#howikibou with Griffin Matthews
Who are you? What should we know about you?
I’m an Actor, Activist, Gay chicken farmer, & Zaddy.
You're in this HOT new show Flight Attendant. Tell us about filming during Covid. How does that change your job?
The Flight Attendant on HBO Max has been such a gift to my life and career. Our show filmed in NYC, Bangkok, and Rome. (I'm based in LA). We were traveling the world, filming, and enjoying ourselves and then all of a sudden we got shut down. The world got shut down. We stopped production in the middle of episode 6 so I was back in LA on lockdown with my husband and son.
After 4 months of living this isolated life (and with no end in sight), my husband and I decided that if we ever wanted a second baby THIS was the moment. So we contacted our social worker (we're foster dads) and we got a baby boy pretty quickly! The very next day, I got a call that The Flight Attendant was going back into production in NYC.
Luckily, our producers (several mothers) worked out my schedule so that I could be home with our newborn for as long as possible. This is why we need more women in positions of power.
We want to hear so much more about your family, but before we completely change the subject, we have to congratulate you! Flight Attendant was just renewed for a second season AND the show--and your buddy Kaley Cuoco--were nominated for 2 Golden Globe and 2 SAG Awards!
When I signed on to do The Flight Attendant, I was just so happy to have my dream job working and traveling the world with good people! And of course I was hoping that our viewers would love the show as much as we loved filming it. So to get another season and all of these nominations is just the absolute best gift!
The cast has been texting each other daily about how excited we are to get back to work!!
Now more about your beautiful family. In the midst of all this, you and your husband Matt adopted your second child. Besides female producers, how did you possibly make that work between LA, NY, Bangkok and Rome?!
My in-laws were heroic. They drove (to avoid being exposed to Covid) 13 hours from Boise to LA to be with my husband and kids, when I had to go back to NYC to finish shooting.
Tell us about your little ones. How old are they? What are they into these days?
We are a house full of boys! We always wanted a girl, but because we're foster parents, we wanted to make our home available to any child in need no matter the race or gender. Our oldest son (Galileo) is almost 3 and our youngest (Apollo) is 4 months.
Galileo is BUSY! He only cares about cars, trucks, dirt, and rocks. I cared about NONE of those things when I was a kid lol! And Apollo only cares about his bottle: Where is it? Get me another one. Go faster!
Galileo is very affectionate with Apollo. Essentially, he thinks the baby belongs to him. And we're okay with that.
Speaking of babies and busy boys, we've seen you rocking your Kibou all around town. Can you tell us what's currently inside that blush bag of yours?
At this moment: Wipes. A cereal fruit bar. 1 diaper. A tube of baby booty cream. And a pack of pink orbits gum for daddy.
And why Kibou for you?
Kibou for the win is all about style & function. When we go hiking or to the flower market or flea market I get to look cute and stay ready for any and all baby S.O.S. moments. (And sometimes when I’m heading out without the baby, I wear my Kibou as my own personal fanny pack: keys, cellphone, gum and cereal fruit bar because yum.)
On the topic of with and without the babes, how do you and Matt find balance between both of your busy careers, your children, and your chicken coop?
The balance is all about having "daddy time." Every night when the boys go down, we eat dinner, drink wine, replay the day and watch tv. And as a family we spend a lot of time hiking and gardening and of course...hanging with our chickens! We built a chicken mansion coop during lockdown and we absolutely love our girls! They lay pink, brown, blue, green and speckled eggs. Hence: gay chicken farmer.
Before Covid, your new son, Flight Attendant, and the reawakening of Black Lives Matter you were D'Unte on Dear White People. This summer, you wrote a letter of your own to Broadway connected to your experience producing your incredible off-Broadway musical Witness Uganda. How has 2020 changed life in the Gould-Matthews household and what's next?
2020 was the great leveler. It created cultural conversations that were long overdue in this country. It also gave us (as a same sex, mixed race/religion family) a chance to re-evaluate how we participate in those conversations. My husband is white and Jewish. Galileo is Armenian. Apollo is Cambodian. I am black and Christian. We are literally the United Nations! My family (like so many in our generation) represent the new American family. We are truly a melting pot of cultures and ideas. The only way we make this country the best that it can be is to acknowledge our differences, rectify our past mistakes, and move forward together.
Anything else you'd like to share before getting back to all those little guys?
Everyone should really consider raising backyard chickens because fluffy pets that lay eggs that you can eat = winning.
Resurrect People! @GriffinsThread
