Celebrity Daily Dose: The show Dan Levy calls “unbelievably intimate and sexy”
Normal People. (Photo by Enda Bowe/Hulu)
Welcome to Queerty’s latest entry in our series, Queerantined: Daily Dose. Every weekday as long as the COVID-19 pandemic has us under quarantine, we’ll release a suggested bit of gloriously queer entertainment designed to keep you from getting stir crazy in the house. Each weekend, we will also suggest a binge-able title to keep you extra engaged.
The actor/writer scored a cultural phenomenon when he created his first sitcomSchitt’s Creek. What began as a cult Canadian sitcom exploded into pop culture, catapulting Levy to megastardom. Furthermore, his turn as the flamboyant David Rose–as well as Schitt’s Creek’s prominent storylines involving the queer character–have been hailed as a groundbreaking depiction of an LGBTQ relationship. Now that the series has wrapped, Levy will move on to his three year overall deal at ABC, which will see him create and write shows for the network.
Chatting with Levy, we managed to wrest one screening recommendation from him for viewing during the COVID-19 crisis.
“Normal People. I could literally watch it for the rest of my life,” he says. “It’s a love story based on a Sally Rooney novel, and it is so beautiful. The chemistry between the two [lead] actors is so unbelievably intimate and sexy. It’s just a wild watch. I’ve been having a great time.”
The Texas Tribune reports: She had been in jail since Tuesday after being sentenced to seven days, but the Texas Supreme Court on Thursday morning granted a motion to release her. The order came soon after Gov. Greg Abbott announced he was modifying his recent executive orders related to the coronavirus pandemic to eliminate jail time for Texans who violate the restrictions. The move by Abbott was an attempt to release Luther, and prevent the jailing of others who have violated similar orders in recent weeks. A small crowd with balloons and posters started cheering “Shelley’s free” upon her release, according to video from KTVT. “I’m a little overwhelmed,” Luther said. “I just want to thank all of you who i just barely met, and now you’re all my friends. You mean so much to me, and this would have been nothing without you.”
He has good reason. The actor, known his more than 30 year career which has included roles on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Cosby Show, Angel, The Practice and more, just landed a leading role on the new NBC drama Circle of Dads. On April 20, he also rocked the internet by coming out of the closet as a gayman. The unplanned admission generated came in the context of discussing his Council of Dads role as Dr. Oliver Post, a gay, married African-American dad. The series follows a group of friends following the death of one of their friend Peter. Oliver, and several other men, come together to act as surrogate fathers to Peter’s children and to preserve the memory of their friend.
“I read your site every day!” Richards belts as we greet him on the phone. We warn him that we will need to use that quote in our piece. The two of us have made some time to chat about his coming out, the new show, and his experience as a queer, African-American working in Hollywood for more than three decades.
Council ofDads airs Thursdays on NBC.
So you’ve had an exciting few weeks. Exactly how are you feeling? What’s the state of your life?
Thank you for asking. Empowered.
Empowered?
Aligned. Clear about my purpose. That’s how I feel two weeks later. I will admit that I was on a bit of an emotional pendulum. In my imagination, there was a reaction that was the best reaction I could possibly get, which was supportive. But it exceeded that. Also I really did not expect it to go past my social media page. So that was a bit daunting. That was part of the emotional swing I was on.
Sure.
I had no idea that it would be picked up on various sites, which it was. And I didn’t even have a publicist at the time…
Oh my.
Yeah. So that’s how unplanned that was. I’ve hired one since because everything was going so far so fast that it was all a bit overwhelming. But when it went so viral, it made me feel like this emotional swing toward oh my God, why would you do that? No one even asked.That was the ultimate overshare. But fortunately, the pendulum has swung all the way back into the position of empowerment.
COUNCIL OF DADS J. August Richards as Dr. Oliver Post — (Photo by: Seth F. Johnson/NBC)
That’s so wonderful to hear. Now, when you describe it as an emotional pendulum, what are you doing as you walk around the house? How’s your mood shifting? What are you doing to take your mind off it all?
