In 2020, we said goodbye to “Criminal Minds’” Spencer Ried, but Matthew Gray
Gubler’s been saying “hello” to all sorts of new accomplishments, including writing
a No. 1 New York Times bestseller! Want to know what else he’s been up to? Keep watching!
Before fans came to know Matthew Gray Gubler, he spent his childhood in Las Vegas, Nevada,
where he was born on March 9, 1980. While most children only gradually figure out what they
want to do with their lives, Gubler knew he wanted to entertain early on. The future star
even took opportunities to perform as a young child. He told Glamour,
"I have a crazy memory, and I remember being 2 years old at someone's party and thinking,
'This party is boring! I better spruce it up!' I got up and tried to do this really dumb dance that
I saw Winnie the Pooh do, and I remember falling over and thinking, 'This is what it's all about.'"
Luckily, Gubler's family always supported his dreams. The actor described mom Marilyn,
a rancher and a political consultant, and father John,
an attorney, as supportive while he was growing up. He added,
"I've been lavished with nothing but encouragement. Probably too much!"
After graduating high school, Matthew Gray Gubler set off to continue his performing arts education.
He enrolled in New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied filmmaking.
However, in an interesting twist of fate, a talent scout randomly discovered Gubler,
but not for acting or filmmaking. Instead, he was asked to model in a Kate Spade campaign, according
to Watch! Magazine. It wasn't long before Gubler would become an in-demand model. He shared,
"I'm in Paris opening up a Louis Vuitton show. [And] I'm like, 'Holy smokes — I
have to walk up there and not laugh!' It was a thing I knew very little about. It
was like someone calling you and asking, 'Hey, do you want to be an astronaut?'"
While Gubler had a thriving modeling career,
ultimately life as a top model made him a stronger actor. He explained,
"It's some of the hardest acting I've ever done. You don't have the words to hide behind."
Although Matthew Gray Gubler surprisingly chased a modeling career, he remained focused
on working in film. School also allowed him to hone his acting skills. While attending,
Gubler acted in many films by other student filmmakers. He told Backstage,
"It was all a big beautiful snake eating its tail, progressing along the way."
Gubler received another big break while attending school in New York — this time
in movies interning for director Wes Anderson. Gubler recounted in Glamour,
"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."
Gubler sent Anderson a DVD of the movies he'd made
with a cheeky note saying he'd love to get Anderson coffee. He added,
"I lucked out and got to work there, and that was a real dream come true."
Anderson encouraged Gubler to audition for a part in the movie "The Life Aquatic with
Steve Zissou," which ended up being Gubler's first Hollywood acting role.
Just one year after appearing in his first movie in 2004, Matthew Gray Gubler landed
the role of Dr. Spencer Reid on the CBS crime drama "Criminal Minds." The show centered on a
group of FBI agents in the bureau's Behavioral Analysis Unit as they profiled and tracked down
serial killers. Gubler's character, Reid, was known and loved for his incredible intellect.
According to the Associated Press, Gubler admitted that he was very protective of
the character that made him famous. He also said that he worked to keep him from being
portrayed as the stereotypical nerd. Gubler said to BuzzFeed about playing the character,
"I'll never touch a computer. I'll never drive a car, I'll never hold a laptop,
I'll never hold an iPad. My phone is from 1997. I have a revolver instead of a Glock.
I just wanted him to be out of step, sort of not in any era necessarily."
“He’s so lifelike.”
Fans of the long-running "Criminal Minds" came to love the chemistry between the show's characters,
and that chemistry spilled off camera. In 2015,
Matthew Gray Gubler spoke to Glamour about the bond between the cast members. He said,
"When you work this many hours together for this many years,
you see each other more than your own families."
Gubler grew particularly close to his castmate Paget Brewster,
who played Special Agent Emily Prentiss. Gubler has described Brewster as his best
friend. Gubler and Brewster grew so close that he introduced the actress to her future husband and
eventually officiated their wedding in 2014. He announced his special role in the ceremony
when he tweeted a photo of him and the newlyweds with a sweet accompanying message that read,
"Had the unique pleasure of getting to officiate the marriage of 2 of
my best friends and now I have minister fever."
Even though Matthew Gray Gubler found acting success on screen, he continued to work behind
the camera as a director. While acting on "Criminal Minds," Gubler also directed
12 episodes of the series, including his friend Paget Brewster's final appearance.
