Ross Mathews became an overnight success thanks to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, where he was coined "Ross the Intern." His standout voice and personality made him instantly memorable on late-night television at home.
He joined Celebrity Fit Club and the cast of Chelsea Lately since then along with interviewing many celebrities on the red carpet over the years.
He just released a book called Man Up! Tales of My Delusional Self-Confidence and is embarking on a comedy tour including a stop at Chicago. Nunn talked to Mathewsthe day of the book release.
Windy City Times: Hi, Ross. So excited about talking to you today!
Ross Mathews: I saw you tweeted me, right?
WCT: I did.
Ross Mathews: I saw and it is so great to meet you.
WCT: Finally, you are coming to Chicago. Have you been here before?
Ross Mathews: I have been to Chicago for an extended layover but I have never been to Chicago to visit or for work. Can you believe it?
WCT: No, but I have been waiting for a chance to interview you.
Ross Mathews: I have been waiting for a chance to go there for years. I never travel if not for work and never had to work there before.
WCT: This is your big world tour.
Ross Mathews: It is amazing. It will be so much fun. People are asking, "What is it? Is it stand-up? Are you reading the book?" I tell them, "It is like Liza with a Z but Ross with an S!" I am doing a one-man show. We are talking pop culture and bringing scenes from the book to life. I am playing games with the audience, there's a Q&A and I sign afterwards for everybody that wants to buy it. I will be the last one to leave.
WCT: I just finished reading the book.
Ross Mathews: You did? I am so glad you read it.
WCT: How long did it take to write?
Ross Mathews: It took a long time. I really wanted it to be funny and true to my little heart. I also wanted it to have a message. I thought if I am going to get a podium like this then I want to use it in the right way. I wanted to plant a little seed of something good in the world. Did you like the book?
WCT: I did, especially the Madonna story. I've talked to Madonna's rep, Liz Rosenberg, and can't imagine getting on her bad side.
Ross Mathews: Oh my God—I never would. She was totally nice to me. She made that happen.
WCT: It's a great story.
Ross Mathews: It's nuts. I almost didn't put that in there. That was one of the later ones. I woke up in the middle of the night and I go "What the fuck? Why didn't you put that in the book?" That might have been one of the last chapters I wrote I think.
WCT: Were there things you wanted to put in there that you didn't?
Ross Mathews: There are so many stories left to tell. I have lived a ridiculous life. These were the right stories for the first book. I already know about the second book. I have endless stories to tell but for this first book this is the cream of the crop.
I am so proud of it. I define Man Up as you are what you are. I think you have to start with what makes you different and what makes you stand out. These are stories of when I have done that and when I didn't. I'm not the hero in every story. I messed up a lot. I wanted to include those kinds of stories and I think I did.
WCT: I am sure some of those stories were not easy to write.
Ross Mathews: Like when I got fired from Lane Bryant? That was not an easy story to write.
WCT: I did my time in working retail with Structure; now it is called Express.
Ross Mathews: I know Express, heyyy. You were at the top of the totem pole in the mall, at least in my mall.
WCT: I wanted more pictures in Man Up.
Ross Mathews: I thought about more pictures. I talk a lot about my dad in the book and I was going to put a picture of him then I thought, "Let people imagine how they create him in their head." That was on purpose that I didn't put pictures in. I love reading books but when I see pictures it is sometimes very far from what I have created in my mind. I don't want to fuck that up for people.
WCT: There wasn't a part when you met Salvador, your partner, in the book.
Ross Mathews: You know I didn't include a lot about me meeting him. I think honestly that will be in a future book. This book is more about how I got to where I am right now. I felt like I had to define who I was when I was a little boy in a small farm town who is super gay and has dreams of Hollywood. That is still who I feel like inside. I wanted to make sure that person came through in this book.
WCT: You talk about Gwyneth Paltrow in the book. What did you think about her being voted Most Beautiful Woman in People Magazine?
Ross Mathews: Well, she has my vote. Of course she is beautiful on the outside and the inside. She has been so good to me. She wrote the forward to this book. The story of how we became besties is in the book and is an insane story.
WCT: It doesn't normally happen like that…
Ross Mathews: No, it doesn't happen like that. I basically asked her to be my best friend on a red carpet and she said yes and she meant it. It has lasted over a decade now.
