Matthew Marsden: Why I Came Out as a Conservative
'Rambo,' 'Black Hawk Down' alum shares how it cost him within the industry
The truth should matter to actors, be it about their character’s nature or the latest headlines.
Matthew Marsden said that isn’t always the case on the latter front.
“As an actor, you should always be striving to find the truth,” said Marsden, whose credits include “Rambo,” “Coronation Street” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” He told The Hollywood in Toto Podcast why stars regurgitate the media’s Fake News headlines.
Think the debunked Steele Dossier as Exhibit A.
“It’s been proven to be false, yet people still come out and say that it’s true,” Marsden said, blaming a lack of critical thinking among his peers. That also alienates large swathes of the audience, a critical problem as Hollywood continues to contract.
The veteran actor shares his views on Hollywood, acting and the political realm on his YouTube channel. He’s one of a small group of stars who leans to the Right and isn’t afraid to say so. Think Dean Cain, James Woods, Nick Searcy, Kristy Swanson and Robert Davi.
It’s not a path Marsden chose lightly. In fact, he said it wasn’t his choice at all.
“I never would have spoken out had they left me alone,” he said of the industry’s oppressive groupthink, what he calls a “soft tyranny” that began around 2010.
Marsden shares a similar lament to that of Kevin Sorbo, the “Hercules” alum who found his Hollywood career crushed over his conservative Christian views. Like Sorbo, Marsden said he has received many calls from Hollywood insiders thanking him for speaking out, adding they can’t afford to do so themselves.
“And I’m like, ‘well, then come out and talk about it yourself. Then maybe I won’t be canceled because there’ll be more of us,'” he said. “It’s a little bit frustrating.”
“I know I’m not going to get hired by Hollywood,” added Marsden, who recently co-starred in the independent feature “Protocol 7.” “I’ve been too vocal.”
RELATED: JAMES WOODS – THE FACE OF NEW HOLLYWOOD BLACKLIST
He’s heartened to see actors like Jon Voight and, more recently, Zachary Levi and Sylvester Stallone defy the industry’s liberal orthodoxy. The “Tulsa King” star recently embraced President-Elect Donald Trump after decades of staying politically neutral in public.
“[Stallone] is an icon … he will work until he dies because that’s who he is,” Marsden said of his “Rambo” co-star. “But can you tell me one person under 30 who has come out and said anything [conservative]? There’s none.”
“That is unfortunate, but I do think there’s a shift [in Hollywood culture], and it’s up to conservative investors to capitalize on it because Hollywood is still doubling down on woke,” he said.
A parallel Hollywood could address the institutional bias Marsden and his right-leaning peers face.
“There are thousands of screenplays out there that are already done. You don’t have to go out there and get someone to write it,” he said. “They could be made tomorrow into fantastic films and be cast with great actors. And you’d have a hit. You just have to invest in it and make an alternative [eco-system].”
Learn more about a hot project Marsden has at the moment, why some conservative investors hold back on film projects and more on the full Hollywood in Toto Podcast interview.