If you’re not watching All’s Fair, I feel sorry for you and your oh-so-serious sensibilities. What is a Ryan Murphy show if not a place for iconic women, (in this case Kim Kardashian, Naomi Watts, Sarah Paulson, Niecy Nash, Glenn Close, Teyana Taylor and Hari Nef) to storm around in outrageous outfits to the beat of a nonsensical plot? And who doesn’t love a storyline featuring infidelity, divorce, and retribution? Not to mention the sinister-yet-doe-eyed Chase, aka Matthew Noszka, the pass-around love interest who’s usurping Niecy Nash’s cockeyed hat as the breakout star of the season. The mega model turned Hulu hunk even has a heart-wrenching Hollywood come up story. Want to know more? We did.
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TAYLORE SCARABELLI: Where are you at?
MATTHEW NOSZKA: I’m in Las Vegas.
SCARABELLI: Is that where you live?
NOSZKA: Yeah, it’s my primary residence. We’re like 25 minutes outside the city. I can still go to the strip for dinners and shows, and then our backyard’s all mountains and wilderness, so I can off-road and camp and all that fun stuff.
SCARABELLI: Because you’re a big outdoors guy.
NOSZKA: Yeah, I like to be out in the wild, in tune with nature. I just got back two minutes ago, I was out in my side-by-side just smashing puddles.
SCARABELLI: Cool. So I’m just jumping into it right away because I’ve got our recording going, but I wanted to ask you, since this show has been so major, do you find yourself getting recognized more when you go out?
NOSZKA: Honestly, I don’t go out much. I don’t drink, I don’t party anymore. If I do go out, it’s usually for an event or a work thing. I just went to the GQ Men of the Year, and I had a bunch of people come up and congratulate me on the show and say they were huge fans of my character. So that was cool, especially after seeing the critics’ response to everything.
SCARABELLI: Totally.
NOSZKA: But to answer your question, going into it, my approach was, “If I’m going to have this platform, the purpose is not to be famous, the purpose is to spread my approach on life.” I’m very family oriented, I’m a big health and wellness advocate. I lost my dad to cancer, I got hit by a car, I was in debt up to my eyeballs because I had $2 million in medical bills that I couldn’t pay and my insurance wasn’t covering it.
SCARABELLI: I’m sorry. That’s horrible. When was that?
NOSZKA: This was in 2018. I got hit by a car on Santa Monica Boulevard. I broke both my femurs, I shattered my pelvis, I had my calf ripped off, and I was unsure if I was ever going to be able to work again. They were talking about amputating my leg. So to go through all of those things and to be where I’m at now, I feel like I have such an inspiring story that I would love to share with other people who are in similar situations.
SCARABELLI: Wow. Well, on that note, I’m curious how this all came to be. Because you were a model first. Were you scouted somewhere?
NOSZKA: So I was playing college basketball in Pittsburgh—I ended up going to a performing arts college, Point Park University, and you have to take an elective in the arts. I took acting because that was the only thing they had left. We started doing monologues and she told me to pick one from a movie that I liked because I didn’t know any scripts. So I did a Channing Tatum one from Dear John. My teacher took me aside after class and she was like, “That was really good. You could maybe do this one day.” And I was like, “Nah, I’m going to play basketball.” Now that I look back, I was always kind of interested in it, but I was just like, “Basketball’s it. I don’t want to give up everything I’ve worked for since I was two years old.”
SCARABELLI: Right.
NOSZKA: But then my junior season, I ended up getting hurt and I was out for three or four games, and I’d just started modeling a little bit. I had 200 followers and an agent at Wilhelmina who’s now my manager, Luke Simone, sent me a DM on Instagram. I had posted a shirtless photo building a deck, because my dad had a construction company, and he reached out and was like, “Hey, did you ever think about being a model?”
SCARABELLI: Listen, you must’ve had people telling you that your whole life because how tall are you?
NOSZKA: I’m 6’3.5″.
SCARABELLI: Yeah, and you’re gorgeous. It must have always been a conversation.
NOSZKA: Thank you. I appreciate that. It’s very kind of you.
SCARABELLI: You know that.