WCT: I have talked to a few celebrities and sometimes they say things that they don't mean.
Ross Mathews: In Hollywood people don't mean anything they say. I don't think she knows that. She could have said yes in that moment and I would have loved her even if I never heard from her again. But she followed through which I think makes her even crazier than me!
WCT: Gwyneth is coming to Chicago to the Siskel Center on June 15.
Ross Mathews: If she were there the same time as me I would have had her come co-host my show with me.
WCT: Will you have time to hit the gay bars when you are in town?
Ross Mathews: I travel a lot for work and I always go out. I like to get a flavor of the town, not late because I have to be in bed. I hope so. This tour is so packed. I get to the city in the morning. I do press, then a show and leave at six in the morning. I hope I get to soak up some Chicago. I have heard so much about it. Hello, I always dreamed of being on Oprah, which didn't happen. If I don't get to then I promise I will come back.
Salvador and I went to Puerto Vallarta once and we met 14 people from Chicago. We have a good friend base there but never visited.
WCT: I love Puerto Vallarta.
Ross Mathews: By the way Palm Springs is my favorite place then Puerto Vallarta second.
WCT: You like Latin guys like I do, obviously.
Ross Mathews: Yeah, my Salvador is a hot Latin lover!
WCT: Do you want gay marriage when it happens?
Ross Mathews: Oh yeah. Salvador and I won't get married until it is legal here, though. I don't want a fake wedding or fake marriage. I want a legit marriage. The reason I am holding out is because I know it is going to happen.
WCT: Let me know if I can arrange bottle service at the bars if you go out.
Ross Mathews: That is so fun. As long as there is Pinot Grigio with ice I will be fine. I'm not fancy.
WCT: Is your own talk show in the works?
Ross Mathews: It is now in the works it is starting in September. E! just announced that I am getting my own talk show on their network. It is a dream.
WCT: What is it called?
Ross Mathews: Right now the tentative title is called Hello Ross. This show is all about being a super fan. There will be celebrities and I will go out in the audience so they can ask questions as well. We will Skype and Google-chat people in. There are so many shows that have pop culture but I want to show that I love this and you love this so let's talk about it.
WCT: Who is your latest celebrity story?
Ross Mathews: I am upset with Amanda Bynes. Every morning when I wake up I am hoping she has left me a little gift on her twitter page. It never stops. It is so good. It is so great what she has given us.
WCT: Have you ever met her?
Ross Mathews: No I saw her once when we were at the same event one time. I have interviewed so many people I can't remember sometimes.
WCT: That means you have a met a lot of people.
Ross Mathews: I was with my producer from The Tonight Show and was working the Elton John Oscar party. When Jamie Foxx won the Oscar I told the producer that I would love to interview him. He told me that I had last year and had a whole conversation with him. Sometimes it is so fast that I just don't remember things.
WCT: Do you ever take a moment to think about how lucky you are?
Ross Mathews: Every day. I saw just saying it this morning. Today I am having a big party at Target that is throwing the launch of my book. Jay Leno and Chelsea Handler are going to be there. My mom is flying down from the town I grew up in. Then I am going to New York and doing Howard Stern. I start my tour there and travel the country with this book I am so proud of. I come home and start my talk show. I can't believe it.
If I could go back to the little kid in Washington and tell him this all happened do you know what little Ross would say?
WCT: What?
Ross Mathews: "Duh. Of course it would happen." [Both laugh.]
WCT: You really are a testament to It Gets Better and campaigns like that.
Ross Mathews: That is the whole message of the book. Don't let anyone tolerate you. I hate that. It is all about celebrating you.
WCT: I am so happy for you, Ross.
Ross Mathews: Thank you so much. Please tell people to come to the show. I promise it will be so much fun. People can ask me anything. Nothing is off limits. I have funny stories to tell. We can talk shit about celebrities. I want to meet everybody that wants to meet me.
Say hello to Ross at the Park West, 322 W. Armitage Ave., on Tuesday, May 28, at 8 p.m. Visit www.jamusa.com for ticket information and more on Mathewscan me found at helloross.blogspot.com .
Also look for him at Macy's on State Street signing at noon on May 28.
