Episode 8: Matthew Sims, Jr. (Actor, Singer) – The Best of New Jersey Podcast

Amanda Morrison: Welcome to the Best of New Jersey podcast presented by bestofnj.com. The podcast that celebrates New Jersey’s most influential figures and the communities that shape them. Big names, real talk, real Jersey. I’m your host, Amanda Morrison, the influencer behind Don’t Sit Home. For today’s episode, I would like to welcome singer, Broadway actor, and online math tutor Matthew Sims. Welcome to the podcast.

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Thank you so much for having me.

Amanda Morrison: Oh, I’m so excited. So, you know, this is the Best of New Jersey podcast. So, let’s just start Jersey first. Where are you from originally?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Originally, I am from Hammond, Louisiana. Yes, I have lived all over. I’ve lived in LA, Colorado, Atlanta, Georgia. I lasted in New York maybe nine months, and I was like, “Oh, no, no.” And so, I ended up in New Jersey.

Amanda Morrison: I mean, that’s a big jump. So, what brought you to New Jersey?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Um, well, I didn’t even—I knew New Jersey existed, but you know, when you come to New York, you’re like, I want to be in New York. So, I made a mistake and booked an Airbnb in West New York, New Jersey, thinking it was New York. I didn’t see the New Jersey part. And so when I got out of the Uber, I was like, I’m supposed to be on that side of the Hudson. I’m supposed to be over there. And so I stayed there for a couple weeks. I found a sublet in New York for months and I was like, “Oh, no. I want to go back over to Jersey. It’s calm. It’s cleaner. It’s a better quality of life.” And so that’s how I got to New Jersey.

Amanda Morrison: I have the opposite problem because I have ride-share cars that won’t take me to West New York because they think it’s New York. I’m like, “No, I swear it’s New Jersey. I absolutely swear.”

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Oh, I get that. I get that all the time.

Amanda Morrison:Like, if I’m going from New York to New York, they’re like, “No, no, no, no. We don’t go over the bridge. We don’t go over the tunnel.” Like, oh my god. So, I can see the confusion.

Matthew Sims, Jr.:We have to pay attention to the state.

Amanda Morrison: So, how long ago was that?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: 2018, actually. 2018.

Amanda Morrison: Okay. So, where are you now?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: I am in Newark, New Jersey. Downtown Newark. Right outside of Ironbound. Right outside of Newark Penn Station.

Amanda Morrison: Okay. How do you like it?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: I love it there as well. Everywhere that I’ve—because I lived in Weehawken for some years and I love that. My goal is to really live in Port Imperial right on the water so you can take the ferry into the city. I want to do that. Um, so I was there for a few years and then I moved to Newark in 2022 and it’s cute. It’s not as close as Weehawken, but the commute time is still comfortable and so you can get in there in two stops—into New York in two stops and it’s great. It’s community. I walk around and see families walking around holding hands and little restaurants that you can eat in that are like mom-and-pop places.

Amanda Morrison: Cute. Do you have—yeah. So, mom-and-pop places. Do you have any favorite spots?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Um, oh, okay. So, there’s this place called O Escritório. I think that’s how you say it, but it’s a charcoal grill place. It’s like a barbecue place. It’s not like the barbecue that I grew up eating in Louisiana. But, so that’s what drew me there. I would smell it all the time when I walk to acupuncture and I would smell it and I was like, “That smells so good. I’m going to go.” Went in there and fell in love. Like $20 gets you basically a pan as big as this table with like ribs and chicken and rice and beans and French fries and bread and it can feed you for like a week. So I love going in there. The staff is amazing. The servers are great and the food is pretty awesome. It’s in Ironbound.

Amanda Morrison: Okay. I want to go.

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Oh, you need to go.

Amanda Morrison: Do you have another favorite spot? Let’s give another shout-out to Newark.

Matthew Sims, Jr.: You know what? Tops. Tops Diner. Have you ever been there?

Amanda Morrison: Yes, I have.