NOSZKA: I don’t feel like I always looked, I guess, the way I look now. I struggled with acne early on.
SCARABELLI: You had your awkward teen phase.
NOSZKA: I had really bad cystic acne all over my face.
SCARABELLI: Damn.
NOSZKA: So I was always super self-conscious. In high school I used to take my mother’s makeup and try to cover my pimples because I was so concerned about people staring at me. But yeah, I had family members who would be like, “You’re so handsome. You should be a model.” But there was never anyone of substance who suggested it until my dad was working on this lady’s photo studio. She saw me come in to work with my dad one day and she was like, “Oh, he could model for me.” She hired me for a catalog shoot. It was 400 bucks for the day, and I was stoked. My family didn’t come for money. And at the time I was probably making 60 bucks, working 8 hours doing manual labor and bussing tables. Shortly after that, Lucas sent me the DM and I ended up going up to New York. I was like, “I’m not going to be able to make it up there. The Megabus is 40 bucks. And then I got to pay 40 bucks to come back. And I got school and practice.”
SCARABELLI: How old were you?
NOSZKA: I had just turned 21. I ended up dropping out of college and everyone thought I was nuts. My mom was pissed, my dad was pissed. They were like, “You have a full scholarship, you need to finish school.” But at the time I was making really good money, and my family didn’t have any, so I was able to give back.
SCARABELLI: So fast-forward 10 years later—
NOSZKA: 11 years.
SCARABELLI: And you’re starring opposite Kim Kardashian on this huge Hulu series. How did that happen?
NOSZKA: When I first got to New York, I was doing like 15 castings a day. I was literally sleeping on my manager’s couch. I finally got my own place and I was making good money, but I wasn’t necessarily happy with what I was doing. It was a complete culture shock for me. But to be where I’m at now and to look back at all the hard work and dedication—I’ve seen it all.
SCARABELLI: I’m sure. So, to bring it back to the show and the character you’re playing, Chase, he’s a bit of a bad guy, but he’s also a lover, so he kind of figures out how to use his charm to try and overcome all the powerful women seeking revenge on him. How did you approach that character and how did you bring your own life into Chase?
NOSZKA: Going into the project, I was told I was going to be auditioning as an NFL superstar opposite an A-list celebrity. I was like, “NFL quarterback? This is going to be easy. Sports is everything I know.” Did the audition, two hours later, I get a phone call and they’re like, “They love your tape. Ryan [Murphy] wants to meet with you.” So I ended up going to the Chateau, met with Ryan, and we spoke a little bit about the role. But they hadn’t written all the episodes so I didn’t know what my character was going to be doing. I only got the pilot. So early on I was envisioning playing this NFL star—the lights and the locker room, none of that happened. So it was a bit of a letdown. [Laughs] But finding who Chase was, I’ve had so many situations in my life with breakups and heartbreak and doing things that I wasn’t proud of. Whenever I was at my lowest point, I think those were the moments I pulled from most. Chase looks like he has it all, but he can be so lost.
SCARABELLI: Totally.
NOSZKA: There was a point in my career where I was making a bunch of money, I was in L.A. for the first time, and I was going out to parties with celebrities. I was doing the L.A. Hollywood dream thing, but I wasn’t happy. It wasn’t my hometown roots, it wasn’t who I envisioned myself to be. I had lost my dad and I was partying, and I was doing things that were hurting my body, and I just felt like I was letting it all go by playing the victim. Like, “Why did my dad get cancer and die? Why did I get hit by a car and lose all my money and now I’m basically broke and frail and ugly?” So I feel like with Chase, I kind of pulled from those moments of being at my lowest, but having “everything.”
SCARABELLI: It must have been a good learning experience, because on one hand you’re playing opposite Kim Kardashian, who’s a huge star but very fresh in terms of her acting career. And then you’re performing opposite Sarah Paulson, who’s a total legend. By the way, we need to talk about that whole outdoor shower scene…
NOSZKA: So Sarah and I, we hit it off immediately. She was like a big sister, she took me under her wing. I specifically remember that scene because she was supposed to be washing my hair in a sink, but the day before they changed the script and put in an outdoor shower. It was like three o’clock in the morning and it was freezing, and the hot water had run out. So I’m just laying there in my underwear and she’s showering me with this freezing cold water, and I’m trying to make it look like it’s a blissful moment, but you can see all the goosebumps on my body.
