Matthew Backer has played many roles, but as I discovered, his most recent role in Young Frankenstein has been something of a cathartic experience for the out and proud actor.
The actor has a face easily recognised. With theatrical roles from Jersey Boys to Young Frankenstein, and appearances in Operation Buffalo, Five Bedrooms, Harrow and those Toyota commercials, he’s a familiar sight on our TV screens. And then there’s the ABC’s iconic Play School where for the past three years, Matt has been delighting children while hosting alongside Big Ted and Jemima.
Dark, good-looking and with an infectious smile, Matthew is enjoying a rewarding career, but as with many gay men, the road to self-discovery was paved with bullying and homophobia.
Matthew Backer as Frederick Frankenstein (that’s Fronk-en-steen) in the Hayes Theatre production of Young Frankenstein
“I went to an all-boys Catholic school in the Nineties, which I think says enough!” says Backer.
“I just didn’t fit in. I loved acting, played trumpet, was in the choir, and got bullied ruthlessly. That school has changed now, but at the time my best friend and I, went through hell every day for five years.”
Needless to say, it took Matt the schoolboy, some time to find himself and eventually come out as an out and proud gay man. After a short stint as a regional journalist, it was performing that helped him be true to himself, not to mention becoming the actor he is today.
“Being bullied takes its toll, but I really ‘found’ myself through performing,” he says.
“I remember walking on stage for the first time thinking, “This is really cool! This is where I can find myself!” I ‘lived’ in the school’s performing arts complex, because I didn’t play sport and just didn’t want to mix in a place where I would get yelled at. I left school without a shred of confidence in myself as a man, let alone a performer, so I took up journalism and worked as a cadet on the Fraser Coast Chronicle in 2006.”
Matthew Backer on set of ABC TV’s iconic Play School
Although gaining his Bachelor of Journalism Degree from the University of Queensland, Backer still had a yearning to perform and was accepted into Australia’s most prestigious acting school, the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). Known for its famous Aussie alumni such as Cate Blanchett and Baz Luhrmann, it was here Backer befriended fellow classmates and other DNA favourites Kurt Phelan (American Idiot) and David Berry (A Place To Call Home).
“Finding your community and your people can help you shout from the rooftops “I am gay!”
“We recently had our ten-year reunion and around twelve of us are still acting, which is great odds. It was lovely to all get back together, and a lot of us are still kicking goals. David and Kurt are also singers, and the three of us bonded through that. However, I didn’t really know what I was doing, whereas they were such proficient singers and I learnt at lot from them.”
It was after NIDA that Backer discovered success – something he believes with great modesty was more luck than talent, although many would be quick to disagree. Amidst many accolades, the Sydney Morning Herald named him one of their ‘Hot List Stars’, while for CULT Magazine – one of the ‘Faces to Watch’.
Matthew Backer (centre) as Dr Myer in the ABC drama Operation Buffalo
“Three months after graduating at NIDA I got the role of Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys, which was huge!” says Backer.
“I was stoked to get it, but I feel I fluked my way in with the right look, height and sound! It was actually a bit daunting and I felt like I was climbing Mount Everest every night, but I finished that year thinking, “If I can do this, I can do anything”. It gave me such confidence.”
Backer followed Jersey Boys with roles at the Sydney Theatre Company (Orlando), Bell Shakespeare (The Tempest), Belvoir (Kill the Messenger), Queensland Theatre (Nearer the Gods) and Hayes Theatre (Only Heaven Knows).
“Over that period I had four years of back-to-back work and it was constantly a pinch yourself moment. There were shows on top of each other, and I just ran with it. I worked with incredible actors and directors. It was like drama school 2.0, and each day I could feel myself growing as an actor.
Matt’s foray into television has included stints on A Place to Call Home, Operation Buffalo, Five Bedrooms and Harrow, But it was Play School, the iconic long-running Aussie children’s show, where the actor began to feel comfortable in who he is, and could work on being an openly gay role model.
