From Wes Anderson's intern, to painter, to chipmunk? Matthew Gray Gubler has been Hollywood's quikiest star even before Criminal Minds. Here's a look into his early days, first role, and beyond.
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00:00From Wes Anderson's intern to painter to chipmunk, Matthew Gray Goobler has been Hollywood's
00:06quirkiest star even before Criminal Minds. Here's a look into his early days, first role,
00:11and beyond.
00:13Though Matthew Gray Goobler is known as a successful actor, he didn't always think of
00:16acting as a career. According to Biography, Goobler studied acting while in high school
00:21at the Las Vegas Academy of Arts because his main interest, filmmaking, wasn't an option.
00:25Unfortunately for him, he was naturally talented, and he went on to star in multiple productions
00:30while in school. Goobler said,
00:32"...I never thought I'd be making a living off of acting. It's still kind of a shock
00:36for my family and friends to see my face on TV every Wednesday night."
00:39He eventually graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with a degree in
00:44film directing, and later got the opportunity to direct 11 episodes of Criminal Minds.
00:49Fellow Las Vegas natives and mega-music stars The Killers hired Goobler to direct two of
00:53their music videos as well. The actor helmed The Killers' videos, Don't Shoot Me Santa
00:57and Dirt Sledding. When his breakout show was reaching its final episode, Parade asked
01:01if Goobler was going to continue acting or go back to directing, to which he replied,
01:06"...With everything I've done in every way, I've always tried to not necessarily give
01:10myself a limit or a trajectory, which is how I was fortunate enough to end up on this TV
01:15show. So I think for the future, while directing is still one of my biggest passions, everything
01:19is my passion, so I would love to continue acting."
01:22Before he landed his big role on Criminal Minds, Matthew Gray Goobler was a successful
01:26male model. While still a student in New York, he was stopped by a model scout with DNA Model
01:31Management and was soon modeling for industry giants like Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Jacobs, and
01:36American Eagle, according to TV Guide. Regarding the whole experience, he joked,
01:40"...It was during a time when there were really emaciated weirdos modeling. It wasn't like
01:44they were looking for Fabio."
01:46Even though he's been characteristically self-deprecating about his looks, Goobler was a successful
01:50model who walked in fashion shows and appeared in several print campaigns. According to Models.com,
01:55he was once ranked in the top 50 male models, holding the 46th spot. While he's often recognized
02:00for his looks, Goobler has confessed that he was bullied as a kid. He told Glamour,
02:05"...I'm so thankful for every bully I've ever had. It never affected me, and that's why
02:08I'm so thankful for them. I learned early on that if anything, it made me stick closer
02:13to who I am and not try. It just made me very solid with who I was. I don't see it like
02:18poor me. I was lucky. It taught me a beautiful lesson, and I'm really grateful for it."
02:22"...All we want in life is to have someone see us for who we really are."
02:27Matthew Gray Goobler's first acting credit is all thanks to Wes Anderson. In an interview
02:32with Glamour, Goobler explained how he came to meet Anderson through an internship. He
02:36shared,
02:37"...In order to graduate from film school, we had to do a semester of interning. I really
02:40wanted to intern for Wes because he's one of my favorite filmmakers and lives in New
02:44York and has a production company there. I sent a little weird DVD of movies I made
02:48and a note saying I would love to get him coffee. I lucked out and got to work there,
02:53and that was a real dream come true."
02:55During his internship, Anderson convinced Goobler to audition for his upcoming movie,
02:59The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, where he ironically played the part of intern number
03:03one. Shortly after landing the role, he took a trip to Hollywood and auditioned for a certain
03:07crime procedural show. The rest is history.
03:10Aside from his passions of acting and filmmaking, Matthew Gray Goobler is a talented artist.
03:15In 2004, he created a website that featured his characteristically quirky art, and for
03:19years it served as a sort of art portfolio for his watercolor, oil, and pastel paintings.
03:25He took the webpage down after Flash was removed from the internet, but he's since revitalized
03:29his website with a new look.
03:31Goobler's art has appeared in galleries, group shows, and magazines, according to The Things.
