Chris Perfetti

In conversation with 1883, Chris Perfetti discusses growth, security as an actor and the opportunity to explore outside the Abbott Elementary set.

When Chris Perfetti read the script for Abbott Elementary, he couldn’t stop laughing. The mark of Qunita Brunson’s excellent, witty, gutsy, writing and a sure sign of potential, Perfetti knew this was something that he had to be a part of. As he continued to read, the idea of someone else playing the role of Jacob Hill filled him with such jealousy he was determined to make the character his. 

On Abbott, Perfetti has credited being surrounded by children for helping him rediscover his sense of play and love of make-believe. Becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable is a step outside his comfort zone, far more at ease on the stage than on the screen, the show has taught him so much about what he’s capable of and the idea of not taking himself too seriously.

With season four set to begin filming in August, Perfetti is grateful for the chance he’s been given. The show is an astronomical success, receiving accolades including a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series and an NAACP Image Award. Having always considered himself to be a ‘jobbing’ actor, he finds himself in the rare position of a secure gig. With a job waiting for him in the latter months of the year, Abbott Elementary allows him the opportunity to explore, whether that’s on the stage or the silver screen in between writing a script of his own, he finds the world open to him in a way that it hasn’t been before. The freedom to chase the high he’s been pursuing since he realized he wanted to be an actor. An insatiable need to be in someone else’s shoes.

In conversation with 1883 Magazine’s Dana Reboe, Perfetti talks Abbott Elementary, how he got his start, what he loves about the stage, the beautiful thing about spending time in New York versus Los Angeles, figuring out how best to pay it forward, and so much more.

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Can you talk about when you realized you wanted to be an actor? What were the television shows and films that inspired you?

Oh, man, I daresay it’s been a traditional and boring trajectory. I don’t remember myself wanting to do anything else. I had loving, amazing parents, but I had very busy parents. And so, as a kid, I think I was always looking for somebody to entertain and looking for a bit of an escape. My family would probably say that they always knew, but I guess it was really in high school that I sort of found my way into theatre. I had some amazing and gracious teachers who guided me down that path. I remember very vividly one of them handing me my first play, and I judged my life before that moment and after that moment. I went to drama school for acting and fell in love with it for what I will deem are all the right reasons. After that, you move to New York, or you move to LA, and I wanted to work on new plays. And I moved to New York and the rest is history as they say.

Do you remember what your first play was?

Oh my gosh. I think I played Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird.

That’s incredible. Was there a definitive moment where you were like, “Wow, okay, I want to do this for the rest of my life?”

It’s all a bit of a blur. I think I knew even before I did my first play. It was (and still is) a high I’m chasing. It’s this cocktail of feeling like I can communicate in a way that I can’t in my real life, and escaping and learning about what it means to be a human being. I haven’t found a better way to do that. It was intoxicating, even as a kid. And as time has gone by, that’s just kind of accelerated that feeling rapidly.

When you look at performing on stage versus the screen, how are they different for you? Which do you prefer?

I feel infinitely more comfortable on stage. It’s how I trained, it’s what feels like acting to me, you know? I know so many actors who do both and each new film or TV project I do, I feel like I do fall in love with it more. But they are just so different. It’s a wildly different experience for the actor and they’re not, I feel, as close as many people will lead you to believe. They’re not siblings, those mediums, they’re more like cousins. The actors are way more in control on stage and are charged with the task of storytelling way more than they are in TV and film. It’s an editor’s job, a director’s job, to kind of craft the story in that way. And I just really enjoy the experience of starting a story and not leaving that story for two hours, maybe more. It’s so essential to TV and film that it sort of stops and starts out of order. That said, I’ve been very lucky to work on a lot of really great plays on and off Broadway. TV and film feel like the thing I know less about. And so, I have a curiosity that I don’t necessarily have when I start work on a new play. That’s been really fun. It’s been particularly great to have the same TV job for years because you’re not pitting it up against other TV shows or films, you’re just kind of pitting it up against itself. And that’s been useful and fun.

Turning to Abbott Elementary, when you look at the journey you’ve been through the past couple of years with the show, what would you say you’ve learned about yourself?