Yeah, it’s always surrounding a triggering question or triggering comment that I receive that really only triggered the fact that I was not expecting this attention. So that was the only thing that would scare me. It wasn’t negative at all. But, like, when people ask me, “Aren’t you afraid of how this will affect your career?” That question would really trigger me. I’ve obviously thought a lot about it. And that question doesn’t trigger me anymore.
I’ve talked to so many actors who have gone through a difficult coming out process and immediately have their agents or managers screaming “Why did you do that?” So it’s good to hear that it’s been so empowering.
I have a great agent. He’s been really supportive.
Now, you’ve said before that you’ve been out to people close to you for years. Have you had any blowback? People saying “why didn’t you tell me?”
No. Not one person. Anyone who needed to know, knew. And there were people who didn’t need to know that knew, just because they saw me out, or I went to a party. I’m living my life and doing whatever I want to do for the most part. People who know me, in my life, also know that’s not the kind of question I would entertain.
So let’s talk about your new show Council of Dads. Your role as Oliver, you’ve said, was part of what inspired you to go public. He’s a gayman married to another African-American man Peter, played by Kevin Daniels, and the couple has children. For you as an actor, what is it that speaks to you in a role where you realize it’s more than just a job? In other words, when the role changes you?
You know, honestly, it happens to me every single time.
Really?
Every single time, yeah. I think of it as my job to put something deeply personal to put on the line for myself. I have to find it, and I do with every role. This one is unique in that it pushed me up against a wall that I had created for myself. I think it served me when it had to. When I first started in the business, there were very few opportunities for a black actor.
Pictured: (l-r) J. August Richards as Dr. Oliver Post, Emjay Anthony as Theo Perry — (Photo by: Seth F. Johnson/NBC)
Sure.
I jokingly say “I was too busy being black to be gay.”
[Laughter]
But the industry has shifted enough to where there’s more LGBTQ representation and more black representation. And I just wasn’t mature enough as a human being to walk through life as a black gayman. Now, at 46, I have the confidence and the wisdom and the knowledge to be able to take it on. The reason I ended up talking about it publicly was that I saw a huge opportunity to be observant in a meaningful way, and I just could not pass it up. It was a very person decision. I wouldn’t be true to myself if I didn’t take the opportunity to continue a dialogue—it was started way before me. Black gaymen, gay families—I would not have been happy with myself if I had not chosen to talk about it.
That speaks so well of you. One thing I really love about this show is the way it redefines community in a sense.
Yes.
There are right-wing voices that claim diversity is harmful, or focusing on it is harmful, that it’s all a myth. The series shows that community is defined by what is shared; in the case of the series, that’s a love for Scott Perry and his family. How do we encourage people to focus on what is shared, to accept one another?
Well, it oftentimes takes people knowing someone in a community, knowing someone that belongs to a community that is seen as “other” to break down that wall. Again, that goes back to the reason I decided to go public. The other great gift of coming out for me was that it made clear for me my true goal. I really want equality for all. I’m talking about groups that I belong to, and groups that I don’t belong to. Ultimately, we have to move toward a space where everyone can sit at the table equally. That’s one of the reasons I was so happy to be involved with this show. It has diversity, and it’s not cosmetic.
J. August Richards as Dr. Oliver Post — (Photo by: Seth F. Johnson/NBC)
What do you mean by that?
It’s like there’s one of this and one of that. There are multiples of different in this world. As the season goes by, you’ll be able to understand even more what I mean by that. It really elevates the conversation about diversity in a way that I’m so proud of. You come home with Oliver & Peter. You come home with us, and a whole episode takes place in our house. So the other thing that attracted me to the show was that I’m not playing the “insert black gayguy here.” He’s a three-dimensional character. He’s not just the best friend. He has his own storyline. The character is not additionally marginalized by not giving him a full story.
I also love the way the show redefines masculinity.
Oooh! Mmhmm!
We have a trope in Western entertainment that fathers are either lovable buffoons like Homer Simpson or wisdom sages like Fred McMurray in My Three Sons. Either way, they are centers of authority and power. This show is different in that it shows men working together, sharing power, listening, conversing and making choices. It’s in the title: a council of dads. It’s not dictatorial patriarchy. Is that by conscious design, that Joan and Tony [series creators Joan Rater & Tony Phelan] had intended as much? Have you discussed it?
