Jeremy Pope plays Archie Coleman, a Black and gay screenwriter in the 1940s on the Netflix limited series “Hollywood.” He is coming off two Tony nominations in the same year for his performances in “Choir Boy” and “Ain’t Too Proud.”
Pope recently spoke with Gold Derby contributing writer Tony Ruiz about how he knew nothing about “Hollywood” before signing on, working with Broadway legends and the type of character he would like to play in another season. Watch the exclusive interview above and read the complete transcript below.
Gold Derby: Jeremy, I can imagine that when you go in to audition for Ryan Murphy series, how much did you know about the show going into it? How much did you know about what it was going to be?
Jeremy Pope: I knew nothing. I’ll tell you, at the time, it was sent to me from my agents and it just said “Untitled Ryan Murphy Project.” The role was for Archie, an ambitious screenwriter. “Attractive, ambitious screenwriter.” That was all it said, and the sides that they gave us to prepare were not from “Hollywood.” There was no script. It was very vague. So it was hard to invest in the character and figure out what it was that they were asking for. But we did the best we could with the size that they gave us. And yeah, I sent a self-tape in and I think it was the next day we got the call that Ryan Murphy wanted to give me this part in the show. But again, we didn’t know what it was. So while we were excited, we were still like, “Well, what is it?”
GD: So at what point then did you get a sense of what this was going to be? Were you able to see the whole script eventually or just maybe the first one?
JP: I mean, basically what happened was the offer came initially and then I think it was a couple of days later, I was able to meet Ryan in New York City and we sat and we talked and he told me what it was he wanted to do with the series, who all was involved at the time. I think at the time it was just Darren Criss and David Corenswet. But he was just spilling out all his ideas and wanted to hear what my thoughts were and that’s where I started to get an idea of what this “Hollywood” was going to be. But it was maybe a month later when he sent the first two scripts, Part 1 and Part 2. And then we really got to dig in and I got to see the colorful world that he had created and again, what I had been offered and what I had said yes to do.
GD: One of the things that strikes me, and I’ve read that you’ve said this before, is that Archie, there’s certain elements of James Baldwin that you wanted in Archie. What was it about James Baldwin that you saw as being similar to Archie?
JP: Well, for me, I’m a huge fan of James Baldwin and a huge fan of his mind. I think he was fortunate to travel around the world. So I think he was just so cultured and he just had a different look on the world and when we were building Archie, Ryan was excited that it was going to be this gay Black writer. And I just remember thinking in the ’40s, man, that’s two strikes. You got this Black man and then he’s openly gay. So I was like, “He has to be bold. He has to be daring,” and bold and daring to me is James Baldwin and I think he was an incredible man and he was outward about it. He spoke about his feelings and his thoughts on how the world was operating at the time. So I felt, if anything, Archie would need to channel that energy and couldn’t be scared. He had to be bold and he had to be daring.
GD: And yet at the same time, as the series progresses, Archie does have some fears and reservations in terms of how the script that he’s written will be received and how his relationship will be received. So what was it like to tackle the two sides of that, the vulnerability of him and also this daring independence of him?
JP: It was interesting. I worked really closely with Janet Mock, who was an EP on our show, was a writer in the writers’ room and directed, I think, two of the most ambitious episodes of “Hollywood.” There was a conversation we had where, spoiler alert, Archie is being asked to change a script so that Laura Harrier, who plays Camille, this Black actress, can maybe have a shot at auditioning for the role. We had this conversation, it becomes like a “crabs in a barrel” moment. I mean, I’ve had this conversation with other Black artists and entertainers. Sometimes we feel like there’s only room for one of us, so I think Archie’s mission in Hollywood initially is he wants to break the mold. He wants to be the first person that writes a picture for all people and not just race pictures, which is what most Black writers were doing.
But here we have this opportunity where Laura could just screen test, or Camille, the character, could screen test for his movie and it was just interesting, the conversation we were having about the discrimination from the studio head and then the class system and then discrimination against each other as far as “Hey, sis, I’m proud of you. I’m happy for you but this is the mission that I’m on.” We got to really explore the different facets of the character and just the struggles they could have been facing, that even though this is a fantasy, it’s just if you set yourself in that world aside, I can only imagine being in those conversations and in those situations, just the struggles they would have had to go through. So I think while I’ve mentioned Archie being so bold and daring and testing the limits, there is this very soft and sensitive side to him because he doesn’t have much and this is everything. And he’s sacrificing so much of himself. He’s putting so much of himself out there in order to see that dream. And I think the dream is not just about him seeing the success, but almost paving the way for the next generation, the wave of writers and Black people to be able to be seen in the industry.
GD: And it’s interesting that you mentioned that softer and vulnerable side of Archie because I feel like that part of him certainly comes out in the scenes between him and Rock Hudson, you and Jake Picking. Jake told me that it was really, really important that that relationship resonate. So how did you guys go about making sure that it did?
JP: It’s interesting because me and Jake’s first day working together was all of our intimate scenes, all of our sex scenes at the top of Episode 1 and Episode 2. So we had met prior to working together, but we just talked, like, “Where are you from? How’d you get here? How was your audition process?” And that was kind of it. But the one thing I loved about Jake and our work relationship was that we really had to trust each other. We had those conversations about how these characters are ambitious and they’re going after their dreams. But we needed a sense of home, like what was home for them. And I felt like they found home within each other. So it became the thing that was going to support them and root for them no matter what. I think they both are taking these chances and these risks in really putting themselves out there to hopefully see the good things that they want and their dreams come true. But it needed to feel raw. It needed to feel safe with each other and I think that was the goal, was we needed to feel safe with each other onscreen and offscreen. And I think one, having those intimate scenes being the first thing we shot, I really just had to trust him and know that he was gonna have my back and he was going to be there and present and he was absolutely that and much more. So it set the precedent for how we worked together moving forward and it was just beautiful. It was beautiful to have that organic relationship with someone off the bat.
