Interviewed by Michael Juvinall – Horror Society (March 10, 2015)
Amy Matysio is a Canadian actress and co-star of the current horror/comedy WolfCop. Amy is an award winning Canadian stage and screen actress, improviser/writer, producer and host with over 100 credits to her name and accolades that include Playback’s Ten to Watch, CBC’s Future 40 and ELLE Canada’s On the Radar. Matysio is the creator, writer, co-producer and star of the critically acclaimed web comedy inSAYSHAble, which garnered her a seventh Canadian Comedy Award nomination, a “Best Actress” win at both LA WebFest and HollyWeb and a recent “Best Actress” nod at New York Web Fest.
I recently had the pleasure to chat with Amy about her role in WolfCop and all the challenges that film provided. Please take a few minutes to read our interview with this wonderful and talented actress.
Read our review of WolfCop here!
Horror Society: I’m talking with co-star of the horror/comedy WolfCop, Amy Matysio. Did I pronounce your last name correctly?
Amy Matysio: You did, absolutely. Good Job.
Horror Society: WolfCop hits Blu-ray and DVD today as a matter of fact.
Amy Matysio: Yes, today. Have you already taken your run to Best Buy to take them all?
Horror Society: Well I have a DVD screener but I do want to get the Blu-ray version.
Amy Matysio: Yes, absolutely. I haven’t gone out yet to see, that’s what I have to do tonight to make my rounds all of the Best Buys, Picture Shop, Walmart.
Horror Society: I bet that would be fun. So in the film you play Tina, the partner of Lou Garou who becomes WolfCop. What was it like working on this crazy and outrageous film?
Amy Matysio: This film, it’s one of my favorite experiences I’ve had on set for sure. I’ve never done this horror/comedy blend before. It was really so much fun and really challenging, obviously all the gun play and everything that we got to do. I was just talking with someone and it kind of felt like I was in my own action movie while I was watching a horror movie unfold in front of me. Lowell had such a strong vision and is such an incredibly generous and intelligent director and also really warm and funny, he’s such a funny guy. I just really came to set and got to play. I got to play with the scripted hero, you know we did some improv, we went at it really hard with the time we had. Yeah, I’m very proud of this film, it’s cool – I’m in a movie called WolfCop!
Horror Society: It’s an awesome film by the way.
Amy Matysio: Thank you.
Horror Society: You are more known for your comedic skills so how is it you were cast in this film?
Amy Matysio: That’s a good question. I have known Lowell and the producers of WolfCop for a very long time. Throughout my career Lowell and I have crossed paths many times; we never had the opportunity to work together before. I sort have been following their whole journey to get this film made, of course when they won the Cinecoup five and got to go forward with making WolfCop I was totally excited about what they were doing. We’d had some conversations and I had showed my interest very early on but really when the script came to be, Lowell was already thinking of me for Tina which was really cool and so we sort of connected and everything lined up and it worked out, so I was able to go back and make the movie when they made it.
Horror Society: Wow, that’s great.
Amy Matysio: Yeah.
Horror Society: WolfCop has such an amazing history. Did you know what you were getting into when you were reading the script for the part of Tina?
Amy Matysio: I did and I didn’t. I knew the kind of work that Lowell had done before, I had seen a lot of his other stuff. Emmersen Ziffle who is the monster maker for the film and in fact made the wolf, I had also worked with many times and I knew his work extremely well. He’s a genius with his practical effects and everything he creates is very magic. I knew that side of it, what I was getting into. I think getting into it and making the movie and now being on the ride of having it come out with the fans and the genre and all of that is something I’ve never experienced before. I think it’s been really cool to experience what it means to be part of something like this. Hopefully we continue on to make more of these movies and all of that. It’s a cool, cool thing to be a part of.
Horror Society: I can only imagine Tina. In the film, your character likes to bust Lou Garou’s balls in the film but Tina and Lou might have a bit of a relationship developing toward the end of the film. Would you agree with that?