SCARABELLI: You did a good job.
NOSZKA: I remember her being such a support system for me in that moment because I’m on set and I believe that everyone understands their job, and everyone plays a great role in putting this beautiful project together. So if I’m uncomfortable, I just push through it, that’s just in my nature. But she stood up for me and she was like, “Can we get this guy heaters? We got to get the hot water on.” She was kind of running the ship, which I really respected. And we got a great bond from it for sure. But we have some exciting stuff coming up that tops that scene.
SCARABELLI: Okay. Some sexy stuff?
NOSZKA: Yeah, sexy stuff. [Laughs[
SCARABELLI: Cool. So what about the man bun? Are we pro or against? You’re still rocking it.
NOSZKA: I have a weird bob right now, it looks really good on you, actually, I think we have the same hair right now.
SCARABELLI: We do.
NOSZKA: But I’m a man, so it’s different. I have so much respect for women now because I’m sleeping and hair’s all over my face, so every day I’m putting my hair in a ponytail. And then when I go to events and stuff, I have to get a groomer because I can’t do my own hair.
SCARABELLI: Yeah.
NOSZKA: I’m kind of over it, but Ryan loved it and I trusted his vision. So I wear the bun in my daily life now, but I’m looking to cut it now.
SCARABELLI: Okay, I have some silly questions. If you had to pick one woman on the show to be your lawyer, who would it be?
NOSZKA: Sarah Paulson. She’s a bulldozer. She goes in there and she gets it done. I kind of related her character to—if you’ve seen Entourage, Ari Gold, Jeremy Piven’s character. She’s just unapologetically herself, cussing up a storm, saying whatever she feels, and she’s such a presence when she comes into the room. I feel like she would find every loophole that she possibly could to defend me.
SCARABELLI: Love it. Do you believe in prenups?
NOSZKA: That’s an interesting question. My wife and I don’t have one, but I think if you have someone that you love and care about, when a prenup is put in front of you, it should just be, “Let’s sign it.” Because if your partner gives pushback on that, I don’t feel that the right intentions are in place. Whether we have everything in the world or we have nothing at all, we should still be together and be able to work through those things.
SCARABELLI: Okay, last thing, since the show has aired, what is the craziest fan interaction or DM that you’ve gotten?
NOSZKA: Honestly, I don’t check my DMs, so I haven’t looked at those.
SCARABELLI: That’s smart.
NOSZKA: If I do go through, I’m looking for brands that have reached out for partnerships and things like that. But back in the day, there were some wild DMs for sure. I think the craziest one I ever got was when someone offered me $5,000 to wear a pair of socks for a week and mail them to them.
SCARABELLI: And did you do it?
NOSZKA: No, I didn’t. But you better believe I wanted to at that time. It’s funny to those certain fetishes, I’m like, “You want my dirty socks for 5,000? That’s nuts.”
SCARABELLI: I bet you could get more for them now.
NOSZKA: I know, right? I’m just going to start selling dirty socks on eBay.
SCARABELLI: [Laughs] You can always fall back on that.
NOSZKA: People, you don’t want my socks. [Laughs]
SCARABELLI: Well, it was really nice chatting with you. I loved hearing your story.
NOSZKA: Thank you. I’m excited for the future. I hope that this role is something that puts me in a position where I can do something like The Notebook.
SCARABELLI: Wait, we forgot to talk about your Vogue World reenactment of The Notebook with Kendall Jenner. I saw that video of you two this morning, kissing in the rain, and I was like, “Are they acting or is something happening there?” [Laughs]
NOSZKA: Yeah, no. It was so fulfilling for me as an actor to portray that because it gave me a taste of my dream role. I love drama and romantic comedies. That’s all I watched growing up.
SCARABELLI: So you’re a romantic through and through?
NOSZKA: Definitely.
SCARABELLI: I love it. We’re manifesting a rom-com for you.
NOSZKA: Please do. Take care, god bless you.
SCARABELLI: Bye.