Matthew Sims, Jr.: So I—I’m so—not bougie. So when I got invited to this place, they were like, “Let’s go to this diner.” I was like, “Diner? I don’t eat at diners. I will never go to a diner.” And she was like, “No, please.” And she was visiting. She was like, “I heard this diner is really good. I’ll just come pick you up and please just come with me.” I was like, “I’ll come with you, but I will not eat there.” When I walked in Tops, there was a DJ. It was huge. It was clean. It was like a party. It was a vibe. And the food is great. Everything that I’ve eaten there, and I live very close there, so I eat there regularly, has been great.

Amanda Morrison: I feel like a diner is an initiation to New Jersey, too.

Matthew Sims, Jr.: It is. And I’m always like, I don’t want that because I think diner, it’s been here a million years. They’re not cleaning everything. I also used to work at Denny’s, so I have a little PTSD, so I’m like, I know what things look like behind the thing there, so I’m imagining. But no, it’s great. It’s great. So maybe I need to branch out and try more. I’ve heard of this Chit Chat Diner that I may want to try just a little further from home. But I mean, maybe you made a diner lover out of me.

Amanda Morrison: Okay. I mean, Jersey can do that to someone. What is your favorite diner order?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Okay. I um, I get the buffalo chicken salad or the Mediterranean salad. Also, I will get the sampler with the wings, the mozzarella sticks, and the chicken tenders. It’s very chicken heavy. And they have the skillet cookie, which is my favorite dessert. They have the chocolate chip cookie in the skillet with ice cream. And I asked them to hold the chocolate. I also like their fried rice. And I think those are my go-tos. Like my parents come and get the meatloaf. I’m like, who orders meatloaf out? But every time they come I have to bring them two times. So they try things like that and everything that I’ve eaten has been good.

Amanda Morrison: Yeah. Okay. So Louisiana and New York, New Jersey are two very different places. So obviously, you know, close to New York City for professional reasons, but growing up, did you always want to become—like, was this your goal to become a singer, an actor, or did you kind of just navigate through life and become who you are today?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: A bit of both. I always wanted to be an actor. My parents—I came from a very traditional household. My dad is a pastor, mom is a teacher. They didn’t understand that life. They were like, “There’s no money in that. You’re not doing that. So, you’re going to find something else.” So, I went to school to be a math teacher and I taught math for six years. And believe it or not, my last four years teaching, I taught at a school of the arts and those students were preparing to be Broadway performers, actors, TV actors, singers. And I was a little jealous of the students, but I was teaching them math. I would go to their performances. And on my fourth year, I said, “I’m dropping out of school. I’m moving to LA to pursue acting full-time.” And that’s what I did. So, I was like maybe 30, starting to live my life the way I wanted to live it. And so, that’s how I got into it.

Amanda Morrison: Okay. How long were you in LA?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: I was in LA from 2011 to 2017.

Amanda Morrison: Okay. So, what brought you back to the East Coast?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: I booked a musical called Motown the Musical, the tour. And everyone on the tour was like a New York resident. And they were like, “You belong in New York.” And I was like, “No, I don’t. I want to live in LA. It’s sunny. It’s clean.” If you keep hearing this word clean, I’m always about it—it has to be clean. And I was like, “New York is just so dirty. I don’t like it.” And I like New York better than LA.

Amanda Morrison: Okay. So then even growing up you wanted to do that but what inspired you even to—did you either lean towards acting or just singing or did you just know you wanted to do it all?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: I knew I wanted to do it all. I wanted to be like Denzel Washington. That’s who I wanted to be. I wanted to be a TV actor. I didn’t really know much about musical theater. I hadn’t heard of that until I watched this TV version of Hairspray and I knew the album front to back, back to front. I still listen to it to this day. It’s so good. And they did the movie version of it and I was like, “Oh, I want to do that.” But when I went to school for musical theater, I thought they were training me to be like the next Usher or Chris Brown. I didn’t know they were going to be like, “You stand on zero and you sing and then you move to seven and get out of the way.” I didn’t know it was going to be that. So, I kind of got tricked a little bit, but my teacher started pushing me into the directions of where my strengths were and so that’s how I ended up doing cruise ships and that’s how I ended up doing Broadway things.

