Below you will find various quotes by Matt from his interviews. More will be added when more interviews are discovered. Please give credit to Matt Bomer Fan.com if posting elsewhere. Enjoy!
Personal
“I am interested in every charity I can help. Not to assume that I have any status or anything, but any way that this show provides me to let me use whatever spotlight I have to let me help other people, I’m just really psyched about doing it, because that’s the responsibility of putting yourself in the public eye.”
“I’m not one of those people who beats around the bush with my family. I don’t try to sugarcoat anything when I go home. I get right to the point and ask what’s going on in their lives.”
“I’m the person in the family who a lot of times, people will pull me aside and say, ‘Hey, Matt, listen. This and this happened. What do you think?’ There’s almost this weird advantage to being totally isolated because they sort of seek solace in me.”
“Human beings are good, they have shadow, every single one of us has redeeming qualities and every single one of us has qualities that people can hold against us. That’s what makes us human.”
“I had to weigh my options, which were limited if I continued playing football. Honestly, I wasn’t that good. I was always that fringe guy anyway, the guy who played football and then did the musicals.”
“I’m a pretty chill person. I’m kind of a homebody and I like to just hang out with friends and have dinner. I’m not, you know – I’m definitely not Neal Caffrey in the sense that I’m not, you know, drinking a $500 bottle of wine at a nightclub. I’m just – I’m pretty chill.”
“I watch it (Dollhouse) whenever I can to support Eliza, yeah, but she’s fantastic on it. Gorgeous and hot and all the stuff she should be on that show.”
“My first kiss was in the fourth grade with a girl named Darcy on the end of a diving board. We were on the swim team together.”
“I like to sing and leave songs on voicemail. It comes from the heart.”
“Nobody in this country had faced a tragedy of this magnitude before (9/11). New York became a ghost town for a while after that – I couldn’t afford to go anywhere – but everybody came back after a while to rally the city. It was an incredible experience that made me value life a lot more.”
“New York was my first stop after school, because I thought Los Angeles would be too much of culture shock.”
“I’ve been more of a jeans and T-shirt kind of guy, but when you dress like Neal does every day, you start to have an appreciation for the finer things in life – so my wardrobe budget has definitely increased!”
“I work such crazy hours that I don’t really have much down time – but, when I do get a break, I try to stay in touch with the people who make sure I keep my feet on the ground.”
“My parents raised me right, so I always open doors for people and try to have good manners.”
“I’ve been a con artist since I was 16 and trying to get my dad to buy me a car. I never succeeded, but I learnt a lot of tactics.”
“It’s hard to talk about it without sounding obnoxious, but I do notice it when I walk down the street and people say things to me. Thankfully, it’s all been positive, although one person did start crying, which was uncomfortable and strange!”
“I thought I was going to go straight to New York, and I’m glad that I didn’t. Pittsburgh was a good middle ground for me. It is a city that grew on me over the four years I was there. It’s a beautiful city with an incredible history, and the more time that I spent there, the more that I loved it.”
“The funny thing is, if I’m wearing a T-shirt and jeans nobody says anything to me. If I’m wearing a jacket and a tie, I get a couple of comments when I am walking down the street. So yes, people do say things and they are always very kind and it’s always very flattering and I’m always open to it. It’s a little odd to lose your anonymity; I’m not going to lie. But if it’s the cost of getting to play great parts and having a great gig, then I am happy to give it up.”
” I would say a big difference between my character and me is that I can be too trusting. And I’ve realized in this business, that’s not necessarily the smartest thing to be. I definitely have a thing or two to learn from the con artists.”
I’m a jeans and T-shirt kind of guy. But for a nice social function, I like to make an effort. It shows people that you give a damn.”
“Anybody who is rude to anyone in the service industry is automatically out.”
“I like strong opinions – I’ll take that any day over someone who agrees with everything.”
“I like to look stylish, but never trendy. I don’t want to look at pictures of me 10 years from now and say, ‘What was I thinking?’ ”
“A man’s uniform is pretty standard, so I like adding a cool tie or tie bar to let my personal style shine through a little.”
“Never forget your manners. They go a long way in both your business and personal life. If you look and act like you are making an effort, it will be appreciated.”
“For me, a lot of my 20s were about finding out who I wanted to be. When you reach your 30s, you develop a much stronger sense of who you are, and that simplifies everything – from what I wear to who I spend my time with.”
