The best way to expand one's fame and influence is to increase exposure. Since the two sequels of "Pirates of the Caribbean" were about to begin filming, Helen Herman contacted the production team, and the team secured an opportunity for Matthew to be interviewed by "The Hollywood Reporter."
The interview was scheduled to take place on the eve of the filming of "Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest," to coincide with Disney Pictures' early publicity.
In the following days, Matthew mainly focused on studying the script and his character, undergoing related fancy sword fighting training, and also paying attention to some recent events related to him.
He specifically asked Bella Anderson to keep an eye on Naomi Harris's activities in the media. In these past few days, there had been no news of Naomi Harris coming out with revelations. He guessed that although the woman might be a bit simple-minded, she wasn't a fool and could still discern the situation.
As for the "Pirates of the Caribbean" crew, Eva Green successfully passed the audition for the role of the witch. It was said that after director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer had a disagreement, they uncharacteristically reached a consensus on the same matter, both believing that Eva Green's appearance and temperament were very fitting for the witch's character setting.
Eva Green also specifically got his number from Helen Herman and called him, expressing her desire to treat him to a French dinner as a thank you when he had time.
Matthew, of course, wouldn't refuse, but he didn't have time for now. His schedule was very tight in the period before filming began, and he also had to accept an exclusive interview with "The Hollywood Reporter."
Since it was an exclusive interview for print media, there was no need for video recording or filming, so the interview location was set in Matthew's office.
Interviews for print media are relatively simple. On the day of the interview, only a female reporter and a photographer came.
Before the interview began, Matthew sat behind his desk, with a newly hung promotional poster for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" as the background, and had the photographer take some candid photos.
Then, it was a one-on-one interview.
"Hello, Matthew," the female reporter shook hands with Matthew and introduced herself, "I'm Sophia Arteta, an exclusive interview reporter for 'The Hollywood Reporter,' and I'm in charge of this interview today."
Matthew first made a gesture to invite her to sit, "Please, make yourself comfortable." After the female reporter sat across from his desk, he deliberately said, "Could you please not ask overly tricky questions? If I can't answer them, I'll get a headache."
In reality, Helen Herman and a publicist from the production team were sitting at Bella Anderson's desk, and both sides had already communicated sufficiently.
The female reporter smiled, first pulled out a voice recorder and placed it on the table, then took out a pen and notebook, and said, "Can we start?"
Matthew smiled and said, "Anytime."
"Now that 'Pirates of the Caribbean' is about to start filming," Sophia asked her first question, "Have you been looking forward to this filming for a long time?"
Matthew nodded heavily, "I've been looking forward to it for a long time. Not just me, but also Depp and Keira. We are all eager to embark on another adventure in the Caribbean Sea."
Although there had been prior communication, Sophia, as an experienced reporter, also knew how to adapt on the fly. She immediately followed up on Matthew's words, asking, "Can you comment on your two co-stars?"
"Johnny Depp is a very dedicated, very remarkable actor. The filming of 'Pirates of the Caribbean' made him fall in love with the pirate life." Matthew naturally had nothing but praise for his two friends and co-stars from the crew. "Depp really likes the role of Captain Jack. He himself, like the captain, is a complex character, very mysterious; you can never guess what's on his mind. But he is still an upright person; he always steps up at critical moments. He told me that he hopes he is the captain."
After talking about Johnny Depp, he moved on to Keira Knightley, "Keira and I had a relationship, and due to some reasons of mine, we eventually reverted to being good friends."
"Keira is at the peak of her acting career. She possesses a mysterious power that always helps me and Depp."
The female reporter Sophia then appropriately asked, "Can you talk about director Gore Verbinski?"
Matthew had already anticipated this and said, "Gore Verbinski is a genius. His directed works include both romantic comedies like 'Mouse Hunt' and 'The Mexican,' and horror thrillers like 'The Ring.' He possesses both humor and suspense, and his grasp of details and control over the overall rhythm are equally excellent."
He thought for a moment and praised again, "'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' unequivocally proved Gore's strength, so Disney Pictures confidently entrusted him with the two sequels."
"Can you talk about these two sequels?" The female reporter continued to press him with questions.
