Exclusive Interview: Vince Mattis Talks Teen Wolf: The Movie, Collaborating with the Original Cast, and More

Vince Mattis has emerged as one of the industry’s most exciting new voices. Already in his young career, he’s landed coveted roles in projects including Halloween, The Dirt, and American Refugee. And he’s just getting started. This year, he stars in the highly-anticipated film, Teen Wolf: The Movie.

A full moon rises in Beacon Hills, and with it, a terrifying evil has emerged. The wolves are howling once again, calling for the return of banshees, werecoyotes, hellhounds, Kitsunes, and every other shapeshifter in the night. But only a Werewolf like Scott McCall, no longer a teenager yet still an Alpha, can gather both new allies and reunite trusted friends to fight back against what could be the most powerful and deadliest enemy they’ve ever faced. Vince shines as Eli Hale, the son of Derek Hale, a young Beta reluctant to embrace his true calling.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Vince about Teen Wolf: The Movie, collaborating with the original cast, and finding his love for acting.

PC: How did you discover your passion for acting?
Vince: That’s a forever-changing journey. I feel like I’m still finding my passion for acting. Every actor’s journey is about discovering their reason and purpose for it. But I would say that I officially started acting five years ago. I had done some summer camps and had a tiny bit of experience. I was like, “Dad, I really want to pursue this. Can I get an agent now?” I’m from South Carolina. It was actually really easy to get an agent there because they’re all very small private businesses. You just call them and you can get a hold of them. You say, “Hey, I’m interested.” Then you audition for them and that’s it. I have a lot of friends who struggle to get agents because they’re in LA or New York and it’s super competitive.

But it was almost a blessing where I was because I signed on with this small agency called Southeast Agency, and the first audition that I did was for the 2018 remake of Halloween. I got really lucky with that, so I started off strong. But I’ve been doing it for five years. It’s cool, especially right now in my life. Every time I’m on set or doing a self-tape, I’m finding more and more joy in every scene. I’m not so focused on the end goal or the success as much as I am on being present. Acting is purely about being present in the moment. People are so rarely present in their lives. They’re thinking about A or B, and their minds are all over the place. They never get to really enjoy the moment. But acting is a time, for me at least, to be completely present, which is a gift. I’ve been having so much fun with self-tapes. Teen Wolf was a blast. I think I’m honestly only now truly falling in love. I’m falling in love with acting right now as we speak.

PC: You’re one of the new cast members joining the Teen Wolf movie. Did you feel any pressure joining the cast, given how much history they have and how dedicated the fan base is?
Vince: I don’t even think I realized the extent of how big the fan base was before filming. I was eight years old when the show came out, so I didn’t really see much of it. Thank God I didn’t because I would have psyched myself out heading onto the set. But everybody was so welcoming and nice, especially Tyler Posey. He completely took me under his wing. We were in this together. It was cool because we became buddies and I got to see him re-experience this set life that he had for six years working on the show.

We were at the old shooting locations. I got to see that, and he got to see me experiencing these things for the first time. It almost made him say, “I should really appreciate being here as well.” Then I was the one who was like, “This is a dream. It’s amazing.” He was like, “You’re right. This is a dream. This is not happening.” Everybody was like, “We’re all trying to get the film done.” Everyone was so sweet. Honestly, there’s not one person in that cast who isn’t nice or extremely generous. They’re all so amazing.

PC: One of the big themes in the Teen Wolf franchise is about finding your pack. Who were the people in your own life who shaped the artist and storyteller that you are today?
Vince: My dad, number one, for sure. He’s had some pretty sh*tty things happen in his lifetime. It’s good to have support. You have to have support here and there. My dad has been the one who’s always been there. This career is not an easy one to take on, especially with zero connections in Hollywood. My dad always had faith in me. He always knew that this was the path for me. He’s one of the people who stuck by my side and said, “Keep going. If you’re going to do it, go a hundred percent.” But at the same time, I’m at a point in my life where I feel very isolated and weirdly by myself. I’m busy. I’m doing a lot. I’m in New York City with two roommates, but I’m doing a lot of things by myself. But in the past year, I’ve learned more about myself and the world. I’ve learned more than half of what I know in the last year, which is a lot. That’s why I’m enjoying acting more because I have a lot more to pull from. I’m also finding ways to make it fun for myself.

But in terms of people impacting me in acting, I’m very analytical of everybody, including myself. But I love studying the physicalities of people and the way they talk. Most people usually have four sets of moves, just like a Pokémon character. People develop their own personalities and certain physical things that they do. I always watch people. When I’m on the subway, I’m watching people. But I think getting inspiration from real life and from real people is a great way to shape an actor, for sure.