“There are things I love and appreciate in New York – the culture, the metropolitan aspect, taking public transportation. The museums, the theater. And New Yorkers. There’s nothing I love more than a really indignant New Yorker walking through our shot who says ‘I don’t care what you f***ers are doing, I’m going to my building!’ They’re so righteous about it.”
“I’ve sold this pilot I’ve been working on to the CW. I just turned in the final draft and they’re deciding if they’re going to shoot it or not in the next few weeks. It’s the first thing that I’ve sold. I won’t act in it. It’s not a vanity piece, it’s never something where I thought let me write something for me.”
“I will not be joining Twitter any time soon. I just don’t think that the day-to-day ramblings of my life would be interesting enough to hold an audience.”
Acting
“As a kid, around sixth grade, I got into theater. It was sort of a niche I found. It was a way for me to have a blast and express myself.”
“As an actor, when you walk onto a set, you’re always working with different actors with different processes, and I kind of respect them all. And if they make the movie better, and if they help you out as an actor, then I have no problem with it.”
“The acting program I went to was like really, really comprehensive. It was about sixty hours a week of really, really hard work. So you found out really, really quick, if acting was something you really wanted to do for the rest of your life or not.”
“Watching them (soap operas) it just didn’t seem like something that I really was that interested in, but actually getting to work on one, you realize it’s pretty a good place to hone your craft and a great place to make a lot of mistakes kind of early on and it’s not gonna matter.”
“As an actor you got to just kind of realize what you are and what you aren’t in control of. When it comes to TV, you’re in control of showing up to work on time, doing the best work that you can, and you got to trust that the people, the higher ups or whatever, know what they’re doing. And know when the best time to put the show on. You kinda just let go and whatever’s gonna happen will happen and you can’t really predict the zeitgeist or what kind of show’s gonna hit when.”
“I’m not really biased towards any medium, you know. What’s important to me…obviously, you have to do some job to help you pay the bills. What’s important to me is that they continue to work on projects that kind of challenge artists and hopefully affect people in a positive way.”
“As an actor, you can never judge the character you’re playing. I think-I just said I think. I want, like, an electric shock that goes up my arm. If you approach a character from a place of judgment, you’re really digging yourself a hole as an actor. So, what I try to focus on is who he is and what motivates him and play the truth of it.”
“Don’t worry if people think you’re good. Make this your experience. And find out what makes you unique as an artist. You don’t get the opportunity to do that as much in the real world.”
“In middle school I had a teacher who taught a class called theater arts. I kind of fell in love with it. It was a way for me to express myself and have fun, entertain myself and other people. I’ve always loved to make people laugh… it was just a natural way for me to do that.”
“If that opportunity ever presented itself again, it would definitely be something I would be interested in. I would love to do a comic book role.”
“Any character that you create is ultimately the product of your imagination and the writers’ imagination. So, they’re aspects of myself, but I wouldn’t say they’re all aspects of myself that I exercise in my daily life, they are just certain aspects of my imagination.”
“The best experience for me at CMU was being on stage so much, getting that comfort ability and learning that technique you can use with any type of work because you’re comfortable with it and know your skill as an actor.”
“When I was about 8 or 9, I started asking my mom how I could get an agent. Thankfully, my mom was like, ‘What are you talking about? Go play outside.'”
“Playing a role successfully and preparing for a con are startlingly similar. You have to know your mark, do all your homework about the character you’re inhabiting in order to pull of your con. And, let’s face it, in this business, people are conning you all the time.”
“She (Jodie Foster) is intelligent and gracious, and she taught me so much about this business. She showed me how to not get in anyone’s way and to concentrate on what you need to do that day and what that scene takes. She is remarkable.”
“When things click the way they are supposed to, and you are in sync with the directors and the producers, it is such a great experience. I also learned early on what I was in control of, such as showing up on time and doing the best work I am capable of doing on that day.”
“My favorite actors are people who I don’t know anything about, and I can project any character onto them. They focus on their work and then go live their lives with the people they love.”
“I think I’ve been in this business long enough to not really have any expectations, just show up, do the work, and do the best I could.”
“I really respond to a lot of the really fun romantic comedy stuff. I think it’s fun, and it gives you a real sense of liberty as an actor to make fun choices, and I think that’d be a really fun place to start.”
