How HBO’s The Flight Attendant and Dear White People changed Griffin Matthews – CNET

This story is part of I’m So Obsessed (subscribe here), our podcast featuring interviews with actors, artists, celebrities and creative types about their work, career and current obsessions.

Griffin Matthews is an actor, activist and raiser of chickens. You might remember him playing the role of D’Unte in the third season of the Netflix series Dear White People. He’s also been on shows like Ballers and Law and Order: SVU. On HBO Max, Matthews can be found stealing scenes (in the best way possible) from Kaley Cuoco on the series The Flight Attendant. And like his character Shane Evans, there’s much more to Matthews than you might suspect.

On CNET’s I’m So Obsessed podcast, Matthews explains how working on The Flight Attendant allowed him to make his character a real person while breaking down stereotypes.

“What feels really important in my life right now, in my work, is just authenticity. It’s something that’s so hard. I mean, for those who obviously cannot see me, I’m five-nine, skinny, black and gay as hell. And that is a limited thing in this business as far as roles are concerned,” said Matthews. “When you get roles, you’re trying to figure out how to really bring life to them and bring humanity to them and not just be like the funny gay best friend, which I’ve done many times in my career. With this particular role, I wanted Shane to feel like a human being.”

During our conversation, he talks about his onscreen chemistry with Cuoco, his musical theater roots and how he and his husband, while being stuck at home with kids during the coronavirus pandemic, decided to raise chickens.

Listen to my entire conversation with Matthews on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. You can watch The Flight Attendant on HBO Max. Also, you can subscribe to I’m So Obsessed on your favorite podcast app. In each episode, Connie Guglielmo or I catch up with an artist, actor or creator to learn about work, career and current obsessions.