We’ve not talked about it, but I will say this: in developing the character one thing that you do as an actor is figure out the character’s super-objective.
Yes.
That means the one thing they want more than anything in life. It took me a while—call me slow—but I realized that what is important to Oliver is that he be a great father. That is the most important thing in his life. So I started to think about what makes a great father. I think the answer is different for each person depending on their father. So I think about Oliver’s past, and how his father did not accept him for who he was. He grew up in a household where he felt like an imposter, like love was conditional. He never got to fall into the arms of his parents and hear them say “You are ok as you are.”
Right.
So what makes a great father to Oliver is growing this invisible fence around the children where they are able to be themselves and thrive as who they are naturally, whatever that is. That’s what makes a great father to Oliver, and it’s a great gift that any parent can give their children.
Clive Standen as Anthony Lavelle, J. August Richards as Dr. Oliver Post — (Photo by: Seth F. Johnson/NBC)
Absolutely. As a working actor, I need to ask you about the cult of celebrity. In the social media age, actors are really encouraged to become a “brand” or a product to help promote their show. That includes putting private life on display. What is your experience dealing with that pressure? Is it fair to expect actors to perform on both sides of the camera, in essence?
Some don’t. There are still actors out there who don’t want to be stars, who don’t have social media at all. To a degree, I think it’s slightly a myth. Every job that I get there’s an actor in a pivotal role who is not on social media, or who didn’t have a big following. I don’t believe that a large social media following translates to viewers. If it did, Kim Kardashian would be in everything.
Lord help us.
So, like anything, you just have to decide who you want to be and rock out with that, win or lose. One of the places I’m at in my life is that I don’t feel like the world needs another f*cking celebrity.
[Laughter]
Nobody’s asking for one. I’m so tired of it. I’d just rather have an impact at some point in my life. If I can make the world a hair easier, or serve in the tiniest way, I’m so satisfied with that. The red carpeting thing is so played out to me. I’m so over it. So I think you’ve gotta make a choice about who you want to be, win or lose.
That’s great advice. So given the context of all of this, I also need to ask. This is a question that comes up a lot with actors I talk to. It came up with Billy Porter, with Nelson Lassiter, with Doug Spearman, and others. How can we encourage queer African-American men to come out and to feel safe in doing so?
That’s a big, big question. Number one, I’d say understanding. Just understand that it’s a lot to ask a person to own and take on another marginalized identity. As a black man moving through the world, you really have to live it to understand it: all of the concessions and adjustments that you have to make to the world just to get through your day. It’s a lotman, a whole lot. It’s a whole lot to ask people. I’m 46 now, and I said in another interview, if I had come out a day sooner, it would have been too soon.
Wow.
Only now do I feel like I have the understanding and the confidence and the clarity to move through the world as I do now. So the most important thing is understanding. I love the gaymen in my life because they never pressured me to do anything. They only loved me and counseled me to be myself.
Beautiful.
Another way to help is to stand against racism. Working through the racism of our society might help people feel free to live in a world where they can feel like they can be themselves.
Pictured: (l-r) Back Row: J. August Richards as Dr. Oliver Post, Kevin Daniels as Peter Richards, Michael O’Neill as Larry Mills, Steven Silver as Evan Norris, Michele Weaver as Luly Perry, Thalia Tran as Charlotte Perry, Emjay Anthony as Theo Perry, Lindsey Blackwell as Tess Post-Richards. Front row: Clive Standen as Anthony Lavelle, Sarah Wayne Callies as Robin Perry, Blue Chapman as JJ Perry — (Photo by: Seth F. Johnson/NBC)
Amen to that. As a gay, African American man, what advice do you wish you could have had starting out in the business that you did not?
Actually I had wonderful mentors: African-American men who took me under their wings and advised me, counseled me, gave a call after auditions. Everyone showed up for me the same way they’re showing up for me now. My colleagues were the first ones to congratulate me.