“I like characters with flaws, who have shadow.”
“I started acting professionally when I was 17. I quit the team and did a production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Alley Theatre in Houston. I used to drive down at the end of the school day, do the show, do my homework during intermission and drive an hour back to Spring to go to school the next day.”
“My role model is Paul Newman. For me, he embodied what it means to be successful at this. You can believe him as the romantic leading man, or he can be Cool Hand Luke – he can have the grit. I like characters who aren’t perfect, that’s what’s fun for me to play as an actor: the imperfections, the shadows.”
White Collar
“What I loved about him from the get go, was that he was flawed. He wasn’t-I mean, he had this-he has this veneer of the charming, hyper-intelligent, eloquent, sly mastermind, but underneath, he was really a kind of diehard romantic who would go to any lengths to find the love of his life.”
“I liked the fact that, even though the fun he puts on is so suave and debonair, underneath there’s somebody who is also-has a hard time-has always really relied on himself and doesn’t really trust a lot of people.”
“The signature of USA Network is, characters welcome. So, first and foremost, you’re gong to get all the great procedural stuff. It’s really intelligently written. We’re-I’m no fool, I know this is a writer’s medium. You can put the biggest stars on the TV screen, but if the writing’s not there, the shows aren’t going to last.”
“I think there’s a really quixotic quality about the character and ultimately, underneath it all, he’s kind of a three-year-old. I mean, he doesn’t have a lot of impulse control. He doesn’t even understand the concept of no. There’s always a way to get into things and he’s always testing his boundaries.”
“Tim stepped in the room and the first word that came out of his mouth, I was, like, I said, this is our guy, you know, he’s amazing. Tim’s such a wonderful actor and such an amazing human being and a real blessing to get to work with every day.”
“When he puts on one of the suits he is one of those Rat Pack guys. When you get the fedora down over one eye and you feel like maybe you can trust me, maybe you can’t, that is what really helped me get into the skin of the character.”
“I hope he always maintains some of his mystery and that you’d never really a hundred percent feel like-he’d always be a little slippery. But, I would love, as the series progresses, down the road, for him to really understand, I think he’s starting to, to understand the rewards of doing what he’s doing and helping out and how he can use certain skills that he taught himself, to-for a better purpose.”
“He’s so mercurial, it gives you a lot of permission as an actor to go places you might not normally go. Once he gets into the FBI, he has a lot of fun, plus he’s charming and really a romantic. I can relate to that.”
“I think the most challenging thing in terms of just the character was really figuring out what was underneath the front of the cool, slick Grace under pressure demeanor that Neal has and what motivated him to want the better things in life.”
“There’s certain things we share and there are certain things that are diametrically opposite. I would say we share the fact that we’re both romantics at heart. I think what motivates Neal certainly throughout the first season is his love and his search for the love of his life. I think we’re both competitive and interested. And I certainly have moments in my life where I like to test boundaries with people. And I think Neal specializes in that. I think where we’re diametrically opposite is if I ever try to pull anything off or, you know, lie to anybody or be untrue about something, I always get busted. I can’t get away with anything.”
“He’s probably somebody who, from a very early age, had to find out a way to get himself to school and probably first learned how to lie to people as a kid, to get his bus fare, and it only grew from there. I don’t like to think of [his profession] as a con artist; I think of it as a social engineer.”
“I would say Neal and I share the fact that we’re both romantics at heart. I think we’re both competitive and interested. And I certainly have moments in my life where I like to test boundaries with people. And I think Neal specializes in that.”
“One of the things we fight for in every episode, and Jeff Eastin does a great job of writing, is the fact that we really respect each other’s intelligence. It’s not like Tim is the bumbling FBI agent and I’m the genius con artist. We’re both, hopefully, the smartest guys in the room. . . . So ultimately, they form a good team that way.”
“New York can’t be replicated. The energy of it, the architecture, the cabs honking and cursing you out right before they call “action.” It just can’t be replicated anywhere else and I think it’s so inherently a character in any film or TV show that takes place there. So, it’s just an unbelievable blessing to get to work here and feed off that energy. It just informs the show so much and the characters so much and the rhythm so much.”
“I tried to get some inspiration from films of the same ilk and the same genre. Everything from, you know, Danny Ocean in Oceans 11, to Cary Grant’s character in To Catch a Thief, with even a little bit of Ferris Bueller thrown in there.”
