From 24th June to 5th July, Matthew Khan was playing Laertes in Hamlet at Stafford Gatehouse, and in May, he played Skinny in Jez Butterworth’s MOJO at The Kings Arm in Salford. Last year, Matthew started his regular character of Jared Jones in Series 14 of Waterloo Road, working with a cast including Hattie Dynevor as Libby Guthrie, Neil Fitzmaurice as Neil Guthrie and Danny Murphy as Luca Smith, with Matthew’s character Jared being arrested at the end of Series 15 after a huge storyline involving him and Libby. Matthew plays the recurring role of Dylan in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder with Emma Myers, and a Series 2 has recently been announced, and he has had guest roles in Doctors as Hamil Shahbazi and an episode of Brassic. Alongside his screen and stage career, Matthew runs a podcast called Going for a Take with fellow actors Ben Stevenson-Langley and Olly Rhodes (Waterloo Road). We caught up with Matthew, who told us about recently playing Laertes in Hamlet at Stafford Gatehouse and Skinny in MOJO at The Kings Arm in Salford, his regular character Jared Jones in Waterloo Road and filming as Dylan in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.

Most recently, you have just finished playing Laertes in Hamlet at Stafford Gatehouse from 24th June to 5th July, what were you looking forward to for performing in the show?

Hamlet was my first-ever show in a young company at the Dukes in Lancaster where I grew up. So getting to do a professional Shakespeare show at a respected theatre and starting with the most well-known text was something I was excited to throw myself into.

How did you prepare to play Laertes?

So, I approached Laertes in a similar way to how I approach a lot of my characters – I trawled through the script, worked out who said what about my character, what Laertes said about himself etc, to build a picture of what Shakespeare hints at.

Then the director had a clear framework already set with Laertes – instead of going off to France to study at university, the script was edited and the costumes were changed so that Laertes was going off to train in the army. So once I knew that, that altered what physicality I used for him (I predominantly use Laban for my characters), and then I read a bunch of different analyses on the characters which informed my spin on him.

I’d seen versions of Laertes before that just seemed kind of wet, and yes, he is more heart to Hamlet’s head, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be this roaring kind of rage. He is like a bull in a matador ring – Claudius the King shows him a red flag and he runs straight at it without thinking.

You played Skinny in Jez Butterworth’s MOJO at The Kings Arm in Salford in May, was there anything that drew you to the show and how did the run go?

It went AMAZING. It was probably the most fun I’ve ever had on stage. I knew of the play from secondary school where the other guys in the class got to put it on, and I was admittedly super jealous. So when this chance to have a go came around, I jumped at the chance to audition.

I’ve also wanted to work with Oliver Hurst, the director, for a long time after my sister (who’s also an actor) worked with him and just sang his praises. He’s fantastic, worked with absolute legends already so early in his career, and you can tell he’s going to go far.

What was Skinny like to play and how were rehearsals?

Skinny was a challenge for sure. In fact, I wasn’t really drawn to him, as on paper he comes across as very whiny and could potentially be a one-note character.

But the director urged me to try out for him, and we ended up creating a character who, although yes, was whiny, was also incredibly violent and cruel and had ulterior motives.

Often, if a character is small and vulnerable, they will play the opposite to who they actually are. So, for Skinny, we created this character who was the runt of the litter and smaller than everyone else, but who tried to appear bigger in his status among the group through the aggressiveness of his words and his actions.

What do you enjoy most about performing on stage and how different do you find it to screen work?

MOJO and Hamlet were the first theatre shows I’ve done in years, so it felt weird going back. I enjoy the freedom of it being different every night in theatre (which is something that was great to remind myself of when I go back to screen work), but actually I kind of feel no different to being on stage than TV.

You serve the character, you serve the story, you buy into it as much as feasibly possible, and it’s the same in TV. However, I do think there’s more technicalities on stage that can get in the way.

Maybe on stage it’s 50% character, 50% Matthew, whereas on screen there’s the freedom to be 75% character, 25% Matthew.

Last year, you started your new regular character of Jared Jones in the hugely-popular BBC One series Waterloo Road, how was it hearing you’d be joining the cast for Series 14 and what do you remember from your first day on set of the project?

It was honestly such an amazing moment finding out I’d got booked. The audition process was a couple of months long and mainly focused around me demonstrating that I could learn sign language beyond the basic understanding I already had.

Even the first day on the project was when Luca (played by Danny Murphy) and Jared arrive at the school, so there was a lot more signing involved between them. Acting in a different language to how you usually speak is VERY difficult! But acting alongside Danny was so fun, and I am still learning BSL now.

Can you tell us about Jared, and what was the character like to play?

