Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Meehan.
Matthew, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As an actor, I started doing plays in 2014, just to get a feel for it and see if I really liked it. I always had a niche for entertaining people, I loved telling stories and making people laugh, so I decided to wait till I was 18 was long enough to try acting. After being cast to play a couple of ensemble parts in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” I saw from a new perspective how truly amazing it was to perform and tell stories in a way I had never done before. From then on, I was hooked. I “caught the bug” as many say in this industry. Immediately following that play, I was a part of a few musicals including Damn Yankees, Footloose, and even performed in a Burlesque theatre, Prohibition Supperclub downtown, where I played a Prince in “Masque of the Red Death” and even did a burlesque number in “Tales of a Hard Nut,” a raunchy spinoff of the well known Christmas show, “The Nutcracker.”
Most memorable of all was my first leading role in the play “Noises Off,” a British farce that was without a doubt the most fun I’ve ever had on stage. This show was particularly special not only for all the laughs we got but because we opened two weeks after Hurricane Harvey. Originally, we were set to open the weekend that the hurricane came, but obviously, due to weather, we pushed the show back. I can’t fully describe how amazing it felt to make so many people laugh, and how it felt when after the show, many came up to us and thanked us for making them laugh during a hard time. We helped people escape their troubles for a little while, forget about the damage, forget about the bills, and just enjoy a fun show. It will forever be one of my most important roles.
After this play, I wanted to focus more on film. Theatre is wonderful and I love live performances, but I needed to start fueling my dreams to be a film actor and fight choreographer. Part of my journey was realizing that I could tell stories without using my words, but instead using my martial arts knowledge to create compelling fight sequences that add to the story in many ways. I’ve always had a deep passion for it. Any movie I watched with a good set of fights was always right up my alley. My whole life, I studied fight scenes very closely as they would unfold. I’d analyze the styles they were working with, the flow of it, everything.
Fight choreography for me is my way of creating art. As an actor, you already have the dialogue to work with, and from there it’s about creating a character with a purpose in saying what’s been given to you, and this in itself is a very brief description of the art of acting. Screenwriting is also an art. I don’t know if I’ll ever be a great screenwriter, I’m sure going to try, but nothing comes more naturally to me than to create movement, or a sort of dance, through several martial arts styles.
So, I started to really pick up my training because it had been a while. I have a strongly rooted Taekwondo background. This is where my training all started, learning with my cousins because they were in an academy and, ironically, my mother hated martial arts and refused to ever let me get involved. I found loopholes though. So, I trained with my cousins, practicing taekwondo offensive and defensive fundamentals from the time I was 13 till I was 18 and old enough to make my own decisions. I then enrolled in a Krav Maga school, where I studied for a year and learned the techniques used in many fight scenes. I continued training on my own, practicing Taekwondo and boxing fundamentals, creating fight sequences whenever I could.
All the while, I was taking acting classes, watching films from a different perspective; that of an actor and as a writer or filmmaker, trying to figure out how I would make my own projects one day. I would constantly listen to podcasts with actors and business owners sharing their wisdom, taking all the mental notes I could.
About one year ago, a filmmaker messaged me saying he had a friend who was auditioning men for a leading male role in a feature film here in Houston called “Lion Killer.” I read the synopsis, a film about a Jiu-Jitsu Professor who is damaged and has to learn to let love guide his life and relationships rather than pain and fear. I didn’t hesitate after I read that to set myself up to audition.
They had me do a filmed audition first, so I sent that in with the help of my lovely girlfriend who is also pursuing her acting dreams along with me. Then, they had me come into the sound studio they were using at HCC Alief, I auditioned again with the same scene they sent me. Finally, they had me come and do a screen test with Regina Ting Chen, the phenomenal female lead that they already cast. I felt comfortable and confident with her, and the chemistry was instant. A week later, I was offered the part by Derrick Fury, the writer, director, and producer. Everything felt right about the project from both his side and mine, so we went ahead and made it happen.
After six months of shooting primarily on weekends, we now find ourselves in post-production. And I cannot wait to see the finished product. Everything was done so professionally, the cast is amazing, the story is powerful and relatable, not only to people in the martial arts community but to anyone who has ever encountered domestic violence, witnessed it or experienced it. And now, here I am, taking a small break from projects to really focus on me. I now work as a Boxing/ Kickboxing Instructor at Title Boxing in Midtown Houston, and in my spare time I continue to train in Jiu-Jitsu (playing a Jiu-Jitsu professor will instill that passion in you), and I recently picked up Kali Escrema sticks and train those fundamentals whenever I can. I have some choreographed pieces ready to go, now, I’m just plotting to find some good stuntmen/martial artists to bring my visions to life so I can start putting together a reel strictly for fight choreography. That’s my story in essence, how I started and the overall journey that’s brought me here, and it’s only the beginning!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The hardest struggles are in the beginning, from my own experience at least. This is different for every actor, every journey. For me, the struggle was finding legitimate work in Houston. I had come across a couple of fake projects, even a couple of scams, with some very unprofessional people. Times like that, I considered dropping the whole dream entirely. But by deciding to learn from these instances, it taught me to be a lot more careful about finding projects. I changed my approach by talking to actors I knew, learning where they auditioned, what theatres they performed for, etc. I began doing more research on projects when I saw the casting call to really see who I was getting involved with. By doing this, I only ever found legitimate, professional projects to go out for.