Amanda Morrison: So, is there any particular teacher or anyone in your life in general that you thought was encouraging? Because not that your parents weren’t encouraging, but you’re saying that that’s maybe not a stable career path. So, is there anyone that you said that was like you can do this?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Um, yes. Yes, there was a professor, Tajma Beverly. Vicky Lewis, John Sloman, Wendy Rosoff—there’s so many who I also still keep in contact with to this day. We’re Facebook friends who are along the journey and just like—oh, Bill Mesnik. He private coached me even outside of class because some of these teachers just really believed in me even when I didn’t see it for myself because I’m coming to school as a 30-year-old. Some of these people are 19, 20, 23. They have been doing this since they were conceived. So, I felt like a late bloomer, but everyone’s path is everyone’s path. Um, so yeah, some of those people are to highlight, but there’s so many others I could name.

Amanda Morrison: What was one of your first roles or kind of your step into being like—I mean there’s one thing of singing in the shower or doing a performance privately but what was one of your first roles publicly?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Oh, my first professional show was actually in Hairspray. I got to do it regionally in Los Angeles. Um, Todrick Hall played Seaweed. I wanted to be Seaweed so bad, but I mean you got Todrick, baby, I can’t compare. He’s—you know his name. Um, so I did get to be in the ensemble in Hairspray. So that was my first show and it was the show that got me into doing musical theater. So I thought it was phenomenal. I enjoyed going to work every single day.

Amanda Morrison: Not everyone has a role that they could say that they enjoyed every single day of it, in any profession, let alone for acting. Um but I’m sure everything wasn’t easy. So what were some of the challenges to getting to where you are now or even just the early days when you really still believed in yourself?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Um, I know some of the challenges are first like, where do I even start to get where I’m trying to get? Um, I’m a teacher in a classroom. If I leave this classroom, this is a stable paycheck. If I leave Atlanta and move to Los Angeles, which is one of the most expensive cities in the world, how do I make this happen and then go to school full-time and figure out how to pay bills and keep my phone on, which was a problem. I changed my number like every week because I was going and getting those little GoPhones, the little $9.99 phones. It was crazy. Um, also the financial part of it—being an artist, sometimes they call it a starving artist, and I don’t like to align with that title, but sometimes you have to decide like what am I getting ready to do with this check that I’m about to get? Am I going to put this toward the rent or am I going to get food for the week or am I going to get something to wear to the next audition? So, it’s a robbing Peter to pay Paul kind of situation. That’s—also just the comparison. You get to auditions and the person before you has wailed the walls down and you’re like, I can’t do that. Why would I even go in here? So, it’s like a whole mental thing of fighting against yourself before casting even looks at you and judges you. You’re judging yourself. So, all of those things you’re wearing a lot already. And then outside of that, the career is very privileged. Most of us have to work other jobs to make it happen. There are very few of us who can say, “Oh, I have a partner who pays all my bills and all I have to do is focus on auditioning.” So, even though I’ve worked from 8:00 a.m. till 10:00 p.m., I still have to go home and learn those lines because I have an audition in the morning and I’m exhausted and I may not have eaten as much as I needed to, but I know that this is my dream. This is what I really want to do. And so, um, those are some of the things that can kind of be difficult.

Amanda Morrison: I was going to say challenges come with any profession. I mean, also if you’re trying to better yourself or get a different role. I mean, also there’s limited runs of any show. So, every actor is probably always looking for the next thing.

Matthew Sims, Jr.: That’s another thing. You’re always looking for the next thing. I feel like um, when I was teaching, I was always looking for the next thing, but I wanted to leave the profession. I wasn’t always looking to see where will I be teaching next year? Will I have a job? Is there any job security? No, there was a lot of security there. But as an actor, you got a gig, but you know that either there’s an end date or there’s one coming soon and your bills don’t stop. So, it’s like, what am I going to do next? So, it’s always a hunt for the next thing.

Amanda Morrison: Being able to pay rent is quite a nice thing for anyone.

Matthew Sims, Jr.: At an all-time high these days.

