“It wasn’t actually that funny,” Matt Jones tells Off the Cuff about how the character of meth head Badger was initially written for his Breaking Bad audition. “I just read it like an idiot.”
Apparently Vince Gilligan liked that interpretation enough to give Jones the part, and audiences certainly responded in kind. Jones himself is far from an idiot, of course. Though his Hollywood beginnings were, as he describes them, “really gross and smelly,” the actor turned years of improv work — including “1,000 shows in 12 countries in three years” with the Amsterdam troupe Boom Chicago — into steady commercial acting before finally landing that gig of a lifetime. He is now enjoying life on another hit show, CBS’ Mom, on which he plays Anna Faris‘ ex-husband, Baxter (“Any stupid name, I’m perfect for,” he jokes.)
Jones also tells us how he almost blew his first-ever television audition, for Gilmore Girls (he suggested his character be called “Morgan, because the reason I’m late is because I got drunk on Captain Morgan last night”), and why he’s super excited about his voiceover work on the new DreamWorks Animation film Home with Rihanna, Steve Martin and J.Lo.
“I can’t wait for that premiere,” he says. “I will stick out like a sore thumb.”
Listen to Jones’ full interview in this episode of Off the Cuff, and be sure to subscribe to #THRpodcasts on iTunes for all the latest episodes.
