Ethan Embry – Grace and Frankie

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) “Grace and Frankie” was the last little bout of work that I had. I finished shooting that in late November. So, ever since then it has been really nice enjoying the holidays and took a little time with the family. Now, we’re just waiting to see if we’re going to go back and do more. The last two years I was working pretty much nonstop so it’s been really nice to take these two or three months and hang out with my son and go slow.

Q) Please tell us the premise for your new show “Grace and Frankie.”

A) The show centers around these two couples: Jane Fonda and Martin Sheen have been married for at least around forty years and Lily Tomlin and Sam Waterston have been married for forty years. They both have their families. The men work together and are about to retire and for the last three quarters of their lives Jane & Lilly are fantasizing about traveling the world and enjoying their freedoms. In the pilot, the very first episode, Martin’s and Sam’s characters come clean about the affair they have been having with each other for the last twenty years and say they want to get divorced so they can marry each other. So, throughout the season one of my most enjoyable things to see was Sam and Martin in love. They are heavily, heavily in love with each other and are like teenagers with each other because they don’t have to hide it anymore. Seeing Martin Sheen cuddling Sam Waterston is about the cutest thing you will ever witness! But I think one of the smartest things about this show is that it doesn’t forget the fact that even though they are so happy to not have to hide anymore and now have taken who they are out into the open, they are not ignorant to the fact that they have also in a very strong way have betrayed these women. They have been lying to them and basically pulled the rug out from under them. That is where the show gets really, really honest and it doesn’t candy coat anything. It’s really a testament to Marta Kauffman, how she is able to find these truly moments like the two of them cuddling and being like star-crossed teenage lovers and really set a lot of truth in it as well. What is said in one of the episodes is that if these two men were having an affair with two women they would be criminalized. Baron Vaughn, who plays my brother, brings it up in the episode by saying that because of the way society is now that these two men coming out finally come to terms with they’re gay and we have to accept it. We have no choice, but to accept it. And it puts the family in a tough spot. If they were having an affair with a woman we would look down on it. Since they are coming out as gay, we have to find a way to accept it. It’s really interesting. It brought up this really not talked about element of that sort of relationship in the world these days. It stays really true to how we would be in these situations.

Q) Please tell us about your role as Coyote in the series.

A) Coyote is Lily Tomlin and Sam Waterston’s son. You could say he is the black sheep of the family. Before this relationship came into light, everybody in the family really had their shit together. They were very, very successful and knew who they were and were very comfortable with it – except for Coyote. When we meet him, he is just getting out of rehab, probably for the fifth of sixth time. He is living on his brother’s couch. He just can’t figure it out. One of the things that Coyote deals with is that apparently he isn’t the only one who can’t figure it out so cut him some freakin’ slack. He’s sort of caught up in the whirlwind (as the rest of the kids are) as to what is now their reality.

Q) Was there anything you added to your role that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

A) I think that it always happens. I think that when they write a character they have a general idea of where and who he is. Then, when the actor that walks in the room carries it with him they finally realize all pieces of this character. I am sure that there were some things that I brought to it that they didn’t even know they were looking for until I showed them. I think the great thing about television is you are constantly figuring out who the character is and the character is constantly evolving and changing. You don’t just have two hours. When you have a film, you have two hours to show your character is. With a TV show, you have already had six hours to play with on season one and then another six hours if we do another season. So, I’m sure he’ll continue to change. There are things about him that I don’t know. That’s one of the things I love about TV, how much time you have. I’m sure Bryan Cranston didn’t know who Walter White was going to be when he was doing the first season. Being able to create such a broad character over those five or six years is one of the gifts of television.

Q) Was the chemistry instant with the cast or did you need to spend time together to develop a familial bond?

A) Lily and Sam are so easy, both of them. They are the most laid back, easy going unassuming people you could ever meet. Every time I was around them my ears were wide open and my eyes both trying to pick up anything I could learn from them. I’ve been looking up to both of them for years. There is this thing that actors do where we are constantly second guessing. We are not the people to ask our opinion on anything having to do with us. I’m the last person that will have a clear opinion. Sam Waterston is one of the most talented dramatic and comedic actors. Lily Tomlin birthed the situation comedy. Even they sit there and are not completely comfortable with, which is amazing. I went up to Sam and asked how it was going and he said, “I have no idea. Don’t ask me! They say it’s good.” It’s scary on one hand that I’ll still be second guessing myself in thirty years, but it is also comforting to know that even the masters do the same thing.

Q) What were some of your most memorable moments from filming?

A) We have the table read and my whole belief is that if I’m on time I’m late. So, with the table reads I’m always one of the first people to walk into the room. You walk in and see Jane Fonda, Martin Sheen, Sam Waterston and Lily Tomlin on the tags on the table. I’ll never get used to that. I’ll absolutely never get used to it! I think I can speak for the other cast members like Baron and Brooklyn [Decker] and June [Diane Raphael] (who play the daughters of Jane Fonda) all we wanted to do is make Marta Kauffman, the showrunner, happy and pulling our on weight. Thinking back about the shoot, when you are doing a scene and you can hear Marta Kauffman’s laugh from the other side of the stage it is the best feeling in the world. She has got the most amazing laugh and when you are blessed with it, it is such a good feeling.

Q) Why will people want to take their time to see the show?

A) It stays really true to we would be in these situations. It’s rather silly and a hell of a lot of fun, but at the same time it is really honest. I think that isn’t an easy thing to pull off these days.

Q) You are a part of social media. Are you looking forward to the instant fan feedback when the show is released?

A) Sometimes I like to do tweet alongs if a film of mine is on Netflix. I’ve done it a couple of times where I’ll do a live viewing tweet along. I’ll probably do the same thing for the “Grace and Frankie” premiere weekend. You can sit there and binge out for like six and a half hours of binging if you watch all of the episodes together. I think it is how funny how important it is now. It’s very different from when I started as a kid. My agents would get a box and I’d go in once a month and pick up a box of mail. Sometimes I’d respond, but I think the cool thing about social media is that it gives you direct access to the person and it enables me to know what people like and what people don’t like. I think it is one of the benefits of technology as how well we can all connect with one another.

Q) It is the 20th anniversary of your film Empire Records. How does that make you feel?

A) It’s crazy thinking that it is twenty years ago and it’s really cool that anybody cares. I was talking about this earlier today, there is a dark period in history where it was completely off anybody’s radar. The fact it has grown into what it is now without any publicity or push behind it – nothing but a very organic fanbase – is kind of awesome and kind of great. It really makes it something special. We never would have expected it ten years ago. We never would have expected people would care about  the twentieth anniversary of Empire Records.

Q) How do you plan to celebrate?

A) I’m sure there will be something. Rex Manning Day is April 8th, which is also born from the fans. That date has nothing to do with when the movie premiered. It was just a flyer that someone noticed was in the record store the day the movie takes place. So, they created Rex Manning Day. It coincides with them signing Kurt Cobain, but that is a whole other story. I think the movie originally came out in September so you have that six month swath of the year that you could justify celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Empire Records. I’m sure there will be some brownie filled orange apron extravaganza.

Q) What would you like to say to fans and supporters of you and your work?

A) I couldn’t appreciate it more. Basically, as far as that area of my life goes, I owe it all to the people who have stuck with me over the years. They pay my rent when it comes down to it. I think that it is really quite flattering. I hope they continue! I hope I haven’t disappointed too many of them over the years.