It’s a little bit corny, but honestly, being surrounded by so many kids every day has taught me to take myself less seriously. Subconsciously, my soul has been begging for a reason to take myself less seriously and being surrounded by a bunch of children whose proximity to play and make-believe and not getting bogged down by what the world is telling them or what other people think of them is an amazing experience. I’ve learned to be a little less precious about the work. I take it very seriously and I work very hard to prep every episode. But you know, we make the show so quickly that I’m finding that it works a little better, for me at least, if you can just sort of jump off a cliff and see what happens right in front of you, as opposed to trying to over control what’s going to happen. I’m just getting a little more comfortable, or a lot more comfortable, rather, with being uncomfortable.

With season three having just finished airing, have you immediately gone into filming season four?

The writer’s room started two days ago. They’ve been shot out of a cannon to try and craft our next chapter. But yeah, we get a bit of a break. The amazing thing about working as quickly as we do is we can do sort of a lot of work in not a lot of time. It’s pretty typical for us to shoot 22 episodes in six months. The cast at least has the other six months off, Quinta is excluded from that. The cast has the other six months of the year to do whatever they want, which is a real gift. But we will go back to shooting our fourth season in August.

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What are you doing with your six months? That’s a lot of time.

You know, speaking of things I’m trying to get used to, I consider myself a jobbing actor, and I’ve never really had a gig waiting for me. It’s been a bit of a transition to know that I don’t have to hustle for another job. I’m going to do a little theatre piece in New York over the summer, and I’m going to hopefully shoot a movie in July before we start back at Abbott but for the most part, I’m just trying to soak up the summer. I usually head back to the East Coast as soon as we wrap, so I will be there for the majority of it, seeing friends and family and partying in Brooklyn. 

I think that’s a good way to spend your time! A great way to recharge. When you read through the script for Abbott Elementary for the first time, what were your thoughts and feelings? How did you feel about Jacob on paper? What stuck out to you?

I had the same reaction that I tried to imbue the character with or pass along to the audience. It was really cringy. I simultaneously know people who are this sort of naïve and blindly enthusiastic. I think the point Quinta (Brunson) had in mind was somebody who would evoke that sort of response from you. And that was certainly the reaction that I had. I remember laughing out loud, which I rarely do, especially when reading a network pilot. And I thought, honestly, it didn’t seem like a network pilot. I was like if anybody has the guts to make this in the way that she intended it with the jokes that she intended. I feel like it could be amazing because I thought it was so special. As far as Jacob goes, I thought she did such a brilliant job of simultaneously dialling very specifically in on a kind of person, which she did with all seven of the regulars on the show, but leaving the door open and sort of lighting a curiosity about what has made them that way. I found myself feeling jealous at the thought of somebody else playing him. I always find that to be a good sign.

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What advice would you give to Jacob? Going into season four or in general?

Oh, man. In many ways, Jacob is significantly more effective in his day-to-day life than I am. He needs to give me advice. My gut is to tell him to join a yoga class maybe. What’s been so wonderful about getting to play this character for as long as I have is that you know, especially if we’re going to do a mockumentary, which is supposed to be duping you into believing that it’s real life at times, we’ve been able to show so many different colours of these people. And to lock them into the way that you think you know them or to make them cartoonish or two-dimensional I feel like it’s just not going anywhere. And it kind of insults the audience. I feel like I got to do a lot in this past year, what I would have said I wanted for Jacob last year. I’m hesitant to say what that is now because growth has been our priority. And, you know, Jacob got to win this last year, which I thought was cool. And we got to see what it was like to rip some of his closest relationships away from him, and what that does to a person. I dare say he probably has more advice for me than I have for him.

When you look at the profound effect Abbott Elementary has had, what has been the most meaningful moment you’ve had with a fan or somebody coming up to you on the street and just being like, “I love your show!” What has that been like for you?

Oh, God, it makes me more nervous than they are. Usually, when somebody comes up to me, I’m such a sponge for their nervousness. But it’s just an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. I know what it takes to go up to somebody that you don’t know and introduce yourself. And for the most part, people are just so generous and kind. It’s a great feeling. I’ll say that the teachers have told me that what we’re doing is relatable or that their job is even worse than the way we’re portraying which is terrifying, but also very gratifying. We’re making the show for them. I mean, we’re making the show for everybody. But Quinta is certainly operating from that perspective. And it’s very close to her. I think more than anything, hearing teachers say that they watched the show and like the show has been pretty rad.

Why would you say a show like Abbott Elementary is so well-received, especially now?

