Matthew Del Negro – Hot Pursuit

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you have been working on?

A) Hot Pursuit is my next project. I’m really excited about it. I believe with “Scandal” it looks like I will be back next season. I’m about to do a couple projects over the summer, one of which is creating a show that we’re in the process of pitching with some friends. I’m really excited about Hot Pursuit and it should burst on the scene!

Q) Talk a little bit about your recent appearance on “Scandal” and your character arc.

A) The role of Michael has kind of been a great revelation for me because they took a character that we didn’t really know…I wasn’t quite told. I don’t know if they knew exactly where he was going and the fear is that you sign on to play a prostitute and you wonder what they are going to do with this character. Obviously, it is a juicy role, but you wonder how far they will go with showing the different sides. Shonda [Rhimes] and her team of writers really just twisted and turned that character to the point where it starts off with him as this uber confident player who is playing the White House Chief of Staff. By the end, the wedding and the White House realizing his background is this broken and lonely man who is really quite broken down was a lot of fun as an actor to explore all of that.

Q) We left off with Michael being annexed to a side of the house, even though he is married to Cyrus. Where will we pick up with him in the season finale?

A) That’s a great question to which I don’t have the answer. If I did have the answer, I’d probably never tell you for fear of them killing me off! It’s a very secretive show, which you learn right off the bat! Matched with their process, I think one of the joys of the show for audience members (as I’ve seen it being a part of it this year) is that people are dying to know what happens next. And the twists and turns are so extreme that you really don’t know what is coming. I actually don’t have that information, but I would be reluctant to share it anyway.

Q) Talk about working alongside the incredible Jeff Perry.

A) He is the real deal. It’s been so much fun to work with him. He is one of the founding members of Steppenwolf Theatre, which is just one of the premiere theater companies that has been created over the last thirty years. Just hearing stories of him, Laurie Metcalf, Gary Sinise and John Malkovich starting it as these rag tag kids… To hear his history and what he has been a part of and then to be able to work opposite of him every episode has been a real treat. He is so open. He’s been so generous right off the bat and he’s just so good. All I have to do is show up and he does what he does. I get to just react off of him and it’s really a gift as an actor.

Q) Please tell us the premise for your film Hot Pursuit.

A) Reese Witherspoon plays a San Antonio by-the-book cop who has been stuck in the evidence room for the past few years and she gets put on assignment with a US Marshall coming through town to take a drug dealer and his wife to Dallas to testify against a notorious cartel leader. I don’t want to spoil it, but next thing you know hijinx ensues! Reese is now escorting the drug dealer’s wife, played by Sofia Vergara, across the state of Texas while being chased by dirty cops and cartel gunmen. It’s kind of a real adventure comedy. It’s got heart and something for everyone in it.

Q) You have great comedic timing. Is it something that comes natural to you or have you worked at it?

A) It’s something that I have studied a bit. Back in New York, a long time ago, I did a good amount of theater that was comedic and then more of the TV and film stuff for a while that was on the dramatic side. Then, for the past three or four years it has been comedy. Now it seems like I’m toggling back and forth between comedic work and dramatic work. One of the things that helped was “Rizzoli & Isles.” They gave me a really funny character to play and that I think helped things along. They realized this guy can do comedy and it is a blast for me to do. It was a blast to do it on this level with pros like Reese and Sofia. I’m really lucky to be a part of that.

Q) What were some of your favorite moments from filming the movie?

A) The whole experience was pretty darn good, but I guess in terms of scenes there is a sequence near a roadside bar. I don’t want to spoil the plot, but there is a scene where Reese and Sofia are in the back of our police cruiser (myself and Mike Moseley who plays my partner). There is a whole conversation about the female menstruation cycle that is pretty much hysterical. They had us cracking! People couldn’t keep straight faces during the scene. It was really funny! At the premiere, I felt like it played really well in the theater. People seemed to really enjoy it as we did during shooting. I would say that was my favorite scene in the film.

Q) People still talk about your character from “Rizzoli & Isles.” How does that make you feel?

A) That was one of those ones where I went in for that and felt they were going to find another guy who is closer to this Giovanni character who is just natural. I thought I could do something with it, but I thought in this entire town they would find someone who was more like this guy than I am. Luckily, they gave me the gig and I was really able to have fun. That material was so much fun. Sasha Alexander and Angie Harmon were hysterical to work across from and then I believe they started that role as a one time character and that Janet Tamaro (who created the character and was the showrunner at the time) decided that the audience seemed to like him so every season they would bring me back for a goofy episode where they could somehow work Giovanni into their plot line. I loved it! There is a new showrunner now, but if they called me up tomorrow I’d gladly go back and do it again. It’s just so much fun to play!

Q) What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

A) I would thank anyone who has been watching me over the years and appreciating my work. It’s kind of a lucky for an actor who have people out there who would be aware of the work and appreciate it. Thank you!