“I’m sure they had probably a pretty big list of actors. I came in and did the initial read and then I tested once, they still weren’t sure if they wanted me for the part and then I tested again and then got the part.”
“What’s great about the network, is they really take their time to find the people they really believe in and you really got to win them over. And, that was really, ultimately, a very rewarding process for me.”
“He’s not a gun guy, he’s not a knife guy, he’s a mind guy.”
“I don’t think I ever could have played Neal Caffrey if I hadn’t placed Bryce Larkin because he helped me understand sort of the espionage aspect of – he showed – helped me understand the smoother – yeah, the more espionage aspects of the character and when he has to go undercover and things like that. And, sort of he’s cool under pressure and those kind of things and just maneuvering in that world and never really knowing who he can trust or if you can trust him either. So, it was definitely very helpful.”
“I did not use Bernie Madoff as inspiration. I prefer to not compare my character to him and prefer to call what my character does as “social engineering” rather than con artistry. I looked more to “Ocean’s Eleven” and even “Ferris Bueller” to see how people manipulate people and manipulate for a better life.”
“Stealing money directly from innocent people isn’t sexy. A lot of social engineers think of themselves as Robin Hoods, not Ponzi schemers and focus their work around something more sophisticated like art and forgery. They have much better taste than Madoff.”
“There is a strong correlation between con artistry and good acting. It’s about who you’re playing, who you’re impersonating, what you want to get, where you are going, why and how we’re going to get there and who is standing in the way.”
“He’s influenced by the Rat Pack, with fitted suits and tie bars and fedoras and a little bit of Cary Grant in To Catch A Thief. Every now and then, we like to go for a more Jack Kerouac (look). It takes place today. They did a great job of finding some amazing vintage pieces that you would think Sy Devore put together for me. We will mix in designers with throwbacks to the ’60s – John Varvatos and Paul Smith.”
“I love playing the dichotomy of someone who’s smooth, graceful and hyper-intelligent on the surface but underneath is really a big kid, and a romantic at heart. He’s always testing his boundaries. You have to figure out why they do what they do on an empathic, human level. You can’t judge them or you’re toast.”
“It’s fun, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and I think people will have a really good time watching it.”
“What I liked about the character from the get-go is he has this great dichotomy. He was this slick, suave, hyper-intelligent con artist on the surface but beneath he’s also a romantic at heart. I found it so interesting to play a character who the audience couldn’t trust – he doesn’t ever really give away everything that’s going on with him.”
“He’s looking for the love of his life. There are definitely times when he doesn’t win. One of the things that doesn’t work out for him is what he wants most – that he can’t find Kate. He sees nothing wrong with a little flirtation. His moral lines aren’t quite as sharply drawn as the typical leading man. He doesn’t have any issues with flirtation or having a good time.”
“The Rat Pack and Sinatra are so influential on who he is. Putting on those suits, it’s how I slip into the character’s skin.”
“He always runs into trouble. He’s always got his back up against the wall. The fun part of playing it is figuring out how he’s going to find his way out of it.”
“He’s this suave, slick criminal, but he’s this real romantic at heart who’s looking for the love of his life. That’s the part of him that I relate to.”
“On one hand, he’s this slick, hyper-intelligent con artist who can maneuver in and out of society’s upper echelons, but on the other, he’s a diehard romantic. His missing girlfriend, Kate (Alexandra Daddario), is his Achilles heel, and his search for her is his driving force.”
“From the very first moment we met, Tim DeKay and I just clicked. It wasn’t anything we forced. We just want people to have a good time when they watch the show.”
“I made Neal one part Danny Ocean from Ocean’s Eleven, one part Cary Grant’s character from To Catch a Thief, one part Catch Me if You Can, and one part Ferris Bueller.”
“From the moment I read the script, I just fell in love with the character.”
“I have, like, three suits to my name. But one thing I’ve learned is that when you dress up in real life, people treat you differently. So I’ve definitely borrowed a lot of the show’s wardrobe.”
“We started shooting the pilot for White Collar in late 2008, before Madoff. Then the whole scandal broke. I was like, Wow, this is really out there in the zeitgeist right now.”
“Neal’s expertise is maneuvering through the upper echelons of society, and there is a certain uniform for navigating these waters smoothly. So his look is somewhere between the Rat Pack and Marcello Mastroianni, with a bit of Jack Kerouac’s swagger thrown in for good measure.”
