Today we’d like to introduce you to Denise and Matthew Thornton.
Hi Denise and Matthew, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Back in 2002, Matthew began his acting career. We got married, packed up our house full of hand-me-downs and our spoiled pup, Griffyn, and moved from our hometown of Corpus Christi to sunny Los Angeles. Like most aspiring actors, Matthew took on multiple jobs to accommodate the random audition schedule while I was beginning my career as a math teacher. We lived in Los Angeles until 2007, and Matthew added an array of experiences to his acting resume including music video and soap opera guest actor, commercial actor, and two stints playing a doctor on the TLC Channel. He lucked out when the casting director from Untold Stories of the ER ran across his headshot and realized that he was a perfect match for the doctor that was being featured on an upcoming episode. After filming of the episode wrapped, the casting director gave Matthew his big break as a series regular on the medical drama series Diagnosis X. When the show came to an end, we decided to move back to Texas to get involved in the Austin film scene and enjoy being closer to family. Shortly after our move, Matthew landed a lead actor role in a local independent film, Straight to the Bone. The filmmaker who directed the movie took a creative approach that pushed Matthew’s acting ability to grow, and the entire film was shot in improv. Matthew’s experience in Straight to the Bone inspired him to write, act, and direct his first feature film, Silverfish. Silverfish screened on the festival circuit and earned multiple awards including the Grand Jury Prize at the San Antonio Film Festival, Best Feature Finalist and Best Actress at the Los Angeles Influx film awards, and screened at the AM Egypt Film Festival in Cairo, Egypt.
While Matthew poured his heart and soul into writing, directing and acting in Silverfish, I took on the producer role, coordinating locations for shoots, managing the filming budget, and all the while, ensuring everyone was fed and happy while filming! This was the early stages of not only our marriage but our film partnership. What we came to realize much later was that Matthew’s creativity could thrive if I took care of the details and logistics behind the scenes. Fast forward to 2016, when we had to say goodbye to our faithful companion of 14 years, our dog, Griffyn. We decided to let his legacy live on and created Griffyn.Co Productions, our script-to-screen media production company. We produce films, music videos, short-form content, commercial marketing videos, and podcasts. Matthew is the creative force behind the business, and I handle everything else! In 2020, we started our first Griffyn.Co Productions podcast, Creative Moonlighting. The podcast focuses on topics that creators that work full-time jobs and create under the moonlight encounter on the quest to make art. We have over 50 episodes to date, with ten more episodes scheduled to record in the next few months. Making films and telling stories is our passion, and we hope creatives and business owners will reach out to Griffyn.Co Productions so Matthew and I can help them tell their story!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Of course, it hasn’t been a smooth road! Among countless challenges, the ones that first come to mind are the struggles of pursuing your dreams (acting) at 23 years old as young newlyweds, living on a teacher and struggling actor salary in Southern California (where the cost of living is insane!), living 1500 miles away from home and not knowing anyone but each other, and still trying to understand/unpack your identity and who you are and want to be.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My husband, Matthew, and I run our production company, Griffyn.Co Productions, named after our faithful dog, Griffyn. Griffyn.Co is a script-to-screen media production company, and we love to collaborate with creatives and business owners to help them tell their story, whether it’s a music video, short or feature film, or commercial video. We’re most proud that we’ve learned all aspects of the business together. Matthew is the creative force behind the company. He is a screenplay writer, still and drone photographer, actor, filmmaker, painter-the list goes on and on! I handle all of the producing and logistics for the business, and we’ve found that this partnership helps our company thrive. Our approach is simple and open, and we want to understand others’ perspectives so we can help them tell their story in the best way possible.
What were you like growing up?
Matthew and I have always been extraverts. Since we were young, it has always been easy for both of us to connect with people. We grew up playing sports (Matthew – basketball and football, me- tennis, soccer, and cheerleading) and being part of a team has been an integral part of shaping who we are today. We understand our roles and how to support others (and especially now, how to support one another).
Family is very important to us. Both of our families live within a mile radius of each other in Corpus Christi, so when we go home to visit, we appreciate that we can walk between the houses to see everyone.
Lastly, we both grew up traveling. Both Matthew’s and my family loved road trips, so we both grew up accustomed to packing up and hitting the pavement!
Contact Info:
- Email: griffyn.co@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/griffyn.co/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/griffyn.co/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClxiQ6PGIna33ei65PJLPiA
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/matthew-thornton-215806845/sets/creative-moonlighting
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/02V5Y3ciwv9IOUqFzwsShu?si=1d27cdcb5ccf4b2c
Image Credits
Denise Thornton, Grant Chambers, Erik Mauck