GD: And one of the things about the show that I think could speak to a lot of people is the fact that it is a very queer-positive story in a time where that wasn’t the case. And there’s some great scenes in later episodes where they cut to young people of color in their living rooms jumping up and down for certain reasons, which I won’t go into now. That whole, I think Ryan called it “faction,” that whole element, why do you think that that element works so well in the series? And why do you think it’s so necessary at this point?
JP: I mean, it’s one of those things I think with TV, film, anything in that media, and I realize this in an abundance when we were working is it oftentimes teaches us how the world works and it gives us experiences and it takes us places that we may never go to or it gives us things that feel tangible. I think what we’re saying is, had someone seen a Black man’s success in a major way, in a commercial way, it only takes one movie. It only takes one position and one person in a position of power to make a different decision on a certain movie that really changed Hollywood, that changed people’s lives. And I think that is the bigger message in this, even for me. It’s like, the more I see myself, the more I hear the Black narrative and the Black experience seen in a commercial way and welcomed, it’s like you feel like you’re welcomed and you feel like there is room and space for you and your story. I think that is the message. We watch, like you said, the Black kid up and cheering. We watch an Asian family up and cheering. We watch so many different demographics of people just rooting for these singular people to win because it’s bigger than just their win. It’s opening up a door and a light to the community, to this suppressed community that doesn’t get shown a lot of love, and especially in the time of the ‘40s.
GD: Ryan Murphy tends to cast his shows from a lot of different areas, but he loves to pull from the theater. He loves to pull from the theater community and as somebody who really started in the theater, I can imagine that being on a set with and doing scenes with Patti LuPone, Holland Taylor and Joe Mantello, I have to imagine that that had to be somewhat of an awe-inspiring experience. What were those scenes like? Did you just sit on the set sometimes and go, “Wow”?
JP: Yes. Patti, specifically, we had some really special moments. All of them, all the people you mentioned. It was a dream, and TV is different. This is my first TV thing, and it was incredible. The Ryan Murphy family was so good to me and cared for me and I had a blast. But when I got to work with those people specifically, it felt like I was right back on Broadway, The cameras went away and we were so present in there for each other. I think that’s the one thing that theater’s taught me is you just have to be so giving to your scene partners. I was so grateful to have them, to have a Patti LuPone and a Joe and a Holland to act opposite with. So it was a dream. Sometimes I’d have to pinch myself that I was having these major scenes with Joe, but onscreen he was amazing and offscreen, they’re just great friends and great people to be around.
GD: Obviously, we have to talk about Broadway. You had this singular experience, having two shows open back to back and being nominated for Tonys for both of them. A lot of people in their careers don’t have that flexibility or that desire to go back and forth between theater and television and film. But you seem to certainly have that flexibility. What is it about being able to go back and forth that appeals to you?
JP: I mean, I think for me, I’m attracted to great stories, the power of storytelling. Theater changed my life. I was introduced to it in high school and I found this community of people that were just so loving and giving and supportive of who I was at 15, 16. And I think I moved to New York just to get more of those experiences. I realized in the theater we could entertain but also heal people and give hope. So I think that’s my mission is just I’m a sucker for good stories and stories that uplift people and make people feel good. I was so fortunate to be a part of two shows last season on Broadway that did just that, “Choir Boy” and then right into “Ain’t Too Proud,” which we celebrated the life of the Temptations, music that I grew up on. I think that will be the coolest job I’ve ever done to my dad and my grandpa. Those guys were so cool to them and to have that was really special. And then now to be in a project like “Hollywood,” it’s a fantasy but again, it feels so hopeful and inspiring. This past weekend, so much love and support has been thrown our way just because people are really digging the series and the message behind it. And to me, that means the world so if that means I’m doing it eight shows a week on Broadway, I will gladly do that. But it’s been so cool to have the same experience working on the other side, on-camera.
GD: I’ve asked everybody who’s been a part of “Hollywood” and I’ll ask you the same thing. There’s been rumors of this becoming an anthology and whether that’s true or not, my question is, is there a person or a time period in Hollywood that you think would be ripe for this sort of treatment?
JP: Huh. I mean, good question, I hadn’t really about it. So I can’t play Archie. I mean, it sounds crazy, but I really want to play a pimp (laughs). I’ve been just reading a lot about pimps in the industry and how big it was in the ‘70s and the ‘60s. So I’m interested, it sounds so crazy, I hope people don’t judge me severely, but I’m interested to understand the mind of a pimp. That’s what I’ll say. So maybe there is room for a pimp in a season whatever of “Hollywood.” I don’t know. But I would love to have the swag of a pimp and understand what they do and what makes a good pimp.
GD: You could actually get some tips from your co-star, Dylan McDermott, about that.
JP: I surely could (laughs).
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Jeremy Pope (‘Hollywood’) on the importance of shows that are ‘hopeful and inspiring’ [Complete Interview Transcript] - Gold Derby
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