Actor Profile: Matt Keeslar

When I watched Matt Keeslar on the short-lived television series, The Middleman, I knew I’d seen him before, and I knew I wanted to revisit whichever films of his I had seen, and explore everything I had yet to see. His performance on that wonderfully witty series sparked something in me. He instantly became one of my favorite actors, and this grew stronger and stronger as I made my way through his filmography.

My actual first experiences watching Matt Keeslar were in my childhood, and I did not know then how much he would mean to me when I watched The Middleman during the summer between transferring to a new college, hoping for a fresh start. One of my earliest film memories is of the live-action Mr. Magoo starring Leslie Nielsen, a film which was pulled from theaters after two weeks, so I’m not entirely sure how it ended up being one of the films I watched as a child. All I remembered from it was an eggplant car and chicken aerobics.

Approximately five years later, I stayed over with my cousins, and we watched the Stephen King miniseries Rose Red. I didn’t remember much from this other than the way it made its way into my dollhouse scenarios, involving an unfinished dollhouse making all our little dolls topple off the balcony. When I realized Matt Keeslar was in this miniseries, I came back to all these memories of these dollhouse reenactments and little glimpses of the film. When I was a kid, I hated horror, but happily let it influence other aspects of my childhood. It pushed me forward to becoming a fan many years later, and I ended up watching The Middleman, with all its lovely references to zombies, ghosts, and a short-lived 1970s television show featuring chimps wearing clothes.

Matt Keeslar: Background

Matt Keeslar retired from acting in 2010, so he could find a new career path when acting was not providing enough support for him and his family. He attended Reed College and graduated with a degree in Biology. He had success early on in his career, but when he decided retiring and finding a more fruitful and stable path was the best for his family, he had not worked in a year. I think it was a brave choice to go back to school and find something else at which he excelled. It was ultimately the best choice for him and his family, yet I sometimes think about how good of an actor he is, and wish he had been given work in that year, work he rightfully deserved.

Even having a short-lived career, Matt Keeslar gave some wonderful performances across different styles and genres of films. His performances will always stick with me, and I hope they stick with you as well.

The Last Days of Disco (1998)

One of Matt Keeslar‘s best performances is as Josh, an assistant district attorney with manic depression, in the Whit Stillman film The Last Days of Disco. Whit Stillman‘s film follows a group of friends as the disco scene comes to an end in the early ’80s.

Josh is an interesting character. He loves the idea of the disco movement, even though he’s never really been involved with it. He loves the idea of young adults having a place to socialize once they leave behind college. His character is very passionate and always goes into detail in any conversation he has.

Matt Keeslar so effortlessly captures the idealization, innocence, and passion of his character. He seems to actually be likable, unlike most of the group of friends. Des, Chris Eigeman‘s character, has supposedly been friends with Josh for a while, yet he is constantly calling him names and making fun of his manic depression.

Chloë Sevigny plays Alice, who seems to be the most similar to Josh. She is also more innocent than the people around her. Her roommate Charlotte (Kate Beckinsale) seems to subtly make fun of her, and never fully realizes or blames herself for anything she says.

Alice and Josh ending the film as the only two characters who seem somewhat happy, and not trying to hide behind newfound philosophies of why they are happy, does the film justice. All the characters are interesting to explore and I think they are all wonderfully written and developed, yet there is something wonderful about seeing the two most likable characters happy and dancing together on the subway as the credits roll.

Matt Keeslar‘s performance is filled with moments of sadness, surrounded by moments of pure joy. The character is wonderfully evolved and expressed through small moments, such as him discussing Lady and the Tramp, singing a hymn on the street, and lamenting on how disco will always live on in those who love it.

Splendor (1999)

Gregg Araki‘s film Splendor follows Veronica (Kathleen Robertson), a women who finds herself falling in love with two men simultaneously. Unlike other films with this setup, she does not pick one over the other. Instead, Abel (Johnathon Schaech), Zed (Matt Keeslar), and Veronica form a group relationship. Abel is a sensitive writer, while Zed is an absentminded drummer.

The film feels very similar to an old screwball comedy and explores similar relationship dynamics as the 1933 pre-code film Design for Living, which was based on a 1932 play by Noël Coward. 

When the relationship begins, Abel and Zed are antagonistic towards each other, yet as the film progresses, they grow closer than either one is to Veronica. The film ends with a big romantic gesture of Abel and Zed working together to win Veronica back. Matt Keeslar‘s performance works to make Zed’s absentminded personality charming. His far-off looks and pauses between words are charming instead of annoying.

