A daily chronicle of creativity in film, TV, music, arts, and entertainment, produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from November 2014 – March 2020. Host John Horn leads the conversation, accompanied by the nation's most plugged-in cultural journalists.
The hit Amazon show "Transparent" is nominated for 11 Emmys at the TV awards ceremony that happens on Sept. 20. The series has become a cultural phenomenon and a touchstone for a civil rights movement.
The show centers around how a family comes together and breaks apart as the father, played by Jeffrey Tambor, transitions into a woman. The children of the family are played by Gaby Hoffman, Amy Landecker and Jay Duplass.
Duplass initially didn't want to be a part of the show. He's usually behind the camera, directing films with his brother Mark Duplass. Their past projects include "Baghead," "Jeff, Who Lives at Home" and the HBO show, "Togetherness." “Transparent” was one of his first major acting gigs.
"Transparent" is currently shooting its second season. The Frame's John Horn recently visited the set and spoke with Duplass about what the major difference is between directing and acting, how his character on the show is completely different from who he is in real life, and how he almost wasn't going to be on the show.
What's the major difference of being in front of the camera instead of behind it?
I don't know what's different. 'Cause I'm in the acting position, that's probably what's different.
Which is definitely different.
Which is wildly, wildly different, because as a writer and a director and a creator, you are god. You hold the whole universe and you're mommy and daddy. It's a very fulfilling place to be, but it is very challenging. Whereas an actor, it's a completely different experience. It's about just being in the moment and being just one thing as opposed to holding thousands of ideas at one time. I find that really freeing and joyful.
Do you feel like you've gotten to know [your character] Josh better? Is it more intuitive now than it was in the first season?
It can be intuitive and sometimes I can be completely off because Jill [Soloway] and I are completely different as people. And the way that she is and the way that her characters operate in the universe is very different from the way that I do it. Even just yesterday, I totally didn't understand a scene and I was about to recommend that we just completely [change] it. But as I was doing the scene, I learned an amazing amount of things about my character and why that scene needed to exist. And it was incredibly enlightening and opened my mind to so many things. It's an education every day being on set, and it's really fun to come and get schooled.
Is there a part of Josh that you relate to as a parent, as a guy who's trying to get his stuff together?
Yeah, it's really interesting 'cause I'm so surprised when people come up to me and [say], "God, how are you playing this guy who's so different from you?" Because I've been married for 10 years, I've been with my wife for 13 years, I have two kids, I have a marriage with my brother — I'm like overly married. But I bring all of myself to Josh everyday, so I feel very connected to him in terms of his primal needs and what he wants, and I feel them as well.
Has being an actor on this show affected how you work on your own project?
It hasn't that much yet and it's mostly because Jill and I are already so similar in the way we treat our actors and our whole crews. But I have learned some things from Jill about the nature of long-form storytelling in this way because I come from a more independent film background. Also, I have not been able to put it into practice yet, but just the incredible platform she is standing upon. Basically her show is at the center of a civil rights movement and there's something incredibly empowering being a part of something like that.
Was there a moment where you realized that the show was at the center of that movement?
There was always a feeling of importance, of getting it right and being a part of something special. I hate to say it, but it really came when they said, "And the Golden Globe goes to Transparent." Because prior to that moment, it felt like we were making a little independent thing on the east side of L.A. that was going to show on the web. We always loved it and thought it was special, but that's what the feeling was and that's a good feeling to me. That's what I love because it was homemade and it was uncompromising. None of us knew how far it would reach, [whether] anyone would go to Amazon and pay $100 a year to watch this.
There were nine other [Golden Globe] nominees and they were huge shows with huge stars, and everyone was better looking than us [laughs.] But we went up on stage and we were being seen by the whole world, and that was the moment for me where I was like, Okay, this is a thing. This is a phenomenon. This is not just a little show we're making on the east side of LA.
Now you are nominated for 11 Emmys. Have you ever been a part of something that has caught on that fast?
Never. And especially with our material. My brother and I come from a very small place, we grew up in the suburbs of New Orleans. We didn't know anyone who was involved in the film industry or the entertainment industry. It was so foreign to us, so the way that we've been creating things is just coming out of a little cave and making a piece of art that shares a part of ourselves and we say, Do you like it? And most people say they like it, but not a lot of people see it. ["Transparent"] is just catching hold and there is some divine providence of the timing of everything.
There was probably a moment where you could easily not have been cast in this show, based on your own inclination and your own profession. Do you ever look back at that decision and how easily it might have gone the other way?
I resisted heavily, and also because of my commitment to HBO, it was technically challenging.
This is for "Togetherness"?
Yeah. I was gonna bail [on "Transparent"].
You were that close?
I said, "I don't think it's right and I don't think I'm gonna come because it's gonna be too much."
You actually said that to Jill?
Oh yeah! And she said, "You hold on a second. Do not put that phone down." And she pulled Gaby [Hoffmann] over and they both got on the phone and they started basically yelling at me like loving sisters would. And they said, "You get your ass down here! You were meant to be on this show!" I had to just completely surrender to this show and to becoming an actor and to whatever was gonna happen to my life — and that's not something that I have a lot of experience with. I'm usually the architect and engineer of all the things that I do.
"Transparent" and "Togetherness" are both about families struggling to make the right decision. What would those two shows say about what it means to be in a modern relationship?
I don't know. That's a really good question. All I can say — and this mostly relates to "Togetherness," because that's the one I created — is that I find that trying to be a good husband and a good dad, and at the same time trying to keep your personal dreams alive, is the hardest thing in the world. I feel like I'm this close to drowning at all times. And the more that I've talked about that, I started to find that other people feel that way, too. Just trying to balance your life and keep your own intentions and dreams alive — that is enormous conflict. I'm just trying to share that and hopefully connect with other people, and hopefully other people laugh about it.