From Wes Anderson's intern, to painter,
to chipmunk? Matthew Gray Gubler has been Hollywood's quirkiest star even
before Criminal Minds. Here's a look into his early days, first role, and beyond.
Though Matthew Gray Gubler is known as a successful actor,
he didn't always think of acting as a career. According to Biography, Gubler studied acting
while in high school at the Las Vegas Academy of Arts because his main interest, filmmaking,
wasn't an option. Fortunately for him, he was naturally talented,
and he went on to star in multiple productions while in school. Gubler said,
"I never thought I'd be making a living off of acting — it's still kind of a
shock for my family and friends to see my face on TV every Wednesday night."
He eventually graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts
with a degree in film directing, and later got the opportunity to direct 11 episodes
of "Criminal Minds." Fellow Las Vegas natives and mega music stars The Killers hired Gubler
to direct two of their music videos as well. The actor helmed The Killers' videos "Don't Shoot Me
Santa" and "Dirt Sledding." When his breakout show was reaching its final episode, Parade
asked if Gubler was going to continue acting or go back to directing, to which he replied,
"With everything I've done in every way, I've always tried to not necessarily give myself
a limit or a trajectory, which is how I was fortunate enough to end up on this TV show. So,
I think for the future, while directing is still one of my biggest passions,
everything is my passion, so I would love to continue acting."
Before he landed his big role on "Criminal Minds," Matthew Gray Gubler was a successful
male model. While still a student in New York, he was stopped by a model scout with
DNA Model Management and was soon modeling for industry giants like Tommy Hilfiger,
Marc Jacobs, and American Eagle, according to TV Guide. Regarding the whole experience, he joked,
"It was during a time when there were really emaciated weirdos modeling. It
wasn't like they were looking for Fabio."
Even though he's been characteristically self-deprecating about his looks, Gubler was
a successful model who walked in fashion shows and appeared in several print campaigns. According to
models.com, he was once ranked in the top 50 male models, holding the 46th spot. While he's often
recognized for his looks, Gubler has confessed that he was bullied as a kid. He told Glamour,
"I'm so thankful for every bully I've ever had. It never affected me, and that's why
I'm so thankful for them. I learned early on that if anything, it made me stick closer to
who I am and not try...it just made me very solid with who I was. I don't see it like,
'poor me.' I was lucky. It taught me a beautiful lesson, and I'm really grateful for it."
"All we want in life is for someone to see us for who we really are."
Matthew Gray Gubler's first acting credit is all thanks to Wes Anderson. In an interview
with Glamour, Gubler explained how he came to meet Anderson through an internship. He shared,
"In order to graduate from film school, we had to do a semester of interning. I really
wanted to intern for Wes because he's one of my favorite filmmakers and lives in New York and has
a production company there. I sent a little weird DVD of movies I made and a note saying I would
love to get him coffee. I lucked out and got to work there, and that was a real dream come true."
During his internship, Anderson convinced Gubler to audition for his upcoming movie
"The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," where he ironically played the part
of Intern #1. Shortly after landing the role, he took a trip to Hollywood
and auditioned for a certain crime procedural show. The rest is history.
Aside from his passions of acting and filmmaking, Matthew Gray Gubler is a talented artist. In 2004,
he created a website that featured his characteristically quirky art
and for years it served as a sort of art portfolio for his watercolor, oil,
and pastel paintings. He took the webpage down after Flash was removed from the internet,
but he's since revitalized his website with a new look.
Gubler's art has appeared in galleries, group shows,
and magazines, according to The Things. However, he has confessed
he gets nervous when people critique his art in person. In 2013, he told Buzzfeed,
"On the internet, it's this safe space where I can put it up and people can click on it or not.
I don't have to be in the same room as them pretending to like it, so I very rarely show
people things ... some people misinterpret my style of painting as offensive, and I've
had instances where I've painted beautiful portraits for, like, a girlfriend or someone,
and they're just like, they look at it with a grimace and they're like, 'This is terrible.'"
Despite his insecurities, his pieces have sold for thousands of dollars,
inspired countless tattoos, and received praise all across the internet. Gubler
may be modest about his skill, but at least the rest of the world recognizes his many talents.
In 2007, Matthew Gray Gubler took a reprieve from the dark world of "Criminal Minds" to
provide the voice of Simon –- the loveable, nerdy brother of Alvin –- in the feature film
version of "Alvin and the Chipmunks." According to Box Office Mojo, the movie would go on to earn
an impressive $365 million at the global box office. Distributed by 20th Century Fox and
helmed by "Muppets from Space" director Tim Hill, "Alvin and the Chipmunks" combines live action
and computer-generated animation to bring the beloved 1980s cartoon to life. The story centers
on three chipmunk brothers adopted by human songwriter Dave Seville. Gubler's character,
Simon, is often the voice of reason among his mischievous brothers Alvin and Theodore.
"I feel like I'm living in a dumpster."
The actor continued to voice Simon through three more "Chipmunks" films:
"The Squeakquel," "Chipwrecked," and "The Road Chip." The sequel earned even more
than its predecessor, raking in $443 million, per Box Office Mojo. However,
the third and fourth films didn't fare quite as well and there's no word on a fifth movie. In
an interview with Page Six, Gubler reflected on how much he loved playing Simon. He said,
"Oddly, I feel more a part of this than anything else I've been lucky enough to be in [...] Actors
talk about dreaming of playing Othello, but for me, it's Simon. It's the biggest deal to me."
When "500 Days of Summer" was released in 2009, it stood apart from its romantic-comedy counterparts,
specifically because the romance at the center of the film doesn't last.