The film cuts between a scene of Veronica having passionate sex with Zed and a scene of Abel putting his heart on the line in a phone call to Veronica, foreshadowing the group relationship to come.

There is a scene where Veronica is trying to get Abel and Zed to become friends. She asks them both the same question during a drinking game. I like how, with one answer, their personalities are completely laid out. Veronica asked them if they’d ever had sex with a guy. Abel shyly says no, almost embarrassed and retorts by asking Veronica if she’s had sex with a woman.

When she asks Zed this same question, all he says is “Define sex,” which works to clearly paint a picture of their two different personalities, and what Veronica sees in them both, making her unable and unwilling to choose.

The film is an interesting take on a romantic comedy, exploring relationships in ways most romantic comedies would never acknowledge. The film is reminiscent of a screwball comedy in its use of a female character more in control than the men around her. Johnathon Schaech, Matt Keeslar, and Kathleen Robertson all give wonderful performances, especially in scenes where they are all together, acting off each other.

Psycho Beach Party (2000)

Matt Keeslar portrays the Swedish exchange student Lars in the 2000 comedy horror film Psycho Beach Party, written by Charles Busch, who also stars in the film and wrote the original stage play version as well.

The film follows Florence ‘Chicklet’ Forrest (Lauren Ambrose), a young girl with split personalities, who wants to learn to surf. The film is a spoof of 1960s beach party and surfer films, such as Gidget (1965) and Beach Party (1963). Psycho Beach Party mixes these innocent characters with darker elements of horror films and psychological dramas.

The combination of genres in Psycho Beach Party works to create something wonderful and unique by utilizing the tropes of existing genres and styles. Aesthetically, the film manages to capture the 1960s films it spoofs. The costumes, sets, and music in the film all work wonderfully together to capture the essence of the 1960s and surf culture, while also capturing the heart of the slasher film.

The murders in the film all happen while Chicklet is overtaken by another personality. This leads Captain Monica Stark (Charles Busch) to suspect Chicklet, her mother, best friend, and acquaintances for the murders. Throughout the film, a story is unveiled of a young boy Larry who butchered his entire family. Near the end of the film, it’s revealed Lars is Larry and he wants to rid the world of people who are different, which fits with everyone murdered throughout the film.

Matt Keeslar‘s performance switched so effortlessly once he is revealed as the murderer. His accent falls away, replaced with a voice filled with anger. Throughout the film, his character was trying to push forward a kind personality, someone accepting and friendly. When he loses his accent, he tries to project himself as strong, yet he ends up being fairly weak in his fight against Chicklet.

The film twists and turns itself even more after this confrontation between Larry and Chicklet, which is when it truly feels like a spoof of psychological dramas, since it goes too far, becoming even more ridiculous than any of the scenes filled with 1960s surfer dialogue and old-fashioned green screen.

Matt Keeslar gives a wonderful performance, especially when he loses his character’s fake Swedish accent in a moment, letting anger and rage seep through his character’s natural voice.

Urbania (2000)

In Urbania, Matt Keeslar portrays Chris, the boyfriend of the main character, and the focus of the film’s central plot. The film focuses around Charlie (Dan Futterman) as he tries to find a mysterious stranger, who holds the answers to Charlie’s recent visions. The film uses urban legends as it tells its story, unraveling the mystery of the stranger and his relation to Chris.

The film is told through glimpses of flashbacks, each with someone living an urban legend or one of the characters on screen telling the legend.

Charlie is able to piece together who this man is that he keeps seeing in these glimpses and flashbacks, discovering the real reason he wants to seek him out. The film implies that this man is someone Charlie had a one night stand with, cheating on Chris, who he repeatedly leaves voicemail messages for throughout the film.

As the film progresses, it is revealed that this is not the case. The truth is much darker and sadder. Through the flashbacks, we get to see the relationship between Chris and Charlie, hoping he did not cheat on him, yet when it’s revealed this did not happen, the film does not give its audience much relief.

Seeing Chris and Charlie in bed, laughing, having sex, and enjoying each other’s company, brings the audience a small sense of happiness before delving into the sadness at the film’s center. Matt Keeslar and Dan Futterman have a wonderful chemistry throughout the memories of Chris and Charlie together. The film is both emotionally distressing as well as being entertaining in its portrayal of urban legends and disjointed storytelling. The film leaves you with the desire to respect and appreciate the people you love when you have the chance.

When we realize Charlie’s need to find this mysterious man is about revenge instead of some type of one night stand or fantasy attraction, the audience feels a brief sense of relief, realizing Chris and Charlie were not having problems, even though the new truth is much sadder than expected. Charlie is searching endlessly in order to exact revenge on the man who raped and murdered his boyfriend.