“Neal is certainly esoteric, from knowing the fibers used in Canadian currency to how to play Pai Gow, and using a lot of sleight of hand. He’s an interesting guy.”
“His Achilles heel is his romantic life. It starts in the pilot episode where shortly before his sentence is over, he breaks out of jail to meet up with Kate. That’s one of his flaws, one of the things that makes him human.”
“This show really lives and breathes around the relationship between Peter and Neal and their camaraderie. Amidst all their differences, there’s lightness and fun, but it’s also the way they work together.”
“It feels so good to have a network so strongly behind us. Whatever it takes, I’m happy with. I would much rather that than, ‘Oh, yeah, another one of our shows.’ There was a certain point where I wanted to lock myself in my studio apartment for a week or two, but I’m just thankful they’re behind us.”
“I’ve taken a lot of notes from him. Throw on a tie bar, cuff links, and a fedora, and I feel like a different guy.”
“His duality appealed to me. You don’t ever want to play a character who’s too polished. Those imperfect, dark sides add texture to a part.”
“I think Neal never really trusted anybody 100 percent, but I think Peter’s probably the person he trusted the most so you know, I don’t think he’ll ever be really, completely given over to him in terms of trust but he definitely has a lot of trust in him.”
“I’m definitely a bit quixotic like he is but I’m not nearly as smooth in terms of pulling off crimes, so the similarities end there.”
Chuck
“I would love to make a reappearance on Chuck. I have no idea how that is going to work out scheduling-wise. It’s something I’ve been in a dialogue with about the creators. But if everything were to align properly I would – nothing would make me happier.”
Traveler
“I really tried to understand the minds of the characters going into it, before everything goes wrong. Physically, they brought us to New York and had us working with professional rollerbladers and personal trainers to make sure we weren’t going to pass out. The first time I was on rollerblades was a nightmare because I cannot rollerblade to save my life.”
“I think the similarities are that they’re both optimistic and we both want to believe the best in everybody. In the beginning of the show, Jay really believes in the establishment to effect change – the establishment being the government. At the end of the day, I think I’m a pretty optimistic person.”
“If I were in Jay’s position and had Jay’s history and I were with Tyler, I think I would turn myself in. That’s easy to say in the moment, but when you’re put in that stressful of a situation, I can certainly understand their decision to run.”
“They hired us a trainer for those scenes. I’m a holy-rolling mess on roller blades. The role is very physical, but they made sure the trainer was able to help us keep up our endurance for 14-hour work days. You can only prepare so much for a role like that, and then it all goes out the window when you start filming.”
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
“I’ve said language which would have made a drill sergeant blush in this movie. I think I even offended R. Lee at one time.”
“There’s a scene where my brother and I are being tortured pretty violently. I don’t want to get too into the specifics, because I think it’s going to be a really nice surprise for the audience, but even just filming it was very disturbing.”
“I did, like, three or four plaster molds in L.A. before I came out here to shoot it, and one was a full-body mold, and three facial ones, I think. So it’s very surreal to see a model of your face in an agonizing position.”
“I think he (Michael Bay) wanted to just see more of whether or not I understood the character’s duality – how he could be a nice guy with his girlfriend, but how ultimately he is this military guy who has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders.”
“I’m from Texas originally, and I’ve always wanted to be in a horror movie, so I’ve gotten both of my wishes with this project.”
“The first time I saw him (Andrew Bryniarski aka “Leatherface”), he did coverage for me, and his big scary ass came around that corner and looked through the car windshield at me, there was no acting involved. I almost soiled myself.”
“I’m such a huge horror fan that I have so many images in my head, and so many different ideas of what it means to be in a horror movie. And I have to say that, keeping that in mind, I had a very romanticized concept of what it would be like to be in a horror movie.”
“My parents used a lot of discretion in what movies I was allowed to see when I was a kid, but I remember being at my grandmother’s house and seeing a preview for ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre II,’ the Dennis Hopper one. And there was a part where Leatherface jumps through a window or something like that, and I remember sleeping on my grandma’s couch and being petrified that Leatherface was going to jump me.”
“It’s interesting to do a prequel to a horror movie because a lot of times what horrifies you so much about a movie is the unknown. But now you’ve got a franchise that people have really come to know and love, these characters, so I’m sure that hopefully, they’ll be excited to learn about them – but hopefully they’ll be invested enough in our characters that they do actually care when things go wrong, things go downhill.”