That’s great.
But you ask me what I wish I could have known? That’s a difficult question. It was a different industry at that time. So I can’t answer that. I’ll have to think about it. It’s a great question.
Any word on Season 2?
I haven’t heard one way or another. I think NBC’s upfronts are next week, but I don’t know if our show will be picked up or not because we are so early in our run. I’m not sure.
Trump Valet Tests Positive, RBG, Axl Rose, Netflix, Jim Bakker, Don Lemon, Chris Cuomo, Katy Perry, Dolly Parton, Kevin Spacey, Lady Gaga: HOT LINKS
OUTBREAK IN THE WEST WING?: One of Trump’s personal valets has tested positive for coronavirus. The valets are members of an elite military unit dedicated to the White House and often work very close to the President and first family. Trump was upset when he was informed Wednesday that the valet had tested positive, a source told CNN, and the President was subsequently tested again by the White House physician.
My bad I didn’t get we’re hoping 2 emulate Liberia’s economic model but on the real unlike this admin I’m not responsible for 70k+ deaths n’ unlike u I don’t hold a fed gov position of responsibility 2 the American people n’ go on TV tellin them 2 travel the US during a pandemic.
SNAKE OIL: Televangelist Jim Bakker Fights to Keep Selling Sham COVID-19 ‘Cure From God’. The Missouri Attorney General sued the 80-year-old Bakker to stop him and his company from promoting and selling Silver Solution, a product his TV show falsely claimed could cure coronavirus, HIV, SARS, and other illnesses.
Andrew Ahn is one of the most exciting up-and-coming directors on the independent film scene. After a long history of working his way up through the ranks at programs like the Sundance Screenwriters Lab and the Film Independent Screenwriting and Directing Labs, he broke out in 2016 with his first full-length feature film, Spa Night. Since then, Ahn has continued to direct episodics and other projects. And in 2019, he premiered his second full-length feature film, Driveways.
After premiering at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2019, Driveways spent the rest of last year making the indie film festival circuit before arriving for its commercial release on streaming services today (May 7th).
The film follows Kathy (Golden Globe-nominee Hong Chau, Downsizing; HBO’s Watchmen), a single mother, who travels with her shy eight-year-old son Cody (newcomer Lucas Jaye), to Kathy’s late sister’s house which they plan to clean and sell. As Kathy realizes how little she knew about her sister, Cody develops an unlikely friendship with Del (Golden Globe, Tony-winner and longtime acting legend Brian Dennehy, in one of his final leading roles) the Korean War vet and widower who lives next door. Over the course of a summer and with Del’s encouragement, Cody develops the courage to come out of his shell and, along with his mother, finds a new place to call home. Variety film critic Peter DeBruge wrote, “Driveways [is] that uncommon and all-too-welcome gift – like some kind of fragile wildflower, emerging tentatively through cracks in the concrete: a film about kindness.”
GLAAD caught up recently with Ahn to ask him about what it was like bringing Driveways out into the world, along with the queer sensibilities inherent in his filmmaking, and what it was like to work with his incredible cast!
For those who haven’t seen it yet, how would you describe Driveways?
Driveways is about a single mom who drives across the country with her young son to clean out the house of her estranged sister who has passed away. It turns out that her sister was a hoarder, so what they thought would take a few days is going to take her weeks. While she cleans, her son strikes up an unlikely friendship with the old man who lives next door. The film is about connection and family, both biological and chosen. How do we overcome the barriers that separate us and make connections?
How did you become attached to this script and the project as a whole?
Our producer, Joe Pirro, reached out to me after having seen my first feature Spa Night. He had been working with our writers, Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen, on the script and he felt like the story might resonate with me. I had been looking for something to sink my teeth into for a while, but couldn’t find a script I loved. When Driveways came my way, I knew immediately I wanted to do it. The script had such heart, so much love and respect for its characters — that’s impossible to fake.
There’s nothing explicitly queer in the script besides Del’s (Brian Dennehy’s) character’s daughter – who’s a minor character – being a lesbian; but the film definitely has a queer sensibility about it. How would you describe that feeling in the film?