The film does a wonderful job of using urban legends to pull together the story fragments in a unique and interesting way. Urbania is not your typical romantic drama, but the emotion from these characters comes through and is very affecting, especially once the entire story comes into frame. The film is a wonderfully creative example of a romantic tearjerker.

Art School Confidential (2006)

Art School Confidential follows a class of students attending art school, while a serious of gruesome murders are taking place in the background. Matt Keeslar plays Jonah, an agent pretending to be a fellow art student in order to find out the identity of the murderer.

One aspect of the film that comes across for me is its focus on stereotypes. At times, it feels like certain types of characters are seen as better, but I think the film is also trying to comment on how quickly we divide and label people when attending a new school, always wondering where we might fit in. To an extent, new students want something to define them, somewhere they can fit in.

The film also comments on the perspective of art, especially how it relates to art school. Keeslar‘s character is an undercover cop with no prior desire to be an artist, and he is welcomed and praised for his simplistic take on art. His first painting is described as something that could only come from someone who’s never seen a painting before. Everyone praises him for unlearning all the rules of art school, yet he never knew those rules to begin with.

One of my favorite scenes in the film is when Jerome (Max Minghella) walks around and sees that every student in the class received an A, showing how pointless it is to give grades simply to make students feel better about themselves. The film does a good job of showing the bullshit of all school, not just art school.

Over the course of the film, Jonah actually becomes interested in art. He spends more time on his art than on the murder investigation to which he is assigned. Matt Keeslar did a wonderful job in the scenes where Jonah is with his family, focusing on his art as his wife worries about their child because her husband is letting the art get in the way of the case. I thought showing Jonah start to care about the art and the people he met as a student was a wonderful way to make the character more developed and realistic. The scenes where Jonah was around his classmates getting praised on his art were some of his happiest moments in the film.

Matt Keeslar‘s performance made the character of undercover cop likable. He was disliked by the protagonist of the film, yet he was never pushed to the side as a character the audience is supposed to hate. We see him smiling, possibly discovering a new passion, and becoming close to his classmates.

Snowglobe (2007)

A made-for-tv Christmas film might seem like a strange film to highlight in a profile of an actor’s work, but Snowglobe contains one of Matt Keeslar‘s most memorable performances. He plays Douglas, a seemingly perfect man who lives inside of a snowglobe, always experiencing the perfect Christmas. The film sets him up as a romantic lead for Angela (Christina Milian), but the true focus of the film is how we imagine a fantasy without realizing how much we love and appreciate our real life. Sometimes a fantasy can never live up to something real.

With this focus, Douglas never comes across as annoying. At times, I think the film wants him to come across that way, but Matt Keeslar‘s performance adds a level of realism and charm to his overly adorable, innocent, and sweet character. Instead of rolling your eyes as he is mesmerized by everything outside his snowglobe world, we are caught up in his smiles and genuine joy.

I think the film going in a direction where Angela finds love at home, and remembers how much she truly does love her family and their Christmas traditions was a good choice, yet I still think Matt Keeslar‘s performance manages to make his character more likable than expected. The character feels similar to Will Ferrell‘s Buddy in the film Elf. Snowglobe could have been something entirely derivative of Elf, but Matt Keeslar‘s performance puts a smile on your face, such as when he’s trying a hot dog for the first time, or wearing a Statue of Liberty hat.

Snowglobe also has its own slight amount of melancholy surrounding fantasies and cutting yourself off from those who love you. Angela frequently slept, as a way to enter the snowglobe world, even though she was missing important parts of her life. She pushed her responsibilities aside, making herself sleep, just for a glimpse of what she deemed perfect.

The scenes where Douglas explores the city are adorable, yet they also add so much to Angela’s story. We can begin to see just how hard it is for her, having to keep up with him and his childlike wonder. Douglas is sort of like if Kimmy Schmidt existed in a somber and realistic depiction of New York City. If Angela and her friends were more quirky themselves, he might have been the romantic lead, instead of a bump leading Angela toward her own perfect Christmas, which involved her family and the fairly normal guy who moved in down the hall.

Conclusion

Matt Keeslar is an actor who deserves much more credit for his versatile work across film and television. I am grateful my adoration of his performance in The Middleman led me to discovering so many more memorable performances throughout his career. His performance as The Middleman will always work to cheer me up. I can always put on an episode of that show and listen to his countless curse word free exclamations when I’m feeling down.

Do you think Matt Keeslar is a memorable actor? Which of his roles is your favorite, across film and television?