Matthew Espinosa is about to make his feature film debut, and that means that ladies (and gentlemen) everywhere are about to go nuts for this promising young star and total stud. He’s the star of a new film called “Be Somebody,” in which he plays a teen idol on the same level as Justin Bieber (but who, of course, longs for a bit of normalcy). As it’s his first film Espinosa is hoping it will be a blockbuster — and surely, his fans are, too. Sounds exciting, right? Well, it would be exciting if we knew the answer to one little question: Who is Matthew Espinosa? Apparently, he’s a major Vine star — so that means anyone under the age of 20 probably already knows about him. For the rest of us, we’ve put together a little collection of info on the actor, who just may well be the next rising star. See more about his new movie, and who he is (the person, not the character) below.”[I knew] the kind of movie I wanted to do first,” he said in an interview. “I didn’t want to start my movie career off with some bloody, gut-wrenching movie where I’m a murderer. One day maybe I might get into that type of stuff, but I definitely wanted to start my acting career off with something lighthearted.”
Makes sense that he’d be doing a movie about a Bieber sort, as Espinosa is basically a dead ringer for the pop star.
“I looked at a multitude of celebrities that kind of had a play in Jordan,” he said. “I feel like a majority of celebrities feel how Jordan feels when it comes to stress. I don’t think I can narrow it down to one person overall. Jordan relates to many people.”
Espinosa is quoted as saying that guys like Leonardo DiCaprio and Will Smith have definitely inspired him throughout his career.
He certainly didn’t have a normal teen experience, but during a one-day break between a trip to Dubai and work in Los Angeles, he stopped by Virginia to do something special for a friend. Here’s the story in his words: “I texted my friend Travis like, ‘Yo, do you know anyone who doesn’t have a date yet? I’m trying to get a ticket.’ He was like, ‘Drake!’ I was expecting a girl, but, yeah, that’s fine. I was just going to hit up any of my friends that were still going, like, ‘Hey, do you wanna go as friends?’ But my friend Drake, he and his girlfriend broke up and it was like a week away from prom and he wasn’t finding a date, so I was like, ‘Yo, Drake, take me to prom!’ He was like, ‘Done!'”
“A high school experience I missed out on or wish I had more of was sports — I was really into sports,” says the Vine star, who played football and lacrosse.
Once he started down the showbiz road, he began taking online classes — meaning he didn’t have tons of friendships or cliques IRL.
“I don’t even know if they’re thinking about their safety half of the time,” he said. “They’re like running on this adrenaline, I guess. I’ve seen them hop fences. I saw one girl fall really hard, but she got up like it didn’t even happen and sprinted toward me. I’m like, ‘Do you have nerves? You don’t feel pain?’ It was wild.”
“I understand you’re excited and I really appreciate that, but I’m a human at the end of the day. Let’s grab a photo. Tell me your name and how you’re doing. What’s been going on? What’s in your mind? What are you thinking about? How are your grades? Are you on a sports team? How’s your family? What’s your favorite movie? Do you like cereal? If you do, what’s your favorite cereal?’ I like it when they come up to me and actually introduce themselves.”
Life on the road has it’s challenges, and much like his film alter-ego, Espinosa can get lonely for the comforts of home while he’s traveling.
He’s living the dream of a lot of young people, and he certainly doesn’t take that for granted.
“I remember being on a bus and waking up to the screams of fans and being in a hotel room and waking up and opening my window and seeing hundreds of girls at the bottom of the hotel screaming the moment I opened the curtain. It’s a crazy feeling.”
In fact, one time, he lost it on set. “On the first day, I was pretty nervous — really nervous, actually,” he said.
After all, he started off a social media star, so he’s pretty used to the attention. In fact, he’s built a career on it.
According to Espinosa, he wants to emulate “Anyone who is doing something with their voice.” That’s a pretty amazing goal, don’t you think?
