Celebrity Interview | Entertainment & Film Industry - Somewhere in Montana's Matt Drago on the Dreamers Don't Sleep Mindset. -- Meet Matt Drago And His Roots

Greg Staffa 0:00

You're listening to the Staffa Corner Podcast, a Staffatarian look at entertainment and life with your host, Greg Staffa. My guest this episode is talented actor Matt Drago. He has a new film that came out on video on demand last month. It's called Somewhere in Montana. Matt, thanks for joining us today.

Matt Drago 0:40

Greg, thanks so much for having me.

Greg Staffa 0:42

Tell us a little bit about your upbringing and where are you from?

Matt Drago 0:45

So originally I come from two parents that were born in New York City, but they both met in rural Virginia. So I grew up kind of a country boy in the foothills of the Shenandoah Valley, but I moved back to New York City to pursue acting. I just grew up doing a lot of regional shows, community theater, and it was just kind of uh, you know, the next step in my process, you could say, to uh almost move back home because I'd heard all the stories from my mom and dad growing up in in New York City. And I felt like that was kind of where I belonged for my next chapter. So after I graduated high school, I went right up to uh New York City. I trained with some great acting teachers and voice teachers up there and uh got my degree from Marymount Manhattan College and studied with uh the best of the best and just kind of honed in my craft and continued to uh find my people. And uh a few years ago, then I decided to take the trip out west to pursue more uh TV and film, and and now I'm in LA.

Greg Staffa 1:54

At an early age, you wanted to be an actor. What was it though that made you decide?

Choosing Acting And Finding Mentors

Greg Staffa 2:00

I mean, it's one thing to to do plays and stuff, community theater, but you really knew that this was your future, you wanted the education out of it. What was it that made you take that bigger leap?

Matt Drago 2:12

Honestly, Greg, the love of storytelling. I felt from an early age, I was just one of those kids that, you know, just needed my own imagination. I would create a lot of scenarios and characters in my backyard playing around with my friends. And it was just something that I always say was born inside of me. Uh, as I grew up, I obviously, you know, worked on developing the craft. And that's why I always say to actors that are getting into it, I mean, your mentors are everything because they really teach you a little bit more form in how to create your own process as an artist. But it's something, honestly, that uh I really um loved from the minute I was put on to this planet. I just felt the power in storytelling. I felt that uh, you know, stories and human stories specifically were something that I loved to live inside. I felt like it was a way for me to experience the world in a big way. And I do, I say it all the time, but it was really the first love of my life.

Greg Staffa 3:15

I don't mean to put words into your mouth or imply anything. A lot of the actors that I've talked to, one of the reasons why they get involved in acting is they might have been like a single child that never had a brother or sister, so acting became an escape to be something else, or they had done with some tragedy, or they had gone through some experiences where they wanted to get away. Was there anything like that growing up in your childhood, or was it just purely a love of storytelling?

Matt Drago 3:46

Yeah, I mean, I think all families have challenges, right? But I think that, you know, there are lots of different people that find lots of different career paths for lots of different reasons, right? I will tell you that from my family upbringing, I have a very interesting scenario, which is that I am the oldest, the youngest, and an only child. So I'll explain that. My dad, his first marriage, he had three boys. And so I grew up the youngest of uh four boys in a household with my brothers. And then when my dad was divorced, uh basically my my mom and dad had me, and it was probably about 10, 11 years that I grew up an uh an only child, really, because all of my brothers had kind of moved out and were adults at that point. And then my mom and dad got divorced, and my mom remarried and had uh my younger sister. So I was then the oldest of two. So I feel like for me, I I don't know how much of it is or isn't part of my process, to be perfectly honest, or you could say my story, but I definitely feel like uh acting has saved me in many times of my life because it has given me something that I love so much that I will continue to fight for it. And I have taken pretty much all the odds and ends jobs that you can think of to, you know, keep my dream alive. You know, I have cleaned people's houses, I have, you know, uh done odds and ends handyman and painting jobs and bartending until 4 a.m. in New York City. And I just felt like because I loved acting and storytelling so much, it was uh something that I was always going to have something to support that. Now I am a successful real estate agent with one of the bigger teams in Los Angeles. And I balance those two things out to again keep the dream alive. So, you know, whatever path you take in life and, you know, whatever family situation it is, I think in some ways you can kind of take that to heart. It becomes obviously part of your story, but you know, you make your own stories too, right? And uh it's that classic nature versus nurture. So for me, I think it really stems back to even before I kind of knew what my family situation was going to unfold as uh I really did just love the the art of storytelling and just immersing myself in the world of imagination.