03:35However, he has confessed he gets nervous when people critique his art in person. In
03:402013, he told BuzzFeed,
03:41"'On the internet, it's this safe space where I can put it up and people can click on it
03:45or not. I don't have to be in the same room as them pretending to like it, so I very rarely
03:49show people things. Some people misinterpret my style of painting as offensive, and I've
03:54had instances where I've painted beautiful portraits for, like, a girlfriend or someone,
03:58and they're just like, they look at it with a grimace, and they're like, this is terrible.'"
04:01Despite his insecurities, his pieces have sold for thousands of dollars, inspired countless
04:06tattoos, and received praise all across the internet.
04:09Goobler may be modest about his skill, but at least the rest of the world recognizes
04:12his many talents.
04:14In 2007, Matthew Gray Goobler took a reprieve from the dark world of Criminal Minds to provide
04:19the voice of Simon, the lovable, nerdy brother of Alvin, in the feature film version of Alvin
04:24and the Chipmunks. According to Box Office Mojo, the movie would go on to earn an impressive
04:28$365 million at the global box office. Distributed by 20th Century Fox and helmed by Muppets
04:35from space director Tim Hill, Alvin and the Chipmunks combines live-action and computer-generated
04:40animation to bring the beloved 1980s cartoon to life.
04:44The story centers on three chipmunk brothers adopted by human songwriter Dave Seville.
04:49Goobler's character Simon is often the voice of reason among his mischievous brothers Alvin
04:53and Theodore.
04:54I feel like I'm living in a dumpster. Oof."
04:57The actor continued to voice Simon through three more Chipmunks films, The Squeakquel,
05:01Chipwrecked, and The Road Chip. The sequel earned even more than its predecessor, raking
05:05in $443 million per Box Office Mojo. However, the third and fourth films didn't fare quite
05:11as well, and there's no word on a fifth movie.
05:13In an interview with Page Six, Goobler reflected on how much he loved playing Simon. He said,
05:18"...Oddly, I feel more a part of this than anything else I've been lucky enough to be
05:22in. Actors talk about dreaming of playing Othello, but for me, it's Simon. It's the
05:25biggest deal to me."
05:27When 500 Days of Summer was released in 2009, it stood apart from its romantic comedy counterparts,
05:32specifically because the romance at the center of the film doesn't last. The film centers
05:36on 20-somethings Tom and Summer as they fall in and out of love. Matthew Gray Goobler co-stars
05:42in the film as Tom's friend Paul, who is in a healthy relationship with a girl named Robin.
05:46He speaks the truth about real love to Tom and comforts his friend after Summer dumps
05:50him.
05:52"...Truthfully, Robin's better than the girl in my dreams. She's real."
05:59Although Goobler only appears in a few scenes, Paul's perspective on love helps illustrate
06:03how unrealistic Tom is about romance. In an article about the film's 10th anniversary,
06:08The Observer noted the one-dimensional characterization of Summer, and said of the movie,
06:12"...for a film that was heralded as a quirky response to the traditional romance and has
06:16since endured as a cult classic, its central message and themes don't go down quite as
06:20easily today."
06:21The article further broke down Summer's lack of character depth and decried her existence
06:25as serving no purpose aside from Tom's dreams. However, this is the important truth Goobler's
06:30character subtly points out in the film.
06:34The extremely dark 2008 comedy How to Be a Serial Killer allows Matthew Gray Goobler
06:38to portray a wannabe murderer rather than a profiler and hunter of serial killers. Goobler
06:43plays Bart, a nebbish video store clerk who becomes a student of Mike, a self-help bro
06:48with 10 easy steps to self-actualization via grisly murder. Mike is a dark, twisted
06:53Mr. Miyagi to Bart's Daniel LaRusso, and Goobler plays Bart with believable cowardice. As a
06:59review of the film from horror website Dread Central notes,
07:02"...Bart's the kind of character most audience members will want to beat with a sock full
07:05of quarters until he stops being such a simpering idiot."
07:08An independent film, How to Be a Serial Killer was distributed by Monterey Media and only
07:13opened on one domestic theater screen. According to Box Office Mojo, the movie played for one
07:18weekend and earned $899. Limited audience reviews of the film on Rotten Tomatoes were
07:23less than favorable. However, Liz, a super-reviewer on the site, called the movie,
07:28"...an entertaining social etiquette of sorts that makes you laugh, creeps you out, and
07:32makes you want to become best friends with Matthew Gray Goobler."
