From TFS to the Great Circle | Matty McDonald on Landing Roles in Indiana Jones and Fortnite

Four days before Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants was released to the world, Matty McDonald walked up to legendary voice actor Troy Baker at the Fan Expo in Toronto and introduced himself as his idol’s newest castmate.

Baker – whose lauded credits include the voice of Joel in The Last of Us, the Joker in the Batman: Arkham series, and, of course, Indiana Jones himself – is someone McDonald has long admired. So, to be able to tell Baker that he’s the voice behind the Giant who “kicks his ass” during a bridge encounter in the game’s expansion was a monumental moment for the lifelong gamer.

“I told him who I was in the game and I made it specific, so it didn’t just sound like I was just some fanatic,” McDonald recalled laughing. “It was cool. I got my picture with him and he signed my poster. It was a dream come true.”

Pinch-me moments like that are bound to come more frequently for the Hamilton-born Acting for Film, TV and the Theatre alum-turned instructor – especially now that his gaming career is taking off. In addition to his Indiana Jones credit, McDonald was also recently cast as the Ice Prince – the adopted demon son of the iconic Ice King – in Fortnite: Chapter 7, Season 2.

That’s now two major gaming credits, back-to-back, for someone who grew up playing video games, never imagining he’d one day play such an integral role in them.

“To do these jobs, to make these dreams come true. I mean, I’m just a kid from Hamilton, you know what I mean? It’s mindboggling to me,” he admitted. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.”

Eight Hours and a Leap of Faith

The road to Indiana Jones began with persistence. McDonald originally auditioned for the main game two summers ago, going up for the primary villain – a role that ultimately went to a more established actor.

While he wasn’t successful in that first attempt, it wasn’t a fruitless pursuit. McDonald left a lasting impression on the game’s production team – so much so that they remembered him from his initial audition, and when it came time to cast the role of the giant in the game’s expansion, one of the producers reached out to him directly.

The catch: an eight-hour audition window…and all the dialogue was in Latin.

“I got on the phone right away to call my buddy, who also just happens to be my acting coach, to help with pronunciation,” McDonald said. Then, for good measure, he performed every line in Shakespearean iambic pentameter – “Just for that little extra spice.”

The second time ended up being the charm – he booked the role.

The giant character McDonald now plays is one rooted in Catholic mythology: the Nephilim, who are said to be the offspring of humans and angels, are the ancient guardians of the Vatican’s deepest secrets. So, when Indiana Jones arrives on the scene to steal an artefact, McDonald’s giant takes exception – throwing him so hard into a bridge that it shatters.

“I kick his ass, which is great,” he laughed.

The recording session for that role – which entailed four hours at Cherry Beach Sound, where Justin Bieber has recorded multiple times – left McDonald breathless.

“It was insane. As I was leaving the recording, I was just kind of sitting down on a bench right outside the door, just breathing, because I couldn’t believe what I’d just done,” he said, noting that he was further starstruck when he realized the company he was in.

“I just happened to look up as someone was walking past me, and it was Karl Urban from The Boys. It was the craziest thing, just so incredible.”

Vision Board Material | Getting onto Fortnite

If the Indiana Jones and the Great Circle role came to McDonald by fate, his new gig on Fortnite was something he actively chased – auditioning six times before finally landing it.

“I really wanted to be in Fortnite. It’s my favourite video game, so it’s been on my vision board for years,” he laughed.

Notably, the role of the Ice Prince – “a little demon teddy bear guy” as McDonald affectionately describes him – is performed entirely in “efforts” or the non-verbal sounds a character makes, which is a distinct and demanding vocal discipline.

“There isn’t actually any dialogue. It’s all what we call efforts,” he explained. “So, what this character sounds like when he’s happy, sad, or scared. It’s all sound-based.

Despite his excitement at being named the Ice Prince, McDonald said he had to keep the news completely secret from the friends he plays the game with almost every night, waiting until the new season launched to tell them. But the wait, he said, was worth it.

“As soon as the trailer started, I said: ‘Just so you guys know, that’s me.’ And everyone was freaking out.”

The Ice Prince is unlocked through the Chapter 7 Season 2 Battle Pass, putting McDonald’s character in the hands of every player who gets it.

He’s already received about 50 photos from friends who’ve played the game, renaming their Ice Prince “Little Matty” or “Little Matt.”

For McDonald, becoming the Ice Prince has also brought him one step closer to a long-held goal: owning an action figure of a character he’s voiced.

This season, Epic Games is running a competition whose top prize includes a limited-edition Ice Prince keychain – and McDonald is watching the results closely. “I need to have it,” he laughed.

The Long Road from Hamilton

McDonald’s path to acting was anything but direct. After graduating university with a degree in History and Political Science, he found himself miserable and adrift.

A night out reminded him of the last time he’d felt truly alive: a high school production of Grease. On a whim, he signed up for acting classes at Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton, where the head of the program, Lou Zamprogna, took him under his wing and delivered a blunt message.

“He said to me, ‘You need to smarten up and go to school for acting. Forget your degree, you know you’re not going to work in that field,’ and he was right.”

Soon after, McDonald enrolled in TFS’s Acting for Film, TV & the Theatre program and threw himself into it completely. The program’s breadth was a big part of its appeal for him – from stage craft, on-camera performance, and voice-over, to movement, screenwriting, and career management, he soaked up every bit of it.

Along the way, McDonald found a creative partner in classmate Simeon Ross – now also a TFS instructor – who became, as McDonald puts it, his “bestie” through the whole journey. The two pushed each other, collaborated on side projects, and have since ended up teaching together.

Eighteen months later, he graduated as valedictorian and President’s Award winner for the highest marks in his cohort.

“Before TFS, I’d never been academically inclined – ever,” he laughed. “So that was pretty wild for me.”

Back in the Classroom – This Time at the Front

So smitten with his acting school experience as a student was McDonald that he never really left TFS after graduation.

After being invited back as a stage manager, McDonald took a job as a TFS teaching assistant and ultimately landed himself a teaching job the voiceover room – the same discipline that had first sparked his passion as a student.

His teaching style blends the rigour of his former instructor Michael Ayoub with the warmth of Julia Paton – heavy on notes, collaborative by nature. He also makes a point of sharing every booking with his students, big or small.

“When I was a student, I loved hearing when teachers booked things – it gave me hope that anyone can do it,” he said. “So, I tell them everything. I hope it gives them the same feeling.”

The Advice | Patience, Pizza, and Treating Every Audition Like the Job

Ask McDonald for the secret to a sustainable acting career and he doesn’t hesitate: patience. And a willingness to start at the very bottom.

“Do those commercials, work for pizza if you have to, take the smaller roles and climb,” he advised. “As long as you consistently do good work, people take note. And it builds from there.”

McDonald also instructs his students to treat every audition like the job itself – be prepared, be professional, and be off-book.

That, he said, is how he’s personally built genuinely fruitful relationships with casting directors and producers over the years.

And if his pipeline of upcoming projects coming in from his agents at Monster Factory and The Meus is any indication, it’s proven a very successful formula for McDonald, who has seven video games, four feature films, and two TV series currently in various stages of completion – and all of it done locally.

“You no longer have to live in LA to make your dreams come true. I’m just a kid from Hamilton and I recorded both Fortnite and Indiana Jones in Toronto,” McDonald said.

“I like to tell my students that it’s very humbling to say that acting isn’t my side job,” he added. “I love teaching and I never want to give it up, but it’s very cool to say that acting is my full-time job and I’m very lucky that I work constantly.”

Follow Matty McDonald on Instagram @mattymcdonald01 or on his website at mattymcdonaldvo.com