Another part of the struggle is getting used to rejection. I was turned down for a couple of roles for plays and even one as a stuntman/ main fighter in a fighting short film, which was especially tough for me because I believed myself to be perfect for the project. But this taught me to remain humble, and that even though you deliver a strong audition, the director could just have a different vision or idea in mind that has nothing to do with you personally, they just decide to go in a different direction. Knowing this allowed me to audition with confidence that as long as I do the best I can and deliver a lasting first impression, everything will work out the way it’s supposed to. Even if I don’t get the part, they will always remember me showing up, doing my best, and showing them what I can do, so they could potentially invite me to audition for something I would’ve never dreamed of. (This happened for the play “Noises Off”)
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Lion Killer Film story. Tell us more about it.
The feature film that I had the honor to be a part of was called Lion Killer. It’s a story about a struggling Brazilian Jiu Jitsu professor who has lived the later part of his life simply surviving by training and teaching others. He then meets a woman who very unexpectedly changes his life, and over the course of this story, he must make difficult decisions, and learn that there is much more to life worth living for than fighting. It’s a story that I believe martial artists can really relate to, especially regarding the hardships of training and progressing through ranks expressed in the film, but it’s a story that all people can really learn from and appreciate. It discusses the true reality of domestic violence, expresses how people cope with it, and many other aspects of life that are very real and relatable to everyone.
When I heard about the audition for the male lead role of Michael in Lion Killer, it was like a dream role of mine had come to life. My passion for martial arts, teaching others, building relationships, overcoming struggles through training, and many other aspects of my own personal life were so deeply engrained into the role. As I mentioned earlier, just in the first steps of the audition process, I read the sides and I couldn’t believe how closely the story resonated with my own life and aversity.
After the taped audition, I was invited in for a live audition where I met Derrick Fury, who wrote and would direct the feature, along with a few other key players that I would soon have the absolute privilege of working with. Seeing the professionalism, the passion, and just feeding off the energy of the room were all signs that I could really be a part of something amazing, much larger than myself, and I felt that I could really be a part of a great story to tell.
The last part of the audition process was a chemistry reading with the female lead, Regina Ting Chen, whom I would be playing opposite. She is an amazing actress who was so kind and generous with her talent. She was one of those actors who just brings you deeply into the scene, and she made it completely effortless for me to connect with her and go through the arc of a very intense, emotional scene. After the first time going through it, everything just felt so right, and I could tell we were going to do this.
The filming journey went from the beginning of April 2018 to finalizing principal photography around September later that year. It was a very hot, tedious, but also fast 6 months. Over the course of this time, I had the privilege of meeting and working with some of the most talented, passionate people. From the magic happening behind the camera, to the connections happening in front of it, every day was certain that we were creating something that people would really enjoy and resonate with. Every single character involved, in their own unique relationships, had such strong purpose and energy in their scenes. This enabled everyone on set to really connect to the story, which motivated me to come in every day and put forth my absolute best.
The biggest challenge for me was portraying a believable Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt when I had never done Jiu Jitsu before. Derrick made it clear very early on that my focus should be to play the person, not the black belt. Therefore, my goal was really to create a compelling character who is damaged, has his walls high, but still has his moments of vulnerability and clear imperfection. Even so, we spent a lot of time training in the art. He shared a lot of knowledge with me. We had a lot of great conversations about it, and about martial arts in general, while I did research on my own, learning the roots of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. We had a few days on set where many of the extra actors were practitioners of the art, all at different levels of their journey. I took that time when we weren’t filming to get to know these people, learn their story, their philosophies and what they loved about it, joked about what they hated about it, and I did my best to use all of this to bring into my own character’s world and history.
Lion Killer will forever be a huge teacher for me as an actor, martial artist, and person. I never expected to learn as much as I did about film making and storytelling from every side, as I did over the course of this filming journey. I will forever be thankful for the immense opportunity given to me by Derrick to play a part in telling his story and for being a part of a truly amazing creation. The film is almost finished with its final editing, and I can’t wait to see the finished product. Thank you so much for reading my story, please be sure to follow @lionkillerfilm on Instagram, and Lion Killer Film on Facebook for updates!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck is always a tricky concept in business and life. Some people believe in only luck, some people believe in only God and things happening the way they should. Some people don’t believe in any of that, and that things will happen however they happen and you just have to accept how it goes.
Personally, I do believe in God. I believe there is infinite, universal energy that responds to us and gives us what we need when we need it. I refer to luck as “a lovely circumstance” that happened because you were in the right place at the right time, or met the right person, or did the right thing. I believe I’ve been blessed with opportunities. I was lucky to come across opportunities that worked out for me, and in hindsight, I consider myself lucky to have failed in many areas many times. But I would say that in life and in business, luck, or a lovely circumstance, has definitely enabled me to learn or grow or do many things in life that I’m grateful for, even for the things that didn’t exactly work out the way I expected.
Pricing:
- At Title Boxing, I offer private training from a Boxing, Kickboxing technique standpoint and from a fitness standpoint. I teach all aspects of the art; stance, balance, spacing, timing, control, hand/foot eye coordination, etc. And every aspect of fitness as well, from strength training, to core, speed, stamina, etc. I offer sessions in packages. The most popular is my 5 pack, 5 one hour sessions for a total of only $400.
- I offer 30-minute sessions as well. The 5 pack would only be $300 for five 30 minute sessions.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 281-888-4403 is the number for my gym. Call and ask for me!
- Email: m.m.meehan98@att.net is my personal email
- Instagram: matt_meehan_5
Image Credit:
Steven Grant, Derrick Fury
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