Retired at 35 is back for its second season with some big changes brewing. Sibling rivalry heats up now that David's sister Amy (played by Marissa Jaret Winokur) is in town, and David just may have found a girlfriend who can deal with all his baggage... and his parents!
We talked with star Johnathan McClain to get the scoop on working with Marissa, getting a longtime love interest and more!
What can you tell us about season 2 and your character?
Johnathan: Well, in season 2 the show has evolved from being mostly about a guy giving up his job and living with his parents into much more of a family comedy. It's been incredibly valuable for my character to have the character of his sister added back in. He now has someone his own age, with whom he has an intimate history, to play off, and that has made a world of difference in where we're able to take the stories. It's just a much more rounded ensemble, which is important because in comedy the ensemble rules the day. With an ensemble, you get to have many different story branches for the audience to follow, which makes for more lively storytelling. I'm happy for audiences to see the ways in which the show has grown, and where it goes and is going.
David has had a few love interests so far. Who do you think has been the most compatible for him and why?
If I had to pick I suppose I'd say that he's been most compatible with Jen, his girlfriend in the upcoming season, played by Danneel Ackles. I say that largely because she's the one with whom he has the longest and most successful run. I don't know if it's even compatibility so much as he simply takes longer to screw it up. In the first season, he sleeps with his eventual girlfriend's mom before he and Jessica are even dating; he gets along great with a girl called Lila, played by the awesome Ashley Williams, until she finds out he's in love with someone else and she's kind of a placeholder; and y'know, anybody he brings home is going to be getting taken to the retirement community where he lives with his parents. The character Danneel plays in season 2 just happens to be incredibly tolerant and understanding of all David's foibles, for reasons passing understanding. That's love I guess.
What do you generally think of people who still live with their parents? If you could give David one piece of advice, what would it be?
I have no judgement of anyone doing anything, seriously. So my opinion of people living with their parents would be based on given circumstances. I assume most people who still live with or move back in with their parents do it out of some kind of necessity. It's funny on TV, but I'll bet it's a drag in your folks' living room. Here's what I know - I couldn't do it. I get annoyed with myself for being all up in my OWN business, so having someone else knowing what I'm doing and watching over me all the time would drive me nuts. If I could offer David one piece of advice I suppose it would be -- dude, you gotta put a lock on your bedroom.
Marisa Jaret Winokur is joining the cast this season as your character’s sister, how will the show’s dynamic change? What's it like working with her?
I sort of touched on this before, but adding the sister character as a full-blown entity has enriched the show in huge ways. As I said, comedy is best when it's an ensemble, and in a "family comedy" the family is the ensemble. We were building a puzzle without all the pieces and now we have a complete picture. Thus the possibilities for ways to take the show are exponentially increased and that's been very satisfying. But beyond the value of just adding the character of Amy is that getting ahold of Marissa Jaret Winokur to play her has felt like an enormous score. Marissa is a total rock star and also has a big, fun, powerful personality, which is essential when you're walking onto a set like ours where there's already some pretty big energy at play. I can't say enough good things about Marissa Jaret Winokur. Simply put: I love her.
How has your character evolved from last season? Has David matured at all? Do you want him to get serious with anyone yet?
The writers have a good time playing with David in a one-step forward, two-steps back kind of a way, so he's definitely growing and maturing but he's doing it slowly and hiccuping a bit along the way. In terms of how he feels like he's playing for me, he's certainly a lot calmer and more balanced than he was in the first season. He's living in a retirement community, spending his parents' money, so you gotta figure that'll chill anybody out. I think that the next step in David's journey would absolutely be find a serious girlfriend. Maybe someone with whom he could really see having a future. That would cause him to have to face some serious issues. Do they all live in his parents' place? What do they do for money? Etc. He'd have to see if his big boy pants still fit, and that could be cool I think.
Who would be your dream on-screen love interest for David?
