Matthew Kennedy Gould: What’s the Original ‘Joe Schmo’ up to Now?

The original The Joe Schmo Show show is still considered a hallmark of reality television. It was effectively a long-form prank where all of the contestants were actors portraying typical reality TV characters. Except one man, Matthew Kennedy Gould, believed he was in real situations with real people. Without The Joe Schno Show, there would be no Jury Duty.

His sincere reactions and determination to try and do the right thing no matter how awful of a situation he was put in, Matt ended up enamoring viewers.

Now, with a new season of The Joe Schmo Show airing on TBS, viewers of the series are asking: Where is the original star of the show now?

Initially, the series was developed as a way of making Matt the butt of a joke, week after week. But the producers behind the series were wise enough to pivot away from its original premise. Matt ended up becoming friends with one of the actors pretending to be his co-star, Earl, during filming of the show.

However, when Earl was voted off, Matt was visibly upset. He candidly confessed on camera that he didn't think betraying people he made friendships with was worth a $100,000 prize.

Affected by his good heart, the production team decided to shift the narrative of the series.

They began to manipulate challenges in the show so that he'd win them. Abandoning premises that would potentially humiliate him, Matt instead came out on top until the very end of the series, where it was announced he was the winner. Simultaneously, production revealed to him the real premise of the series he had signed up to do.

Matt was playing basketball with some friends when a casting agent from SpikeTV spotted him and asked if he wanted to audition for a reality TV series. The Mt. Lebanon, Penn., native, who had dropped out of law school and was delivering pizzas for a living, jumped at the opportunity.

He thought he'd always do well in the genre, plus he was excited to be in the thick of all the drama and be surrounded by pretty women.

Matt was told that he would be competing for a $100,000 prize on a series called Lap of Luxury.

And while he did indeed win the prize, he didn't realize until the end of filming what the actual heart of the series was about.

This led to an iconic early-2000s reality TV moment, when Matt, finally putting the pieces together said: "What is going on?"

Following filming, he tried to get more work in the entertainment industry. He leased an apartment in Santa Monica but struggled to find consistent work.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Matt said that he ultimately spent most of his money on booze and weed, and eventually moved back to Pennsylvania.

Also following the end of the show and prior to his move, his girlfriend broke up with him, which prompted Matt to reevaluate where his life was headed.

The Gazette Review reports that as of now, Matt still works at the same logistics company he ended up securing a position in some time after he moved back to Pittsburgh. He's married and has two kids and a stepson and prefers to stay out of the public eye.

The outlet also reports that in a 2013 interview, Matt said for years he felt "insecure" about his time on the series, mostly because he felt like folks were laughing at him for being what was essentially the punchline to a massive, thoroughly filmed, edited, and nationally broadcast joke.

However, he said that whenever his tenure on the series has come up in conversation, there hasn't been a single person who has ever said anything negative about him on it.

Furthermore, Matt says that when he watched the show for himself, he was extremely proud of the way he conducted himself.

There's been murmurs that he might be brought back on the series in some capacity, however, seeing as how he maintains a low profile and stays out of the public eye, it's hard to determine whether or not that's the case.

Matt did give a word of advice to anyone else who finds themselves on the series, however. He says that future Joes should learn to just take the whole thing in stride and try to have as much fun as possible with the experience.