Amanda Morrison: So, was there any particular—I mean, also the fact that you probably go on so many auditions and you probably have not gotten every role. Was there any particular break that you got or a particular person that you are grateful for that just kind of encouraged you to keep going?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Um, I will say that I have a very strong community. I get encouraged to keep going almost every day. There are so many people around me who see me even sometimes better than I see myself because I know my limits. But people outside seem to think I don’t have limits. And there are always people who are like—I have a friend who told me, “You’re the man who won’t quit.” And because you won’t quit, it makes me keep going. You get told “no” so many times. It seems like every time you’re like trying this, then this doesn’t work. You’re like, “Go over here and try this,” and this doesn’t work or it doesn’t work to the level that you want it to, but you continue to wake up and keep going. And so that’s very encouraging. Um, also like—I work a part-time job at a theater where I’m a bartender and sometimes I run into casting directors whom I may not know them by their face but they know me because they see my tapes or they see my work somewhere and they’ll say, “Oh, you do great work.” And so that’s very encouraging because sometimes the rubric for us is the job. If I don’t get the job, I didn’t do great. But to hear someone say, “I saw you. I continuously see you and you do great work. Maybe you just didn’t fit this particular show that you went in for, but it doesn’t negate the fact that you are great.”

Amanda Morrison: That must be encouraging for you.

Matthew Sims, Jr.: It is. And it’s little nuggets like that because—so year before last I counted. I said when I get to—because they say there’s 100 nos to every yes. So I auditioned and I counted my auditions and I said when I get to 100, if it’s 100 nos, I quit the business. I got to 88. And so it’s little things like that or a casting director saying—I walked into an audition the other day and they were like, “We saw you on Password.” The casting director said that to me and I was like, “You did?” They’re like, “Oh yeah, you were great.” And I was like, but it’s me. Like I’m coming here to get a job. And they knew me and saw it. And so it’s like little things like that that people see you. And even though you don’t get that instant reward, people acknowledge you. And so those little things—I have an album in my phone that says “Matthew is awesome.” So anytime someone sends me a text message that reminds me, I screenshot it and put it in that album. So when I’m having those days of like maybe I’m not doing what I think I’m doing, I read those things. I’m like, “Oh, I get reassured.”

Amanda Morrison: I love that. I want to do that for myself. It’s so hard to get in your own space, but I mean, you know, I was talking to someone the other day saying like, “I’m never doing enough for myself.” And I’m always like discouraged, but it’s like if you’re always raising the bar, you never reach it. So, it’s not to diminish what you’re actually doing. It’s because your goals are always continually getting higher. So, yes, you’re reaching the goals, but you already set new ones that you kind of don’t even think you’re accomplishing something.

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Amanda, that is so good. If you’re constantly raising the bar, you never reach it. And that’s what—that’s a natural thing. You telling me? Okay.

Amanda Morrison: Because I literally said this the other day. Or maybe I just said it to my friend. I was thinking that because we’re in 2026—we’re already thinking about our past and you’re thinking about what you’ve actually accomplished. And for me, I was kind of disappointed in myself. But then going past I was like, I need to give myself credit for those things.

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Absolutely. Absolutely. And that’s the place that I am in right now where I’m giving myself credit and also giving myself a chance to take a break. Giving myself a time to rejuvenate and reassess—where am I now? Where are the goals that I wanted? Like Broadway was the goal. I did it. And I’ve done three Broadway shows, three Broadway tours. I’ve done it. But in your brain, it’s like I haven’t done it on this scale. So now I need to do this and now I need to do that. I have appeared on the Tony Awards this year. I’ve appeared on Jimmy Fallon this year. I’ve appeared on SNL 50 this year. And there’s this thing called MixTiles—I got this idea from Danielle Brooks. Shout out to Danielle Brooks—where she did an accomplishment wall and she took all of her pictures and printed them up and they’re framed. I just did that the other day and I was like, “Oh, you did all these things and I only did it this year.” So I was like, “And there’s room for more. It’s a constant reminder that that bar that you set, you reached it. Now you can raise the bar and reach that one, but don’t forget that you reached it before.”

Amanda Morrison: It sounds like you’re going to need more walls. You’re going to fill that up eventually. So, you mentioned Password. You kind of jumped ahead of what I was going to talk about, but for anyone who doesn’t know—it’s a perfect lead-in. So, for someone who doesn’t know what Password is, please explain what the show is and talk about your experience.

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Woo. So, Password is a game show and it’s been around a very long time. I got into it recently before I got on because I started watching it and I fell in love with it. Password is hosted by Keke Palmer and Jimmy Fallon. Love those two. And it’s a game where you’re guessing the password. So, there’s a word and your partner can only give you a one-word clue. No gestures, none of that. And you have to guess the password.

