‘The First Time’ With Actors Chris Chalk and Matthew Rhys

Chris Chalk and Matthew Rhys, co-stars of the new HBO series Perry Mason, appear on Rolling Stone‘s “The First Time” to discuss their first CD purchases, the first time meeting each other, and their first job experiences.

“I worked at Pier 1 for 58 minutes,” Chalk says. “And they said, ‘Why don’t you go in the back, fill out your paperwork, and then we can get started.’ And I left and never came back. I was like, ‘Man, this is not my life.’ The description of the job was just, ‘Straighten things up and put things back when it’s a mess.’ I was like, ‘Is there anything else to this?’ And they were like, ‘No, that’s pretty much it.’ And I went, ‘Ain’t doing it, bro.’ That $4.25 I was gonna get, it was gone.”

Rhys recalls that his first time appearing onscreen was for a BBC Cardiff production as an extra. “There was one time, in drama class, where I was picked to be the son of a coal miner,” he says. “It was this daytime drama. The miner died in an explosion, and I had to cry, and I thought, ‘How am I gonna cry?’” Rhys had to cover his face and pretend to sob to avoid showing real tears.