Actor and filmmaker Tim Matheson chatted about his new book “Damn Glad to Meet You: My Seven Decades in the Hollywood Trenches,” which will be released on November 12th.
Matheson is known for his acting work in “The West Wing,” “Hart of Dixie,” and “Virgin River” on Netflix. “’The West Wing’ was a fun show,” he admitted.
‘Damn Glad to Meet You’ book
On his new book, Matheson said, “It’s great. While I’m not religious, it feels like what you must feel like after going to confession because you’ve owned everything.”
“It was a bit cathartic, and I am glad to be able to share with younger filmmakers, actors, and writers the lessons that I’ve learned that can save them from bumping into walls and perhaps save them from some pain,” he elaborated.
Matheson on receiving positive feedback from his peers including Reba
Thus far, the book has been well-received by his peers in the industry including Reba McEntire, who described it as “entertaining.” “I was just knocked out by the positive feedback. That was super, especially coming from Reba,” he exclaimed.
“Country western performers adore their fans and treat them with such respect. They will do a 2.5 hour show, and they will spend time afterward signing autographs and taking pictures. That is why they are famous,” he said.
Lessons learned from this book
On the lessons learned from this book, he shared, “This book taught me to own my mistakes, as well as the lessons that I learned from those mistakes. It taught me that it’s okay to make mistakes. I haven’t stopped learning and studying.”
“I am reading a book on improv now by Viola Spolin who tells us to be in the moment. I think that’s a wonderful description of what an actor is trying to accomplish,” he noted.
“The lesson is learn from the people that have been there before us,” he added.
Future plans
On his future plans, he remarked, “I am going back to shoot ‘Virgin River’ Season 7 in Vancouver in March of 2025. Season 6 will drop on December 19 on Netflix.”
Matheson praised his “Virgin River” co-star Benjamin Hollingsworth for playing the “bad boy” on the show yet being so great in real life.
“The show is a romance, heart-warming and very sweet,” Matheson admitted. “It has a generational component of relationships from just about every decade of people, and I tend to be the older one, so it’s nice.”
Stage of his life
On the title of the current chapter of his life, Matheson said, “Reconstruction.”
“The dream house I built five years ago for my then-newlywed wife went through some problems. Now, we’ve completed the restoration of it, and we are getting ready to move back in again,” he explained.
Superpower
If he were to have any superpower, it would be “flying.” “With hyper speed, you can help more people than just being in one place at a time,” he said.
Success
On his definition of success, Matheson said, “Doing a job with people that I love, and that is still challenging to me as an actor, and brings me as much excitement as I had when I was first starting out.”
“I am so lucky since I found what I always wanted to do at an early age, and I can still have fun doing it,” he concluded.
His new book “Damn Glad to Meet You” is available for pre-order on digital service providers by clicking here.
To learn more about actor and filmmaker Tim Matheson, follow him on Instagram.
