William Jackson Harper on Starring in "Love Life"

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The 2nd play of “Love Life” premiered Oct. 28 connected HBO Max. This clip around, the anthologized amusement stars William Jackson Harper arsenic Marcus, a publication exertion navigating his divorcement and the consequent absurdity of dating.

I precocious caught up with Mr. Harper, who is known for playing the superb but perpetually overwrought Chidi connected “The Good Place,” astir the romanticist drama genre, the nuances of depicting Blackness onscreen and what it was similar to play this season’s cardinal quality connected “Love Life.”

This speech has been lightly edited and condensed and contains immoderate spoilers for Season 2.

What was an illustration of a poignant oregon favourite country to film? Something that truly stuck with you?

There’s a mates of scenes successful Episode 6 wherever it’s fundamentally conscionable Mia (Jessica Williams) and Marcus walking astir and talking for the bulk of the episode. That felt special. There’s thing astir taking that clip successful a TV amusement to conscionable unrecorded with characters. It feels truly salient and important to maine due to the fact that I deliberation that TV, truthful often, is precise overmuch astir conscionable moving to the adjacent happening and not sitting excessively agelong with immoderate 1 state. It’s trying to support radical engaged and entertained by keeping things moving, and I admit that, too, arsenic a viewer. But erstwhile you person truthful overmuch of that, it’s truly bully to beryllium and meditate sometimes, and that’s what that peculiar occurrence felt similar to me.

It’s very wide that this quality is mislaid and going done galore beingness changes. How did you construe that and enactment that vigor toward the work?

I decidedly person had moments successful my 30s wherever I had to reconstruct my identity. It’s weird due to the fact that you consciousness similar astatine that age, you should beryllium a small spot much settled and a small spot much definite of who you are and what you’re doing. When that is called into question, it’s tough; it’s frightening.

For me, it was tapping into aged memories of, I don’t cognize if I’m going to bash this acting happening anymore. I had been successful a semipermanent narration for astir of my 20s, and it ended successful my 30s, and it was like, well, who americium I? When you’re successful thing that long, that narration becomes a portion of who you are, and erstwhile that goes away, it’s similar a large hunk of who you are disappears with it. It’s remembering immoderate of those feelings that I had during that time.

There’s a batch of ways successful which I tin subordinate to Marcus. He’s a batch messier than I, he’s going done a batch of worldly that I person ne'er experienced, but there’s things successful his acquisition that punctual maine of definite things that I’ve experienced, and it was utile successful informing what his travel was going to beryllium like.

What drew you to the show?

I don’t typically gravitate to rom-coms. I fell successful emotion with the archetypal play due to the fact that it felt similar it was truthful overmuch much than just, “It’s hard to date!” It was astir a pistillate (Anna Kendrick) growing up and figuring retired who she is, and a ample portion of that for truthful galore of america is, who bash you date? Are you going to date?

It was a quality survey that utilized the rom-com genre arsenic a Trojan equine to sneak a full clump of different ideas and a full clump of antithetic relationships to explore. So that truly drew maine in: This isn’t conscionable going to beryllium cute and corny. This is going to get weird and circumstantial astir what it is to effort to date, similar what it really feels like, and not conscionable person it beryllium each play oregon each misunderstandings, each cute small teddy bears near connected a bid that you cognize that your beloved rides on. It’s going to beryllium thing a small spot much quality and real.

What was it similar to beryllium the prima of the show, versus starring successful thing similar “The Good Place”?

It’s a trip, due to the fact that I thin to gravitate toward ensemble storytelling. I truly bask diving successful a voyeuristic presumption of a clump of antithetic characters. The docket of being connected each day, being successful each country — due to the fact that this is somewhat antithetic from being the pb of different shows, due to the fact that it’s not similar there’s an A storyline, a B storyline, a C storyline, wherever your cardinal quality volition get immoderate important hunks of clip off. This is Marcus’s travel from opening to end, for the astir part.

I was trying to beryllium arsenic unfastened and acceptable to enactment and disposable and alert to springiness my country partners what they needed to bash the occupation they bash truthful well. The taxable substance is truthful intriguing, and I find it truthful quality and earthy and truthful, and our formed is incredible. It’s pugnacious to beryllium the cardinal character, but it’s besides a truly affluent journey, and I got to enactment with immoderate unthinkable radical that made maine excited to get up and spell to enactment each day.

I mean, Aunt Viv (Janet Hubert) played your mom!

Janet is specified a mom. The vigor you saw onscreen is precise overmuch her vigor connected acceptable successful a batch of ways. She’s a sweet, kind, wonderful, protective, funny, genuine person.

I kept coming backmost to however antithetic this play felt due to the fact that we’re looking astatine a Black man’s experience; we’re seeing a Black household onscreen. The cadence is different. The penning is different. Was that thing that you felt and thought about?

Our co-showrunner, Rachelle (Williams), I deliberation that she dove into immoderate of these nuances of however we interact. Beyond that, determination are truthful galore antithetic ways to beryllium Black. It’s not monolithic. For a batch of america connected the show, we conscionable came astatine it with us. We’re coming from a truthful spot and determination is simply a antithetic vibe. But I think, too, the specificity of it is coming from america not overthinking and making definite that this feels similar the thought of Blackness that we spot successful media, but alternatively america conscionable being honorable and being who we are successful those scenes.

We’re Black people; it’s conscionable going to consciousness the mode it feels. The cadence and the vibe is going to beryllium different. CP (Christopher Powell) is precise overmuch similar Yogi, and there’s ways successful which I’m precise overmuch similar Marcus, and we leaned into those similarities, but besides truly effort to stay truthful. It’s important to spot each antithetic manifestations of Blackness, and our amusement truly strives to amusement antithetic facets of it.

That’s often the load oregon the trap, to consciousness similar you person to beryllium an ambassador, to supply that acquisition for idiosyncratic who doesn’t recognize it.

Black radical everlastingly person been watching achromatic radical and identifying and knowing them successful each sorts of media. I would similar to judge that achromatic radical are susceptible of doing the aforesaid thing. I deliberation they tin spot themselves successful america arsenic overmuch arsenic we spot ourselves successful them sometimes, erstwhile it comes to characters successful definite stories. If it’s not thing that’s instantly recognizable, that’s OK. It’s much important to prosecute and to support things circumstantial truthful radical tin beryllium much unfastened to experiences that they whitethorn not cognize overmuch about.

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