Shane Meier Says His Role in “The Matthew Shepard Story” Led Him to 'End' His Acting Career
Shane Meier Says His Role in “The Matthew Shepard Story” Led Him to 'End' His Acting Career
Angela AndaloroTue, June 16, 2026 at 8:30 PM UTC
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Shane Meier as Matthew Shepard (left), Matthew ShepardCredit: OUTtv; ID -
Shane Meier was cast as Matthew Shepard in the 2002 film The Matthew Shepard Story
Meier recalls delving into the heartbreaking story of the 21-year-old who was killed in a hate crime in Oct. 1998
The actor, 49, recalled doing research and meeting Judy Shepard, who became a friend after the emotional journey together
Shane Meier's life was changed by telling Matthew Shepard's story.
The actor, 49, appeared on the Killer Thriller podcast, speaking with host Elisa Donovan about his experience on the 2002 film The Matthew Shepard Story.
Meier talked about the profound impact the film had on him and his career, noting he has since left acting behind.
"I was thinking about it this morning. The reason why I kind of pivoted is because that's as good as I can do. I mean, as a Canadian actor playing the title role in a film that meant so much to millions and millions of people and got viewed by millions of people, back when hate crimes were very rare," he shared.
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Shane Meier as Matthew ShepardCredit: OUTtv
"They're happening all the time now; it's very unfortunate. So, as I said, I'd like to, kind of, not retire but end my career on a high note and say, you know what? It's going to take a lot to top that. So anytime anybody wants me to speak about anything about The Matthew Shepard Story, I am hands down, 100% on board."
On the night of Oct. 7, 1998, Shepard was robbed, severely beaten and tied to a fence on a desolate prairie outside Laramie, Wyo., by two men he met at a local bar — because he was gay. He died five days later at 21 years old. Shepard's Oct. 12, 1998, death shocked the nation, drawing long-delayed attention to the violence faced by LGBTQ people.
Meier explains that when he signed onto the movie, he knew some basics of the story, but delved into after being cast. He began by doing research in his own Vancouver neighborhood before leaving to film.
"Vancouver's got a fairly phenomenal gay crowd here. So I went as a heterosexual man, and I kind of did my little bit of research... I would tell them, I'd say, 'Listen, I'm doing this film that's based on Matthew Shepard.' And immediately, I would have a group of people around me," he recalled. "He was very well known. Everyone knew of him. So that's kind of the extent of my research. I would just sit down and talk to these guys, and I'd buy them a beer and tell me, 'How did you hear about this guy? How did he impact your life?' That sort of thing. So a couple of weeks of research and then off to Toronto, and then it was camera testing and doing some rehearsals."
Once Meier was in Toronto to shoot, he started the physical transformation and learned he'd get to consult with Judy Shepard, Matthew's mom. He wanted to be sensitive about meeting her when he'd already altered his appearance to start looking like Matthew. Ultimately, the two ran into each other outside their hotel.
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"We're about twenty feet away, and she just stared at me. It was like a deer in the headlights. And I was like, 'Oh my god.' So I walked over to her, and I said, 'Listen, I didn't know. I did not want this to happen. I wanted it to be on neutral ground and a very kind of like loving environment,' where it's just me and her, maybe a dinner, something like that, her and Roger, or me, her and Stockard. But it didn't happen. And so I just walked up her, and I hugged her, and I said, 'I want you to know that I will do the best job that I can to make sure that we portray your son the way that he would want and that you would want,' " he recalled.
"She couldn't even talk. She looked and there's just another embrace. And I said, 'Let's check into the hotel' — because she had just landed and gotten to the hotel — 'and then we'll connect. I want you to see Shane and not Matthew, but I also want you to see Matthew in me, as well.' So that was our first meeting," he continued.
Meier shared that he and Judy still share a close relationship, and she's like a "second mother" to him. "I call her every [year on] Matthew's anniversary. After the film, I went and did some speaking engagements with her because she speaks at all these big events, and I actually traveled with her for a bunch of them with the Matthew Shepard Foundation."
The film's content stayed with Meier, who said it was "tough" to shoot for over a month.
"There were some very difficult things to portray and some dark, dark, dark moments, and it's a dark film. At the start of the film, and that's why it was beautiful, because it's like this horrendous. The first thirty seconds of that film is so brutal."
Meier recalls getting a cut of the film and sharing it with his family while he was home for the holidays.
"I probably wasn't allowed to do this, but I did like a private screening with all my cousins, aunts and uncles. It's probably 15 of us, and I put it on, and nobody said a word. As soon as the film started, nobody said a word for whatever it is, an hour and a half," he recalled.
"And my mother, to this day, still hasn't seen it. My birth mother still hasn't. She can't get through that first four or five minutes of it, and she knows," he said. "She's tried to get through, but it's just too difficult to watch, so she just can't."
He continued, "I did love the writing in that sense where it hits hard because it's a very hard and hateful crime, and it's like, the whole film isn't like that, but it needs to grab you for the first few minutes, and it certainly does that."
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