T.C. Matherne Talks Hulu’s ‘The First’ [Exclusive Interview]

Hulu’s newest series, The First, is all about the effort to send the first crewed mission to Mars and is sure to catch the viewers’ attention.

I recently had the chance to chat with actor T.C. Matherne about his role on The First. While you may not recognize Matherne right now, you will after his appearances on The First and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Matherne describes his character in The First and a close relationship on set.

“I play the personal assistant to the space programs leader, Laz Ingram, played by Natascha McElhone, who’s incredible. I do the grunt work, carrying bags, but also setting up meetings and things like that. I’m like her confidant,” Matherne said.

“It’s a funny situation because Natascha and I hit it off so quickly in real life; she’s just so wonderful, and we like each other very much. But, in the show, Jason’s a little scared of Laz because she’s a powerful woman, and he’s very low on the totem pole.”

“We’d do certain scenes where I’m supposed to be intimidated or scared, and we’d end up smiling at each other or laughing. It made for a really fun shoot, but sometimes the personal relationship made it a little difficult because she’s such a joy to work with,” Matherne continued.

Matherne said that he got super lucky with the role of Jason.

“I think I got super lucky because as an actor you audition for so many things. I audition for this, and then a month or two later I get a callback, and you’re like ‘what is this for again?’ because you’ve done ten auditions in between your first audition. Then, you go in for another callback and another and nine times out of ten it’s a no.”

“But, I ended up booking it, and I think I got really fortunate because I wasn’t supposed to be in much of the show — I think I was written into the first two episodes. So, I worked the first week, and that was awesome, incredible, and I thought ‘okay that’s done on to the next job.’”

“The next week they called me back in, and they had written a little bit more, and a little bit more and beefed up my character in a big way to where I’m now in the whole thing. Each week it was like a disappointment because it was like ‘aww man well now I’m done.’ And then the following week they’d want me back, it was a beautiful rollercoaster ride. I’m just so fortunate because I got super lucky,” Matherne said.

Matherne had to work on his mannerisms and the way he moves his body to get in character.

“I did do some preparation. Jason is a high-end assistant; he’s very proper and a professional man, and me, T.C., I grew up in southern Louisiana where I’m in the swamps and mud. I watched a lot of other films and watched how you sit, how you speak and realized that my posture, where T.C. might slump, Jason wouldn’t. Jason would open a door a certain way, answer a phone call a certain way.”

“Even the way you talk to in scene higher-ups, you might say something but mean something completely different. You have to have that sheen of professionalism on at all times, and I had never really got to wear that before, so it was kind of nice. I also got to wear beautiful, cool suits. I was like the best-dressed person on set. It was cool because T.C. doesn’t get to do that,” he continued.

Although he had to change the way he presents himself, that wasn’t the biggest challenge for Matherne when playing Jason.

“I think the biggest challenge playing Jason is knowing where the line is and learning to make my own decisions and choices and knowing that if someone doesn’t give you a note you’re doing it right. Do your own thing until someone tells you otherwise. It’s learning how to have the confidence to try things.”

“Most people think you go on set, and someone tells you what to do and how to do it, but it’s not really like that. You go in and they expect you, because they’re paying you a lot of money, to know what you’re doing. Jason is pretty far from T.C. as a whole so making those decisions took a bit of a confidence boost,” Matherne explained.

For Matherne, The First is unique because of how relatable it can be to the climate we’re currently in. “I think, especially after working on the project, it’s so topical. We’d read something in the script and be like ‘this is 100% possible.’ It’s not science fiction.”

“I read somewhere there was another publication that had the technology that we were faking on the show, it was starting to come out. The show is about the challenges of the first steps towards Mars, which of course, that’s like on the surface of what it is. I think Mars is kind of a backdrop for this show; it’s really about the characters and the relationships that they have.”

“It’s about the personal sacrifice that people are willing to make for something they really believe in. Even though Mars is a backdrop, anybody can relate to it because if you care about something, if you believe in it, what are you willing to do to make that happen? What are you willing to sacrifice? That’s why Beau Willimon [the creator/showrunner] is so good at what he does because he makes it so rich and so beautiful,” Matherne continued.

Matherne talks the differences in filming for The First and Godzilla: King of the Monsters. “It was so much different, both incredible. Even though The First is coming out first, I filmed Godzilla: King of Monsters before. Your shooting and there are monsters all around you, and you’re yelling and sweating, as opposed to being in an intimate office.”

“Where Godzilla: King of Monsters may have been more physically demanding, I think The First was much more mentally exhausting. It was a lot of fun shooting guns, but just a scene riding in a car with Natascha where something catastrophic happened, we’re not even saying words, but the drama of it was just so intense and emotionally draining.”

“Not in a bad way, I think I grew from it a lot because I had never had the chance to have that experience, so it was a lot of fun,” he continued.

When it comes to which role he prefers, more mentally challenging vs. physically challenging, he can’t seem to settle. “My career is so fresh, I know it’s cliche, but I hope to do it all because they’re both so fun and so different. This year I’ve had the chance to play a drug dealer, high-end professional, a military soldier, and a homeless guy. All these different variances are awesome because I have to try something different.”

“Playing Jason is much different from playing a homeless guy. I speak, think, and carry myself differently. I hope that I don’t get pinned down to one thing because all of it is fun in its own different ways. I was definitely built for this; it’s the best. It keeps it all fresh. I see people on set, older actors, and they’re bored.”

“You can tell that they’re doing it for the paycheck and being an actor is not an easy job. People think it’s easy, and once you’re at the top it might be, but we have to hustle, work long hours, especially in the beginning, so if I don’t love it I can do anything else. It has to be fun, first and foremost. I gotta love it,” he continued.

Matherne doesn’t really look at who his fellow actors would be on future projects because it’s all about the direction the film takes. “When I look at projects, and I’m not even to the point where I can pick and choose, whenever I get excited at something is when I look at the director. David Fincher has been doing a lot of

“When I look at projects, and I’m not even to the point where I can pick and choose, whenever I get excited at something is when I look at the director. David Fincher has been doing a lot of TV lately, and I would love to work with him. I can read a script, and it be okay, but if I see a director that I like I’m like ‘I know this director can make it.,’” he said.

A director can make something that is not so great incredible and vice versa. A director can also take something that’s incredible and make it not great. That’s what I look forward to in a project.  It probably comes from a place of before I was an actor I was a movie freak. I’d go watch everything in theaters and take it all in because I love it so much.”

“I think that’s what I’ve learned from watching movies; you can see terrific actors in bad movies, but rarely do I see good directors make bad movies. That’s the most consistent common denominator, the director. I feel fortunate that I learned that so early,” Matherne continued.

Matherne’s first impression can be a little on the rough side, but deep down he’s sweet and lovable. “I’m a huge goofball. I feel like I’m a Chris Pratt type, goofy and funny. I was talking to some friends, and they were like ‘when you walk into a room you’re not that.’ I can have an angry look on my face, which I think can be a little intimidating, but I’m really a teddy bear. I love meeting people and talking with people.”

Be sure to catch T.C. Matherne on The First, airing on September 14th on Hulu.

*Featured image credit: JABS Photography

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