“We’re so fortunate in this cast and crew that we have people who are out there, and we can be working 15 hours, and we’re still having a lot of fun, and we just want to do more and get everything out of every scene that we can.”
“I think it’s a trend in Hollywood now to revisit old franchises no matter what the genre is, because you have allegiance from old fans, and you can bring in a new audience, and I think it spreads the word, and I think it makes money.”
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with remaking an old horror movie as long as you can put your own personal stamp on it as well and add to the franchise.”
“It’s a prequel to a remake. A lot of what we’re doing is answering questions people may have about these characters. How did they get to be as maniacal as they are? We’re definitely upping the violence factor and the gore factor [and] taking that to the next level.”
“There’s a scene where my brother and I are being tortured pretty violently. It doesn’t involve a chain saw. It’s more brutal than that. It’s R. Lee with several different weapons — homemade weapons, on my brother and me while we’re tied up.”
Guiding Light
“The writing of this character is so good and so strong. When I saw it, I was just pumped. I knew Ben had a bit of a dark side, but they just really gave me a nice place to start from.”
“People change. Of course, in real-life people tend to change a lot slower than they do on a soap opera, but as an actor you can’t think about it like that. You have to think about why they change. And a lot of the reasons for people making the changes that they do is because of people who come into their lives, who make them see things differently.”
“What a lot of people don’t realize is that on soaps, you only get one take to do it right.”
“The crew and everyone behind the scenes were like a second family to me. I think what John Conboy and Ellen Weston are doing with the show is wonderful, and I wish them all the best in the future.”
“I learned so much playing Ben and I’m incredibly thankful for all the great material they gave me there at the end.”
“I can honestly say that I gave 110 percent every day at work, and that’s a very fulfilling and comforting mindset to leave with.”
“I will miss working with Aubrey Dollar (Marina) terribly. And I will definitely miss the camaraderie I shared with the rest of the cast. But that’s the way this business works sometimes.”
“I’d like to thank the fans, who really stuck by Ben no matter who he was in that particular episode. A loner, a womanizer, a lifeguard? (sic), a good guy — you guys were always so supportive and I’ll never forget you.”
“The world of soap operas is fast-paced. You’re at rehearsal at 7 a.m. and shooting scenes by 9 a.m. You get your script a week in advance, but you’re shooting 20 to 30 pages of script for four days in a row. You really only get one take. It’s a good training ground because it teaches you to make choices quickly and it really exercises the muscles of memory.”
“I’m definitely sad to see it go. It’s the longest running show on TV and there’s incredible history there. The amazing thing about getting to work on a soap is that it really is like a family. It’s kind of a 9-5 thing, you’re there together every day, you have actors of all different ages – people who have been there a long time and people like me who were there for a very brief time. It’s really kind of a communal existence. You don’t get that as much on movies or prime-time stuff. There are so many wonderful actors on there who created incredible characters who I hope will get to move on to other things. I’ll always be grateful for that experience in my career.”
“I played a trust-fund baby who became a male prostitute, killed three people, kidnapped a girl, then killed himself in front of her father and her boyfriend. You know, just your average slice-of-life piece.”
Superman
“I went through all the screen tests, and it was pretty much understood that [director] Brett Ratner and I would be doing it. It all kind of fell apart. The whole experience was so fast and sudden—it was impossible for me to take in while it was happening. But just being attached to Superman actually gave a great boost to my career.”
Theatre
“I’m playing Ernest Hemingway at 27, and it’s just wonderful because I’ve been a big fan of his for a long time. To prepare, I read two biographies and read everything he had written up to that age except for a few short stories. I’ve done all my homework, but ultimately you realize that the version of him that you need to play is the one that best serves the piece you’re doing.”
“I’ve been wanting to work with the theater festival for some time. I think it’s a great place that attracts the best that the theater world has to offer. You get to work with great people in a place that’s removed from the city. It’s an escape from metropolitan life, and it happens to be beautiful here.”
“We worked 60 hours a week sometimes. There were times that I would be doing a Shakespeare play, a scene from another play, two different monologues, a song, and everything else, all in the course of one day. We really became a family.”