Greg Staffa 6:22

Was there a certain point in your life where you realized that acting was the future for you?

Rejection, Resilience, And Craft

Greg Staffa 6:30

I mean, it's one thing to to study it and to but to make that leap to beyond that. Was there any sign, was there any just belief in yourself? What what was it that you really knew that this was your future?

Matt Drago 6:46

Ooh, that's a good question. I think that I realized uh and I realize it more and more every day in my life that the journey is the destination, and if you love something enough, then you know you are willing to fight for it. I say this all the time, Greg, you know, because I live in LA and I've lived in New York City, and um I've been around a lot of dreamers in my life, and dreamers are fighters, like don't sleep on dreamers because we will fight tooth and nail to make sure that our dreams are realized or at least that we can keep them alive and there's no clear path, right? And so you try to create a family, you try to create people around you that are like-minded, you try to create, you know, kind of a safety net of people that will support you through the lowest of the lows. And and I I realize it more and more in my life that I wouldn't, you know, probably have the trajectory that I have had it not been for the mentors that I, you know, uh attracted into my life. And even going back to New York City, I remember asking people that were on the Broadway stage, like, who are you studying with? You know, could I get into that class? You know, just trying to study with the best. I mean, if you take anything seriously, you you want to be a sponge. You want to learn as much as you can as quickly as possible. And I feel like if you are open to the path and the unknowns of the path, then, you know, signs will will come as they're supposed to in life. And I think I've adapted very much in, you know, my development of understanding how to see those signs a little bit more. And that was uh something that was, you know, pretty prevalent when I moved from New York City, which again was my home. I lived with my my grandmother uh in New York City while I was in college. It was um, you know, some of the most special years of my life. But I felt like at a certain point I needed to, you know, see what the uh other side of the country was for me. And it was actually my teacher, Terry Schreiber, in uh a conversation that he had with me and just one of my truest mentors in my life that, you know, said, Why don't you give LA a shot? And it was at the time where I had uh, you know, met my girlfriend at the time, now my wife, and we decided to literally just take a car across the country and just see what the next chapter would be for us. And, you know, we gave it like a couple months, but we looked at each other a couple months later and we said, This is home now, isn't it? And and and yeah, we we knew it was home. And it's just it's being able to adapt, it's being able to stay open to life and you know, the ups and downs of life, and just being available to where the path can take you and being available to the people that will come into your life that will be a part of your journey.

Greg Staffa 9:47

Having talked to several actors and actresses, I think it becomes easy to say, you know, Matt Drago, actor, and dismiss all the work that goes into it when in reality there's a lot of rejection that I think people that are in the audience just don't realize and don't even really appreciate the amount of time and effort and the auditions and the the rejections and the I mean you're on a constant job search. Tell us a little bit about the mental gymnastics that you have to do to be able to pick yourself back up and keep on trying when I think for a lot of people that would be a very hard thing to do.

Matt Drago 10:30

Well, first of all, Greg, I really appreciate the reflection on that because rejection is uh a big part of what we do in the arts. You know, you are constantly trying to show people your voice. And the reality is, you know, you need for the most part production and opportunity to showcase the work that you've done. And, you know, a lot of times you get those moments and they are such celebratory moments that you have to relish in them because you remember all of the times where you didn't get the call back or, you know, you you were struggling. And in my life, it's been, you know, many types of struggles that I've had to overcome. But we all do that. So I don't want to make the acting profession, you know, different because, you know, there there are rejections in every type of industry. But what I will say is that the path isn't as clear and you are