PC: Your character has such a great arc in the film where he’s a little hesitant at first to embrace who he is. But over the course of the film, we see that he ultimately does to protect the ones he loves. How did you prepare to step into his shoes? What was it like working with Tyler Hoechlin to bring that father-son dynamic to life?
Vince: I found out that I got cast when I was in New York. I moved all my stuff back home to South Carolina because I thought I was going to have a week back home before filming started. But nope, it was two days. Two days after I found out, they flew me out to California to film the first week of the film. So I had zero preparation. I also didn’t get the script until I got on set. Tyler Posey texted it to me. There was only half a script finished. We were filming with only half a script done.

At that point, what you have to do is go, “Okay, I know the main things about this character. He’s young. He’s a little funny.” I took it scene by scene. That’s what you have to do sometimes. Because I felt overwhelmed. It was like, “Oh, I’m technically a lead in a movie. It’s a first for me. How am I going to carry that many scenes? Or how am I going to be on the screen that much and keep people’s interest?” Then I was like, “All I’ve got to do is take it scene by scene, give it my hundred percent, and that will translate through the course of the film, hopefully.”

Working with Hoechlin was amazing. He’s a real-life Superman. He walks in. His posture is freaking impeccable. He’s like, “Ah, yes. Of course.” He gets on set. He’s super outgoing and down-to-earth. We were forced to be close to each other because the first scene that we filmed was that locker room scene when he’s carrying me. It was like, “Hey, how are you doing?” I literally had to jump into his arms and he would hold me like a baby. He was carrying me easily. I’m like 150 pounds. He was doing it with ease. But it was great working with him. I’m not going to lie. I was pretty nervous on the first day of filming, but we got through it. It worked out.

PC: Without giving any spoilers, there’s a really emotional scene with your character at the end of the film with Sheriff Stilinski. How did you prepare for that moment in particular?
Vince: Honestly, I took it scene by scene. I’d be memorizing the scene the day before. I’m not going to lie, that was a scene that was very last minute. I just used my instincts. Every actor has natural instincts. With the way that was filmed and how everything was very last minute, sometimes it’s best to lean into those instincts rather than doing all this crazy preparation. I’ve learned now that how many lines you have in the scene doesn’t dictate how important your character is or how impactful your one line can be.

I’ve grown as an actor since filming this project. Before I was like, “Okay, I have one line.” I say, “He hated that jeep.” I’m chilling. That’s four words. There we go. I’m filming that tomorrow. That’s it. We went to set, and they wanted me to be emotional. I can do that. Let me bring the tears a bit. Let me bring the watery eyes. Let me think about my dad dying. This would be horrible. We’re at his memorial. Honestly, I didn’t read Stilinski’s monologue. I skimmed through it. It was cool though because when he was doing this monologue, it was like I was hearing it for the first time.

What I did was I really leaned on Linden [Ashby]. I listened to him. He was talking about how resilient my father was and how that jeep keeps on running. It was written beautifully. Jeff [Davis] did a great job writing that little piece of dialogue. I knew that was exactly what Eli needed to hear. So I listened to that. Honestly, it was emotional. It’s a really beautifully written little section of dialogue. I just listened. Sometimes if something is well written, it will naturally bring out those emotions in you and hopefully the audience too.

PC: In true Jeff Davis fashion, there’s a pretty big cliffhanger at the end of the film. Have there been any early conversations about potentially doing another movie?
Vince: There’s nothing off the ground yet. I know Tyler Posey has written a draft of his own movie. I’m not going to spoil anything about that. I don’t know if that will actually go through. I hope it does. It’s really cool. But yeah, it would be weird if they didn’t make a sequel based on how the movie ends. Also that last shot with me at the end…I love it. It’s really cool. They actually added that for the reshoots four months after. The last thing that you were going to see me in was me holding the dog and saying, “He’s heavy.” Then they added that scene. I was so excited. We’ll see because it could not happen.

PC: This is such an exciting time in your career. As you look ahead, do you have a dream role that you’d love to bring to life on the screen?
Vince: I definitely want to play Spider-Man at one point. Tom Holland, give it up! I’m kidding. But I would love to play Spider-Man. He’s my favorite superhero. I feel like I could be a decent Peter Parker. I would also like to do a period piece. I would love to be in a 17th-century or 18th-century movie. But I also want to do a war film. Shave my head and get into that gritty, muddy psychological territory. If I do a very serious drama, I would love to do something like that. It would be fun to have big explosions and set pieces but also have it be driven by the story. That would be cool. I would also love to do a film set in the ’80s. That’d be great. I feel like it’d be so much fun. That’s pretty broad. It’s a pretty broad statement, but I don’t know. There’s so much. Sky’s the limit.

To keep up with Vince, follow him on Instagram. Watch Teen Wolf: The Movie on Paramount+.