“I was always in some sort of fat suit or another. It was just the way it turned out. It wasn’t always the case. I got to work on ‘Romeo’ and a lot of the other great roles as well. I loved it. To me, the great thing about college was that I got to work on the things that I knew I was probably going to be cast for in the real world but I also got to stretch myself out. So any time that they were like, ‘Here’s a fat suit and a mustache,’ I was jumping at the opportunity. I was like, ‘Well, this is probably the only chance I’ll get to do this, I may as well stretch myself out now.'”
“The great thing about the conservatory is that you are working on all the best plays. It’s a really safe environment to work on the trickier roles, and you will never get another chance to do that in the real world, certainly not all at the same time. It’s just a great place to stretch you out as an actor and grow and challenge yourself.”
“Williamstown is a chance to work with the best the theater world has to offer. It’s a place to challenge and stretch yourself – and it happens to work perfectly into the hiatus for most TV shows.”
A lot of times actors are left wanting more in terms of development of character, direction, and rehearsal time. It’s also relatively easy to get into a rhythm and a set pattern of working, and, as an artist, that type of security can be dangerous. Williamstown has been a reminder of why I love to act; it has recharged and deepened my creativity. On top of that, it’s a hell of a fun party.”
“I’ve always had an active imagination. And I have always loved being on stage. It was a way of self expression. I believe the stage will always be my home. It is a great outlet for me.”
“At Carnegie Mellon, you get the training you need. It is so comprehensive. It was a great place to learn and take risks and to hone your craft.”
What Others Say…
“Matt Bomer is fantastic; we worked with him last season. He was also the first person to work on the pilot on our first day of shooting with the Intersect vault scene. Matt brought such a great energy to the show that it’s been a real great pleasure to work with him.” – Chris Fedak (“Chuck” co-creator)
“I loved, loved, loved the fight that I got to do with Matthew Bomer, who plays Bryce, when we did the fight scene that was back to back in the Buy More.” – Yvonne Strahovski (“Chuck” co-star)
“I absolutely loved choreographing the fight scene where Bryce and Sarah fight back to back in the Buy More. That was in like episode 9 I think of season 1 and it was like a dance piece. Working with Matt Bomer who plays Bryce Larkin was amazing because he comes from a dance background as well. So, it was flowing. I mean, technically it was great because we would have to fight on our own and then come back together. It was really essential that the timing worked out with that one.”
– Yvonne Strahovski (“Chuck” co-star)
“If there is anyone on television who will be able to rival Jon Hamm in the exercise of properly carrying himself in a leanly proportioned dark suit, it is Matt Bomer, formerly of “Chuck” and now the star of the promising new USA series “White Collar.” As Neal Caffrey, a brainy con man who definitely isn’t shopping at Syms, Mr. Bomer is all impish charisma and boyish masculinity. He could charm you into a fugue state. Caffrey can outsmart the best of them, and Mr. Bomer makes it seem entirely plausible that someone who looks like a Brioni model could have an I.Q. as high as a physicist’s.” – writer/critic Ginia Bellafante (NY Times)
“I didn’t have to make anything up, I just took what was in front of me. I just drew from what was in the script, and I was working with a really good actor. Matthew Bomer went to Carnegie Mellon and was really generous. It was great working with him.” – Jordana Brewster (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” co-star)
“It was really organic with him. I really wanted the relationship to be believable and, at the same time, with Hollywood, a lot of times you get these guys who are really, really pretty and you don’t really believe they could be a soldier. You just don’t buy it. Matt is actually from Texas and he’s also a really good actor. He trained at Carnegie Mellon and he’s super down to earth so we had the perfect combination.” – Jordana Brewster (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” co-star)
“He’s so handsome. He’s like a young John Travolta. He’s also really dedicated. He puts so much into his character and came up with a great backstory for his character. He’s also really easy to act with. So, it was just a great combination.” – Jordana Brewster (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” co-star)
“What a gorgeous guy he is. He has the most fantastic eyes. Oh, he’s so beautiful.” – Marietta Marich (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” co-star)
“The guy is definitely a star. There’s an intensity to him that makes you wanna keep watching.” – Jonathan Liebesman (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” director)
