An Interview with Matthew Davis from ‘Grosse Pointe Garden Society’

GROSSE POINTE GARDEN SOCIETY -- "Pollination" Episode 105 -- Pictured: (l-r) Melissa Fumero as Birdie, Matthew Davis as Joel -- (Photo by: Tina Rowden/NBC)

Matthew Davis is an accomplished actors that has graced both the silver and small screen, and some iconic stories along the way. Such as The Vampire Diaries, and Legally Blonde. Currently he stars as Joel in the amazing new NBC series, Grosse Pointe Garden Society, and we sat down with Matthew to discuss his work on the show.

John Betancourt: Let’s start today by talking about what attracted you to this particular project as an actor.
 
Matthew Davis: What attracted me right away was just the quality of the writing. You could tell by the sides that they'd sent for the audition that it was something special. There was just something about him that resonated with me right away. I just connected with him right away on a very visceral level, like, unlike anything I've experienced, and I could see immediately this interesting sort of, like, dynamic between Joel and Birdie and there was just something kind of ephemeral about it that was really engaging. And I knew it was special. I sent my auditions off, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. And then about two weeks later, I got, I got the offer. And I really wasn't surprised. I really wasn't surprised. I felt so connected to Joel right away. You know, I've been going through a lot. Personally, I was on the other side of, like, some big, transformative stuff, and I think it had really shaped my view about the world and about, you know, men and women and relationships, and I thought a lot of it seemed super relevant to Joel's perspective.
 
So, he's got a very interesting perspective that seemed to really align with at least where I was and so when I booked it, I was obviously thrilled, but I was not surprised, because I felt like it was mine. The minute I read it, I was like, I just fell in love with Joel and Birdie. I fell in love with Grosse Pointe Garden Society. I just fell in love with the whole vibe and the tone of it. Right away, it was super clear. And then, you know, we shot the pilot. I didn't know much about what was going to happen between Joel and Birdie and the Grosse Pointe Garden Society, generally speaking. And we shot the pilot. I'm in one scene. I've got two lines at the end, but then they gave us Episode Two and Three towards the end of shooting, or right after we shot. And then that's when you start to get really key in on, at least the Joel and Birdie aspect of it. You know that last scene is so shocking in episode two, you're like, “What is she doing? She's running to this cop. She's gonna rat out her friends. What's happening?” And then when he turns to her, you know, he closes the blinds and turns to her, and she's like, “Are you still mad at me?” And then he kisses her, and you're like, “Oh shit,” there. Like, yeah, when I read that, I was like, “Oh my god, this is –" I did not see it coming. I did not see it coming. And that, to me, that sums up their relationship, like the fact that she runs to him into the police station where he works, confesses his murder to him in his office, and then he helps her cover it up, because you realize they have a relationship.
 
What’s cool about the show is like we now go back in time and catch the audience up to how their relationship began, how it grows, and how it gets to where it is now. So, you have this relationship, you have this dynamic between two people, this man and this woman, and she comes to him to help her cover up a murder, and he does. And I love that about them. I love that about them, and I love that about the show. I don't know that I've seen something like that told from this kind of perspective before, and so to play the guy who helps you cover up the murder because of his love and loyalty to you. It's just like, so cool to me. I love that guy.
 
John Betancourt: It’s also amazing that there's so much want in this show, like everyone's searching for something, everyone's desperate to find something. Since you're so close to Joel and you've got such amazing ties to him, what would you say he's searching for in this series?
 
Matthew Davis: Life, authenticity, passion? I mean, I think he's been… his marriage is stagnant. You know, he's not connecting with his wife. They're not connecting at all apart from their son. And I think it's… it's kind of hit that sort of rut. And I think life for him has become kind of predictable. And I think he's somewhat, he's become unimpressed by wealth. He's become unimpressed by the system. I think he sees, I just think he sees the world through the eyes of this, you know, like he says to her in episode two, he's like, you know, “I've seen all kinds of things. People get shot, stabbed, whatever. I saw a guy hit by a truck and exploded on the freeways. Ribs are like a…” you know.
 
And there's another line that comes down the road in this coming episode. I don't want to spoil it, but it's a good line that really kind of keys into, like, his perspective on justice and so I think when Birdie comes around, he's just immediately, like, keys in on this woman who's unlike any person he's ever met before, unlike any woman he's met before, she's so dynamic and chaotic and full of life and just like this fresh air in his life, and he's just immediately captivated by her. And he just sees something about her super special and unique and he kind of begins to pursue her.
 
John Betancourt: Now, you said something a minute ago that actually kind of resonated with with me, in regard to how the show connected with you on a very fundamental level. I've been noticing this show has a lot of interesting themes that reflect just a lot of our world right now, that connect to us. And I'm curious with so many layers and messages to this show, what you kind of hope audiences take away from season one, from a deeper standpoint,
 
Matthew Davis: Well, I want them to be entertained. I want them to be drawn in. I want them to be invested in these characters. I want them to… I want them to relate. I think on one level, the show is very much kind of like a dark exploration of marriage. And marriages in various different states of decline, or passion, or divorce, whatever the case may be, but all the characters share a marriage. It's in some shape or form, or in a different state right now. And that's why I love this show, and how it explores it and teases it out, and, like, I love the Catherine and Tucker storyline, where it sets up for, like, it's also an exploration of infidelities, right? And so, and how people in marriage, respond to those infidelities. And that's what I love about the Catherine and Tucker storyline. Because you're like, you see him respond to her in ways you don't think that -- you think it's going to go one way; it goes a different way.
 
Same thing with Joel and Birdie. You think it's going to go one way. It goes a different way. You know, same thing with Brett and Alice. Like, it's a lot of mis-directions within the realm of, like, where are we in our marriage? Like, what happens when you have desires outside of your marriage? Like, where does this? How does this all weave together? And Bill (Krebs) and Jenna (Bans) have just done such a superb job at fleshing out these really interesting characters that are relatable in their toil, relatable in their frustrations, you know, relatable in like their desires for something beyond what they can grasp right now. And there's that beautiful tension in all of these relationships, and it's explored through these really fresh twists and dynamics that I don't think I've seen on television. And again, that's why I'm -- I mean, obviously I'm partial to Joel and Birdie, but I love their dynamic, because I just don't think you've seen anything necessarily like it.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. Also, a bonus, enjoy a sample of Matthew’s work as Joel on ‘Grosse Pointe Garden Society’, courtesy of this clip from NBC from this week’s episode of the show, ‘Pollination’.