Joseph and Hyrum

(Posted by Jill)


In any presentation of the restoration story whether in film or live theater, the casting of the roles of Joseph and Hyrum Smith are crucial to the success. In our pageant this year we are especially blessed to have 2 brothers playing these roles - Joseph is played by Jeff and his brother Matt plays Hyrum. In one of our very first rehearsals we were introduced to these amazing men. Matt is the older of the brothers, by 4 years. Hyrum was older than Joseph by 5 years. Matt is 6'4", Jeff is 6'2", which are the exact heights of Joseph and Hyrum.
Originally Jeff (above) was cast to play Hyrum, but then the actor who was cast in the role of Joseph was unable to come to the pageant. Jeff was moved to the role of Joseph, but the directors were now left without a Hyrum. They contacted Jeff's brother Matt to try out. Matt has had much more acting experience than Jeff and he initially laughed at the thought of taking the summer off to work in the pageant. When he did tryout, he thought he was trying out for the role of Joseph, so the decision to play a supporting role to his less experienced brother was a difficult choice for him, but he eventually agreed and his love and support for his brother really shows. You can tell in the way these 2 men act together that they are very close which makes to portrayal of Joseph and Hyrum that much more real.


This shot is actually just a candid, not a pose. They were just observing the action at the rehearsal. They are both very fun-loving individuals. When there is a break in the action they are often found playing with the "mojos". (Mojo is the pageant word for child, more on children and families later.) The mojos love both Matt and Jeff, you will almost always find a mojo hanging on them, or being tossed in the air by the brothers, just like Joseph and Hyrum may have played with children.

Then when the situation calls for it, they each have an incredible spiritual intensity. In costume or even in shorts and flip-flops, they radiate an incredible spirit.


Since they are single guys sharing a condo 2 doors down from us we invited them (and their roommate Jonny) over for dinner one night. With our hectic schedule we were only able to share about 45 minutes, but it was a treat to talk to them and learn more about their experience and be entertained by their wonderful sense of humor.