Green Bay Packer Clay Matthews on His Pitch Perfect 2 Cameo: ‘Ripping Off My Sleeves Was My Idea’
If you saw Pitch Perfect 2 this weekend, we know you’re probably still singing Beca’s “Cups,” setting new relationship goals thanks to Fat Amy’s and Bumper’s adorable love story and still blushing over the Green Bay Packers aca-amazing cameo. We caught up with one member of the “Bootylicious” A cappella group, linebacker Clay Matthews, to get the scoop on his “butt shaking” dancing, how he keeps his famous long hair healthy and his new gig as the face of Hugo Boss’s Success Behind the Game campaign. (Warning: The rest of this post contains spoilers.)
In Pitch Perfect 2, the Green Bay Packers take on the Barden Bellas at an A cappella sing-off, and get assigned Destiny’s Child’s “Bootylicious” to sing and dance to. “When we got there we realized we had to learn some choreography,” Matthews tells PEOPLE. “We worked about a day or two, but as you can see it turned into a mess — just a lot of butt shaking. But I think it’s just so absurd that you have these huge guys really feeling themselves to this song, so I think any dance moves would have worked.”
He’s probably right because once the sleeves came off (see here), no one was really paying attention to his moves anymore. “Ripping off my sleeves was actually my idea,” he shares. “I said you know what would be awesome is if we could have two of the guys rip off these sleeves and flex for the camera. Elizabeth [Banks, the director] gave us the OK and fortunately through the magic of cinema they were able to make it happen. I think everyone got a good laugh out of it.”
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Another thing we couldn’t take our eyes off of, was his immaculate man bun (sorry Harry Styles, but it even rivals yours). “I think that’s just how it is,” he says when asked how he gets his hair so shiny. “I decided to grow my hair out during college and it’s kind of stuck ever since. Even when I thought about cutting it or trimming it, common sense kicks in and I don’t think the fans would recognize me; people wouldn’t know who I am. It would almost be like Santa Claus losing his powers.”
With all of the cameos he’s making (he’ll also be in the new Entourage movie) he somehow made time to become the new face of Hugo Boss’s ‘Success Behind the Game’ cologne. He follows predecessors and fellow athletesVictor Cruz and DeMarcus Ware as the face of the company, which he says is “awesome.”
“We’re all very good in our own right with respect to the sport, and also within our communities and the charity work we’re involved with,” he says. “It’s fun to get dressed up and show a different side of us, as opposed to the kind of brute physical strength that you see on the field.”
To him Boss cologne represents a “masculine scent” and one that “exudes success.” “It’s exactly what you want,” he shares. “You don’t want something that smells feminine or is overpowering. This is the type of cologne that makes you feel good about yourself when you put it on.”
And if you’re wondering if more modeling, singing or acting is in the footballer’s future, he says he’d love to play small parts in his favorite shows like Game of Thrones or Silicon Valley. “Shoot yeah I’m available and I’m a big fan of the television and movie industries, so everyone knows where to find me. If they need a cameo or a bodyguard extra, just let me know.”
What did you think of Matthews’s cameo in Pitch Perfect 2? What movies do you hope to see him in next? Share your thoughts in the comments!
–Colleen Kratofil
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