I can pin it on a couple of things. And those things are sort of a mix of just the unbridled genius of Quinta Brunson. I think whenever Quinta was given an opportunity to make a show it would be something great. She’s an incredible writer, a ridiculously good actor and an incredible leader. She’s just got it. Similarly, I think something had happened around the calling together of people for this project that seems rare to me. It’s only when you have an ensemble that you trust and are inspired by that you realize how often it is not the case. We’re also surrounded by huge, heavy hitters in terms of our crew. Really, really talented people who are working at the top of their game and so I think you can blame some of it on Quinta, and you can blame some of it on just I don’t know something you can’t explain. It’s kind of like a miracle. It’s kind of nebulous and ephemeral. It’s like the right people at the right time.

It’s lightning in a bottle.

Totally. That’s the phrase I was looking for that I couldn’t remember.

So, since we’re talking about the ensemble, I have to ask: How often do you try to make each other break or laugh on set? Was there ever a case where you got the giggles and couldn’t stop?

Yes, I’m so terrified to tell you about it. But I guess I will. Look, it’s season three, these people are my family. We are a company, an ensemble of actors that I feel trusts each other and enjoys ping pong-ing off each other. That mixed with the fact that there is a real air of collaboration and improvisation on our set means that my number one priority. I guess I shouldn’t say it’s my number one priority, Quinta will fire me, but a real joy of mine is to make my costars laugh. We’re trying to capture real moments on screen. I live for trying to tickle myself and the people that I’m working with. It’s hard to pick one particular moment. But I have to say that when Lisa’s (Ann Walter) character this season was asked to reprise her impressions of celebrities. I don’t know if it was just because it was the end of the day or because Lisa’s ridiculous and so good at doing bad impressions. I couldn’t keep it together. I’d like to believe that I’m the person on set who breaks the least. I tried to be as professional as I could. But for some reason, Lisa doing bad impressions is my kryptonite.

Which impression was the worst you’d say?

So many of them. I don’t watch our show because it just makes me in my head and because there’s no time to watch it while it’s airing. But I was watching that episode and sometimes I watch it because I’m just curious about which jokes made it in and which take they used and it sort of helps me keep up the arc of the season and what’s going on with Jacob in general. I don’t know which ones made it in. She was doing the ones that were written and then so many other dumb ones and then combinations of the two and I was like, I could live here forever.

I’m speaking of what makes it into the episode, how much freedom do you have to inject your ideas into the script?

I would say there’s a lot of freedom and not a lot of necessity to exercise it, the scripts come extremely well-baked, in my opinion. There’s not a lot that happens between the time that we read it at the table, and when we shoot it, which is also a bit of a fast and furious process. I think we are always kind of hungry to push the joke as far as we can to find the limits of what is on the page. But we have incredibly brilliant writers and it’s been one of those elements of that lightning-in-a-bottle sensation. I feel like the writing on the show is very strong, unpredictable, and funny. A lot of comedies are not funny. And so I rarely have the feeling where I need to punch up a joke, or that I need to change what’s there. 

Other than acting, what is your creative outlet? What is your favourite way to relax when you’re not working?

Is drinking wine a hobby?

I mean, my mom would say yes.

The beautiful thing about spending time in New York and LA I have found these last couple of years, is that they keep each other in check. When I’m out here shooting, I miss seeing theatre. And when I’m in New York, I miss hiking and going to dinner parties. There’s not a ton of downtime while we’re working. I tend to hibernate a bit and insulate myself from what I feel is going to have any sort of undue influence on getting my work done.

As you continue on this acting journey, what is one goal you have for the rest of the year?
I think I have two answers, it’s always been really hard for me to generate my own work, I’m really kind of addicted to this sensation of taking somebody else’s stuff and throwing it up against the wall and living with something in the in-between, in flux, in an unfinished product is very difficult for me. And so, by the end of this year, I would love to finish the script that I’ve started. Beyond that, similarly to this notion of not knowing where your next job is going to come from and finally having space where I know that I have something planned for the other half of the year that Abbott will be coming back, I feel like I’m in a position now more than ever to give back to the people who gave a lot to me. And so, trying to think about what that is and how that goes. But yeah, when you stop hustling for a moment, everything sort of falls into perspective. I’m just getting hit with these waves of immense gratitude and trying to think about how I can pay it forward.

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Interview Dana Reboe
Photography Ben Duggan
Styling Becky Thompson @ The Rex Agency
Grooming Dustin Von Osborne
Location The Ivory Space