Landing Fabian And Owning The Role

Matt Drago 11:30

constantly putting yourself out there and you continue to do the work. But I think the the thing that you have to hold on to more than anything as a creative and uh an actor is you have to continue to love the work. You have to continue to love to put yourself on on tape, and you have to enjoy the fact that you are getting an opportunity to showcase what you can bring uniquely to a role because you have to realize that when you are asked to put yourself on tape, like you have your own process. You know, like I said, I've I've learned from some great acting teachers. I have very many different techniques that I have, you know, learned in uh in in acting classes and with my mentors. And so sometimes I design a specific technique around a specific character, but it's it's it's just that love of it. It's just like understanding that this is your opportunity to put your stamp on how you feel you can bring life to a character. And then you have to give it away, and that's the hardest part. You have to give it away to, you know, the director or the casting director or the producer that, you know, saw you as somebody that could be a match, and you brought everything that you could to it and enjoying the love of just putting yourself out there for it, and then, you know, just seeing what happens. And sometimes, Greg, the the honest truth is you don't even know why a role comes to you or is a part of your life until after you do it. And I could say that about Fabian Fordugo and somewhere in Montana. It wasn't until I was on set and I started to really live and breathe and collaborate with some incredible actors and um, you know, our directors and producer um that I just realized why I was meant to carry that role. And I take that with um pride, I take it with humility, but I also take it with, you know, the fact that I have been working my whole life uh on this one specific goal, this one specific dream, which is to leave a couple good stories behind. And um, like myself, uh Fabian Verdugo, this character that I play in this film, is very much in sync with that. He's very much about legacy and leaving stories behind and stories that he feel feels like can make an impact on the world. And I feel like that in and of itself is uh a core to my principle as what I want to do as an actor is to make people, you know, get in touch with their emotions and feel and um and and and hopefully teach them something in the process. That in and of itself is why I fell in love with storytelling and why I grew up always wanting to be an actor.

Greg Staffa 14:17

I want to dissect something that you said. I don't want to look too much into it if I'm wrong, just feel free to tell me. But you had mentioned that you when you're doing an audition, you kind of create the character and you audition in in the in the way that you think that the character should be, or your interpretation of the character based on what you're auditioning for. But you said in summer for or somewhere in Montana, it really wasn't until you got on set that you realized why you were cast. Was who you auditioned as or who the character that you interpreted, and then the role that you got, was that different than than what you uh auditioned as, and then you realized it was something different, so you changed the your perception or your interpretation of the character, or were they relatively similar?

Matt Drago 15:10

They were s they were b i almost identical, um but but that's very insightful. I I feel like I have gotten to the point in my um acting journey and my career and my process as an actor where I try to give myself the clearest take I can on what I would

Method, Collaboration, And On-Set Growth

Matt Drago 15:30

bring to a character in the audition process because that is your one and only, you know, take, uh your shot, um, you know, so to speak, in, you know, showing the production what you uniquely can bring to the character. Now, within that, you know, obviously you have to be malleable, you have to be coachable, you have to understand that um specific to somewhere in Montana, uh, Brandon Smith is the writer and the director. So I love um collaborating with uh directors. In fact, it's one of my favorite things to do as an actor is having a director that sees it from the outside in, and in his case, also in the inside out, because he was the first person to put the words and the story to the page. But in doing that, you also, you know, have your your person, you know, uh me as Matt, that uh shows up to set and starts to collaborate with, you know, the great actors that I got to uh play with, uh Graham McTavish and Michelle Hurd and Michael Monks and Jonathan Stoddard and Kate Orsini and um Tasha Gates and Kaylee Macchio and just these phenomenal actors that I got to um collaborate with. And it's when you are actually doing those scenes because there are a lot of things about film and TV that are high stakes. You know, you you live with a character. In my case, I lived with Fabian for um well over a year because we pushed back the production a year uh so that we could include Graham because he had a scheduling conflict the year before. And it was great. It gave me an extra year to uh live with him and uh you know kind of develop some backstory, which is a part of my process and how he feels, how he reacts that way. When I get to set, I can kind of let that all go. And then the magic happens because I think when you are we when you've done the work and you feel very confident in the work that you've done, but then you show up and you start to collaborate and you start to have, you know, really wonderful bonds with the uh cast and crew. And we became a family up there. I mean, we went on hikes together, we, you know, shared our meals together, we had just um incredible conversations um, you know, on off camera. And I think because of that, I realized that this character is very much in line with who I am as a person. And so the two worlds kind of merged. So it wasn't that I felt like I was, you know, changing my take on the character per se. I think it was more that I was really feeling how this role would impact my life as Matt. And, you know, there are wonderful things about the method acting approach that really don't get enough credit because you hear sometimes the the horror stories or or the the the the people that take it too far. I think in many ways, I have learned in um the method acting approach with uh Terry Schreiber, who, you know, was friends with Lee Strasberg, uh, that you find a way to ground yourself in both yourself and in the character. And you just let those two worlds kind of um merge in a way. And I felt like with Fabian, the method approach made sense because I felt like there was so much alignment with me as Matt and him as Fabian that I could just kind of forget um those two and just kind of let myself fall into him and let him fall into me and bring that to the forefront. And so that's where I used a lot of my life experiences, um, my upbringing, my family. But I also gave him things that, you know, were not a part of my story, um, that maybe I needed to

