Latest news with #Matts
Vancouver Sun
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
Gavin Matts spends nights in New York comedy clubs and days auditioning for acting roles
Vancouver native Gavin Matts feels right at home in New York. 'I just like the walking and the city life. In terms of being a comedian , it kind of feels the same as it did when I was starting out in Vancouver , when I was going to the Comedy Mix every night and just trying to get up as much as possible,' said the 30-year-old who has called N.Y. home for seven years. Now Matts, who was named to Vulture Magazine's list of ' Comedians You Should and Will Know' in 2024, frequents Big Apple comedy clubs like the Comedy Cellar and Standup NY. 'I'm out every night. So that's pretty much my life,' said Matts, who has been doing standup for 12 years. When he isn't onstage in a club, Matts is busy auditioning for acting roles. He has been in a few short films and shown up in the TV series Ramy and the feature film Easter Sunday. His most notable turn as of late has been as Elliot, one of the writers in the writer's room for Deborah Vance's (Jean Smart) new late-night talk show on the popular HBO (Crave in Canada) series Hacks, which wraps its fourth season on May 29. Get top headlines and gossip from the world of celebrity and entertainment. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sun Spots will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'A lot of comedians that I talked to had taped auditions for it,' said Matts about the Hacks' role. 'It's kind of nice to be on the receiving end of, 'Oh, you got that,' because it's happened to me so many times. I've done hundreds of auditions and this is definitely the longest I've been on a show. It's nice that it's a show about comedy on TV.' A show about relationships, Hacks is focused on Vance, an iconic Las Vegas-based standup comedian who is looking to reinvent herself into a relevant voice of the times. To help her freshen her act, she hires Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder), a Gen Z comedy writer. The two slowly bond and butt heads. This current season has the two at odds as Daniels runs the writing room for Vance's new show. The show is a darling of the critics and has won multiple Golden Globes and Emmy Awards. 'The show is very funny. (It's) the only show that I'm actually straight-up laughing at that is a narrative TV comedy,' said Matts. 'Just being a part of something that is actually funny is rare … I don't have to lie and be like, 'I like the show,' because I genuinely do.' Matts said while shooting the show and watching Smart, whose performance in the series has earned her a pair of Golden Globes and an Emmy, he had to remind himself he was an actor in the series not an audience member with a great seat. 'I was like, 'Oh yeah, I am having to listen to her as an actor,' ' said Matts. 'She's coming off an Emmy. She had just done SNL, like, two nights before, and she's delivering this monologue perfectly. I had to be like, 'OK, active listening. I'm acting right now, and I'm not just mouth agape,' because I caught myself with my mouth a little open, being like, 'Oh, damn, I get to be a part of this,' which is awesome.' Matts had an early go at film school. But only a few months in, he discovered open mic nights at Goldies Pizza in downtown Vancouver, and he was hooked. Not long after his first open mic, Matts won a radio station contest and got to perform at Pemberton Music Festival opening for the Trailer Park Boys. 'That was three months in, and so I was like, 'That's a sign,' ' said Matts. 'It did move fast. I started getting a lot of spots at the Comedy Mix. That place pretty much changed my life.' Matts went on to become the youngest winner of Canada's SiriusXM Top Comic Competition in 2017 at age 22. He used the prize money to get a visa to work in the U.S. Once south of the border, he was getting gigs, including a spot on Conan. He also landed on the radar of comedy heavyweight Bill Burr. 'I had done a set for Comedy Central when I first moved to the States in 2018, and he was doing a show with them (The Ringers),' said Matts. 'He picked me for that show, and then that's how I kind of started having a working relationship with him. I talk to him here and there. He's always very generous with his time and advice.' Burr and his company, All Things Comedy, produced Matts's debut special, Progression, released in October 2023 and available to watch on YouTube. Matts has also made his own films, including the short film Slice of Life, which is dedicated to the Vancouver gallery of the same name. He is in the 2024 Ethan Godel-directed short film Sleep Talking, which won the Best Short Film Award at the 2025 Canadian Film Festival. In April, Matts was a guest on WTF with Marc Maron , an OG podcaster and very successful standup and actor. Maron can be seen in the Vancouver-shot and Owen Wilson-starring Apple TV+ series Stick, which premiers June 4. 'I look up to him a lot,' said Matts. 'It's such a rare thing to get older and still be current and with it. I think he's one of the few that does a good job at that. I think it's because he's introspective and has empathy for others. I have a lot of respect for him.' Matts is currently busy working on a new hour of comedy, auditioning for more acting roles and pitching his own half-hour comedy show. When asked if he will be coming back to Vancouver to perform any time soon, he said an emphatic no and explained that the current U.S. immigration situation isn't something he wants to mess with. 'My green card has been processing, so I'm just not coming until that is done,' said Matts, who was last here a year-and-a-half ago. Matts, whose comedy leans into the darker corners of existence, says the often-bewildering state of the American reality is sometimes tough to crack wise about. 'I've been thinking about this a lot, and actually had a conversation about it this morning with a friend,' said Matts when asked if troubling times are good for comedy. 'I think that it's bad for me, personally, because I do carry a lot of anxiety around everything going on … It is funny to be like, experiencing what you feel like is a complete economic collapse and total collapse, and then have to be going out every night and being like, 'Haha.' 'I think everybody is kind of feeling the same way as me.' Dgee@
