Source: VALERIE MACON / Getty
When superheroes in the MCU need their closets refreshed, mainly to help with their look that will strike fear in the hearts of villains, they look no further than Griffin Matthews’ Luke Jacobson, the Drip Broker.
So who is Luke Jacobson? Per Marvel, “Luke Jacobson is a fashion designer who sweeps the Coty awards. His company gets purchased by the Rycom Corporate family after Cleo Vanderlip convinces the high-tech company to diversify into fashion.”
Of course, in the comics, Jacobson, who made his Marvel Comics debut in 1986’s Dakota North #1, is white and was a relatively unknown character unless you were a Marvel enthusiast. Now he is being reintroduced to the masses thanks to this appearance in Disney+’s new hit Marvel Studios series She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, and Griffin Matthews putting a much-needed fresh spin on the character.
Who Is Griffin Matthews?
Griffin Matthews is no stranger to Hollywood, and if you watch HBO Max’s comedy/drama The Flight Attendant, you were definitely doing the Leonardo DiCaprio meme from Once Upon A Time In Hollywood pointing at your television screens when the Drip Broker made his MCU debut in She-Hulk’s fifth episode. Nikki Ramos (Ginger Gonzaga) and Augustus (Josh Segarra) go on a mission to recruit the designer to the heroes for help with Jen Walters/She-Hulk’s (Tatiana Maslany) drip.
Speaking exclusively with Cassius Life, exclusively we asked Matthews what it was like working on the set of the Flight Attendant compared to walking on the She-Hulk production set and revealed there is a HUGE difference.
…it is like nothing I’ve ever seen or been a part of.
Matthews continues, “Flight attendant was a big set. Flight attendant was a big set with lots of crew and lots of people. This was like nothing I’d ever experienced, and what I found out was that the crew is the same crew that shoots all the Marvel movies. You really do feel like you’re shooting a Marvel film. It is that big. It is that grand, and it is so exciting. And, of course, you walk on, and you’re like, “Oh” You have to stop yourself from being a fan. It’s a head game. Now it’s a head game. Now I’m like, ‘Wait, what’s that over there and who’s that over there?’ That actually does happen. It’s the coolest experience. It’s cool.”
Griffin Matthews Didn’t Know What Role He Was Auditioning For
Source: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty
We also touched on Matthews landing the role, his reaction to the news, and now officially becoming MCU canon. The actor revealed that during the audition process, he had no idea what character he was initially auditioning for.They give you dummy sides, and I auditioned in my kitchen right here where I’m sitting. I made a tape. They asked me to make it again, do it again, one more time, and you send it off in the universe,” he begins.
“You don’t know anything. It was all sort of like, “I don’t even know what this is.” When my team called and said, “It’s Marvel, and this is what’s going on,” I freaked out. I did have an internal freak-out because it was never something that I ever thought would happen to me. It just wasn’t on my radar. And so then actually going to Atlanta and shooting, it was even more of a freak out because first of all, again, you’re in fan mode. And then you realize that Marvel, the history, Marvel fans, I was just saying, they are immersed in the world, and they’re not just arriving with She-Hulk.”
“They had been following for years and years and years and years, so when you show up, Luke Jacobson shows up, they already know who he is, and so it can’t feel like my first day on set. It has to feel like Luke has been here in this design studio for years. And that, for me, as an actor, was a real challenge because you’re nervous. It’s a new crew. It’s a new everything, but it’s so many things. Anyways, you feel a little bit of a weight of some responsibility to get things right and specific. That’s the real talk about what it feels like to enter the MCU,” he further added.
About That Edna “E” Mode Comparison
“Not on my end. It was not on purpose on my end. I think it’s just the Marvel fans figuring out there’s lots of comparisons. And listen, I’m happy to be compared. I think that character, Edna, is incredible, but no, it was not on purpose,” Matthews said. “In fact, there was a lot of conversation. I mean, look, maybe it was on purpose amongst the writers. Maybe they always sort of had that idea, but when Luke was described to me, it wasn’t described as… Edna never entered the conversation.”
He continues, “And there was a conversation about how I looked. There was a lot of meetings and costume fittings. Ann Foley, who was our costume designer, is incredible, so Anne had an idea. I was also shooting another TV show at the same exact time that I got Marvel. My hair was in one look, and I had a mustache. I got it shaved off and the glasses. All of that was kind of by chance. When I look at the side-by-side pictures, I’m like, “Oh yeah, I can see how that would happen.” But a lot of that was just by chance and circumstances on my end.”
The Drip Broker’s Future In The MCU
Now that the Drip Broker has been introduced to the MCU world and one easter egg from the fifth episode points to him being a pretty significant cog, Without saying anything to set off Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige’s spoiler senses, Matthews revealed he wants to continue to play the character of Luke Jacobson, flesh him out and see him show up other MCU films.
“I want to get to know him on a deeper level, Matthews begins. “I already know more things now from reading Twitter. It’s the only time I ever read Twitter. Twitter will give you all the information behind the scenes. I’m learning things from watching it because I did not have all of the information.”
I wanted to show up in Wakanda Forever. I just want all of it. Come on.
“I’m now excited about who he could be and where he could go. Of course, I wanted to show up in Wakanda Forever. I just want all of it. Come on. Hello. I want that to happen, but that’s my personal… But I think he might show up in other spaces,” he added.
Who Will The Drip Broker Style Next?
The million dollar question is which other Marvel superhero will the Drip Broker craft a costume for next, he’s already got the She-Hulk and Daredevil as clients, and possibly others we don’t even know about.
Source: Marvel Studios / She-Hulk: Attorney At Law
Of course, we couldn’t end our interview without asking Matthews if there is a superhero or a supervillain that could use the Drip Broker’s help in the costume and style department. Like everyone who has the honor of being in the MCU, Matthews safely answered that question without slipping up but revealed to expect more coming in.
“What am I allowed to say? Do you see? You swung that around into… All of them. I want to dress all of them. That is what I can say. I want all of them all the time because, honestly, I think what I learned inside of dealing with She-Hulk, and there is more coming in She-Hulk, it’s exciting, is that each one is specific,” Matthews excitedly and cautiously revealed.
You can peep Griffin Matthews as the Drip Broker and some of his looks in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, now streaming on Disney+.
EXCLUSIVE: Griffin Matthews Talks ‘She-Hulk’s The Drip Broker’s Similarity To Edna “E” Mode, & The Future of The Character In The MCU was originally published on cassiuslife.com
