Spotlight on Matthew Jay

Tuesday July 16, 2013

Matthew Jay, The Other Half of Our Invaluable EMT Team

The realism that we are aiming for in Penumbra requires of a variety of sources who have offered their expertise on certain plot points and procedures. Mathew Jay sat down with the producers over a feast of Mexican food and explained how medical personnel would respond in certain situations, given the events in the film. Matt introduced us to Terence, who we profiled in an earlier blog, and together they have given the film the accuracy that we are striving to achieve. Matthew came to the project upon Shannan’s suggestion, and he has proven to be an invaluable resource. So take a moment to learn a little bit more about Matthew:

Matthew Jay's interest in emergency medicine started at age fourteen when his middle school offered a First Aid and CPR class. By the end of eighth grade, Matthew was certified. He loved it so much that he continued to recertify his CPR every year after that and during the winter of his junior year of high school, he enrolled in his local volunteer fire department. Within two years, he had completed his six months of EMT training and earned his certification. By twenty-one, he had been elected Corporal within the fire department-- the youngest person to hold that position in the department’s history at the time. In this position, he trained new members in emergency operations and taught them how to drive and operate the ambulance.

By 2007, Matthew had moved to Los Angeles and gotten his LA County certification. He then took a job with Amphibious Medics, a new company that was bringing on EMTs to work as set medics. Thanks to Amphibious Medics, he started working for clients such as Ne-Yo, Jamie Fox, The Jonas Brothers, JoJo, Nickelodion, Top Chef, Top Chef Masters, Extreme Chef, Celebrity Fit Club, and Tool Academy. Within three years, Amphibious Medics became the number one resource for bringing medics onto movie and TV sets. That winter, Matthew received a call from company president Mike Donoghue offering him an opportunity to work on a TV show that was traveling to different countries in search of ancient artifacts. The show was called Legend Quest and it brought Matthew to Ethiopia, Jordan, the Philippines, and Peru. Matthew still maintains his certification every two years, but his EMT and set medic days are long behind him. His EMT experience has helped him as an actor as he has earned roles as an EMT and paramedic on All My Children, The Guiding Light, The Young and the Restless, and most recently The Fosters.

Matthew brought professionalism, insight, gravitas, and his unique perspective to Penumbra, and we are extremely grateful to have him as part of the film.