Abbott Elementary Star Chris Perfetti Enjoys Playing Less Tragic Character
Chris Perfetti, who plays the lovable, but sometimes overly talkative history teacher Jacob Hill on Abbott Elementary, opens up about how he enjoys playing a character that was a complete 180 from his previous roles. Already renewed for a second season, Abbott Elementary is a mockumentary-style sitcom that premiered on ABC in December of 2021. From creator, writer, and star Quinta Brunson, the show follows the day-to-day experiences of her character Janine Teagues as a 2nd grade teacher with and her students and co-workers at an elementary school in Philadelphia. The show deftly navigates the realities of being public school teachers, from being underfunded and having inadequate leadership, to the satisfaction of getting to make a real impact on student’s lives.
Alongside Brunson and Perfetti, Abbott Elementary stars Sheryl Lee Ralph, Tyler James Williams, and Lisa Ann Walter as their fellow teachers with Janelle James as their inept principal. Perfetti’s character of Jacob shares a special bond with Janine as they both started at Abbott at the same time, and they’re both guilty of meaning well and having to handle the mixed results of their actions. This more light-hearted role is a departure from Perfetti’s previous parts including playing Harlan in The Sound of Metal, a recurring role as Ben on the CW’s crime drama In the Dark, and a current starring role in a production of King Jamesat the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago.
In an interview with EW, Perfetti revealed that he thoroughly enjoyed getting to work with Brunson in a role that when reading the script made him laugh out loud in public, and was a complete departure from his previous roles that were more “troubled and tragic characters.” He describes his current role of Jacob as more of a “Shakespearean clown” that was part of what drew him to the character in the first place. His full comment regarding the question of if the role was daunting and his character’s relationship with Brunson’s Janine can be read below:
“No, not daunting. I mean, well, it's still a thing now that you've said it now [Laughs]. I don't know. It just was always very clear to me. When I read something for the first time, I enjoy it when it passes the two tests, which are: Does it make me laugh out loud in a public place? And would I be jealous if somebody else were doing it? And it passed both of those, so I always just felt like the character was extremely clear. I could see that person in the world. There's a lot of overlap with Jacob and Janine in terms of what they're after, but they're obviously very different in a million ways too. He was always described to me as the best friend or the brother that everybody wishes they had had, and like Janine, he is ferociously loyal and well-intentioned, obviously to a fault most of the time. They're both kind of these social puppies. They're overachievers, and Jacob is certainly like a nervous wreck. I view him as sort of like a Shakespearean clown. I'm typically cast as these darker brooding, troubled and tragic characters, and Jacob is obviously a total 180 from that. So yeah, that's how he was described and what attracts me to him.”
When actors are cast outside of roles they’ve been typecast in, such as Perfetti mentions, they can have a lot more fun exploring their character because it grants them a greater degree of creativity. In the case of the character of Jacob, Perfetti's enjoyment stems from a switch of playing serious hard-edged characters, to being a goofy teacher just trying to handle his students and his relationship with his boyfriend. Playing the character of Jacob has granted Perfetti the opportunity to work closely alongside Brunson as her on-screen best friend, and the relationship between the two well-intentioned teachers is one of the show’s many highlights. Hopefully the two actors can continue to explore their roles and have fun on a show that has done so well partially due to the stellar chemistry amongst the ensemble cast.
With Abbott Elementary scoring ratings rivaling that rival Modern Family's finale and a renewal for season 2 already on the table, the cast have quickly risen to stardom with creator Quinta Brunson even getting to attend the Oscars last Sunday. As the show gains more popularity and name recognition, stars like Perfetti will likely have more choices regarding what types of roles they want to accept in the future. Whatever Perfetti chooses to do next, whether acting for the screen or the stage, his time as Jacob on Abbott Elementary will likely be a role he never forgets.
Source: EW