Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Turner & Hooch’s Matt Hamilton

Award-winning actor Matt Hamilton is laying down the law as Trent Havelock in Disney+’s Turner & Hooch.

A continuation of the 1989 film by the same name, Turner & Hooch follows an ambitious, buttoned-up US Marshal (Josh Peck) who inherits a big unruly dog. He soon realizes that the dog he didn’t want may be the partner he needs.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Matt about his multifaceted career, Turner & Hooch, and how he learned to bring likability to his character.

PC: How did you discover your passion for storytelling?
Matt: That’s a good question. When I was a kid, I was a movie nerd. I loved movies. I was obsessed with them. I would write these short stories in my head as mini movies. I had this sketchbook. I’d create the movie poster and everything.

When I went to university, I took a writing class. I was nineteen at the time. They had a screenwriting class. I was like, “Why did I never think about this?” That’s when I decided to go to Vancouver Film School for screenwriting and then back to university to finish my writing degree. I started doing shorts and sketches, and that’s how I started acting.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success already in your career. When you look back is there a moment that stands out to you?
Matt: It depends on your definition of success. Playing Trent in Turner & Hooch is the first time that I’ve ever been able to develop a character over the course of an entire season. You can do that in film and it’s fun, but it’s over in a couple of weeks. For this project, we filmed for about six months, and I’m in half of the episodes. That definitely sticks out.

We actually took a break during filming, and when I was able to step back into the shoes of the character I could tell that the writers had tailored the script to my performance. That really sticks out.

PC: Tell us about Turner & Hooch and your character in the series.
Matt: The series is a continuation of the movie with Tom Hanks. Josh [Peck] is Tom Hanks’ character’s son. His dad passes away and gives his latest Hooch incarnation to him. Josh’s character is trying to be a US Marshal while dealing with this maniac dog. Hooch is an absolute slobber machine who fights crime. [laughs]

I play Trent Havelock. I’m the super bro-ish, d-bag US Marshal. I’m kind of a funny d-ck, so not completely the bad guy. My character is the pain in the ass at work. He gets all the good cases. He gets all the recognition, which drives them all nuts. Turner and Hooch get paired with me, which always drives me nuts. It’s a fun dynamic.

PC: What attracted you to this project?
Matt: I loved action comedies growing up. I lived in Vancouver and there’s not a ton of comedy there. Whenever I get to do that, I’ll try and push for it. I haven’t done a real action shoot either. I did a show called Continuum that had some action scenes, but it was only a couple of episodes. But this is the first time that I got to do full action-comedy. It was so fun. This is exactly where I want to live. That was a dream.

PC: How did you prepare to step into your character’s shoes? Was the preparation different given that you filmed during the pandemic?
Matt: Usually, you’d like to meet a US Marshal and shadow them, but because the world was ending that wasn’t possible. I just did a lot of research on Google to learn the ins and outs. I also watched Justified which is about a US Marshal.

Then it’s about breaking down your character and trying to find out what makes your character tick and the reason that he is the way that he is.

It’s important when you’re playing a character who is kind of the antagonist that they’re never just the bad guy right? The most interesting ones never think they’re the bad guys. Why is that? It’s about trying to get a grasp on that.

PC: You were saying earlier that this project was the opportunity to live with a character for an extended period of time. Did anything surprise you about the experience? What was the biggest takeaway?
Matt: It was about learning how to bring likability to this character. Originally, my character was only supposed to be in four episodes. But they liked how I leaned into the funny side of this character. It would have been easy for audiences to be like, “I hate this character. Get him out of here.” But hopefully, that’s not the case. [laughs] You might watch it and be like, “Matt, you’re wrong. I hate you.” I didn’t want him to come off as a bully. I tried to find a likability in him that audiences could connect to but also that could keep me in the show if we get a Season 2. [laughs]

PC: What do you hope audiences take away after seeing the show?
Matt: It’s been a brutal couple of years. This show is what everyone needs right now. It’s fun. It’s an action-comedy. You can sit there, enjoy, relax, and have fun. It’s a show that a lot of people can relate to. There are kids who will like it because of the dogs, but it’s an action procedural show that has comedy. It really covers a lot of ground. It’s funny. We need that right now.

To keep up with Matt, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Turner & Hooch on Disney+.