Montana’s Magic And Small-Town Impact

Matt Drago 19:30

do a little bit more research on, like um, you know, not being a director. And so I showed up on set a week early and shadowed uh Brandon and, you know, different things about the character that were not like me. So, you know, I think it was just one of those things where uh when you finish a role, it's this it's this incredible feeling sometimes where some roles just feel like they will live on through you. And I feel like this role is one of those for me. And it's why I want to continue my journey, um, you know, and and hopefully be part of more productions and and hopefully create my own productions because I understand the value of collaboration um more and more as as I go through my my my journey in life, right? Is that it's the people around you, it's it's the people in life that really make an impact and make uh the journey of storytelling so special.

Greg Staffa 20:27

And you've been very vocal just in looking at your social media that somewhere in Montana it really has a special place in your heart as far as the various roles that you've had. Uh there is a little bit, it seems like more intimacy with getting to know the cast and crew. Did the filming locations happen to help with that? Because you weren't on a stage, you know, in New York or in California working on a sound stage. Uh you were doing some a little bit from the sounds of it, remote shooting. Did that kind of intimacy help in really developing a character and really getting involved in that character and kind of losing yourself?

Matt Drago 21:11

100%. And again, um so insightful because it really was. It was all on location, it was all shot uh in Pulse in Montana, as uh my friend Jonathan Stoddard, who plays Spence in the film, says it's God's wallpaper. And it's true. It just there's something mystical about shooting in uh Montana in the summer, and something very special about shooting in a small town where everybody is aware that you're there making a movie. And Graham and I would go to Betty's Diner and we'd hear people behind us talk uh about, you know, the movie that was going on and how exciting. And again, that process, it just has so many layers of how unique and special it is. Uh, I was walking down Poulsons Main Street, you know, shopping for a couple of gifts for my wife when we had screened it up there because we did a screening at that theater that ironically was the last shot that I shot in the film was walking out of that theater. The next time I walked into that theater, it was to see the finished film. And just in meeting a couple people in the local shops, they said pretty much all the same types of feedback, which is that it was so special to see their little corner of the world showcased. And I feel like that is uh an impactful thing that really resonated with me because I look at our world right now and I look at our society, and you know, art reflects life, reflects art. But I think a lot of the dissonance that we feel sometimes is that people don't feel like they have a voice. And if we can make these little films that showcase a pulse in Montana, um, you know, or or a little part of Virginia that I'm from, maybe it gives people a little bit more pride in in the fact that they're seen and they're heard. And I I really did. I felt like I fully grasped that when I started to get the feedback from the locals that day. And it's just uh again, it, you know, special is the word word that keeps coming up, but it is. It's it's a special, unique process when you get to live in the world where you're shooting it. I felt like I was learning things about even the characters that Brandon had created in the script. And then I'd meet the person that that character was based on in real life because we would go to that local restaurant and we'd meet that person that he wrote into the script as that, you know, bartender, or uh, you know, that that person at the barber shop, or, you know, that unique uh person, you know, that that uh owned this or did that. And they're all created into

Blocking Out Noise And Serving Story

Matt Drago 24:00

the tapestry of this big story that we're telling to connect people, to make people understand that you don't have to agree on everything, but that there is more that connects us than could ever divide us if we let each other in.