Gubler told Entertainment Weekly about directing the episode, saying,
"The best thing a director can hope for is a story rife with drama and so many
interesting things to get to [...] And just to be asked to do it meant the world to me."
In addition to directing stints on "Criminal Minds,"
Gubler also directed two music videos for the band The Killers: "Dirt Sledding" and "Don't
Shoot Me Santa." Gubler expressed his love for directing in a 2015 interview with Glamour,
telling the magazine he's also proud of the work he's done in the director's chair. He added,
"To me, I really feel most like myself, or that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be
doing if I'm directing or acting in comedies or telling ghost stories."
"Criminal Minds” was a hit TV show, but Matthew Gray Gubler didn't limit
himself to the CBS drama. Aside from directing jobs, Gubler also snagged several movie roles
after his debut in "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou." Gubler appeared in "500 Days of Summer”
starring Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Gubler said in an interview with Assignment X,
"I had a feeling it was going to be something pretty spectacular.
That script was amazing and the minute I saw Marc Webb, the director,
the savvy that he had behind the camera, I knew I had a very good feeling about the film."
Gubler also scored the role of Simon in 2007's "Alvin and the
Chipmunks" and reprised the role in the sequels.
He has also starred in movies like "Life After Beth," "Endings, Beginnings," and "Horse Girl."
Ever creative, Matthew Gray Gubler founds ways to express himself outside of acting
and directing. One outlet was YouTube, where Gubler published several videos, including
a satirical series titled "The Unauthorized Documentary." In it, Gubler plays a caricature
of himself while filming "Criminal Minds." Gubler told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2006,
"We have all this time on the set,
and I'm a big fan of improv-based shows like 'Curb Your Enthusiasm. So I said,
let's make a documentary about me acting like the people I see or hear, about who I hate."
Gubler shared his excitement about his YouTube videos, also telling the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette he's more excited about them than his "Criminal Mind" shows. He shared,
"On 'Criminal Minds' we're dealing with 17 million people watching every week, and
we're checking YouTube every two hours to see how many people have watched this dumb documentary."
“Now we’re talkin’! Zoom in. Go deep.”
When he's not on the set, Matthew Gray Gubler is also a painter and illustrator.
Gubler shares his unique drawings and paintings on multiple platforms,
including his Twitter and website. Gubler told BuzzFeed about sharing his art, saying,
"On the internet, it's this safe [place] where I can put it up and people can click on it or not."
While Gubler admits some people have found reasons to call his work offensive, his creative outlet
has still found an audience. In addition to fans permanently inking themselves with his drawings,
Gubler announced that one of his pieces sold for more than $10,000 in an eBay auction.
He also made shirts with his illustrations and designed a tote called "Universe,
I Love You," donating 100% of the proceeds to the American Red Cross.
After 15 years of portraying Dr. Spencer Reid on "Criminal Minds," Matthew Gray Gubler said
goodbye to the character when the series ended in 2020. After appearing in more than 300 episodes,
Gubler compared the series' end to losing a beloved grandparent. He told the Associated Press,
"It's kind of like if you went to your grandfather's 115th birthday
and then the next day he passed away. You'd be very sad but you'd also say,
'Hey, he had an incredible life. He lived so long.'"
As the long-running series wrapped, Gubler shared a sentimental post
on Instagram to commemorate. He captioned the photo of Reid's badge, watch, and gun,
"I've carried these 3 props with me almost every day for the last 15 years. After
tonight I'll just carry them in my heart where I will forever keep memories of the best crew,
the best cast, and the best fands (fans/friends) a fictional crimefighter could ever have."
After modeling, acting, and directing,
Matthew Gray Gubler continued to create in new ways. He told the Associated Press,
"I love life so much and I want to try to do everything,
whether or not I do it well I don't know."
One of the things Gubler tried — and succeeded
at — was publishing a children's book, which he wrote and illustrated himself,
including the bar code and publisher logo. The 2019 book, "Rumple Buttercup: A Story of Bananas,
Belonging, and Being Yourself," embraces the unique weirdness of the main character.
"Rumple Buttercup" became a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. Fortunately for fans,
Gubler revealed he had plans to write more books. Is there anything Matthew Gray Gubler can’t do?
“It’s impossible to answer.”
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