I have followed Matthew James Dowden's film career since his delightful A Brush With Love premiered this past spring. I reached out to him on social media, and we struck up a Twitter friendship. After seeing him in another movie, I decided he would be the perfect candidate for an interview, and indeed, beginning a whole new season of my work here at T3.
Those who know me offline will be well aware of my burden for the arts and the men and women who comprise the entertainment industry. I believe strongly in the power of good music, good film and literature, good visual art to shape the affections and delight the soul. Matthew's work is a tremendous example of this kind of gracious ability, and besides his evident gift in front of the camera he is also an eminently gracious, warm, and hospitable gentleman.
My lone regret is I was not the first person to interview Matthew and present his vast range of giftedness to the world. Ruth Hill, Mercy Lyman, and the ladies of Hallmarkies all beat me to the interviewer's chair, but their good work will give you an even more well-rounded introduction to this remarkable human being. Be sure to follow Matthew on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and for a full list of his work go to IMDb.
On to the interview!
Can you share a bit of your background, and particularly how you came to acting? How long have you been working in the film industry?
My early schooling involved many music performances and I have a love and passion for the arts, but it was while traveling with my one-person variety show “Magic of the Movies” that an opportunity to come to Vancouver presented itself allowing me to make the transition from stage to film and television. So even though I’ve been performing almost all of my life, I’ve been in the film and television industry for the last three years.
Your film repertoire is rather diverse, but you have recently focused especially on family-oriented work, frequently from Hallmark. What in particular draws you to these sorts of stories and communities?
I’ve been very fortunate to have already done a variety of roles, but I love the idea that people feel good after watching a Hallmark production. I think people love a Hallmark production because they enjoy the feel good factor it provides, and I love being part of that.
Besides acting, you’ve also made your mark as a magician, writer, musician, vocalist, illustrator, and variety show talent/producer. (That’s not even including your law degree!) First of all: Can you fly, too? Second, what is your favorite thing about acting/music/writing—and why do you think so much of your life has been devoted to artistic and creative pursuits?
To name one favourite thing about any of those disciplines is always difficult, but if I had to narrow it down, I’d say it’s the feeling of fulfilment that comes from creating something, whether it’s a new character, a piece of music or prose that only existed in your imagination. I love the possibility of the blank page. To have something develop and come to life is very exciting. From a very early age I was drawn to art and creative writing and I think the young me would be pleased with what I’m doing now. I’m afraid I can’t fly…although it was always my choice of super power as a child. Who knows, maybe one day in a movie?
If you could let your fans know one thing—about you, about life lessons, about whatever—what would it be and why?
To pursue your dreams. That may sound a bit cheesy and cliche, but I think saying yes to new possibilities and taking the first step towards what you really want to do, whatever that happens to be, can be both the scariest and most rewarding path you can take. Life is both shorter and longer than we think. Its long enough to do a multitude of things and have many different experiences but it’s also short, so why waste a second doing something you don’t love?
Can you tell us anything about your upcoming projects?
I’m about to fly to Victoria to start work on Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries for Hallmark which I’m very excited about. I love my character and can’t wait to start filming, but I’m afraid I can’t tell you too much as I don’t want to give anything away. I’m also working on the sequel to my first children’s novel, Matthew the Magnificent, and writing scripts for film and television.
What would your dream acting job entail?
My dream acting job would be in a period piece with my character coming from either the past or future. But aside from the role itself, my dream acting jobs are always the ones where you get to spend a lot of time with the people you’re working with and making friendships that last a lifetime. That’s what’s so lovely about Hallmark projects and filming in Vancouver, you run into a lot of the same people behind the scenes, the lead stars are always so lovely and giving as actors, and there’s a real sense of family and community and we have a lot of fun on set.
Alongside Jill Wagner for their movie Mystery 101: Dead Talk.
You recently wrote and illustrated a children’s novel, Matthew the Magnificent. What inspired you to write this book? Also, what if any have your strongest literary influences been?
The story has some obvious links to my own life, but mostly I just had the seed of an idea that then developed over time during my writing process. Illustrating a book is also something I’d never done but, having always loved art, I loved the challenge and am very pleased with the results. I’d say the strongest influence for both the writing and illustrations of the book is the wonderful author Roald Dahl. I loved his books as a child so much that, in my show, I used to sing “Pure Imagination” from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I had always been a fan of Quentin Blake’s illustrations too. They had a childlike innocence while still having a strong sense of movement and life to them. And I tried to honour that innocence with my drawings.
You got your start musically as a chorister in the Durham Cathedral, a prominent and historic location within the Church of England whose construction began in 1093, and lavish with English tradition and history (and, yes, one of the film locations of Harry Potter!). What do you remember most about this time in your life, and do you have any favorite musical pieces or stories to share?
My musical training and education at the Chorister school was a very special time for me and a wonderful start in life. I will always be grateful for my musical training while at Durham, as it has blessed me with so many opportunities, mostly to the introduction to live performance, which is what set me along a path to where I am now. I will always have an affection for much of the choral music that we studied there, and I still get emotional listening to an evening vesper, but I’d have to say that “Zadok the Priest," a most dramatic and moving piece, which was the music used for the Queen’s coronation, is a firm favourite.
The iconic Durham Cathedral.
I recently went on a western Canada book tour (currently the book is only available in Canada but is expected to be released in the USA for 2020), which was great fun and I was over the moon at how well Matthew the Magnificent is being received by teachers and librarians. I especially love hearing from kids and adults about how much they enjoyed reading my book and how it’s becoming a nice bedtime ritual for those younger kids that have it read to them. Reading to a child is so important and when I know I’ve helped create that shared experience, or sparked an imagination, it's very satisfying. With my acting, it’s always nice to know people are tuning in to watch me, and are enjoying my performances. It makes me happy to know that people are as excited about my growth as an actor as I am, and are being entertained by my performances!
What gets Matthew James Dowden up every morning? What keeps you going?
The excitement of life’s many possibilities, new projects, and coffee….lots and lots of coffee :-)
Matthew alongside Morena Baccarin as the Baudelaire parents in the Netflix iteration of A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Thank you kindly to Matthew for his kindness, confidence in me, and taking the time to do this interview during a busy book tour and film schedule. His self-deprecating humility, obvious talent, boundless creativity, wry humor, and genuine warmth are outshone only by his kindness and intellect -- or maybe it's the other way around. I am grateful to have the privilege of interacting with him and supporting his career, and enthusiastically look forward to the film and writing chapters of his life taking off as fruitfully as his hard work and tenacious pursuit deserve!