Greg Staffa 24:14

And did having that location for summer in Montana, did that help being so far? Well, did that help being far enough away from Hollywood where you weren't worried about, you know, paparazzi popping in, you weren't worried about I mean I'm sure there were some fans in the town that you know wanted to catch an eye on what was being filmed, but you kind of had a a safety net away from Hollywood that kind of isolation that helped kind of take some of the pressure off of what you were doing and just be in your own environment where you were hanging out with the actors and actresses, you weren't feeling that pressure and burden of Hollywood.

Matt Drago 24:56

Yeah, I think so. I think specifically because we were living in the world that you know the film is based in, uh, made it very special. You know, you have to try as an actor, almost like an athlete, to tune out noise in whatever way that you can. And I think that the best way that you do that, like the athlete in practice practicing their reps, um, you know, uh some of the best plays that happen in in sports or are made on the practice field. I think that's the same in acting. It's that if you continue to do your reps as an actor and you continue to enjoy and continue to grow within your art and find new ways to incorporate things into your process, things like you know, the press or the media, I think you learn how to, you know, see them for what they are and appreciate the work that they do, but also understand that, you know, you need to keep that separate from what you do on the playing field, which, you know, for for us is either in a studio or uh like in somewhere in Montana, literally, you know, in the actual location that uh Brandon wrote. I I I'll go on a uh a little tangent here, but that um you know, cattle ranch was actually the the cattle ranch that he wrote into the script. I mean, he he he felt like it was that location. He wrote the uh owner of that ranch as um in in in many ways as Graham's character. And he wrote himself in in some ways as you know the director and the two worlds because he uh Brandon moved from California to Montana. So in understanding those two worlds, he was pulling at things that he knows. And so you have to, you know, you have to write what you know, you have to create what you know. And as far as, you know, the media, like I I appreciate what they do, you know, I appreciate being on your show today because you are giving me a platform to share uh the story within the story. But at the same time, you know, that doesn't necessarily have to bleed into the work that I do as an actor because that's uniquely my process. And I think the more that you can keep those two separate, and you know, it's almost like I tell the production, it's like I'm all in as an actor. When you cast me, like I'm a collaborator, I'm there to serve the story and the material and to bring my best work to the forefront. But when I give that character away and I'm done with that part of it, I am here to become an ambassador for the film, which is, you know, what I'm doing today, right? Because, you know, that's kind of the next step. And what's so beautiful about media and social media is that we can have these conversations like we're having today. And I can kind of tell you a little bit more about, you know, the story of somewhere in Montana. That way, when you see it, you can experience a little bit more on a deeper level. This is uh a story and a time in my life in being a part of really this month and a half that I was up in Montana that I will cherish forever because it was special and I knew it in the moment. You know, you don't necessarily always get, you know, uh an opportunity to have, you know, um long conversations and and and dinners and hikes

Validation, Community, And Independence

Matt Drago 28:30

with um, you know, collaborators that you respect and grow to love, you know, because I say it meaningfully and and truthfully that we really became a family. Like we all bought in on this story. And I think to your point, when you are on a set, maybe doing uh a guest star on a TV show or um, you know, maybe a supporting character on a film, you know, there is still pressure there, but maybe there's not the amount of breath and time to develop those relationships, which in a way makes your work as an actor even more valuable, right? Because you have to tune out more and you have to uh engage more in the moment that you are living in in that story. But uh you find ways to do it. Uh, you know, some of the off-screen uh opportunities uh and memories are more special for some productions than they are for others. But you have to remember that regardless of maybe getting an hour or days or months with uh specific collaborators, that sometimes you just connect with people. And um, I'm very lucky to say that I connected with with Graham and Michelle on a on a very deep level. And they're two people that I highly respect for not only their work, but as as human beings and how much they love actors and how much they truly are pros in how they collaborate and how they you know stay open to someone like me that you know is is is more of an unknown actor and and and is is is is getting my footing but but not looking at me that way um looking at me as you know somebody that was meant to play this role and and giving me love and loving me through that and you know sometimes that imposter syndrome can can kick in but once I met them I felt I felt like I was I was part of the family and and it just made it really effortless. And I you know for me I think for this role specifically uh it's something that I was very grateful for because I know that it's not the norm. I know that when you are like you said on a studio or you know shooting in in LA, there can be more noise around you and less time for you to develop those relationships. But this one for me is like I said something that I will forever hold dear because of just how much time we got to to really become a family and uh really uh harness these really special relationships.

