Cris Matochi plans to earn a living as a performer. He just isn’t sure whether it will be on stage, in front of a camera, or at a chalkboard.
A graduate assistant instructor at UL Lafayette, he’s completing a master’s degree in communication. He’s also a budding actor whose career got rolling after he appeared in a public service announcement filmed by the University’s Office of Communications and Marketing. The 30-second spot, “Our Ragin’ Cajun Spirit Goes Beyond ֱ,” aired on ESPN last football season.
The commercial ֱs a smiling, charismatic Matochi, 27, folding his arms and uttering only two words: “The future.” His screen presence and smooth delivery, nevertheless, enabled him to parlay the experience into a slew of acting gigs. “The national PSA for ESPN was the one that triggered everything. It was the first one I ever did,” he said.
Matochi hired an agent who helped him land a part in a Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance commercial, the first of more than a dozen TV ads. He has since appeared in ads for clients ranging from Buick to Ranch Outlet to Unitech Training Academy.
He also snagged a bit part on the small screen – as a teacher – in “Ravenswood,” an ABC Family channel TV series. A spin-off of the channel’s popular “Pretty Little Liars,” the series was short-lived. It debuted in October 2013 and was cancelled after only 10 shows. He appeared in two episodes.
An extrovert and something of a showman, Matochi said the acting bug bit hard while he was earning a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting, with a minor in theater, at UL Lafayette.
Along the way, he landed major parts in several University theater productions. Director Nathan Gabriel, who worked with Matochi on four University productions, handpicked the good-natured actor for a role in “Reasons to be Pretty” in 2012. A former assistant professor of directing and acting in the Department of Performing Arts, Gabriel said Matochi possesses intuitive ability and a remarkable stage presence. “He has such natural charisma. He brings a ton of raw talent to the table, but he’s a great student of acting, too.”
A native of Brazil, Matochi came to the United States when he was 18, at the encouragement of Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot, head coach of the UL Lafayette volleyball team. The pair had met several years earlier in Brazil, when he was competing on a boy’s volleyball team and helping to coach a girl’s team. Mazeitis-Fontenot, who was coaching at another college, was on a recruiting trip. She was impressed with Matochi. “He was so young, like 15 or 16, super-energetic, and had such a great personality,” she said.
Their friendship grew over subsequent visits. Matochi eventually confided his desire to get an education in the United States. “He barely knew any English. He was just like, ‘Me. America. Go,’ ” Mazeitis-Fontenot said with a laugh. The volleyball coach met with his family, and was able to get him a job at an Oklahoma community college as a volleyball coach and recruiter. Later, she offered him a spot as an assistant volleyball coach at UL Lafayette.
Matochi spent four and a half years under her wing, before stepping down to focus on acting, academics and teaching. He’s on track to earn a master’s degree in Spring 2015.
He auditioned in New York this summer. He also landed a small part in the movie “Pitch Perfect 2,” when it was shot in Baton Rouge. Still, he realizes the odds of supporting himself solely with film and TV work are long. If his beloved acting “hobby” remains only that, he looks forward to teaching either communications or theater classes at a university.
The classroom, after all, provides a daily stage.
“Being a teacher is pretty much acting. If you don’t convey your message properly, the students aren’t going to pay attention. I try to keep my students entertained.”