"I can reveal a top-secret piece of information to you," Matthew said, deliberately acting mysterious, "The next two sequels of 'Pirates of the Caribbean' are very clever and interesting films, with excellent scripts. I am full of confidence in these two movies."
Sophia felt an urge to give Matthew the middle finger, but her professionalism kept her from stopping her questions. "'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' achieved huge success. Was this success within your expectations?"
Matthew thought for a moment and said, "At the time, many people didn't think it would succeed. They all thought we were making a Disney children's film, and pirate films had been absent for a long time, with every attempt at a revival being bombarded by public opinion. But 'The Curse of the Black Pearl' stunned everyone. From the exquisite creativity of the director and screenwriters to the outstanding performances of the actors, everything was done to achieve the best effect, resulting in huge global success."
The interview paused for a while. Sophia was busy organizing her notes. Matthew took the glass of water Bella Anderson brought him, drank some, and waited for the interview to continue.
About three minutes later, the female reporter said, "Let's begin." At the same time, she reminded him, "Matthew, the following questions will all be personal."
"No problem," Matthew nodded slightly, "I'm ready."
Sophia seized the time and asked, "Now that you've achieved success, if you look back, what advice would you give your younger self?"
This question was a bit tricky and hadn't been discussed beforehand. Fortunately, it wasn't a live interview, so Matthew had plenty of time to think. And if he couldn't find a suitable answer, Helen Herman, sitting opposite him, had already prepared a whiteboard and would hold it up to prompt him.
However, Matthew didn't look over there but gave his own answer, "Study more, and strive to get into a good university. With enough knowledge, whether you come to Hollywood to be an actor or pursue other professions, you'll have enough confidence and won't have to worry about this and that all day long."
Across from him, Helen Herman stopped her pen on the whiteboard, quickly wiped it clean. The answer Matthew gave, if not a ninety, was at least a passing grade.
In fact, this also fit Matthew's persona: a star who worked his way up from the bottom, with a relatively low level of education, and a great thirst for knowledge.
Helen Herman simply put down her carbon pen, feeling that with Matthew's current ability, she probably wouldn't need to prompt him anymore.
In the past two years, she had become increasingly clear that Matthew was not like stars such as Johnny Depp or Mel Gibson. He was very clear-headed in his actions, and even if he occasionally did something foolish, they were always insignificant minor matters. When it came to facing the media and the essential work of an actor, after these few years of training, his progress was very obvious.
"You are good friends with Johnny Depp, and Johnny Depp has organized bands and loves to sing," the female reporter Sophia's questions continued, "Has he ever invited you to join his band?"
"No," Matthew shook his head.
The female reporter pressed, "Why? Haven't you ever thought about releasing an album or something?"
"Because I sing terribly," Matthew said bluntly, "Do you know what the scariest thing about singing is?"
He didn't wait for the female reporter to answer, but gave the answer himself, "You think you're singing beautifully and are completely immersed in it, but in reality, you're completely off-key."
Then, Matthew answered the latter question, "Even if I could sing, I wouldn't release an album. I am an actor, and I want to be the best actor. A person's energy is limited. You can't do both acting and singing perfectly at the same time. People like Barbra Streisand, who have achieved outstanding success in both areas, didn't do it simultaneously, but rather focused their energy completely on one aspect during a certain stage."
The female reporter's questions came again, "is it difficult to be a public figure?"
Matthew made a few meaningless gestures and said, "It requires an adaptation process. Of course, I can't always be in the center of public opinion, and for that, I'm quite grateful. If I had the same level of exposure as Tom Cruise, I would find it very difficult to adapt. I feel quite lucky not to be as famous as him; my success is still within a controllable range."
Hearing Matthew's words, the female reporter asked rather slyly, "Have you ever lied?"
"Of course, everyone lies," Matthew responded quickly, "But I will absolutely not go into detail about those things with you."
With such a sensitive topic, the female reporter also touched upon it only briefly before retracting. The subsequent questions became formulaic until the very last one.
The female reporter asked a question that also hadn't been discussed, "Matthew, what is the achievement you are most proud of?"
Matthew really wanted to say that he had earned tens of millions and slept with many actresses, but such an answer could only be kept to himself, so he gave a very classy answer.
"I am always striving to become a better, more outstanding, and more successful person."