Matthew Jaeger (Scab)

Matthew Jaeger: Wandering Mining Towns with Scab’s Prolific Performer. By Brian Kirst.

Matthew Jaeger has proven his eclectic nature as an actor with multilayered performances in such genre pieces as vampire epic Scab, H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds (with Jake Busy and C. Thomas Howell) and as Dorian Gray in the recent Dorian. Taking time out from admiring his own painting in the attic, the passionate and friendly Jaegar recently spared a moment to answer some a-peeling questions for Horror Society.

www.matthewdjaeger.com

Brian: So, who were your first performing influences – Bruce Willis antagonizing Cybill Shepard on national TV once a week – Michael Bay’s explosive theatrics – a purple haired English teacher with a flair for spouting Shakespearian sonnets in class?

Matthew: I have to admit, my early film heroes were all action stars. As I grew older and realized a pale red-headed Midwest boy with freckles was likely NOT going to be the next Sylvester Stallone, I was (and still am) a huge fan of Tom Hanks, Johnny Depp, and Kevin Bacon, who I was lucky enough to meet in high school when our Drama Club worked on the set of “A Stir of Echoes.” David Koepp (the writer and director) had graduated from my high school and invited all of us down for our first on-set experience. I ended hanging out with the stunt guys for most of the shoot, and if you keep your eye out, I flash by during the block party scene for about half a second.

Brian: Wow! That was my favorite part of that movie!  – What has been your most interesting film role thus far and why?

Matthew: My most interesting role is also one of my smallest – Glenda in Scab. I don’t get to do something as outrageous as dress up as a transvestite prostitute on an every day basis. And we shot in an area of Hollywood where there were a lot of actual transvestite prostitutes walking around. During the shoot, I made the mistake of wandering too far from the crew, and was quickly chased back by some of the locals. That is something I will always remember.

Brian: Nothing like friendly competition, huh? – Moving on, what’s the most valuable lesson you learned on the set of War of the Worlds – not to borrow C. Thomas Howell’s make-up kit – others?

Matthew: My most valuable lesson was to always be sure you have a ride back to base camp from location. My shot was the last of the day and I didn’t move quickly enough to grab a ride back to camp as they were packing up, leaving me to wander a mile back through an abandoned mining town looking for the right house at 3am!

Brian: Scary! – As Dorian Gray in Dorian, you kept an aging portrait to appear young – in real life, what is your trick – a molding cabbage in the fridge, a pair of socks collecting dust in the corner?

Matthew: Drink at least one bottle of good wine a week. And rock climb. Often!

Brian: Crazy! – My great grandmother tells me the same thing. –As you’ve mentioned, you’ve done Glenda in the bloody sounding Scab – considering that, what would your Glen be like in the same situation?

Matthew: That is a really good situation. First off, Glen would be more of a blue collar trucker. No southern belle. He would have a forty in a paper bag, set it down and stand up, “I do it all and I do it good. Whattaya want?”

Brian: Awesome! Lastly, any words of advice (IE: Never talk philosophy on a park bench when someone is trying to pick you up) or future projects that you’d like to tell us about? And thanks – this has been better than fighting off Martian baddies any month of the year!

Matthew: I wish I had any wisdom to impart – actually, the philosophy thing worked out well for Guy (from the film Just Say Love) ! To quote my father, “You can pick your friends, you can pick your seat, but you can’t pick your friend’s…” -As for upcoming projects, check out the HBO Imagine Project (hboimagine.com). You can see me in “The Art Heist,” “The Teddy Bear Chase,” and “The Ransom Call.” You can also catch me doing evil doings on a security camera! It makes a great distraction at work if you want to explore the 3-D layout, or you can cheat and choose “Chart your progress” at the top to find specific episodes.

-Also, you can keep up with me at www.matthewdjaeger.com or on my facebook fan page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Matthew-Jaeger/112136258428?ref=mf 

-Thank you! This has been a blast!