As a queer person, I think everything I make is a little queer! I don’t even do it consciously — it just happens! I think it has something to do with my point of view. I’m an outsider, I’m an observer, but most importantly, I respect the people I represent on screen. Does Cody grow up to be queer? Perhaps! But that’s for Cody to figure out, not for us to exploit. It’s this respect for another person’s identity that feels really queer to me.
This was one of Brian Dennehy’s last projects before he passed away. How was it to work with such an acting legend? And what has the process been like for you in coping with his passing?
Brian was an inspiring actor to work with. He could have shown up to set and phoned in his performance and I would have been grateful. Instead, he worked so hard. Every take, every scene, every day, he wanted to do his best. He loved to ask questions, give his opinion, challenge, explore. I feel so honored to have worked with him on Driveways. It’s been very bittersweet as more and more people watch the film, praising his beautiful performance. I wish he could have been around to hear it all. After I heard the news of his passing, I got in touch with his wife and per Brian’s family’s request, I made a donation to Feeding America to honor Brian.
It’s always challenging working with child actors, but how was it working with Lucas Jaye?
Lucas is great! He has so much natural ability and charisma. This was his first film, but he went toe to toe with Brian and Hong. As a director, I focused on creating an environment that felt supportive and fun. The more relaxed actors are, the more vulnerable they can be, the more intimate the performance. I didn’t talk to Lucas much about backstory or motivations. I kept it rooted in the present.
Not to mention, the incredible Hong Chau is in this film too! How did you capture that bond that her character plays as the mother to Jaye’s character?
Hong has this amazing ability to make everything around her feel better. The writing feels tighter, the other actors feel more present, the production design looks better — she activates the world around her, the sign of a true actor. She found subtle ways to build history into Kathy and Cody’s relationship. For example, she wanted a nickname for him and started calling Cody “professor.” I found what she was doing so inspiring, I just made sure the cameras were rolling!
It’s still rare that we see leading Asian-American narratives in film. Were the lead roles originally written that way? Or did you cast Hong and Lucas after attaching to the project?
The roles of Kathy and Cody were open ethnicity, but I imagine many directors in this industry would have just cast white actors without a second thought. It may be reductive, but I suggested Kathy and Cody be Asian-American because I’m Asian-American and I wanted to work with Asian-American talent. When I read the script, I immediately saw Hong in my mind. This tough, but vulnerable mother — I just knew she could knock it out of the park. So, when I met with our producers, Joe Pirro and James Schamus, I proposed the idea. They loved it and the rest is history.
Driveways received two Independent Spirit Award nominations – for Chau for Best Female Lead and for Best First Screenplay for Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen. Were you expecting that would happen? And what were your reactions when you learned about the nominations for your film?
It was such a lovely surprise. We really felt like it was a long shot. Driveways hadn’t been released yet; we only qualified because of our festival play. At that time, very few people had seen the film. When the announcements were made, I freaked out. I was spazzing out so much after Hannah and Paul’s nomination was announced that I nearly missed hearing Hong’s name get called a minute later.
How was making this, your second feature film, a difference for you as a filmmaker than making your first feature film, Spa Night?
Making Driveways was a very different experience from making Spa Night. Spa Night was made very independently for a very small budget from a very personal screenplay I had written myself. That said, the creative process is the same. How do you tell a great story? How do you know what to emphasize, prioritize? How do you support your cast and crew to do their best work? These are the challenges I love to face; they really motivate me as a filmmaker.
What’s up next in your career? Are you already working already on your next project?
I’m working on a number of features, some Asian-American, some queer, some both! I want to have fun in my career so I’m exploring different genres and styles. The one thing I want to do that I haven’t quite figured out yet — I’m dying to do a queer love story.
Pretty transgender Musician “Rie Diesies” got married with her hubby in January 2016 in Michigan ? She looks so pretty bride ? Do you love her wedding dress?
The first single from #KP5 is called 
Hope everyone is having a great Thursday!! 
How was making this, your second feature film, a difference for you as a filmmaker than making your first feature film, Spa Night?
