PW: So what was your response when asked to play Simon?
Matthew: The minute I got the phone call, it was like “holy heck yes!” Actors talk about dreaming of playing Othello, but for me, it’s Simon. It’s the biggest deal to me – even the older records from the ’50s, they have my heart and to be a part of that legend is mind blowing.

PW: My favorite song of theirs is “Christmas Don’t Be Late.” What’s yours?
Matthew: Oh, yeah – that’s a no brainer. But if you really want to get on the fringe, there was a record called “Chipmunk Punk” in the early ’80s and that’s kind of what took the show into the more modern version that we know – they sing Blondie and the old punk songs.

PW: If you could tackle one song as Simon, what would it be?
Matthew: It’d be cool to chipmunk-ize “The Virgin Suicides” soundtrack. All this ethereal French music, I think that would be unique to listen to.

PW: Can you actually sing?
Matthew: On my website I have a series of 1980s TV theme songs that I’ve resung and arguably, I’ve probably got the worst voice on the planet. Maybe the second. You check it out, I think it’s pretty bad. I’ve got “Golden Girls” and “Cheers.” I’m not the best singer.

Full interview here

Thanks to Steph for sending us an email about this.

Is it true that you got the role of Reid even though you really weren’t interested in being an actor or in doing TV?
“Yeah, I really sort of fell into it. I’m so lucky. I studied directing. And I had a directing agent who, long story short, said, ‘Hey, why don’t you go in a try out for this TV show pilot. There’s a character on there that’s sort of interesting.’ And I went in and got it. It was sort of a miracle, I guess, because I didn’t have any major interest in acting. But I since have fallen madly in love with it. It’s been great.”

That’s a great story. But actors who have worked much harder for their breakthrough roles, as well as those who are still waiting for their big breaks, must resent how easily it happened for you.
“Yeah, I’ve experienced that a little bit. But I’m of the belief that, if you love acting, then you can act anywhere. You can do local plays. You can do something. It’s maybe only people who are more interested in getting notoriety that really resent me. And if they’re only in it for their own fame and ego, then I don’t really care if they’re annoyed. I just want to entertain people and I’m lucky to get to do that on a big scale. But if I weren’t on the show, I would still be doing everything in my power to entertain people, even if it were on a much smaller platform, even if it were only for my mother.”

So with which character do you identify more: Spencer Reid or Simon the Chipmunk?
“It’s funny. I do see similarities between all characters I play. But Reid definitely is very different from me. I feel closer to Simon in many ways, to be honest, than I do to Reid, although I look more like Reid, of course. But it does feel like I put a costume on when I play him. When I look in the mirror, I realize I’ve become an entirely different person all of a sudden. It’s a strange feeling, but I’ve gotten used to it.”

Do you think, as an actor and a creative artist, that you have enough insight into the human condition that you could be a profiler?
“Well, I think I could fake it for a while. There are about 11 real profilers in the world. I’ve met six or seven of them. And after doing 110 episodes of the show, inevitably you find that you’ve learned quite a bit more than you ever thought you’d know about profiling. So I think I would be able to sort of get by. I think I could fake it for longer than anyone would want me to. But I think I prefer just to pretend.”

Full article here

[x146] 5.17 Solitary Man – ScreenCaptures

[x001] Episode Stills > 5.17 Solitary Man

Last week Matthew Gray Gubler directed a very creepy episode of “Criminal Minds” entitled “Mosley Lane,” and this week the star of the hit CBS procedural drama turns 30. Thus, we here at Hollywood Crush, who honored the crime-fighting babe as 2009′s Hump Day Hottie of the Year (press play below to relive his original HDH video), extend the warmest birthday wishes to the man who makes grandpa sweaters look so good.

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We would like to say Happy Birthday to the most talented man on the planet. Of course we are talking about Matthew! We hope you have the most amazing day and may all your dreams come true in the future. Thank you for entertaining us week by week.

A few fands made an awesome section on our forum called “Happy Birthday Gube”. It’s filled with some pretty epic birthday wishes… click HERE to view!

~ Nadine & Stephanie

[x152] 5.16 Mosley Lane – ScreenCaptures

Thanks Mel

001 x Magic Valley – Stills

Ever wondered why Dr. Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) had to wield a cane throughout this season on Criminal Minds? Apparently, Gubler injured his knee pretty bad while promoting (500) Days of Summer, where he played part of main protagonist Tom’s posse. For Criminal Minds fans who are worried that their young genius would sport a lifelong limp, Gubler tells USA Weekend that the injury is now a thing of the past.

“I’ve actually started to feel like a regular person again,” he says. “I forget which knee I even hurt at times, which is pretty amazing considering it was about a seven-month adventure. I really did a good job.”

That doesn’t mean, however, that the knee injury was something to laugh at. Not only did he have to undergo three surgeries, if anything, he says it was a “bad, bad” one. It even got to a point when his doctors were already suggesting experimental surgeries in Norway.

“I just got a little too overzealous on the dance floor and managed to pretty much do something that most knee surgeons have never even thought possible or seen in their lives. But they screwed me back together,” he explains, “hoping it would work and thinking it wouldn’t, and luckily my body completely took back everything.”

Can he discard the cane any day now? Absolutely.

“I have a limp now and I’ve been walking with a cane for a while, but it’s going away. I won’t be permanently affected by this, which is pretty odd. It’s really a miracle. They were like, “This is one of the worst injuries we’ve ever seen.” They were saying it was pretty legendary. It’s going to go down in a textbook somewhere for sure.”

As for how the Criminal Minds people reacted to his “legendary” injury, the 29-year-old reveals that they didn’t even believe him initially.

“I think to the day that people at Criminal Minds have honestly no understanding of what kind of injury it was… I thought I was going to be out for four episodes on crutches, and it ended up being like 12. It was a pretty crazy thing.”

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