| “ | Gay is a synonym for talented. Look it up. | ” |
—Matthew MacDell in Disclosure the Movie: The Musical!
| ||
Matthew MacDell is one of the main characters in Big Mouth. He is the only openly gay character in season 1 whose shtick seems to be appearing from off-screen (or being cut to) and injecting an appropriate quip related to the current conversation, and later on in seasons 3 and 4, he would become a more detailed, and developed character. He is voiced by Andrew Rannells. He is the ex-boyfriend of Aiden and Jay Bilzerian.
Biography[]
Childhood[]
Matthew was born to Edward MacDell and Kimberly MacDell who grew up in Austin, Texas and he was the first born in a family of two other brothers and two sisters. Matthew's parents were a very conservative and traditionalist couple, who taught their views to their kids. Of course, these values were only amplified by the fact that they lived in Texas.
Ever since he was a kindergartener, Matthew always knew he was into boys. As seen in "Obsessed", Matthew had a celebrity crush on Harry Potter and pretended he was his boyfriend, along with Nick Jonas when he was a bit older.
Sometime during his childhood, Matthew took up tap dancing.
Other kids at Matthew's school knew he was gay and they would constantly bully him for it, calling him "The Steer Queer".
Sometime during elementary school, The MacDell Family would move from Texas to New York and live in a suburban home in Westchester.
Growing up, Matthew always had a very close relationship with his mother. They would compete in the church bake-off, and do other various activities together.
Teenage Years[]
As a teenager, Matthew attended Bridgeton Middle School who is a lot more openly flamboyant than before. In New York's political climate, none of the other students bully him for his sexual orientation so he's a lot more proud of himself. He does the school's televised morning announcements, which he calls Morning Announcements With Matthew; a work that he treats like an actual news segment. He had become friends with Caleb, who worked as the cameraman for his show.
In "Ejaculation", Matthew befriended Jessi Glaser after seeing how funny she was.
In "Am I Gay?", he hosts the school's gossip broadcast and goads Nick Birch into saying 'who dumped who,' after Nick and Jessi broke up.
In "Guy Town", he trails behind Andrew Glouberman in an attempt to question him about what happened with Lola Skumpy back in her condo. Matthew is also seen to be provoked by a resident of Guy Town and gets into a gay-off with him. The resident suggests being nicer to others, and Matthew decides to give it a shot.
In "Dark Side of the Boob", he tries to be kinder towards others but finds it quite difficult, he also is shown as an outcast from others because of his sexuality. He invited Jay to crash in the teacher’s lounge with him before quickly getting in an argument with him due to the Shame Wizard’s taunting.
In "Smooch or Share", he is constantly persecuted and shamed for being the only gay student in the grade by both his classmates and the Shame Wizard. Matthew and Jay meet again in the bathroom where they continued to bicker before Jay left. A group of people including Jay later came into the teachers lounge where Matthew was staying to play “Smooch or Share”, a game that Nick made up that’s a combination of Spin the Bottle and Truth or Dare. Matthew eventually joined and Jay kissed him after the bottle landed pointing in his direction. They later made out in front of the bleachers. In the next episode when Jay approached Matthew about what happened, Matthew deemed their kiss a one-time thing and left it there.
In "My Furry Valentine", Matthew meets Aiden, another openly gay boy from another school and the two quickly become boyfriends. During the faux interview scene cuts following this segment, Maury admits that Matthew is his favorite kid.
Appearance[]
Matthew is considered to be "the hottest guy in the grade" (by Ali in "Rankings") and "the hottest guy in our school" (by Jay in "Twenty-Two and You") with dark blond hair that flicks out and cornflower blue eyes where his eyelids are normally half-closed. He tends to wear a navy blue button-up under a light brown sweater-vest, accompanied by white jeans with a brown belt. He's mostly caught frowning and only smiles when necessary, though he seems to smile more after Season 5.
Personality[]
Matthew is generally a upbeat boy, but he can turn hostile in a breath where he is given to clever witticisms and insightful zingers and enjoys delivering them, especially when they are deserved. In spite of his snarky nature, he is supportive of his classmates, offering sound advice when called upon. He shows to be quite sensitive when it comes to being cast aside from the other students because of his sexuality. He is prone to overt hand gestures and deliberate posturing. He is the typical gay stereotype. He enjoys baking with his mom which he has done since he was young.