“If you guys were on set and met him, you’d probably realize he’s not particularly flamboyant. He’s kind of a reserved guy. I saw this guy. You know, he’s a good-looking guy, just kind of keeping to himself on the couch, and I didn’t really clock him as being a breakout star. Gayle, my casting director came over and said, “I want you to keep an eye on this guy.” She said, “He is a star.” I said, “Okay, fine.” – Jeff Eastin (“White Collar” creator/executive producer)
“If it’s possible, he’s better looking in real life and also very charming, and I think this is going to catapult him into the kind of stardom that he deserves. He is very hard-working and it’s a delight to watch him in front of the camera. I think the character is perfect for him. He is really a bad boy who has good instincts and he looks the part.” – Diahann Carroll (“White Collar” co-star)
“Matt is so much fun to work alongside. Besides being beautiful to look at, of course, he makes you laugh and smile nonstop. He’s got a light about him that is infectious. He’s one special guy.” – Tiffani Thiessen (“White Collar” co-star)
“The show is fascinating; there is so much of the real Matt Bomer in White Collar. It’s a perfect fit.” – Gary Kline, Matt’s voice and singing professor at Carnegie Mellon
“Matt has always had that Southern charm, being from Texas. He is an exceptionally handsome man. He was a terrific student … so willing to work the ‘extra mile’ on any project we did together. As a voice student, he was exemplary in his work. As a performer, well, that’s where the magic kicked in.”- Gary Kline, Matt’s voice and singing professor at Carnegie Mellon
“Matt chose an understated, beautiful song, ‘Marta,’ from Kiss of the Spiderwoman, and while there were many big songs with big notes, Matt chose to sing a soft, stunning ending to his song. The results of that simple, quiet honesty were outrageously successful. It seemed everyone wanted to sign him from that early beginning audition. It’s amazing to see him go from that beginning to where he is today.” – Gary Kline, Matt’s voice and singing professor at Carnegie Mellon
“I’m not surprised at Matt’s success. His good looks, warm voice, Southern charm, and most of all his integrity as a human being shows when he acts or performs.” – Gary Kline, Matt’s voice and singing professor at Carnegie Mellon
“He’s very right for a character like Neal in White Collar who has to be super charming. Although, Matt is sincerely super charming and his character might be a little more devious. But he’s figured out how to make that bridge between who he really is and a subtle adjustment for that character’s past and that character’s devious nature.” – Don Wadsworth, Matt’s voice coach at Carnegie Mellon
“Bomer is so castable. Looks-wise, you could put him in a lot of things today, but the other thing about his resumé and his background is that he’s got CMU there, so casting directors will trust that he’s well-trained and if they give him adjustment, correction, some idea about how to play the part, he’s going to be able to do it.” – Don Wadsworth, Matt’s voice coach at Carnegie Mellon
“It usually happens for auditions. It’s like, ‘I’m going in tomorrow, so sorry to press you for this, but I need it quick.’ That sort of thing does happen. I do think it was incredibly kind of Matt to go to his producer and say, ‘Let’s bring Don in on this production, because I need a little dialect help.’ I never expected I would be teaching my students so they would give me jobs.” – Don Wadsworth, Matt’s voice coach at Carnegie Mellon
“You know, he’s going to win the hearts of everyone who watches because of who he is. Not only because of what he looks like – which is pretty devastating – but how incredibly charming the guy is. All of that matched up with technique to be able to do the thing that people ask you to do, you can call that luck, but you turn lucky situations into jobs when you’re ready for them, and he is certainly ready for them.” – Don Wadsworth, Matt’s voice coach at Carnegie Mellon
“My time with ‘Matchulo’ at CMU was amazing. Not only is he a very talented actor and singer, but he is also a truly giving person. Many people may not know this about Matt, but he is drop-dead funny and a very gifted character actor. I’m sure if you putt Matt and me in the same room talking about our time at Carnegie Mellon, there would be a lot of laughter.” – Actress/Friend Cote de Pablo
“Way back, when I was 13, I would go sit in on acting classes at CMU. Matt Bomer is just the loveliest, sweetest person. And – he has the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen!” – Gillian Jacobs (“Traveler” co-star)
“They came to me and said, “We want this preppy college guy with an evil look in his eye,” and I go, “It’s Matt Bomer.” And Matt got the role [of Ben].” – Rob Decina (“Guiding Light” casting director)
“I’m loving Matt Bomer, and remain convinced that some day he would be a wonderful Louis de Pointe du Lac. I mean if somebody has to follow Brad Pitt, it should be Matt Bomer.” – Author Anne Rice