The The Gazette uses Instaread for audio versions of our articles. Note that text-to-speech may cause some pronunciation errors.
A young Iowa City native is landing bigger and bigger roles as he matures into a blossoming acting career.
This fall, audiences around the country are tuning in to "High Potential," a new drama on ABC and Hulu where 12-year-old Matthew Lamb stars alongside Kaitlin Olson. As Elliot, a sweet, quirky and socially awkward middle child of Olson's character, Lamb embodies a character who has inherited his mother's high IQ and active brain.
The show's series premiere on Sept. 17 reached 11.5 million viewers between ABC and streaming platforms like Hulu and Hulu via Disney+. After three days of viewing across platforms, the drama's premiere saw a 220 percent audience increase.
You may recognize him from his role in "Only Murders in the Building," the comedic true crime Hulu series starring Selena Gomez, Martin Short and Steve Martin. In the second season, aired in 2022, he snagged a spot playing a young Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin) in a flashback. Later, his portrayal of "The Little Boy" in Signature Theatre's production of "Ragtime" earned him an Outstanding Supporting Performer nomination for the 2024 Helen Hayes Award.
"Only Murders in the Building," was his first TV show, but "High Potential" will feature him frequently throughout the entire season. After filming the show's pilot in early 2023, Lamb waited out writers and actors strikes until the show was picked up by ABC -- almost a full year between filming the first and second episode.
"Elliot has inherited his mom's super high IQ, which helps him have a more special connection with his mom," said Lamb, who gets into character with a different set of glasses. "I feel like I'm putting on virtual reality goggles. They change up everything -- the shape of the glasses."
Described as sweet and loyal, Elliott loves his mother with a duty to protect her. Lamb also enjoys the brother-sister dynamic with his older sister on the show, Ava (Admirah J.)
"When we get a really sweet moment in the script, it's one of my favorite times," Lamb said.
Next month, he'll star as a lead in "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever," a holiday film based on a 1972 Barbara Robinson children's novel by the same name. His role, Claude Herdman, portrays a boy succinctly described as one of six "naughty" siblings who invade the town's Christmas pageant.
"The Herdmans are the worst kids in the history of the world. They're mean, they bully, they lie, they steal," Lamb said. "My family has always read that book as a Christmas tradition. It was fun to learn I got that part and was able to be in that movie."
With duct tape around the nose piece of his glasses, Lamb enjoys scenes like one where he cusses out teachers for 30 seconds (which didn't make the final cut) and a snowball fight that used cotton ball cores covered in snow.
"They realized they couldn't make enough of (the snowballs) quickly," he explained.
The Lionsgate Films production premieres Nov. 8.
Between frequent travels to Canada for filming and keeping up with his education at home with his mother, who is a teacher by trade, Lamb's performing career has quickly grown in breadth and depth over the last several years.
Lamb notes a couple trade-offs in the lifestyle. He can't have a pet -- save for his betta fish who is also named Elliott.
Pumpkin patches are "a little harder to find" in Los Angeles, he noted. He misses Wilson's Orchard in Iowa City this time of year.
Earlier this year, after a couple years of frequent travels for projects across the country, his family moved their primary residence to Southern California.
"I've developed into it. I love getting to go to all these different locations and meet all the new people in my life," he said. "It's really been a fantastic experience, going through this journey."
Early on, Lamb had a penchant for Broadway productions and musicals. Over several years before his first TV role, he did multiple plays with his family at the Iowa City Community Theatre.
In 2020 he participated virtually in a summer acting program put on by Broadway Artists Alliance. At the end of the program, the participants performed in front of a group of talent scouts and agents, connecting lamb to the talent agencies that represent him today.
Now, he loves performing for the silver screen just as much.
"He puts the effort in and doesn't take it for granted," said father Greg Lamb. "What a lot of people appreciate about Matthew's acting ability is that it's natural and grounded. When he's portraying a character, it's believable. It's interesting to watch him transition from back of room (roles) to the subtle, nuanced acting he does in front of the camera."
With it, his confidence on and off camera has grown strong.
"It's been a really wild ride for the last couple years," he added. "We've embraced it and enjoyed the adventure."