Greg Staffa 31:16

I think often as fans we forget there's a human side to these actors and actresses that goes beyond just the personas that we see on film that they're real people with their own real stories and so to be able to kind of tune into that while you're on there as a professional filming something is uh an opportunity that's like you said you'll never forget versus you know showing up on a on a set so how did that change you as an actor having this experience because not everyone that's been an actor has that kind of intimacy and privateness that you got as an actor for about a month.

Matt Drago 32:01

It validated so much for me personally again you know you're in a class uh uh in New York City with uh 11 other actors for two and a half years you get a degree in acting you have done you know probably about 50 stage shows you grew up doing regional theater you studied read plays you workshop scenes you audition audition audition uh you know you spend so much time and life and effort on something that you truly love and sometimes you don't necessarily always get validated for it and you know acting in the entertainment industry is very forward facing I would say in in in many ways at least the the the people that aren't in it and so they see the parties and the red carpets and I always jokingly say like who wouldn't want to go out with your you know with with your date you know to a nice party but it's it's to celebrate all of the hard work and sacrifice that goes into these projects and I think more so into independent films because they really are I mean they are you know they're they're scraping pennies a lot of times they're asking investors for support it is a labor of love. It was the first time that I've ever been on set where I knew everybody's name you know from the gaffers to the sound design you know it it was just a very special experience to to feel together all the time. And I think for me to answer your question, I mean the word that just resonates with me again is validation because I don't think I'm any more or less of an

The Business Shift: Streams And Strikes

Matt Drago 34:00

actor uh before somewhere in Montana or after somewhere in Montana, but it gives me the opportunity to show my mom and dad like my work, you know, for the first time on a bigger stage, my friends who are my family who I'm actually inviting to a little screening in the theater that I grew up in just next month in Frale Virginia to bring the town together and to hopefully open it up to the next generation of kids that maybe can see me and say, wow this is a kid from my hometown and and and he went to New York and he went to LA and you know he's doing what he loves still at this point in his life. And you know I don't sugarcoat it. I don't say that it's been easy because it hasn't been but you know I again I don't have any connections to this industry. Like I've done it from scratch but I'm proud of that. I'm proud of the sacrifices that I've made because I love it so much. And so I think that you know the validation sometimes comes in sharing it with others that know you know the the the times that you've been most down, the times that you have really struggled the times that you haven't believed in yourself. And to have that moment of celebration with them next month, uh Greg, I already know it's going to be one of the best nights of my life because they are my family and I get to see it in their eyes and hopefully they'll be proud of the film. But I, you know, want to share it with them because of how honored and proud I am that I have the relationships that I have with them and that they've carried me to this moment in my life.

Greg Staffa 35:48

Nice. Now one of the questions I have and this might be above your pay grade and depending on how long you've been doing this you might not have the full picture or answer so bear with me. But Matt Damon once in an interview talked about not with me but an interview he did talked about how when he was coming up as an actor he used to be able to do like a big budget like Bourne but then also be able to do a smaller piece like we bought a zoo something that might not make the big blockbuster money that the Bourne films did but the money that came off of DVD sales and rentals and stuff like that would make up that kind of financial gap and nowadays you know somewhere in Montana was in the theater for a bit but it's already out on video on demand there isn't that that rental thing is there any concern as an insider as an actor the state of film and television that we're not able to do somewhere in Montana maybe five years from now because there isn't that that funding how is your feeling on where things are as far as Hollywood is it's a tricky question.