Amanda Morrison: So, uh, were you nervous for it? Actually, I’ll start with that.

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Extremely nervous because the world is watching you. I hold myself to such a high standard for myself and I’m harder on me than I am for others. So, I’m like, you can’t get on this TV and embarrass nobody. Like, people are going to be watching this show and if you don’t win, then you’re not doing anything and this is your chance to come up. But the stakes are high. What combats that is the team is amazing. Like even those people who work backstage—I had a handler named Kyle and he was with me every step of the way, reassuring and making sure my makeup was good and I wasn’t sweating—they coach you through this show. Like you practice it until it’s innate.

Amanda Morrison: Sounds like I need a Kyle. We all need one in life in general. Um what was—did you have any funny blooper moments or favorite moments from the actual taping of the show?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: My favorite moments—okay. One of the moments was I was paired with Jonathan Groff who is—it was so phenomenal to be partnered with him. You can get lost in his eyes easily. Um, he’s a great partner. I got to sing on the show. I got to sing Joy to the World on the show and I guessed one of the hardest clues—he said “family” and the word was “cousins” and I guessed it right out of the gate. I don’t know how I got that, but that’s the clip that has been circulating and I watch that and I’m in awe of myself. Like, wow, your brain really works because how did you—you only had one clue. Family could have been aunt, uncle, grand, the family tree, and it was cousins. And so that moment reassures me that you’re not a dunce.

Amanda Morrison: I watched that clip. So, I recommend to any listener to actually watch it to know what you’re talking about because even I was watching it, I was like, “How did he get that?” Like, they must be cheating.

Matthew Sims, Jr.: No, I wish they were cheating. I thought they were going to—I was like, “Maybe this game show is going to cheat and they’re going to let me win.” No, that was not the case. There was no cheating at all. Um, and Jimmy Fallon and Keke are hilarious. They’re so fun. And I walked away from the set feeling like I had lost a family member. I was like, I’m supposed to be with them again tomorrow and that’s not happening. Like you feel the love and you feel that they enjoy their job and it just makes you enjoy it.

Amanda Morrison: How did it happen?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: I have a friend named Tavia who said, “Oh, I think you should apply for this. You’ll be great.” And so I filled out the stuff online and I was like, “Okay, girl.” I thought we were going because I didn’t know the show at the time. I thought we were going on there as a team because we usually audition for little game shows as a team. I was like, “Okay, this will be fun. I’ll be her sidekick, she’ll be my sidekick.” And then they called me and was like, “Hey, let’s set up an interview. Do you have time to talk?” So, we talked a while. I think his name is Jeff. But even from the first person you speak to—no, the initial person I talked to was in Louisiana. And so we bonded on them being able—they’re like, “We’re going to move to the next round.” Everyone treats you like you’re the most important person in the world and you never want to leave the call. I think it’s Fremantle—is beautiful. I encourage anyone to apply for the game shows and experience that. Um, but yeah, you have that interview and then you kind of play the game loosely just to see how good you are and then they invite you into the studio and you do a bootcamp. So, you’re there all day playing with all of these potential contestants. You’re paired with this group and it’s like four of you at a time and then you go in this room and do the bonus round and then you go back out and you all cannot really talk about it. You can’t talk about the words you had. You can’t talk about anything. So, you’re just like silently eating a bag of chips, waiting to be called in again, and that’s the process. And then you go home and hope they call you back to invite you to film.

Amanda Morrison: Okay. What were some of the questions they asked you in the interview to decide that you would get “cousins”?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Oh, they literally play the game with you. So, they have you guess like, “If I said this word, what would you guess?” And then you say what you’re guessing. But they give you like a little strategy. Um, I’m trying to think of one—for “shooting the moon” the word was “Tony” and I knew I do musical theater. We’re in New York. I knew Jimmy Fallon would get it. So I used the word but I sang “awards.” So I tried to sing it like a musical. People in the comments are like, “That could have been Grammys.” But I feel like I would have done more for a Grammy. Um, so they teach you little strategies like that. Um, so those are the things that you’re doing in the interview.