Relationships[]
Family[]
- Edward MacDell - Edward is Matthew's father, he was afraid to come out to his dad so he pretended to be straight in front of him. He believed it works better for both of them, but after coming out his dad reveals he knew all along and loves him all the same.
- Kimberly MacDell - Kimberly is Matthew's mother who he is very kind to and compliments her on her clothes. They once had a very great relationship which becomes strained after she learns that he is gay and she soon begins to alienate him. However, in the most recent episodes it is shown that she is coming around to the idea. Even going as far as to tell the younger siblings about it.
Friends[]
- Jessi Glaser - Matthew and Jessi are best friends where he first befriended her after thinking she was funny in "Ejaculation". The two of them get along well because they're both sarcastic and share a sardonic wit to their characters. They like making fun of other people, as seen in "Requiem for a Wet Dream", when they made fun of Jay Bilzerian. As hinted in "My Furry Valentine", Jessi has a mild attraction for Matthew and she is somewhat disappointed that a guy as perfect as him is gay.
- Caleb - Caleb is the cameraman for Morning Announcements With Matthew, so Matthew and Caleb are co-workers, who've become friends. In most episodes the two are seen conversing with one another. In the episode when Caleb's backpack broke, Matthew is seen doing many things to genuinely help him. Such as paying some girls to stop being so loud, asking the store workers to turn down the lights in the store and help Caleb find a backpack alternative. Caleb, in return, helps Matthew find a new style for high school.
- Andrew Glouberman - In "Am I Gay?", Andrew turned to Matthew for advice, when he suspected he might have been gay. Matthew was very kind and helpful to Andrew, helping him understand his sexuality.
- Jay Bilzerian - At first Matthew thinks Jay is (understandably) gross but entertaining. He doesn't really think highly of him at all. However, in "Smooch or Share", Matthew and Jay kissed each other in a game of "Smooch or Share". Matthew started to rethink how he looks at Jay and ended up having feelings for him.
Love Interests[]
- Aiden - Aiden is Matthew's first boyfriend whom he met in the greeting card section at Walgreens in "My Furry Valentine". They officially became boyfriends in "Cellsea" and shared their first kiss in "Obsessed". Edward MacDell and Kimberly MacDell became aware of there relationship in season 4 while Edward supports it Kimberly remains unaccepting. In the new season Matthew decided to try to get Aiden to break up with him since Matthew started to get feelings for Jay which is seen in “Lovebugs”. When Aiden realized that Matthew tried to make Aiden break up with him he clearly got hurt and upset which lead to Aiden calling Matthew a fucking coward, as they continue to argue Aiden decided to walk out from the room heartbroken.
- Jay - Jay and Matthew got together after Matthew broke up with his past boyfriend Aiden. During the episode, "Sugarbush", while in Matthew's bedroom, with pressure from Maury, Matthew confesses his crush on Jay. Clearly confused, Jay confronts Matthew about this. The continuous backtalk between the two leaves them wanting each other, eventually making out on Matthew's bed. Maury shows off his butt tattoo depicting them smooching. By "Re-New Year's Eve", Matthew and Jay are seen kissing in Jay's car, professing their love for one another, but when Jay's reckless driving leaves Matthew worried, their relationship hangs by a string. However, by the end of the episode, both Matthew and Lola confess their love for Jay at Devin and Devon's New Year's vow renewal party. Jay ends up choosing Matthew, and the two are seen kissing as the new year dawns.
Hormone Monsters[]
- Maury - Maury is Matthew's hormone monster, who helps him with going through puberty. In "Am I Gay?" it's Matthew who name drops Maury to Andrew, implying Maury has been Matthew's Hormone Monster for some time. We don't see this visually confirmed until the special "My Furry Valentine". Maury is useful in helping Matthew with coming to terms with his sexuality and finding a boyfriend. However, Maury has a bit of a problem with constantly suggesting that Matthew commit suicide.
Trivia[]
- Matthew runs the morning announcements at Bridgeton Middle School.
- Mathew has posters of Ariana Grande, Morrissey, Oscar Wilde and Cher in his locker. (Famous LGBTQ icons)
- In "Guy Town", it is revealed that Matthew used to live in Texas before moving to Bridgerton.
- In "Obsessed", Matthew took tap dance classes as a kid.
- He liked to bake with his mom and they have won multiple bake offs together.