Amy Matysio: I think for me personally, I think she’s just still so shocked at what has happened and what she’s witnessed and investigated throughout the movie and I think she does have a soft spot for Lou and I think she sees the heart in him. Oddly, it’s such a beautiful moment at the end with seeing him and what he’s done for her. He looks so terrifying until he looks at you; he has the kindest wolf eyes you’ve ever seen. He’s so cute. At first it’s very scary when you see him in person and on camera he has such power. There’s a power to that face and to that costume. I think together they’re probably one of the only two people in town around the same age. I don’t know, it would be interesting, that’s for sure. He’d probably have to stop drinking as much.
Horror Society: That’s true, that is definitely true. You also have a big fight scene in the film with Sarah Lind. How was it to do that and did you have to do any training for that fight sequence?
Amy Matysio: That fight was really fun to shoot and work on. We worked with our fight choreographer sort of at the beginning of shooting so we all came together at the beginning. We worked on that and I had to work with the guns and getting all that together so Sarah and I worked a lot on the fight. There’s a great story of how the night before we shot it there was a snowstorm where we were shooting so we couldn’t get to the place where we wanted to get to actually rehearse it and to run it together her and I. In our hotel room we moved beds and rehearsed it. We thought if anyone walked in here right now, it could go either way. We’re just rolling around here, working on this fight. So yes, we had the opportunity to map it all out before hand and really get it down and roll around in the snow, that’s what we really were doing.
Horror Society: It looked like it was really fun. Especially shooting the guns and fighting with Sarah.
Amy Matysio: Yeah it really was.
Horror Society: I mentioned a bit ago about the amazing history that WolfCop has. The movie has taken on a mind of its own. Are you surprised the film has become as popular as it has?
Amy Matysio: No, I’m not surprised actually. On one hand you don’t really know what you’re getting into when you’re making a movie called WolfCop and it can really go either way as far as how the audience is going to respond to the movie. I think that Lowell had such a great vision and the concept for everything and the follow-through on it, the design, the storytelling and the script. I think the movie has that throwback kind of vibe and it feels like a movie from another time. There’s so much about it that doesn’t take itself too seriously and I think that’s another really great way to connect with the movie for people who like that kind of style. I feel like there is something in it for everybody, whether or not you’re interested in the raw horror in it with the blood and guts because there is so much more to the movie. It has such a cool and unique kind of tone to it. That was really something that was high priority and sort of creating its own vibe and it did that so well. I think audiences really love cool movies especially horror fans. They need and crave something unique and I think Lowell did that.
Horror Society: I completely agree on that. In fact, I know a lot of people have been saying this but watching WolfCop was probably the most fun I’ve had watching a movie in quite a long time.
Amy Matysio: Oh that’s awesome. That’s really cool.
Horror Society: We already know there will be a WolfCop 2. Are we going to see Tina in WolfCop 2?
Amy Matysio: I hope so. I can’t say yes or not but I would say I hope so, we hope so, more than one person hopes so. I definitely want her to come back. She has so much work to do, that’s for sure.
Horror Society: Yes she does. Tina, what else do you have coming up in the future that you would like to talk about?
Amy Matysio: I’m actually right now doing two plays at Soulpepper Theater in Toronto which is where I live and those are taking me all the way into July. So I’m on the long haul doing those two shows right now. I’m also working on development stuff and more comedy stuff which is something else I do as a writer and creator. I’m looking forward to coming out with more work in the Fall and collaborating with a lot of the same people that I’ve been working with over the past few years. It’s an exciting time, it’s really cool.
Horror Society: Amy we’re running out of time here. I wanted to say I loved WolfCop and your character Tina in the film is awesome. I thought you did a great job and I hope to see you again in the sequel to the film. I wanted to wish you nothing but the best of luck in the future in whatever endeavors you work on.
Amy Matysio: Thank you so much, that’s very kind. Thanks for chatting, I appreciate it.
Watch the trailer for WolfCop here,
For more information about Amy Matysio, please visit her official website!
