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Post by romantical on Apr 30, 2007 13:08:32 GMT -5
Matthew's featured in an interview in the May 2007 Instinct Magazine issue. It should be hitting stands this week. It's a gay lifestyle magazine, so it'd be located in that section of the magazine selections. I'm hoping to find and pick up a copy, and may be able to scan if there are actually new pictures.
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Post by romantical on May 3, 2007 2:15:49 GMT -5
No new pictures in the article, but here's the text of it: Matthew the MagneticHaving made a name for himself on both Welsh and London stages, Matthew Rhys went on to play opposite Jessica Lange (in Julie Tambor's Titus, Kathleen Turner (in a production of The Graduate and Brittany Murphy (in the upcoming Love and Other Disasters, but he is best known to American audiences as Kevin Walker, the perpetually unlucky-in-love gay lawyer (and son of Sally Field) on ABC's hit series Brothers & Sisters. Instinct: How did Brothers & Sisters first come to your attention? MR: As many of the hundres of Brits who come out here during pilot season trying to steal jobs from the Americans, I was here for another pilot season, and the pilot had actually been shot. But it turned out they were recasting for the pilot and they sent me the script, which I just fell in love with. I'd been coming to L.A. for pilot season for a while, but I hadn't read a pilot like that in a very, very long time.
IM: What about Kevin appealed to you? MR: I thought the role was a very fascinating in that [being gay] wasn't the driving characteristic behind him - it wasn't his defining characteristic. The way the family interacts with him about his sexuality is refreshing. It's not an issue. There was going to be no dealing with coming out, and I thought that was a very fresh and interesting look.
IM: One of your first roles onstage was as a gay man in Cardiff East, and you've played several since, inclduing for the upcoming film Love and other Disasters. Care to take a shot at why you keep getting cast playing gay? MR: [Laughs] Oh God, I don't know if there is a rhyme or reason as towhy I've tapped into that particular aspect of characters, other than the fact that I flirt outrageously with directors [Laughs again]
IM: Kevin is perhaps the most realistic and even-handed portrayal of a gay character on netrowrk TV in America. Is there a certain amoutn of pressure that comes in playing a role that has such meaning to a community of people? MR: Yeah, there is. Maybe I'm a bit ignorant in a way, in that being at home, there's sort of an openness about gay characters and their relationshipos. So I came to American thinking it was of a similar standing. To be perfectly honest and perfectly ignorant, maybe I'm not aware of the size of that and therefore I might not let it affect me in any way. If I was aware of the pressure on my shoulders, I might have folded.
IM: Do you feel any sort of responsibility toward the gay community to "get it right"? MR: Yeah, I do. I sound like I'm contradicting my last answer, but my greatest fear was not to produce a cliche. I don't want to sound pretentious, but you can make the tiniest difference in how people are represented. I'm aware that I was representing, in certain ways, a minority, and my greatest wish was to make [Kevin] -- not just believable and not a cliche - but an entertaining character as well. Which is what any actor's job is. [Pause] I hope I don't sound like a complete not a very nice person at this moment.
IM: [Laughs] Not at all. So, you've had two steady boyfriends on the show so far. Which co-star was the better kisser? Luke MacFarlane (Scotty) or Jason Lewis (Chad)? MR: [Laughs loudly] Oh no! What a terrible position to be put in. Um, you know, they both have very different strengths.
IM: Okay, diplomatic is good. You get to take your shirt off quite often on the show. Do you feel pressure to look your best for the boys? MR: Oh my God. The first time Jason took his top off, I ran down to the gym. You can bring in your washing and do it on his abdominals. But I come from a British sensibility, where we actually llike to make the audience feel better about themselves, so we don't work out that much. [Laughs].
IM: You're developing a rather rabid gay following from the show. Have you asked Sally Field for any advice on being a gay icon? MR: [Laughs] No, but when gay fans approach me, after they say how much they love Kevin, the next question inevitably is about Sally Field and what she's like to work with and how much they adore her work from Steel Magnolias and Soapdish, so I realize the magnitude of Sally's standing as a gay icon.
IM: As you may know, gay men love their divas. So who's the biggest one? Kathleen Turner, Jessica Lange or Sally Field? MR: Oh God. That's a tough one. All three have an incredible work ethic in common. Testament to their survival in this cutthroat business is the fact that they work so voraciously. But I think, purely on what I've seen, there was a moment when if someone wasn't working as hard as Kathleen was, then woe betide them. In other words, Hell hath no fury like a diva scored.
IM: You can say that again.
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Post by Kate on May 3, 2007 2:22:28 GMT -5
Oooh that's a great interview . Thank you for typing all that out for us romantical.
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Post by Clairey on May 3, 2007 6:20:28 GMT -5
Thanks for that, romantical!!
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mary
New Member
Posts: 29
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Post by mary on May 5, 2007 12:38:30 GMT -5
What a fabulous interview!! I love Matthew's sense of fun!!
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