Matt Drago 37:09

We have had you know obviously what four strikes last year in the industry and we're trying to figure out these uncharted territories with AI with you know we'll say the AMPTP who you know want to invest in the most part for projects that they know will have a good return. Independent films are a labor of love like I say I mean you know there are so many stories that I've heard on independent films specifically where you know people will sell their house, their cars, take out loans to you know just have this story come into being because it's something that they feel so passionate about. I mean it could be uh a lifelong passion project for them that they have been working for you know decades um to create to bring into the world it is very easy to have an idea for a film it is a very hard thing to bring it to fruition from beginning to end. And that is uh something that I I I you know I I think in in the world that we're in we have to support each other in in all ways that we can we have to stand by each other and we have to continue to know that human stories matter and I'm talking about all human stories you know like we have to have our stories um in in film and TV reflect humanity and those stories can only uniquely be told by humans. And so it's it's very tricky right now. I mean I could go into specifics on you know like my reps you know they tell me sometimes that uh a guest star will show up on TV once and then you know it'll go straight to a streaming platform. And you know the the streaming platforms uh sometimes hide metadata showing how many impressions that you're getting on that show. So you know the people that had the Nielsen ratings uh in the 90s and the 2000s with like the big shows like Friends and Seinfeld like those days are kind of uh behind us at this point because of uh the way that people consume content and that's on these streaming platforms and we need them but they also need us. And so I I'm just hoping and I always try to look at things uh from a positive standpoint that we will find a way to work together to find solutions to make sure that actors uh are compensated that you know cast and and and crew and and and production is is compensated and that we can still

Sports, Home Teams, And Mentorship

Matt Drago 40:00

get returns for the executives that are fronting the money to make these uh projects happen. So it's uh it's a new world and it is um constantly changing more now than it ever has before but I think as long as we keep leaning in and appreciating that human stories matter and they need to be told uniquely by humans I I have to believe that hopefully we'll be okay.

Greg Staffa 40:26

There's room still for those kind of stories to be told. Well Matt I want to thank you for coming on Summer in Montana is now available on video on demand. I just have a couple of quick final questions that are sporadic out there. So just bear with me. But all of your bios that I've looked at anytime I've looked up your name and tried to do a little bit of research on you it says that you're an avid avid sports fan which to me is the Hollywood cop out because you film in so many different places that you don't want to declare an allegiance to someplace it seems like a safe answer. So I'm just gonna put you on point blank. Who is your team?

Matt Drago 41:07

Yeah no it's definitely I I say avid sports fan because I grew up on the East Coast and I pretty much rooted for the the New York teams growing up but I really like rooting for the home team. So now my allegiance is to my LA Rams. I also love the Kansas City Chiefs just because I feel like they do it the right way I love uh you know again these coaches like McVeigh and Andy Reid uh you know social media is great to just kind of see those uh locker room moments just how much love and support they put into you know the team I I just appreciate that because it's what I've always felt as an actor with the mentors that came into my life. So I just I have an affinity for coaches and mentors. So uh it would be those two for football, for baseball. It's uh my back-to-back World Series champion Dodgers because like me, the Dodgers moved from New York City to uh LA and it's that song that plays in in the seventh inning stretch right you root root root for the home team and so I've really enjoyed uh watching the joy that they play with and again talk about Dave Roberts I mean I think even Derek Jeter said it this year who I grew up seeing uh you know play games like because my dad and I used to be Yankee season ticket holders at the old Yankee stadium and uh it's like he said about Dave Roberts it's almost like he could see the future this year when he was making some of the calls and leaving you know Rojason, uh having him hit the home run, uh putting Pajes in and making that big catch. It's it's special when you just have a belief in your your team because of how much time you spend with them. And that's why I say I really love the sports but yes I have an allegiance. I wasn't trying to be vague about it you know my LA teams are my LA teams but I just love the sport uh you know almost broader than just my teams is uh you know when I watch uh you know a baseball game in October or November or I you know spend you know Sunday football with my wife and my dog it just it brings me back to uh a a childhood escape and and I think that's you know very prevalent of of acting for me is that it was uh an escape for me. It was a place I could dream and I see how many dreams are happening in in sports and I think it's a great way to bring people together too to root for one thing and to let the world kind of like disappear for three hours is something why I do. I say I'm an avid sports fan. And then basketball it's my it's my Lakers again I'm going home team here but I just uh I love what LeBron has has done um for so long and and what an ambassador he is uh on and off the court and uh I'm really enjoying watching Luca now with the Lakers and uh you know again it's a it LA is a big basketball town so we get really uh fired up about the Lakers and you know hockey is tough. I feel like I'm a little bit divided. I like I like the Ducks and and the Kings and you know they're both kind of LA so I I feel like for basketball I don't root against uh either team because we've got two real hockey teams and and and two baseball teams or two two hockey teams and two basketball teams. We kind of have two baseball teams but the Dodgers just because they moved from New York are are my baseball team. But yeah I root root root for the home teams and I'm an LA guy so uh I try to find escape in sports whenever I can because uh again I see a lot of uh similarities and parallels to what I do as an actor.