Amanda Morrison: How long from when you got interviewed to the show actually being recorded?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: It was like a month. Um and but every week it was something. Once the ball starts rolling, it starts rolling.

Amanda Morrison: So you’re in it.

Matthew Sims, Jr.: You’re in it. Yes.

Amanda Morrison: So, you mentioned the Tony’s. So, let’s go back to when you mentioned that your resume sounds great because you’ve done multiple shows. You said you appeared for the Tonys like you had a 2025.

Matthew Sims, Jr.: I had a 2025 and you know what? I deserve that 2025 because 2024 was a doozy.

Amanda Morrison: I think we’re all still catching up from 2020. So I think that everyone should pat themselves on the back that they’ve made it this far. So what was your role with the Tonys?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: So, I sing in a group called Broadway Inspirational Voices that was started by Michael McElroy that has been taken over now by Allen René Louis. And the members of the choir sang behind Cynthia Erivo. And we sang a song called “Sometimes All You Need Is a Song.” And we opened the Tonys. And so, like, I got so much camera time. I can’t find the clips now, but when I watched it, I didn’t know that I was going to be—Cynthia’s here and I’m right off her shoulder. She’s so petite, so there’s no way to hide me. She wore like heels that were 20 feet tall and still I was standing there. When I got off the stage, I had at least 100 text messages, Instagram messages like, “I just saw you on the Tonys!” I didn’t realize the magnitude of it until I watched it. I was like, “Oh, I am literally on it.” So, yes, that’s what we did.

Amanda Morrison: Do you have a picture of that on your wall?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: I sure do. I definitely have it.

Amanda Morrison: So, what are—also, you mentioned some of the shows you’ve done. What are some of the shows that you have been in?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: I have been in, as I mentioned, Motown the Musical. I’ve done Hairspray, as I mentioned, also The Book of Mormon, The Wiz National Tour and The Wiz that just was on Broadway in 2024 with Wayne Brady and Deborah Cox. I was also a member of that cast.

Amanda Morrison: So, speaking of cast, are there any particular actors—could be a big name or a smaller name—that you’ve really enjoyed working with or a maybe a “I cannot believe I got to work with this person”?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Well, now that you mentioned, I cannot believe that I got to work with Deborah Cox. I cannot believe that. I’ve sung her song, “How Did You Get Here?” since I was a little boy. And so to now be like, “Oh, that’s my coworker. Hey, Deborah. Hey, Matthew.” Like know my name, still comments on my Instagram, like we just know each other. Also some of my favorite cast members—this Wiz cast was amazing. So we’re all still friends. We all keep in great contact with each other. We’re all checking up on each other and watching each other shine in other places. I would have to name the whole cast. But some of the ones who I really speak to every day like Allyson Kaye Daniel, Avery Wilson, Kyle Freeman, Melody Betts—and the list goes on and on. But yes, those are my castmates. Usually with people in the industry, you go see them in shows, but now to actually work with these people every day and see their processes and learn so much. And I was a swing in The Wiz. So, and shout out to my swing family, Mariah and TJ and Dustin and Preston and Michael and Lauren. We covered everyone in the show. So, we weren’t on the stage every night. We were just there in case someone got sick or someone called out. I covered like six people and I just had to know all their roles at any given time.

Amanda Morrison: I was going to say that could actually be more challenging because if you’re a backup actor for one role, you still have to learn everything, let alone like learning the roles of six people. What was challenging for doing that?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: One of the things that’s challenging is because it was a show that was revived, everything was new. So things would change all the time. People could change the choreography. People could change the lines, people could change the songs. Who stands where? And I need to know that if that person—if you changed yesterday that this person no longer stands on four, they stand on 12 and they help Deborah down the stairs—I have to know that if they go out tonight. I’m throwing everybody off if I don’t know that. So watching the nuance of six different people doing what they do and these people are phenomenal because you can’t go in there and—they’re at an eight. You can’t go in at a six. You have to come in at least at 8.3. So just keep upholding the show. You feel like the weight of the show is on your back and that show is moving and costume changes and the costumes are phenomenal and it’s so much going on and knowing—am I this person today? Because yesterday I was that person. So it’s like a “who am I today?” complex. So yeah, it’s a lot of information being thrown at you and a lot of preparation and just being very vigilant.