Calgary Herald
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Gavin Matts spends nights in New York comedy clubs and days auditioning for acting roles
Article content Vancouver native Gavin Matts feels right at home in New York. Article content 'I just like the walking and the city life. In terms of being a comedian, it kind of feels the same as it did when I was starting out in Vancouver, when I was going to the Comedy Mix every night and just trying to get up as much as possible,' said the 30-year-old who has called N.Y. home for seven years. Article content Now Matts, who was named to Vulture Magazine's list of ' Comedians You Should and Will Know' in 2024, frequents Big Apple comedy clubs like the Comedy Cellar and Standup NY. Article content 'I'm out every night. So that's pretty much my life,' said Matts, who has been doing standup for 12 years. Article content Article content Article content When he isn't onstage in a club, Matts is busy auditioning for acting roles. He has been in a few short films and shown up in the TV series Ramy and the feature film Easter Sunday. His most notable turn as of late has been as Elliot, one of the writers in the writer's room for Deborah Vance's (Jean Smart) new late-night talk show on the popular HBO (Crave in Canada) series Hacks, which wraps its fourth season on May 29. Article content 'A lot of comedians that I talked to had taped auditions for it,' said Matts about the Hacks' role. 'It's kind of nice to be on the receiving end of, 'Oh, you got that,' because it's happened to me so many times. I've done hundreds of auditions and this is definitely the longest I've been on a show. It's nice that it's a show about comedy on TV.' Article content Article content A show about relationships, Hacks is focused on Vance, an iconic Las Vegas-based standup comedian who is looking to reinvent herself into a relevant voice of the times. To help her freshen her act, she hires Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder), a Gen Z comedy writer. The two slowly bond and butt heads. This current season has the two at odds as Daniels runs the writing room for Vance's new show. Article content Article content The show is a darling of the critics and has won multiple Golden Globes and Emmy Awards. Article content Article content 'The show is very funny. (It's) the only show that I'm actually straight-up laughing at that is a narrative TV comedy,' said Matts. 'Just being a part of something that is actually funny is rare … I don't have to lie and be like, 'I like the show,' because I genuinely do.' Article content Matts said while shooting the show and watching Smart, whose performance in the series has earned her a pair of Golden Globes and an Emmy, he had to remind himself he was an actor in the series not an audience member with a great seat. Article content 'I was like, 'Oh yeah, I am having to listen to her as an actor,' ' said Matts. 'She's coming off an Emmy. She had just done SNL, like, two nights before, and she's delivering this monologue perfectly. I had to be like, 'OK, active listening. I'm acting right now, and I'm not just mouth agape,' because I caught myself with my mouth a little open, being like, 'Oh, damn, I get to be a part of this,' which is awesome.'
New European
20-05-2025
- Business
- New European
Brexit is dead. Long live the future
The Matts are on something of a high. This week's EU deal suddenly feels much more consequential than they'd expected. Credit (for once) to Starmer … even in his technocratic monotone, he presided over a clear vibe shift in the UK's relationship with the EU. No, it doesn't go nearly far enough. No, it's not rejoin. But yes … it's a new pathway and it feels like we have, finally, a PM willing to start fixing the mess of the last 9 years. The hard yards start now, but at least we can be confident that we've won the argument, Brexit is definitively a dud, and the future beckons. Enjoy. EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Get The New European for just £1 for the first month. Head to
New European
08-05-2025
- Politics
- New European
The problem with this Labour government is…
The Matts are joined by New European political editor James Ball to step back and reflect on why Keir Starmer's government is conspicuously failing to excite and unite a British public desperate for change after so many years of Tory rule. They have their theories. Is there an easy(-ish) answer? And who should they really be worried about if it's not Reform? In the second half, the Matts take a look at the new documentary into the life of Leni Riefenstahl, filmmaker to the Nazis, and ask what her post-war rehabilitation tells us about the intersection of culture and politics. EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Get The New European for just £1 for the first month. Head to
New European
06-05-2025
- Politics
- New European
Zbig: the man who shaped the world
The Matts are joined by acclaimed author and FT journalist Edward Luce to talk about his new book Zbig— the definitive biography of Zbigniew Brzezinski, Cold War strategist and key architect of U.S. foreign policy. More than just a biography, Zbig offers sharp insights into the nature of power and America's role in the world. If you want to understand how global strategy is shaped, this episode is essential listening. Zbig: The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America's Cold War Prophet is out on May the 13th. Preorder here. EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Get The New European for just £1 for the first month. Head to
