Actor, director, painter, fashion model, writer, serial dater — is there anything Matthew Gray Gubler can’t do? Short answer — yes, there are many things he can’t do, but why talk about that when we can focus on his strong sides instead?
Gubler is, of course, best known for portraying a crime analyst Dr. Spencer Reid on Criminal Minds. Since he got that role in 2005, Matthew Gray Gubler has become a household name. The rookie actor even got to direct a couple of the better episodes. When the show went into its final stages of production in 2020, he opened up about the last season and called the finale “bittersweet” for obvious reasons.
Beyond Criminal Minds, Gubler has managed to rise up to all the challenges presented to him, and as a result, Matthew now has a long and extensive IMDb page full of credits. But acting is only a small part of who he is, so let’s take a look at these crazy facts that fans may not know about him!
1. Modelling career
After Gubler graduated, he enrolled in a film directing course in New York. And to pay the bills and be able to afford his new passion, Matthew was scouted by a modeling agent and eventually did sessions for Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Jacobs, and other big brands. Within the next year, the future movie star was in the top-50 list on models.com.
2. He dated Taylor Swift and Kat Dennings
You can try and deny it all you want, Mr. Gubler, but even a single date night with TayTay is better than 99% of dates any of your fans have ever been to. The couple was spotted at an Independence Day party spending time together. Later, Swift posted photos on Instagram, but surprisingly, Gubler was not in them. In 2007, he met an even more gorgeous actress — Kat Dennings. They dated for a while, but a few months later, the couple finally broke up. Despite this, many fans suspect that they continued their fling in secret.
3. He injured his knee while dancing
In the fifth season of Criminal Minds, his character walked with a cane for a while after being shot. However, he really did need a cane because he sprained his knee while dancing, and the writers decided to roll with it and included the cane thing in the show. The funny this was that Matthew’s leg slipped during a dance-off with Geoffrey Arend and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. That must have been a hull of a show!
4. He’s a talented painter
One of many of Gubler’s passions is art. He’s been fascinated with watercolor, oil, and pastel since 2005. And to add to that, he’s no amateur, as a few of his works were shown to the public at the Gallery of Fine Art in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Not only that, some of the paintings were almost instantly sold within the day.
5. It’s Matthew, not Matt
Many of us have this quirk about being called a certain name. And Matthew openly admitted on Twitter that so many people call him Matt, and he just hates that. But why does that name cut him so deeply? It turns out that Matthew was bullied in school, and those little creeps called him “Matt.”
6. He has a haunted treehouse
The actor has an amazing little home in Pasadena. Matthew describes it as a “haunted treehouse,” and you can tell it’s not that far from the truth. It’s a massive castle-like house covered with foliage, so it looks as if a drunken dwarf built it.
7. He’s a certified minister
So you found yourself in need of a minister for your wedding, but there’s nobody around you except for Gubler. What do you do? Well, you’re in luck because Matthew’s been a certified minister since 2014. He was appointed as one to host the wedding of Paget Brewster and Steve Damstra, his friends from Criminal Minds.
8. He’s a workaholic
When you have a successful acting career, a YouTube channel, an eye for art, a couple of bestselling books, and still manage to find time for personal life, it’s safe to say you’re pushing yourself too hard. So it’s not a huge stretch to call Gubler a workaholic. Matthew loves what he does and does what he loves, which means at least he’s not stuck in a rut. If he doesn’t fall asleep exhausted, it feels like he’s a waste of space. That’s super relatable.