Amanda Morrison: What is one thing that helps you transform into a particular role? Because obviously every role in general, but you’re also always pretending to be a different person. So, is there something that you do that kind of takes you out of being who you are to be that role, but also to transition into maybe a different role from that the next day?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: I like to—what my process is—is finding words that encompass this particular character that I’m creating. So, is this person mischievous? Or is this person very caring and kind? Is this a loving person? Is this a negative person? Things that—and I also like to think of this person as an animal. Is this person a lion or is this person an ant? And so whatever role I’m on for, I like to as I’m warming up, as I’m stretching, I’ll listen to a song that puts me in that mindset. Like is it going to be a rock song or is it going to be like a smooth R&B so that I get the feeling of this person in my body and start to think about how this person may walk. And I do this in character development before we actually get the show going so that it’s easy to jump into this person because sometimes I could be two people at once because two people didn’t show up and those two people I cover so I have to split. So doing that prep work in the beginning and finding quick things that you can access. Okay, this is the word that makes me think of this person. This is the smell. When I think of this smell, this is what I think of this character. Okay, bam. I could jump into it really quickly.

Amanda Morrison: Do you have playlists already pre-made for different types of roles or do you just think of—you get the role and you’re like this is the kind of song that would motivate me?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: I get the role. I will create the playlist once I think of songs. If you play a song, it’ll start playing songs like that and I’m like “add this, add this.” And so I start adding to that playlist then.

Amanda Morrison: Okay. Because I mean everyone has like a life playlist. Like I have a breakup playlist. So I didn’t know if you had like “I’m a serious actor,” “I’m a negative actor.” Like if you have pre-made things or you do it on the spot for every new role in a new playlist.

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Well, I will even do it for the audition. So then it’s made for in the small chance that I get the role, then I’m already there.

Amanda Morrison: You were talking about being a math teacher and I know that you’re still continuing your math journey. So you have Math-You. And how do you spell it? It’s for the app, right?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Yeah, it’s the website. Yes. Math-You. M-A-T-H-Y-O-U.

Amanda Morrison: Okay. So, you already started by saying that you went into math to be a teacher when you were still trying to find that stable career. But it’s nice that you kept it with you. But now, how have you transitioned that to become a math tutor, but also incorporate still being an actor, singer, and math? No one would—I don’t think a lot of people would think those two go together.

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Oh, but they do. Yeah. So, um, we have to thank 2020 for that. Because during the pandemic, no one was going to school and everyone had online school and the students were suffering. And my best friend Cordell Guilliory—I always have to say their names like, because maybe they’ll listen to this. They’ll be like, “Oh, he said my name.”

Amanda Morrison: I hope they listen to this.

Matthew Sims, Jr.: I hope they do, too. He messaged me and he said, “There are a lot of people on my timeline who have trouble with math. I think you should like reach out and help them.” And I was like, “Okay.” So, originally I was just reaching out to people like, “Hey, if you need some help, let me know.” And the response was overwhelming. I was spending all day just tutoring people. And I wasn’t charging. I was spending all day just like helping people online with math, people I had never met. And it was fun, but it got exhausting. And I was like, I should probably charge so that it can kind of lessen the people, but also I get some form of money from it. And I was charging $25 an hour to tutor people and it still wasn’t going down enough, but I was tutoring so much that I was paying my rent alone from tutoring. And so I continued to do that and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed being a part of these students’ lives. Even people who I had never met, I enjoyed connecting with them. There are people who live in Arkansas and LA and Florida. And I’m like, I’ve never met you, but if I come there one day, let’s hang out. And people who I started with in the eighth grade are now graduating. And it’s amazing to watch their journey. And it’s amazing to get those little text messages at night from their parents. They’re like, “Hey, I don’t think they let you know, but they made a 90 on their test.” I’m like, “What?” So the next time I see them on Zoom, I’m like, “So what happened with the test?” “Oh, I made a 90.” “So you’re not going to share that with me?” So it’s just nice to be a part of that. And also to do my part and help. I feel like I have a gift of reaching people who struggle with math because there’s a stigma attached to it. I feel like people decide early on in life if they’re a math person. I’m like, you don’t have to be a math person—if I can speak to you, I can get you to understand what you’re doing because I also like to relate it to real life. And so with that, I started doing math content just to show people that math is relatable and also to attract more clientele. And it got fun to me. So I created a song and released it with a dance. And my ultimate goal is to develop some sort of partnership with schools where I can take actors around to different schools and meld the arts and education. So writing a musical that the characters are numbers or division signs and they actually go through processes. Because I had a teacher in math who—I had advanced math—and I was looking at her but I was like, “I don’t get this.” But until I had someone who was making me like, “Oh, this makes sense,” it stuck with me. And so I won’t remember what she said, but I’ll remember what we did or I’ll remember the song or I remember the dance.

