MATT TESTRO | An insight into the acting world

MATT TESTRO | An insight into the acting world

We had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with Melbourne born and bred talent, Matt Testro! You may recognise Matt from Neighbour's or Miss Fisher's Mysteries, however the 21-year old actor is most commonly known for his role as Jake Riles in "Nowhere Boys" which has just landed on Netflix for our streaming pleasure. 

Starting early at the age of six, Matt has been honing his acting talents both here and in the States. His first movie role ‘Eden’saw him sharing the screen with James Remar (from Sex And The City) and Jessica Lowndes (from 90210).

What better way to spend an Autumn afternoon in Melbourne than having a good ol’ stroll down the Yarra River, giving some Croft shoes a good kick and climb and talking all things movies, LA and fashion…

 

How'd you get started in the acting world?

I started taking classes when I was six years old, I would just do it for fun during the school holidays. Until I applied for a course called Hollywood Immersive, which took 12 people from Australia and NZ over to LA for eight days. It was there that I first secured 
represetnation with my U.S management and began auditioning. A few months later I was signed with an Australian agency and shortly after that, I booked my first role on Nowhere Boys.

Deserted islands and parallel universes naturally lead to some physiclaly challenging acting! Is that something you look forward to within a role?

When you're reading a script and you come across a parallel universes, magic and portals, you know that you're going to be doing a hell of a lot of acting in front of a green screen, which presents its own unique challenges. It also requires a little extra imagination 
in order to make those fantasies a reality on screen.  

You've had a long running role as Jake Riles in Nowhere Boys, which in now available for us to stream on Netflix. You started off as a teenager when that journey began, how has that shaped you five years on?

Nowhere Boys was my first professional acting gig, so a great deal of what I know and how I approach my work as an actor was conceived on that set. I was very lucky that everyone around me was so passionate and professional about their work, from the 
crew, to production, to cast. I learnt so much from all of them. It's gone a long way in shaping me as the actor and the person I am today. 

What is a dream role for you?

I don't have a super specific idea of my 'dream role', I imagine something quite gritty and dark, something very far removed from myself and the world around me. I would love to take on a role that really exceeds my limits as an actor, just so I can see how far I can push my self. You only grow when you're challenged. 

Who is your acting role model?

There is no one actor that I see as a role model, but I take pieces from many and look to them more as powerful examples of what actors are capable of. That being said, I tend to look towards actors like Leo, Guy Pearce and Daniel Day Lewis. 

You are Melbourne born and bred, but you've also jumped overseas to live it up in LA! What's your favourite thing to do in La La Land when you're not in front of the camera?

LA is a very unique place, I didn't enjoy the first couple of times I went. But just like everywhere, it's the company you keep that makes it fun. So after meeting some great people over there, I would have to say my favouirte thing to do would be heading down to Venice Beach or simply trying to find the nearest Cheesecake Factory and making a glutton of myself.

There is some awesome fashion happening in LA and Melbourne at the moment. What do you love about that scene and does your style change when you're over there?

I'll start by saying Melbourne takes the cake when it comes to fashion, so dressing like you normally would in Melbourne, generally puts you leaps and bounds ahead of most of the other fashion styles you see getting around LA. However, it's generally a little warmer in LA so my trusty Melbourne coats, boots and scarves often stay on their coat hangers. There are a couple of amazing stores in Hollywood and Beverly Hills, like John Varvatos, but if you want anything as sleek as your normal Melbourne attire, you're going to have to empty your bank account. 

You're heading out for a night on the town in Hollywood, what are you wearing? 

Well it's normally still hot at night so maybe just a nice shirt, some jeans and a Chelsea boot. Something classy but casual. 

What's your favourite style of shoe at the moment and what will you be packing on your next LA trip?

That's a tough one! I think I have most of the different shoe styles covered haha. I'll be packing my trusty Timberlands,some Chelsea boots and of course you can't go past the white sneaker. I think I'll leave the crocs at home. 

We got to shoot some cool styles with you, what was your favourite Croft Shoe?

Big fan on the Camden boots (especially in saddle suede) and the Depp boots!

What's on the radar for the rest of 2017 and the future? Anything exciting coming up that you can tell us about?

I'm heading stateside later in the year to study at a great acting school called Stellar Adler, I'm really excited for that because it presents a whole array of new challenges but i'm eager to see how much I can improve and grow while I'm there. 

 

 

Back to blog