Even the shape and design of the bottle I thought was really cool - how long was it from this being an idea to making it a reality? It looks like you all really wanted to get this right.
It’s been maybe a year and a quarter. We just started blending the whiskey last week. Our bottles, which come from France, landed yesterday. We’re still waiting on stoppers from Portugal. There are all these moving parts and putting them all together has been exhilarating. It’s a different side of my brain and I’ve been using a different set of tools as a person to try and lead and collate all these things to happen. We have an incredible team on board. Everyone is super passionate about it and we’re all excited. We’ve gone all over the place, making mistakes and figuring things out as we go but one of the exciting things about the company is that both Justin and I come from the filmmaking industry. He’s a screenwriter and I’m an actor. Our whole idea is, ‘Can we utilise the movie studio model?’
So, Quest’s End is our fantasy-themed whiskey and we believe you can make different spirit experiences with different fandoms. So, like a movie studio, you’ll have your blockbuster, your Academy Award nomination, your horror movie…all these different pictures. We intend to do the same thing, finding different fandoms and creating spirit experiences to directly appear to that fan. I think there are a lot of brands out there who are using fandom as a mechanism to sell units and they’re capitalising on people’s passions to make money. We are as well, but it’s different. We’re speaking specifically and directly to fandoms in a way that’s authentic and trying to provide them not only a premium whisky experience but also deliver something else on top of that. That’s what we’ll continue to do. We’ll continue to add depth and speak to fandoms in authentic ways to create premium experiences so they can experience however they want with a spirit that’s built for them.
I can tell from speaking with you and from the details released that this isn’t one of those drinks that’s just slapped a celebrity name on it, it’s a true passion project. How important was it to you to make this not just a drink, but an experience for RPG fans?
It’s funny because it’s such a thing right now in our industry. When you see the success of George Clooney or Ryan Reynolds…the celebrity list goes on and on. There has been a push in the press or with these conversations that this is another one of those celebrity brands which is hilarious. I am, by no means, Ryan Reynolds or George Clooney in terms of being a worldwide icon. It’s scary for me that my name is associated with it in any way because if we were building it just on my name or reputation, we’re doomed for failure [Laughs]. Maybe not doomed for failure, but it’s a very different thing. What we’re constantly holding on to and our north star in this endeavour, from day one, has been the fandoms. How do we authentically scratch an itch for those fans? And how do we make it exciting in an authentic way?
There is no experience without the fans. We’re not just going to go and make a $50 bottle of whiskey to sell it. If you go to one of these big alcoholic beverage stories in the US, there’s 150 yards of whiskey, floor to ceiling. We can’t compete with that. We can’t compete with the giant names and juggernauts of the space. Our only way to create, not an identity, but to make this entity profitable is to find fans, hone in, and continually build something for them that speaks to the fandom that resonates. Within that, we can find success. We don’t want to be the whiskey in the world. We want to be the biggest whiskey in the RPG space. We want to continue to do that across multiple platforms, and multiple verticals. You know, maybe we’ll do you a Spider-Man vodka!
To grow up a fan of D&D and now be an ambassador for that franchise and to take an active role in fleshing out an RPG world of your own…how does that feel from not Matthew the actor and businessman’s perspective, but Matthew the fan?
It’s so good. I started playing as a kid and, for me, there was a real element in my life of being an outcast. I was an obese teenager with a severe learning disability. I had braces, glasses, and my life wasn’t that awesome. There’s something about the RPG space and geekdom and the universe we’re living in…in general, you’ve been considered an outsider in life and then something comes along that you attach to that ends up having more value and meaning to you than other things.
I think fans, like me, of the Manchester United football team, when you see another fan, there’s a fellowship there. You go to a bar and high-five a fan who likes the same team, but in geekdom, and in fandoms where you’ve been considered an outsider, there’s a depth to it that’s different to other fandoms. I’ve been an outcast to someone who is celebrated in my chosen passion, I’m super proud. It’s very different from being the guy from Scream. That’s great but that’s my job. I’m proud of that movie and my career and I love it, but I’m not connected to…well, I am connected to Scream as it’s my identity in a lot of ways, but it’s not as emotional. Not like how I’m connected to this space.
And finally, something I’m sure a lot of our readers will be wondering - what’s your go-to race or class and do you have any dream opponents? I know a lot of your fellow actors really love this world...
[Laughs] So, my class of choice is always a Druid. I’m not somebody that likes adding damage or blasting from afar. I like to play cunning moves or shrewdly by being a little sneaky. Doing simple things instead of just adding damage. For me, I like Druids and I like to shapeshift and I like that, something I’m passionate about, they’re connected to the Earth. There’s a passion there and a moral code you can live to. I like that a lot.
My company, Beadle & Grimm’s, has a new TV show which I can talk about even though we’re striking as it’s not a struck company so I’m allowed. This show, Faster, Purple Worm! Kill! Kill!, and there are 20 episodes of TV coming out and we invite all kinds of people: Patton Oswalt, Seth Green, and more, and it’s an incredible cast that’s incredibly diverse. The whole human tapestry is at the table. Each episode is one hour long. It’s Whose Line Is It Anyway? meets Dungeons and Dragons, so it’s super fun and oddly emotional at times. It’s an incredible opportunity for people to find the game and a great ambassador for the game. You can fall in love without playing. Each table is different and each game is different, but at the end of the day, each show is unique. Our hope is that the show continues to find success and we’ll continue to open the door for the world to find this incredible game.
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