Matthew Backer with partner and fellow actor Stephen Madsen
“I’d never want the kids watching Play School to grow up knowing that one of their hosts wasn’t being truthful,” he says.
“It’s important for those kids to realise later in life that they were watching a gay guy on Play School. That means a lot to me, because it’s been such a personal struggle, and journey. Nowadays I would never censor myself while performing. That’s not the world we live in anymore. Play School and the ABC are so welcoming with diversity and I’m really proud that they let all their presenters be themselves and live their truth.”
“It’s important for those kids to realise they were watching a gay guy on Play School.”
While other Aussie actors such as Simon Burke and Andrew McFarlane have also played host over the years, Backer has the honour of presenting the show’s first spin-offs – Play School Art Time, getting kids to be creative and Story Salad involving improv based on simple words sent in by children.
“Art Time and Story Salad have been going so well because we’ve had so much time at home, especially in Melbourne. Parents with kids in lockdown found it a little bright light at the end of the day. A lot of parents listen in and get their kids to join in, make up their own stories. It’s an outlet for killing time in an otherwise mundane day. Play School is such a wonderful world to be in. All that theater work really helped with the program’s specific style. You have to do a lot in one take, talking to one kid through a camera while singing a song, and Play School and it’s been such a gift.”
Still taking on diverse roles, Backer’s recent return to the stage involved playing Dr Frederick Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein at the Hayes Theatre, a cathartic role to say the least.
“The COVID pandemic meant we had to rehearse on the actual stage, which was wonderful. The show is so stupid and exactly what everyone needs at the moment, which is a big belly laugh with zany and kinky humour. We really went over the top, and I actually found it therapeutic. The main character constantly says he’s not a ‘Frankenstein’, he’s a ‘Frankensteen’, because his grandfather did horrible things and soiled the family name. But by the end of the show he loves Transylvania and all its insanity, proclaiming that he is indeed a Frankenstein, and it also took years for me to say that I’m gay. Finding your community and your people can help you shout from the rooftops “I am gay!” The more that people do that and the more people will hear it, the less people will remain in the shadows.”
“Being bullied takes its toll, but I really ‘found’ myself through performing.”
One of the motivators for Matt stepping out of the shadows, was meeting his current partner, fellow actor Stephen Madsen (RENT/Murial’s Wedding) who came along at just the right time and place.
“When I studied acting I still didn’t know who I was and what I wanted. Looking back now, I think high school did more damage than I thought it had. If you’re called a piece of crap for five years, you start to believe it. I still wasn’t truthful with myself because I also thought there was no place for gay actors in the industry, and after a few years I was just so tired and thought “I can’t do this anymore”. It was actually meeting my partner Stephen that changed my outlook. When I met him, it gave me courage and strength. I love him, so why would I not be honest about that? That’s when I started happily telling people that I’d met someone.”
“He’s actually younger than me and we’re so opposite in terms of types,” laughs Backer.
“He does musical too and it’s great to support each other, and open different doors. We never go for the same roles, which is a godsend. We met just after he had finished Heathers and I was doing Orlando at the STC. Looking back it was such a wonderful time, as those shows were intrinsically wound in with us meeting”.
In terms of taking chances, diving in at the deeps end and making self-discoveries, Matt Backer could already write a great memoir. No doubt he’s already inspiring young gay men to step out of the shadows. If not just facing one’s true self, the actor has also proven that a career change is not only possible, but can help set one on their true trajectory in life. So what’s his advice?
“If you feel that little tinkling in your gut, just do it,” he says.
“I was nervous leaving my job with the newspaper, but I’ve found there’s no time like the present, and you can always figure it out ‘on the run’. There’s something in-built with actors, where we just take each day as it comes, mainly because the career trajectory is so up and down. But I’ve never looked back and who knows, in ten years time, if I wanted to return to journalism, I can see myself doing it. But I’m on such a lovely path at the moment.”