If I could have anyone in the entire world play David's on-screen love interest it'd have to be... somebody like Anne Hathaway. I think that chick hung the moon. She can flow evenly between comedy and drama, hits the right notes of vulnerable but strong... sings... Somebody like that would be, obviously, delightful. I mean either her or Betty White, but Betty's on another show on the same network, so I'm not sure how the contracts would work, but we can have the lawyers figure it out.
What has it been like working with George Segal and Jessica Walter?
I love working with George and Jessica like I love macaroons, which if you've seen me going to town on a macaroon, you know that's a lot. I admire them both so much. They have an unrelenting work ethic and they aren't afraid to look silly or foolish to get a laugh, and they're just...pros. They are entitled to massive egos, but their egos are only medium to large at best. Seriously though, it's awesome. As George was leaving the wrap party this year, he took me by the back of the neck and said, "I love you pal." It's maybe the single most meaningful moment I've ever had with another actor off screen or off stage. And I now hope he doesn't read that I told the story and beat me up for sharing our private moment. That'd be so awkward.
What has been your most memorable moment on set so far?
In one of the first scenes I had alone with Marissa when she joined the cast this season, we had to have one of those brother/sister fights that spins comedically out of control. We had shot the scene a couple of times and so I was pretty sure we had it when they asked if we wanted to do it again. I said yeah because I wanted to try something really crazy and over the top, even though I knew it'd probably be too much, but I just wanted to play with the scene. So we did it and when it got to the part in the fight where I wanted to push it, I started jumping around like a maniac and flapping my arms and just totally going for it. I had no idea how Marissa would react since I hadn't told her what I was planning (and since honestly, I wasn't even sure myself). And man, rather than be freaked out or thrown, she actually did the same thing back to me when her cue came. It was awesome, and totally in character, like a sister mocking her brother. And I lost it. Bust out laughing. I couldn't keep it together. And I just thought, "Oh yeah. It's on. I've totally got some serious backup here." When you jump and your scene partner is there to catch you, it's the best feeling in the world.
How did you get involved in the FUNNYORDIE videos, and what has the response been to them?
My long-time friend Adam Stein, who's in the Funny Or Die videos with me, came to me with a sketch he'd written about Rick Santorum. Adam used to write for Damages which, while not known as the funniest show on TV, is excellently written and so was the sketch he'd penned. We know some people at Funny Or Die and they thought it was funny too, so they put it on the home page and it did pretty well, so we decided to keep going. It also gives us a chance to work with our friends and just play and have fun. We just shot one with Michael Emerson from Lost and Person of Interest. We also feel like politics is any easy thing to make jokes about, because it's kind of absurd. On some level it's a popularity contest and a referendum on who offends us least. So we decided to take on the role of these two behind the scenes guys who are kind of idiots and have no loyalty, but are addicted to the process and to winning. We're not choosing sides particularly, or trying to push our politics on anyone, we're just making fun of it all because we think it's silly. And we both realize we never have any hope of winning a political office, and if we did before, we sure won't now.
Have you had any memorable fan experiences?
I was at the gym once, and was lifting weights while happening to be standing between Jeff Goldblum and Sam Rockwell. This dude approached us and to my surprise, addressed me, and asked if I was Johnathan McClain. I checked in the mirror, and sure enough I was me, so I said yes. He said some nice things about how he liked my work and thought I was good actor and stuff, and then he walked away. I kind of sheepishly looked at Rockwell and Goldblum, who probably weren't even paying attention, and I quietly put the weights down and moved away. I'll always remember that not because it was the most amazing experience I've ever had (though it makes for a fun story), but because it's the moment I realized that the thing we call celebrity is one hundred percent bestowed upon you by other people. It's totally relative and only means something if it means something to someone else. It's got nothing to do with "you" or who "you" are. So that was a cool realization and a neat chestnut to tuck away. In retrospect, the only thing I wish I had done differently is to have gotten Rockwell and Goldblum's autographs. I've tried to sell my own on Ebay and I'll bet I could get WAY more for theirs. I should see if I can sell George Segal's.
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