anything we can do to give them a glimpse of happiness is worth it. You can’t put a price on that.
Where do you see yourself and your career in 5 years from now?
I’d like to star in one of my features and be a series regular on a show. Those are my short term goals. Long term goals – President of the world. Somehow.
Favorite song? Why?
Oooooh, I’m not good at this. Right now I dig the K-OS cover of Just What I Needed, Chateau by Angus and Julia Stone.
All time? Sheesh. Enter Sandman – Metallica, Da Mystery of Chess Boxin’ – Wu Tang Clan, California Love – 2Pac, Welcome to the Jungle – Guns N Roses, Jeremy – Pearl Jam, Nautical Disaster – Tragically Hip, Free Fallin’ – Tom Petty, Man I used to be – K-OS, Disarm – Smashing Pumpkins, Without Me – Eminem… Holy shit, that’s a lot. I TOLD YOU I SUCK AT THIS.
What do you think of Social Media?
Facebook is the worst. If Zuckerman could take his billions of dollars and disappear forever, that would be great. Instagram can be problematic for mental health for some people, Twitter can be toxic as hell. But there are things I really like about both of those platforms. Instagram is the one I’m on the most. It’s the easiest one for me to cut out the negativity. I can unfollow, mute and just do my own thing.
Twitter is handy for me for sports news and updates. There are some funny people I follow as well. But it’s harder to block out the negativity on Twitter. Respectful discourse doesn’t exist there.
Where we can follow you?
Having said that, you can follow me at @_matt_hammer on both IG and Twitter. I have a Matt Hamilton business page on Facebook but I’m not very active on that.
Book: Again, not great at these but books I’ve loved. Jurassic Park, All the Light We Cannot See, Lonesome Dove, Before the Fall, In Cold Blood, The Giver, A Song of Fire and Ice.
Quote: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” – Calvin Coolidge
Movie: DIE HARD! I love Die Hard but shout outs to Pulp Fiction, Aliens, Moneyball, The Dark Knight, Shaun of the Dead, Good Will Hunting, Wedding Crashers, The Verdict, The Nice Guys okay I’ll stop.
Tv Series: TURNER AND HOOCH DAN WHAT THE HELL?!?
But also Breaking Bad, Seinfeld, The Wire, Game of Thrones (Yeah, I know the last season had its issues but it’s hard to end a show and I can’t imagine an ending that would’ve been satisfying without being too obvious).
Favorite Food: I’ve discovered I have a tough time deciding on one favourite. I’ll keep it short with this, Butter chicken and pizza. I love both so much I can’t choose.
Travel Destination: I was in Italy two years ago and that is one of my favourite places in the world. I can’t wait to go back. Also want to go back to New York. What a city that is.
Sports Team: Toronto Maple Leafs. My biggest love (and heart break). But throw in the Blue Jays, Raptors and Dallas Cowboys. Cowboys was the first superbowl party my dad took me to, I think I was 10. And they won so he bought me a shirt and then it was my favourite team.
