Matty Cardarople on ‘A Series Of Unfortunate Events’ [Exclusive Interview]

Friday the 13th brought nothing but good things to fans of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events this month as Netflix launched its adaptation of the beloved books.

In Season 1, the heroic Baudelaires and villainous Count Olaf are brought to life — and, of course, wherever Count Olaf goes, his “theater troupe” follows — a group of associates who help Olaf with his treachery.

I recently had the chance to speak to the man behind one of those associates: Matty Cardarople, who plays the “Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender.”

It can be difficult to keep a show about a man who threatens young children from becoming too distressing to watch, but the way the show balances the sinister plot with moments that will have you laughing out loud is what Cardarople loves about A Series of Unfortunate Events.

“What drew me to the show was just the incredible sense of humor the show has, and also how it can be very dark. And I really love that about the show,” he said.

The Netflix series isn’t the first time Lemony Snicket’s world has made the leap from page to screen. A movie covering the events of the first three books came out in 2004, starring Jim Carrey as Count Olaf, but no sequels were ever produced.

Cardarople was a fan of both the books and the movie before he joined the show, and his words should be encouraging to fans who were disappointed in the changes made for the movie.

“[The show] really stays true to the books, and I think that’s what makes it stand out and makes it so much better,” he said.

“I mean, I love Jim Carrey, don’t get me wrong,” he added. “But I just think the show does a better job of staying true to the books.”

In staying true to the books, not much is known about Olaf’s group of henchpeople in the show, either. And Cardarople didn’t get any secret backstory for his character from the writers.

“I just kind of took what I knew about the character and portrayed it in the way of the book, and the way I saw it,” Cardarople said.

The rest of the henchpeople include the Hook-Handed Man (Usman Ally), the two White-Faced Women (Jaqueline Robbins and Joyce Robbins), and the Bald Man (John DeSantis). Cardarople called it a “hoot” to work with the gang.

“They’re all just such unique and fun people, and it was such a pleasure to work with them,” he said. “We had a blast.”

Though the henchpeople tend to appear as a group, each does get his or her own moment to shine in Season 1.

Cardarople’s moment comes on Episode 4, “The Reptile Room: Part Two,” as the Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender poses as a nurse coming to examine Uncle Monty, who has just been murdered by Count Olaf (who is disguised as Stephano).

Although the scene was fun to film, the thing about the Reptile Room is… there are reptiles in it.

“They had a lot of snakes that day, and I am terrified of snakes,” Cardarople admitted.

It was all part of the acting process, though.

“So I think that really helped my character, because he was also terrified of snakes, so it was kind of… bittersweet?” he continued.

Despite the snakes, the scene was still a blast to film, even if the costume got him some funny looks on set.

“It was so fun to dress up and have that funny voice that me and the director came up with,” Cardarople said. “That’s my favorite part of pretty much the whole series for me — filming for me — was playing Nurse Lucafont.”

That episode also had his favorite line.

Mr. Poe questions “Nurse Lucafont’s” qualifications, and the Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender’s convincing response was improvised by Cardarople.

Mr. Poe: I must say, I’m beginning to doubt your qualifications.
Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender: I’m totally a nurse!

Behind-the-scenes, details about the show were kept extra quiet. Some elements and cast members were a surprise when the show debuted, including a recurring storyline with Cobie Smulders and Will Arnett, who are simply credited as “Mother” and “Father.”

“On set, that was news to me; I had no clue,” Cardarople said. “Yeah, they really did a good job with keeping that a secret, ’cause I had no idea.”

Netflix has yet to announce if A Series of Unfortunate Events will be returning for Season 2, but if the series were to get picked up, Cardarople is especially looking forward to seeing “The Hostile Hospital,” the 8th book in the series, unfold.

And of course, with each new book comes new characters, so there would be plenty of opportunities for more talented actors to join the cast in the future.

Cardarople has his sights set high when it comes to dream guest stars. “I’d love to see Bill Murray make a guest appearance,” he said of a hypothetical future season.

Matty Cardarople can be seen as the Henchperson Of Indeterminate Gender on A Series of Unfortunate Events Season 1, which is currently available for streaming on Netflix.

Follow us on Twitter @telltaleTV_

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

Featured image courtesy of Matty Cardarople.