07:35Matthew Gray Goobler doesn't usually live his romances in the limelight. The actor's
07:39love life isn't the focus of his interviews or press junkets. Nonetheless, like many other
07:44Hollywood celebrities, he is rumored to have dated Taylor Swift, per Cosmopolitan. However,
07:49Goobler has never spoken on the record about a former relationship with the mega-pop star.
07:53Kat Dennings remains the one celebrity Goobler has confirmed dating, and over the years,
07:58the two have worked on-screen together.
08:00Dennings and Goobler hooked up in 2007, and although their romance didn't last, their
08:04friendship has continued in the years since. The two appeared together in both the small
08:08independent horror-comedy Suburban Gothic and the short-lived Hulu series Dollface.
08:14Goobler sat down with the website Shockya to discuss Suburban Gothic and his relationship
08:18with Dennings, saying,
08:19"...I love Kat, as she's actually one of my closest friends, and we actually dated many
08:23years ago. It's very rare to find weirdos who are like yourself, so when you find them,
08:27you keep them close."
08:29The imaginative comedy series Dollface ran for two seasons on Hulu. The show centered
08:34on Dennings' character web designer Jules Wiley and her search for love and purpose.
08:38Goobler co-starred as Wes, Jules' potential love interest.
08:42After Matthew Gray Goobler began to gain public recognition for his role as Dr. Spencer
08:46Reed in Criminal Minds, he poked fun at his newfound celebrity status. In 2006, Goobler
08:52launched a YouTube series called Matthew Gray Goobler, The Unauthorized Documentary, an
08:57obviously satirical episodic series. The actor's humorous commentary on narcissistic celebrities
09:02who take themselves too seriously predates the similarly-themed Walking Phoenix vehicle,
09:07I'm Still Here. Although both parodies mock celebrity culture, Phoenix did extensive press
09:12for I'm Still Here in character. Phoenix infamously appeared as his self-absorbed character on
09:16The Late Show with David Letterman, which prompted the actor to apologize to Letterman
09:2018 months later.
09:21But I apologize, I didn't, I hope I didn't offend you in any way by coming on."
09:26I'm Still Here could almost qualify as serious performance art, whereas Goobler's video series
09:31delights in its silliness. Goobler's YouTube series spans 14 short episodes, each episode
09:35running under 10 minutes, throughout two seasons and features guest appearances. In Season
09:401, Episode 11, the late, great Anton Yelchin takes acting lessons from Goobler. MTV News
09:45points out,
09:46"[Goobler has a wonderful sense of humor and isn't afraid to make fun of himself.]
09:49If I don't shoot the last scene, they can't end the show, and I don't want the show to
09:55end."
09:56We couldn't agree more. Season 2 of The Unauthorized Documentary aired from 2020 to 2021.
10:01When The Criminal Minds reboot was announced, the show's fans grew excited at the return
10:05of their favorite FBI profilers. Before Criminal Minds Evolution premiered, Deadline announced
10:10the return of many longtime stars. However, glaringly missing from the cast announcement
10:15was Matthew Gray Goobler as Dr. Spencer Reed.
10:18Over 15 seasons, Goobler appeared in 323 of the original Criminal Minds episodes. The
10:23actor, who began his trajectory on the show when he was 25, wrapped the series finale
10:27when he was 40. Both Goobler and Reed grew up through the show's lengthy run. In an exclusive
10:32interview with Looper, Goobler's friend and co-star, Paget Brewster, opened up about his
10:37absence from the reboot. She explained,
10:39"[Matthew was the only person in the last two seasons that had been in every single
10:43episode. He did 15 years straight through."
10:46She elaborated on Goobler's choice to decline reprising his role, adding,
10:49"'He was never able to go do other stuff, so I understand.'"
10:52However, Goobler's character hasn't been killed off of Criminal Minds Evolution, and there
10:57are numerous plausible explanations for Reed's absence. Perhaps Goobler will make guest appearances
11:01in future episodes.