Matthew Lee Jones, born on November 1, 1981, is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Brandon "Badger" Mayhew on the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad, Baxter on the CBS sitcom Mom, and Ned Dorneget in NCIS. This article delves into Jones's multifaceted career, highlighting his diverse roles, comedic talents, and even his journey toward physical fitness.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Born in Sacramento, California, Matt Jones grew up in Pomona as one of ten children. Before his acting career took off, Jones was the singer and main songwriter for the Christian ska band Faculty Four. His early exposure to performing, including improv in high school, laid the foundation for his future in entertainment.
Jones preceded the UCB’s presence in LA by quite a few years, doing improv in the late ‘90s. He would go on to train and perform at Boom Chicago in Amsterdam, a theater that has such alumni as Seth Meyers, Jordan Peele, and Jason Sudeikis. Then he returned to be on several teams at UCB before his life-changing role as “Badger” on Breaking Bad in 2008.
Breaking Bad and Beyond: A Diverse Portfolio
From 2008 to 2013, Jones gained widespread recognition for his recurring role as Brandon "Badger" Mayhew on Breaking Bad. He also appeared as a pizza delivery boy on How I Met Your Mother and had roles on Reno 911! and Community. His comedic talents were further showcased in the pilot episode of Key & Peele. Jones is also a regular performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and I.O.
In 2010, Jones was cast in the lead role in the TBS pilot Uncle Nigel, written and produced by Andy Breckman. He has also lent his voice to the Cartoon Network series Adventure Time. That same year, he landed one of the lead roles in the Disney XD series Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil, playing Gunther Magnuson, the title character's best friend.
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Jones's versatility extends to film, with appearances in Red State (2011) and voice work in the video game Rage (2011). He played Probationary Agent Ned Dorneget in the CBS series NCIS between 2011 and 2015.
Adding to an already impressive resume, Jones appeared in four episodes of The Office ("Junior Salesman", "The Farm", and the two-part series finale). This is a feat few can say they worked on both shows, but one actor can claim the title of having appeared in the series finale for each show in 2013.
Personal Life
Jones married actress Kelly Daly in 2012, and they have a son named Jasper. Later, he married actress Kristen Hager on December 21, 2020, and they have a daughter named Jolene.
The Transition to "Let's Get Physical" and Weight Loss
After the Breaking Bad finale, Jones remained busy as a regular in the CBS series Mom. He then took the lead in Let’s Get Physical, a comedy about rival gyms and aerobics.
Jones shared his experience of preparing for Let's Get Physical: "I had gotten pretty big. I have a two year old, and when you have a kid, stuff just changes. I had gotten pretty chubby and then I read the script and I said, “Well it is a big, chubby part.” And I really liked the script. Then we shot for six weeks and I lost thirty pounds since those episodes were filmed. Me in that spandex outfit in that pilot, I’m 30 pounds lighter now from shooting that. I’ve worked 14-hour days and dance rehearsal on the weekends, sometimes all day long. It was hard not to just drop weight."
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He also shared practical advice for weight loss: "The best exercise I’ve found is not eating garbage constantly. Try not to drink too much and don’t eat garbage. Besides that, any exercise is pretty good."
Jones's role in Let's Get Physical also brought him together with Jane Seymour, with whom he had previously worked. He said, "Jane and I did this weird TV movie for Hallmark Channel like eight or nine years ago, so I already knew her and she’s the kind of lady that likes to act like your mom. And she’s wonderful, but I already have a relationship with her, I know she’ll do it well, her and I are such polar opposites in so many ways. Very similar in others."
Improv Roots and Influences
Jones's background in improv has significantly shaped his acting career. He started doing improv when he was around 15, participating in Comedy Sportz in a Los Angeles high school league. He also trained and performed at Boom Chicago in Amsterdam.
He emphasizes the importance of having fun while performing: "The thing you learn is that people want you to do good, so do good. You never buy tickets to go to a show and have it suck. And especially in improv and comedy, if you’re not having fun then the audience isn’t having fun either. You need to have fun. That’s kind of what my acting career is built around - that I’m having fun doing it."
The Making of "The Night is Young"
In 2015, Jones wrote, directed, and starred in the movie The Night is Young with friend Dave Hill. He learned valuable lessons about filmmaking during the process. "I learned how to make a movie, first of all. I learned that you have to really be in love with what you’ve written before you start shooting it… we shot the movie in 12 days and we covered that with a very rigorous shot list and shooting schedule with my DP to make sure we got everything. But if a scene wasn’t working, we didn’t really have time to do it over again a bunch of times."
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Overcoming Post-Breaking Bad Challenges
After Breaking Bad, Jones faced challenges in being cast in other roles due to his association with the character of Badger. "It was a little bit of what I was going through post-Breaking Bad or during Breaking Bad, where I couldn’t get cast in anything else because everyone wanted me to be a drug dealer. And everyone assumed I was rich because I was on a show, but I was a guest star on cable - I was broke. I was actually doing voiceover the whole time to pay the rent. That’s what kept me afloat, and commercials. Yeah. It just took a little time. Everything worked out."
He acknowledges the positive impact of Breaking Bad on his career: "That’s one of the best things that ever happened to me. I’m so happy I was a part of that. It was just that to be on this show that is a supernova and everywhere you go people recognize you, and scream “Give me some meth!” everywhere you go. But I’m very happy for it because now I have somewhat name recognition and I’ve built a whole career out of that."
Reflections on "The Office" Spin-Off
Jones was involved in a potential spin-off of The Office called The Farm. "What had happened was, while Breaking Bad was wrapping up, I had done a bunch of pilots as a series regular because I was not a regular on Breaking Bad. They cast me in this spin-off of The Office. It was Rainn Wilson, me, Thomas Middleditch, Majandra Delfino. Then they decided that they weren’t gonna do the spin-off but would use the pilot that we shot as an episode, so it plays as an episode in the final season. I got along with The Office guys so much that they brought me back for a couple more episodes, and then all of a sudden I look and I’m in the cast. I was in two huge finales within months of each other."
He shared his thoughts on why The Farm wasn't picked up: "I think they didn’t pick it up because what we shot wasn’t that great. It was fine, it was okay. It didn’t feel like anything amazing. And with The Office ending, it felt like it should just end because it had been on for so long. I think it’s a good thing that it didn’t get picked up, because then the following year I got to be on a Chuck Lorre sitcom for four years."
A Philosophy of Comedy
Jones emphasizes the importance of comedy being simply funny: "My favorite thing about the show is that it’s so stupid. It’s funny and there’s nothing political about it. We’re not trying to “say something.” It’s just a break from all the garbage - everybody’s so sensitive about everything right now and this is just a show. It’s just a comedy. Remember when comedy was just comedy?"
Voice Acting Roles
Matt L. Jones has also established himself as a prolific voice actor. He has provided voices for various characters in animated series and video games, showcasing his versatility and talent in bringing characters to life through his voice.
His work includes roles in:
- Adventure Time
- Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil
- Rage (video game)
- Final Fantasy VII Remake
Advice for Aspiring Actors
Jones offers advice to those seeking a career in television: "What they can learn from me is that anyone can be on television. I'm some fat kid from the evil empire of Los Angeles. Anyone can be on TV. The biggest piece of advice I can give is to get good at what you're trying to do before you try and do it."