Paul Matthews appears in Netflix promotional video after random cold call

A man in Brigus, Newfoundland and Labrador, answered a random phone call last month from broadcaster Jax Irwin, sparking a viral promotional video for a Netflix series.

Paul Matthews answers a random Hollywood cold call in Brigus

Paul Matthews was at home washing blueberries last month when his phone rang. He told the caller she had dialed a wrong number, but stayed on the line to chat because he was relaxed and life was good. The caller claimed her chubby fingers had dialed incorrectly, but that was a fib. The voice belonged to Jax Irwin, a broadcaster who cold-calls random East Coast phone numbers to film viral videos. On that day, Irwin was working on a promotional video with cast members from the Netflix series Below.

Matthews chatted with Irwin about the rock walls and winding paths of Brigus. He mentioned he used to serve as the town’s deputy mayor, but now moved slower and shook more as he grew older. The conversation took a turn when Matthews revealed he had listened to an interview with Irwin on CBC Radio just the week prior. Can I tell you a secret? That’s that lonely woman who calls people, calling you right now, Irwin responded after Matthews recognized her hobby.

Netflix releases the viral call to promote Below

Netflix released the video of the phone call on social media this week. The clip quickly accumulated nearly 900,000 views across TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. Matthews joked that he might need to hire a publicist as he hit second nine of his 10 seconds of fame.

The promotional video tied into the premiere of Below on Netflix this week. The series stars Josh Hartnett as a fisherman in a small Newfoundland town terrorized by an unknown sea creature. Hartnett told CBC Radio’s Q that local residents in St. John’s helped him prepare for the role by teaching him how to tie nets and properly use the word skeet in a sentence. You get this sort of feeling of being in a place that has its own type of magic, Hartnett said of the province.

The Matthews family attends the St. John’s screening

Following the viral call, Netflix invited Matthews, his wife Tina Matthews, and their daughter Zara Tai Matthews to attend a special screening of Below in St. John’s. The family met Hartnett at the event. Zara Tai Matthews also appears in the sixth episode of the series.

People in those big cities are just so rushed, and I well appreciate that. What may be one of the very attractive features of our lifestyle is that we take time to live and enjoy the vagaries of life, wherever they come.

Paul Matthews