Amanda Morrison: Was there a particular person who kind of pointed out to you that you were good at math or did you just realize it on your own and enjoyed it?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: Um, I think college pointed it out because originally—let me be honest—originally I went into this because most of my friends were majoring in this and I wanted the same schedule as them. So, we just scheduled our classes together originally and I enjoy math. It was great. But when I graduated, I was like, “Oh, you have to do this.” Like, you graduated with a math degree. You got to teach. So, I started teaching. And I didn’t really like being in the classroom. I enjoyed the students, but being somewhere every day at 8:00 in the morning is stressful for me. And so I found that that isn’t my path. That isn’t good for my mental health. But me being able to tutor on my own terms, not being in a formal space—I can tutor from anywhere. I can tutor on Mars if I needed, if I had Wi-Fi connection. And so that helps me be like, oh, I can tour and tutor. I can go to this party, take an hour break, come tutor this client, then go back to the party. But what helped me realize that I was good in math is just like—I was in Cal 3. Like, oh, I got this. Um, and I also had an eighth-grade math teacher, Tamara Whittington, who was phenomenal. I noticed the change from my eighth-grade math to when I got to high school and I had a different teacher who didn’t do everything that she did and I kind of struggled a bit. Um, so as an adult looking back I was like, oh, that is where the disconnect was. These teachers were just literally writing on the board. My attention span—you got to keep my attention. You got to grab my attention and be like, I’m going to keep it for an hour and then I’ll let you have it. She did that whereas the other teachers didn’t really. So, I knew it wasn’t the fact that I couldn’t do it. It was the fact that I’m just not interested in what you’re doing.

Amanda Morrison: So, as we’re into 2026, do you have anything coming up or do you have any goals that you’re setting yourself up for this year?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: So, this year my goals are to focus on the original dream, and that is to be the next Denzel, to be the TV actor. And so, I’ve been taking classes at the Professional Improv Theater with Joe Whelski and preparing myself for TV acting. I want to go into TV. Theater’s amazing, and the way that the industry is moving now is like you kind of got to be a name to come back and do the thing on Broadway. And so maybe this is my going here to come back or maybe it’s going here to stay over there. But TV, movies, film, national commercials—that is where I am setting my goals. I want to be on Abbott Elementary. I want to be on Reasonable Doubt. I want to be the guy who is on a show and it’s like, oh, when they see me in public, they’re like, “Oh, can you say the line that you say on TV?” And whatever that line is, that’s where I see myself going next.

Amanda Morrison: I’m wishing you all of the best. So, for everyone who wants to follow and make sure you are going to get your dreams come true, where can people follow you on social media?

Matthew Sims, Jr.: They can follow me in two places. They can follow me at Matthew Sims Jr. on TikTok and Instagram—M-A-T-T-H-E-W-S-I-M-S-J-R. And they can also follow me on my math page because someone out there I’m sure needs some math help at Math-You Tutoring on both of those as well. M-A-T-H-Y-O-U-T-U-T-O-R-I-N-G. And I also forgot to mention the American Dream Mall. It’s my favorite mall. Definitely go there. Bring a lot of money because I think when I go there, I spend at least $500 that I don’t have. So yeah, because you got to go to the amusement park. They have an amusement park that you can go skiing in there. You can go ice skating. So, it’s like an all-day thing.

Amanda Morrison: Well, you have all these jobs apparently. So, thank you. I think you’ll be—American Dream Mall is getting all of your money apparently. Thank you for listening. Make sure you check us out wherever you listen to your favorite podcast and follow us at Don’t Sit Home and the Best of NJ podcast on social media.