Podcast Playlist

I Was There Too host Matt Gourley shares untold stories from iconic film sets

Matt Gourley host of the podcast I Was There Too speaks with Lindsay Michael about seeing your favourite movies from the perspective of a background actor.
Matt Gourley, host of I Was There Too spoke with Lindsay Michael from his home studio in Los Angeles. (Used with permission)
Extended Interview with Matt Gourley, host of I Was There Too, Superego, James Bonding, Pistol Shrimps Radio and the Jon Daly Pilot Project Podcast. You may also have heard him on Comedy Bang! Bang! and Drunk History.

Matt Gourley gives his listeners insights from their favourite films from the perspective of actors who are, by their very nature, behind the scenes and out of frame. On his podcast I Was There Too Gourley interviews extras and background actors who had bit parts in some of Hollywood's most iconic films.

He told Podcast Playlist host Lindsay Michael, that he finds a lot value in speaking to these actors. "It's something I would have never have guessed...Even just watching the movie now, I'm watching Aliens from the perspective of one Colonial Marine in the background…that dies half-way through."  

Gourley says that making this podcast has completely changed the way he interacts with film.

"It's a good way to approach your favourite movies, watch 'em from every character's perspective."

For Gourley, no on-set detail is too small, "I love hearing about the craft services, or this little thing happened with [their] costume, or [what the actors] did between takes." 

"Joshua Burge from The Revenant…talked about how he had a running joke with Tom Hardy."- Matt Gourley

Sharing these day-to-day stories from a film shoot is what makes I Was There Too so unique. Actors share the kind of insider anecdotes that would usually never come up when doing press. 

"Joshua Burge from The Revenant…talked about how he had a running joke with Tom Hardy", says Gourley, "and you would never hear about that from Tom Hardy necessarily."  

Since the podcast launched in 2014 Gourley has been able to meet some of his own film idols, including Jenette Goldstein who played Private Vasquez the, "badass, heavy machine gun totting solider with the headband" in Aliens. But, there is one actor who continues to evade him.

"I really want the woman who is captured at the bottom of the well from Silence of the Lambs. I've reached out to her a couple times. I can never blame anybody when they are skeptical about a show like this. 'Cause they might think…'Is this for has beens?' or something like that, and it really isn't." 

Listen to the audio to hear the full interview with Matt Gourley.

Tune in to Podcast Playlist on May 21st at 2 p.m. to hear a condensed version of this interview.

To hear more of I Was There Too on Podcast Playlist, we featured the show in our episodes Episode 24: Let's Get Reel and Episode 45: 4 glamorous podcasts that will have you star struck.