Greg Staffa 44:50

I kind of regret asking that question now because I'm in Minnesota and the passion that you're describing and the winning that you're describing

Identity, Legacy, And Full-Circle Moments

Greg Staffa 45:00

is something that's very foreign to me. And so basically your answer was a big rub-in of how great your teams that you follow are and so I'm kind of already regretting asking that because it just made me realize that how much we suck.

Matt Drago 45:16

So um I appreciate no you don't suck you you it's it there you have to almost look at like the joy of rooting for your home team and I mean there are things within different leagues that that um can seemingly be unfair and I I I am I am objective about uh my teams I just kind of you know reflect on the the that's why I say avid sports fan because sometimes it's not just about the team you know that you root for you're rooting for your city too you know you're rooting for the place that you call home and you know we've all had heartbreaks. I mean believe it or not even Yankee fans have had heartbreaks and not as many. I understand that they've been very successful but I mean one that I remember growing up that that um was was pretty impactful to me was when and I know that Derek Jeter said it this this year uh on the panel is when they didn't win the World Series after 9-11. Like that was one that really could have brought the city together. And again like you know the LA fires that happened this year I feel like a a championship um can really you know or really just the sport just going out and seeing your team play and rooting for the players and now with social media being able to follow them a little bit more and understanding their stories. So at the end of the day I don't think it's all about winning. I think it's how you play the game I really do believe that to my core you know so I I understand where you're coming from but but yeah I think just to to escape to a baseball game or a hockey or um basketball you know football is uh is just a a great thing to do.

Greg Staffa 46:57

I will say that you did steal the Lakers and the ducks from Minnesota. Those were both original fan original teams.

Matt Drago 47:05

Uh final question again I appreciate your time but so much of what we do for when we describe an actor is we say Matt Drago uh starring in you know somewhere in Montana you know Matt Drago avid sports fan fourth degree back black belt um but when you get up in the morning and you look in the mirror splash a little water in your face who's it that you see a husband and a dog dad you know somebody that is still you know just trying to uh enjoy my journey as an actor and my love of storytelling you know uh I'm a person I'm I I'm you know I'm no different than anybody else uh I just you know grew up loving something enough to continue to fight for it and to continue to learn and to continue to grow and I felt that acting was the best vessel for me to to do that in. And so for me it's just uh I think I keep continue to go through life and and just really appreciate the journey. And um like I said next month um going back home uh to my original movie theater and to be able to open that you know 230 seat theater to family and friends and people that I grew up doing karate with that have supported me for years and years and to be able to share something that's a full circle moment for

Closing Thanks And VOD Release

Matt Drago 48:30

me. And I'm just um I'm I I I continue to just uh be in love with um the process of creating and telling stories and just uh try to do what I love as much as I can every day of my life.

Greg Staffa 48:45

Well Matt Drago thank you again for coming on again Somewhere in Montana is available on video on demand and I'll put some links to that so people can find it. Appreciate you coming on and wish you all the success and look forward to seeing where your career takes ya. Thank you so much Greg it's been a pleasure