The film centers on 20-somethings Tom and Summer as they fall in and out of love.
Matthew Gray Gubler co-stars in the film as Tom's friend, Paul,
who is in a healthy relationship with a girl named Robyn. He speaks the truth
about real love to Tom and comforts his friend after Summer dumps him.
"But truthfully, Robyn is better than the girl of my dreams ... She's real."
Although Gubler only appears in a few scenes, Paul's perspective on love helps illustrate
how unrealistic Tom is about romance. In an article about the film's 10th anniversary,
The Observer noted the one-dimensional characterization of Summer and said of the movie,
"For a film that was heralded as a quirky response to the traditional romance and has since endured
as a cult classic, its central message and themes don't go down quite as easily today."
The article further broke down Summer's lack of character depth and decried her
existence as serving no purpose aside from Tom's dreams. However,
this is the important truth Gubler's character subtly points out in the film.
The extremely dark 2008 comedy "How to Be a Serial Killer" allows Matthew Gray Gubler
to portray a wannabe murderer rather than a profiler and hunter of serial
killers. Gubler plays Bart — a nebbish video store clerk who becomes a student of Mike,
a self-help bro with 10 easy steps to self-actualization via grisly
murder. Mike is a dark, twisted Mr. Miyagi to Bart's Daniel LaRusso and Gubler plays Bart
with believable cowardice. As a review of the film from horror website Dread Central notes,
"Bart's the kind of character most audience members will want to beat
with a sock full of quarters until he stops being such a simpering idiot."
An independent film, "How to Be a Serial Killer" was distributed by Monterey Media
and only opened on one domestic theater screen. According to Box Office Mojo,
the movie played for one weekend and earned $899. Limited audience reviews of the film on Rotten
Tomatoes were less than favorable. However, Liz, a super reviewer on the site, called the movie,
"An entertaining social etiquette of sorts that makes you laugh,
creeps you out and makes you want to become best friends with Matthew Gray Gubler."
Matthew Gray Gubler doesn't usually live his romances in the limelight. The actor's love
life isn't the focus of his interviews or press junkets. Nonetheless, like many other Hollywood
celebrities, he is rumored to have dated Taylor Swift, per Cosmopolitan. However, Gubler has never
spoken on the record about a former relationship with the mega pop star. Kat Dennings remains the
one celebrity Gubler has confirmed dating and over the years, the two have worked on-screen together.
Dennings and Gubler hooked up in 2007 and although their romance didn't last,
their friendship has continued in the years since. The two appeared together in both the
small independent horror-comedy "Suburban Gothic" and the short-lived Hulu series,
"Dollface." Gubler sat down with the website Shock Ya to
discuss "Suburban Gothic" and his relationship with Dennings, saying,
"I love Kat, as she's actually one of my closest friends,
and we actually dated many years ago. It's very rare to find weirdos who are like yourself,
so when you find them, you keep them close."
The imaginative comedy series "Dollface" ran for two seasons on Hulu. The show
centered on Dennings character, web designer Jules Wiley and her search
for love and purpose. Gubler co-starred as Wes, Jules' potential love interest.
After Matthew Gray Gubler began to gain public recognition for his role as Dr.
Spencer Reid in "Criminal Minds," he poked fun at his newfound celebrity status. In 2006,
Gubler launched a YouTube series called "Matthew Gray Gubler: The Unauthorized Documentary" – an
obviously satirical episodic series. The actor's humorous commentary on narcissistic celebrities
who take themselves too seriously pre-dates the similarly themed Joaquin Phoenix vehicle
"I'm Still Here." Although both parodies mock celebrity culture, Phoenix did extensive press for
"I'm Still Here" in character. Phoenix infamously appeared as his self-absorbed character on "The
Late Show with David Letterman" which prompted the actor to apologize to Letterman 18 months later.
"But I apologize. I hope I didn't offend you in any way."
"No, no, no."
"I'm Still Here" could almost qualify as serious performance art, whereas Gubler's video series
delights in its silliness. Gubler's YouTube series spans 14 short episodes, each episode
running under 10 minutes, throughout two seasons and features guest appearances. In Season 1,
Episode 11, the late, great Anton Yelchin takes acting lessons from Gubler. MTV News points out,
"[Gubler] has a wonderful sense of humor and isn't afraid to make fun of himself."
"If we can't shoot the last scene, they can't end the show, and I don't want the show to end."
We couldn't agree more. Season 2 of "The Unauthorized Documentary" aired from 2020 to 2021.
When the "Criminal Minds" reboot was announced, the show's fans grew
excited at the return of their favorite FBI profilers. Before "Criminal Minds:
Evolution" premiered, Deadline announced the return of many long-time stars. However,
glaringly missing from the cast announcement was Matthew Gray Gubler as Dr. Spencer Reid.
Over 15 seasons, Gubler appeared in 323 of the original "Criminal Minds" episodes. The actor,
who began his trajectory on the show when he was 25,
wrapped the series finale when he was 40. Both Gubler and Reid grew up through
the show's lengthy run. In an exclusive interview with Looper, Gubler's friend
and co-star Paget Brewster opened up about his absence from the reboot. She explained,
"Matthew was the only person in the last two seasons that
had been in every single episode. He did 15 years straight through."
She elaborated on Gubler's choice to decline reprising his role, adding,
"He was never able to go do other stuff, so I understand."
However, Gubler's character hasn't been killed off of "Criminal Minds:
Evolution," and there are numerous plausible explanations for Reid's
absence. Perhaps Gubler will make guest appearances in future episodes.