When Bradley Whitford read the series finale ReturnHe had an immediate sense of how he would play Jack Stevens, the legendary TV writer who mysteriously summons Valerie Cherish (Lisa Kudrow) to his office. Valerie was enjoying another comeback role in a new comedy series – the catch is that it was written entirely by artificial intelligence – and was due to join a press conference to announce the series’ second season. Upon meeting Valerie, Jack tells her in no uncertain terms: she should use this opportunity to support human writers and condemn artificial intelligence.
“I felt like Jack was John Wells,” says Whitford, referring to the seven-time Emmy Award-winning icon behind everything from er to West wing to the house. “He is a model of poise, decency and rationality, with a real love for the creative process. He is a friend and someone I have known since doing an episode of my show.” er In 1995. … He can be really scary but he’s a champion of storytelling and the people who do it.
In taking this approach, Whitford fits the role like a glove. Having this insider understanding of his industry and its history speaks to his strengths as a veteran working actor accustomed to jumping into established, popular shows in the middle of the show and shaking things up. He’s already won an Emmys for guest starring transparent And recently, The Handmaid’s Taleand now finds itself once again in competition for, in addition to, HBO Returnhis fiery role as DiplomatThe new first man.
DiplomatIts creator, Deborah Kahn, cast Whitford as husband to Allison Janney, with whom the actor has been a close friend for decades, dating back to their heyday. West wing. The Netflix show, which closely explores the politics of marriage within high-stakes geopolitical dramas, parallels the dynamic between protagonist Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) and her husband Hal (Rufus Sewell) with the dynamics of newly appointed Prime Minister Grace Penn (Janey) and her right-hand man Todd (Whitford). When Grace unexpectedly selects Hal as her new vice president, things get very sticky between this foursome.
“We both felt like that wasn’t a liability, but a real asset to us in playing this complex couple,” Whitford says of his familiarity with Janney. “I mean you turn on the camera and I get to look into Allison’s eyes — and I’m not a good enough actor to erase all the history there.”
Whitford appeared in three of the season’s eight episodes, most notably in the sixth installment, “Amagansett,” which was set at the Penns’ Long Island residence and focused almost entirely on the couple, played like Cahn. diplomat– Take charge Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? At one point, Todd cuts his finger while shucking an oyster, and it bleeds all over the oyster as he implores his guests to try it; He combines other people’s incomplete cocktails for the sake of his own unhappy sound. He comes to terms with his second place in marriage—which Whitford embodies in a master class of repressed insecurity and passive-aggression.
“There are levels of comedic events that are very complex: emotionally, they’re really complex, verbally, they’re complex, and intellectually, they’re complex,” says Whitford. “On top of all the complexity of the humor and the logistics, there’s Todd, who seems impossible and acts in the worst possible way around Grace. Then in the end, you realize that what’s going on underneath is that he’s just trying to protect her. There are really contradictory things going on in these scenes.”
Whitford has learned a lot from his experience The Handmaid’s Talewhere he started out as a guest star before joining the regular cast, where he could serve up another well-oiled machine like this one. “Having been through that experience, it gave me a little bit of security, a little bit of confidence in how to deal with that,” he says. This includes his understanding that the episode highlights him Diplomat It was crucial for his future on the show.
“I get nervous coming to a show that you love and that obviously has a high standard — it’s hard to jump on a moving train, and you don’t want to mess it up,” he says. “But I’ve been around for a while. I know when they bring me in as a guest actor, and they give me an opportunity like an oyster ring — I know it’s an audition. You can feel they want it to work. It’s nerve-racking.”
Apparently he passed the test — as we speak, Whitford is in Italy for season four of filming Diplomatand was promoted to series regular alongside Janney (who first starred in the second season). “It’s a very nice group, and I think it’s essential to getting the best work out of people,” says Whitford. “There is no shouting. People are welcomed. The hierarchy disappears.” He credits Russell as the leader of the cast, an “incredibly talented, kind, sensible human being who navigates the entire process.”
What can we tease for what’s to come? “I spent a few days shooting some huge stuff with Alison, and it’s really amazing scenes,” says Whitford. “I know people are going to be skeptical because I’m talking to a reporter, and I don’t care if it sounds corny, but you feel very, very lucky to sit around this table with these actors and this writing. … It never gets boring because there are different ways to play it, over and over again.”
This story first appeared in the June standalone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To obtain the magazine, click here to subscribe.
