Known for his TV and web series role as the thrilling John Constantine from the 'Constantine' DC Comics franchise, Welsh actor Matt Ryan is in Australia and will be appearing at Melbourne and Gold Coast's Supanova conventions.
Also known for his voice acting in 'Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag' and his character Mick Rawson in 'Criminal Minds', Matt has filled many roles across his career.
Although John Constantine is his most prominent and favourable character. “John Constantine is really fun,” Matt says with admiration.
“What's great about him is that he is such a three-dimensional character. John has so many different layers, and I feel like I've only scratched the surface of some of those layers.
“I don't think I would like to bump into him. If I did, it would probably be because I have some demons that needed exorcising,” Matt jokes.
“I'd have a beer with him, but I'd probably know he is up to no good – I'd want to get out of there fast.”
His acting career started at the age of ten, when he portrayed street child Gavroche in a West End production of 'Les Miserables'. After a hiatus during his high school years, he is glad to have continued honing his acting craft despite the struggles along the way.
“I think I spent about ten years working hard, going from [acting] job to [acting] job whilst working two other jobs; next thing you know, you get one [acting] job and everything changes.
“I worked in a call centre. I put posters up for the circus. I was doing head, neck and shoulder massages at festivals. I didn't think it was going to happen for a long time. That was about eight years into my career.
“I think [acting] is a unique industry in that way. I've had to pinch myself a few times to make sure I wasn't dreaming.”
When he found out he was to audition for the role of John Constantine, Matt called upon his friend who liked the 'Hellblazer' comics. Learning the dos and don'ts from his mate, Ryan perfected his onscreen Constantine.
“It's great working with a character that has comics because you can really dive in. There is all this material which you can always read.
“When I was on set in the really early days and would get stuck, I would almost always have one of the comics in my back pocket.
“I would always pull it out to look at one of the panels in the comic and really read into the technicalities of the character, which set me on the right way.”
Excited to return to Australia, Matt wants to take time to interact with fans at Supanova; something his theatre roles have afforded him in the past. “Theatre is the active medium, I love theatre.
“With TV and film, there's these characters that we play [but] you don't have much direct contact with the audience like you do theatre.
“I feel like conventions come about [to aid] that interaction, and it is about the interaction with the audience in the way you don't get to do when you're playing the role.
“I really do enjoy conventions [like Supanova] and getting to meet everyone. The fan base for this genre are just the coolest, they're awesome.”
