Don’t you just love it when a TV series offers a hazy escape filled with first loves, heartbreak, and fashion inspiration? Every Year After, adapted from Carley Fortune’s bestselling novel Every Summer After, follows the sprawling, intertwined, nostalgic story of Percy and Sam as they go from childhood best friends to lovers across the years in the idyllic lake town of Barry's Bay. Perfection! This is all we need in a show, a messy love story!
We caught up with lead actor MATT CORNETT, who plays Sam in the new Amazon Prime drama – best known for his role as E.J. Caswell on the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series – to talk about slow-burn moments, friendship bracelets and becoming one of TV’s favourite heartthrobs.
Left Vintage shirt
Right Pants Goodfight, shoes Maison Margiela, glasses Akila, vintage sweater
No pressure, but you’re the lead in this much-anticipated new show… Did you feel the nerves stepping into the role?
I think there is inherently a ton of pressure that goes into something that already has a huge backing behind it and people who love these characters and stories.
You want to make sure you get the story accurate and give fans what they love most about the book, so it’s an exciting pressure!
Had you read the book before, or did you deep dive into it once you landed the role?
When I first auditioned, I had never heard about the book, as I’m not really into the romance book world! So I started researching it and realised it was so popular with a massive fanbase, and the second I booked the show, I drove to Barnes & Noble near where I was filming at the time, and bought the book and immediately read it two or three times, and listened to the audio book too.
I really wanted to know the story inside out so I could capture a sense of who Sam was and who he and Percy were together.
Left Shirt and shorts Loro Piana, jewellery Karo Koru
Right Full look Prada
It’s enough to step into the role of one character and find his essence, to bring him to life, but then to also play him over different eras at different ages; that all comes with so much prep I imagine?
It was a challenge playing five different ages in one, because you’re playing five different characters within the same core, but their outer shell is different. Teen Sam and adult Sam are very different people, and it constantly changed my entire prep process for scenes or table reads. I had to tap into what I was like when I was a teen too, all my insecurities, the things I was nervous about, squirming while having uncomfortable conversations with my parents; then as an adult, trying to figure out where he is in his life and the things he’s experienced, and now coming back to his first love.
Left Right Full look Prada
Right Full look Loro Piana
And like with life, there are a lot of slow-burn moments in this show….
Oh yes, the show is full of slow-burn moments, and I love them!! It’s my favourite romance trope. The slight light touches, the longing looks! When Sadie and I got to Vancouver, we had dinner together quite soon, as we knew the chemistry between us needed to be authentic on screen. We also bonded by watching a lot of horror films together, eating pizza, like Percy and Sam do, and we started with The Evil Dead, and it’s a heck of an intense movie to watch! It was funny because we’re like the opposite of our characters; Percy is a big horror fan, but Sadie’s not in real life, and Sam’s not a fan, but I’m a massive horror fan in real life, so it was fun getting to spend that time with her.
Left Vintage shirt
Right Vintage sweater
And you hit it off with Michael Bradway, who plays your brother Charlie in the series, too?
Michael and I had this instant brotherhood after a 10min zoom talk, and then the chemistry read, and it didn’t feel like we had to create this brotherly bond; it was just naturally there. We’re both super into sports and being active outdoors, going on lots of adventures and exploring, and we’re competitive too; I just have to say that he’s good at everything he does!
And you hung out a lot off-screen too?
Yes, and I’m a big golfer, so I got both Michael and Joe [Chiuwho], who plays Jordie in the series, into golfing, and we also had big cast hang-out nights, and Sadie cooked for us all at her place. We tried to spend as much time together as we could, and it was a lot of fun!
Left Vintage sweater
Right Shirt and shorts Loro Piana, jewellery Karo Koru
Speaking of fun…. can we expect lots of easter eggs and surprises in this series to keep the fans going wild in their IG Reel breakdowns?
All the scenes that are the most anticipated are there: the first time Sam and Percy kiss, the ‘you came home’ scene, the ‘anatomy textbook’ scene, and it was so exciting to portray them all in real time from the book.
There are a ton of fun Easter eggs and surprises to pick up on, too! The people who truly know and love the book will be pleasantly surprised by so many things. The friendship bracelets are also such a big part of the book, and wearing one of them for the first time was crazy – I’m excited to see the TikToks and people breaking down everything on IG reels, picking up on all the things that are in the background to find!
Left Full look Prada
Right Vintage shirt, vintage denim
So, what has playing Sam taught you about love and life — the takeaways?
To really follow your heart. He’s someone who tries to be so caring, sometimes to his own detriment, with Percy, with whom he has this push-and-pull relationship.
Just be your true, authentic self and don’t worry too much; just care for people’s hearts and love and don’t be too controlling of different things around you – it’s a beautiful lesson from the show: listen to our hearts, as mind and heart often battle one another; I know mine does a lot.
So, what’s next after this summer romance… what’s the dream role or genre you want to try out?
I love any story that speaks to me and that I’m passionate about. I love sci-fi, this idea of being inside a dystopian apocalyptic world playing a crazy and weird character, that would be fun! I love stories with heart, too, ones that make people feel certain emotions, or something where I could do training of some kind, like stunt training, so you become good at something. There are so many different avenues I want to explore!
Left Vintage sweater, pants Goodfight
Right shirt and hat Loro Piana, jewellery Karo Koru
Well, you’re super talented and in demand, so how are you balancing being everyone’s favourite heartthrob with your personal life?
Something that’s important is my social life, which dictates a lot about who I am, and I have a lovely, solid group of friends and family around me who keep me grounded and humble daily. Shout out to them all for everything they do for me!
I feel so lucky to do this job for a living — playing at pretend, being all these different people on screen. It’s insane that this is my job; I feel so blessed and overjoyed.
And I don’t look at myself as a heartthrob, although I always seem to play roles where I’m the love interest or the boyfriend, the good-looking one; but hey, I’m glad people can watch the things I’m in and enjoy seeing my face, ha-ha!
Left Full look vintage
Right Full look Prada
Interview by Kate Lawson
Photography by Shane McCauley
Fashion by Abigail Jones
Grooming by Aika Flores