Jared is a predator. On one hand, he looks like the most charming, Cedric Diggory-esque, good at all his lessons, everyone loves him kind of golden boy. Then under the surface, he is extremely manipulative, emotionally stunted, violent, and obsessive.

Our scenes in Season 14 were more fun, but as the scenes got darker and heavier, it became much more of a challenge to be able to let go of the intensity of the scenes after each day wrapping. For example, if you shoot one heavy, violent scene, that could only be a minute that the audiences see, but with all the different angles and takes, it could take three hours of staying in that dark space to get the footage.

But we are extremely proud of what we created, and the response to it – in terms of it helping people – has made it all worthwhile.

What was your storyline in the most recent series like to film and how was it filming with Hattie Dynevor (who plays Libby Guthrie) and with the rest of the cast?

Like I say, heavy and difficult! Hattie is wonderful, and we enjoyed taking the mick out of each other, and we kept each other safe with all the stuff we were filming.

In fact, I had very few scenes with other characters, although I did really enjoy acting opposite Neil Fitzmaurice, who plays Libby’s dad. He is such an instinctual actor, so naturally funny that we had a lot of laughs on set.

Do you have any favourite highlights from your time working on Waterloo Road that you can share?

The people there make the experience one of the best times of my life. Everyone from the dinner ladies to the grips to the security to all the cast and crew, we’d all enjoy going out and chilling together. Made some friends for life there.

How was it playing the recurring role of Dylan in BBC Three’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder?

AGGGTM was an amazing experience and one of the happiest times I’ve had on set. Considering I was only there for two to three weeks, I really bonded with the cast, so it was a shame that I wasn’t there for the whole thing.

Getting to act opposite Emma Myers was amazing – such a generous actor. And again, the material was dark, so we played ninja (a drama game) and geeked out on anime and emo music.

What was it like watching the completed series for the first time and how did you find the experience attending the premiere event?

It was great! By the time I watched it, I’d forgotten some of the story, so I actually just binged it. I’m sure most actors are like this where they don’t really enjoy watching themselves, and in fact watching yourself can lead to you watching yourself kind of in your head when you’re acting so I try to limit it. But I was really proud of what we made. I’m excited for S2!

Also on TV, you have had a guest role in Doctors as Hamil Shahbazi and filmed for an episode of Brassic, what were both shows like to be part of?

Again, everything is a learning experience. Doctors was my first TV credit, and the speed they film on set there means you have to be completely prepped and just work off instinct. But I became friends with Safiyya Ingar, and we still keep in touch all the time.

Then working opposite people like Joe Gilgun on Brassic was mad. I’d watched him in This is England and Misfits, so getting to meet someone like that can be daunting, but he is the chilliest, soundest dude you will ever meet. I remember stepping into the trailer with him and the rest of the cast, and it was like just chatting to my actual mates about films and music etc. They also improvise a lot and don’t stick to the script, so that was very cool to riff opposite them!

How did you get into acting and was it always something you wanted to do professionally?

I originally wanted to be a doctor or a psychologist, but still had this interest in film and acting and the mystery of it all. Then it got to my UCAS applications and I’d been accepted to some unis for psychology and I just remember staring at the computer screen and my mum saying, “you don’t want to do this, do you?”. And from then on, I went 180 degrees and doubled down on acting.

What are some of your favourite films and TV shows to watch?

For, like, easy watching: The Office (US) or Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

I do really enjoy, like, a MUBI film or A24 – something a bit more arthouse. I feel like I’ve consumed just so many films that I need things that are less predictable or that stick to the Hollywood formula. I like things that go against the grain.

Saying that though, I love David Fincher films, Tarantino, Wes Anderson, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach.

Can you tell us about Going For a Take – the podcast you run with Ben Stevenson-Langley and Olly Rhodes?

So, we set that up a year or so back, and it’s basically a podcast for us to invite someone in and get their ‘take’ on their favourite films or something that’s on at the cinema. Then, we get their ‘take’ on their career so far, what they love doing and why, and just really get to know them.

Our vibe is to just have a chat between mates that veers into dumb fun and more deep philosophical ideas, and juggle the two.

What do you enjoy doing away from your career?

Reading, boxing, trying new places in Manchester for food and coffee, and meditating (when I can bring myself to do it). Whenever I finish a job, I also love to treat myself to travelling somewhere I’ve not been before. During and after Waterloo Road, I went to Mexico, Amsterdam, Porto, Barcelona and Japan. It was mint!

Do you have any projects coming up that you can talk about and what are you hoping this year brings for you?

Nothing that I can speak about just yet. But there will be some more TV work on the horizon, which I can’t wait to get back into for sure!

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