Whether you're fully aware or not, you know Nicholas D'Agosto already. He was the star of 2011's actually quite good Final Destination 5. He's had turns in roughly a dozen different shows you probably watched, like House, Masters of Sex, and the critically acclaimed, gone-too-soon Review. His character on The Office, Hunter, is also responsible for one of the very best, most uncomfortable scenes in one of the show's very best, most uncomfortable episodes.
Now, he's starring in Trial and Error, NBC's new mockumentary sitcom in which a young lawyer (D'Agosto) from New York is sent to a small town in the south to defend Larry Henderson (John Lithgow), a local professor accused of murdering his wife. GQ recently spoke with D'Agosto about the show's great reception, where it can go from here, and, of course, how great John Lithgow is.
GQ: I think we're on a little bit of a phone delay here.
Nick D'Agosto: Great! I will be sure to interrupt you as much as possible, and mumble.
How have you felt about the response to Trial and Error so far?
Yeah! The response has been really positive. We're very happy.
And it's kind of only around for a short while.
Yeah, the first season is 13 episodes, but it'll be done in seven weeks. The first 12 episodes will be run in pairs. Week Seven is the closing episode.
And a sitcom coming in the middle of spring! In the middle of the traditional season, that's a little rare.
That was never a surprise. Networks have experienced a big shift, obviously, and have been talking about shifting their programming landscape to mirror how people consume television now because of Netflix and Amazon. And part of that is there really isn't a "fall" or "spring" anymore. They're bunching shows together in rapid seasons over a few weeks. We were never designed as a midseason replacement. If anything it's exciting because that's a really great slot for us.
And I'm so happy people are loving the show. Every actor ever talks about how great their show is, how much they love their cast, but I genuinely have always felt this show is something special. It's an honor. Top to bottom it's the best thing I've ever been involved with.
Do you feel like it helped having a more plot-driven focus than most network comedies to help the show find its feet so quickly?
Jeff Astrof (primary showrunner) was very clear from the beginning about what he wanted to be doing here, and that, I guess, comes from decades of experience. We've got a really good blend of young, smart writers, and then veteran writers who have all run their own shows. I think they understand that pressure of "finding your feet" that you were talking about. Another important thing is having Jeffrey Blitz, who had directed a few episodes of The Office, involved. One of the things I think was savvy of NBC was to bring him in, and he directed the first three episodes and the final episode. He has a very clear vision of how to ground the cast and the camera operators, who are themselves an enormous character in the show. This was a very smartly constructed team.
There are obvious parallels people will draw with this show and others like The Office and Parks and Rec.
I think people accept the premise of this show as absurd. You know, that's the most important thing; we're not in a real world. And that's where we get those Parks and Rec comparisons. One of the things I love, one of the most absurd elements... were you a fan?
Of course.
Do you remember the joke where all the Pawnee residents drink from the water faucet by putting their whole mouth around the faucet? That is one of my favorite Pawnee idiosyncrasies. It is so absurd and deeply funny, and I think people will allow us to do things that absurd. Pawnee also has that similar hopeful optimism: You may not be able to depend on these people, but you trust these people. I think that's where our show wins, if it wins for people.
So tell me about your character, Josh.
It's an interesting hybrid for the guy. He is a fish out the water. He's unaware of the arcane and idiosyncratic, social, legal, workings of this strange Southern town. But also he's kind of an outsider in New York, too. He's kind of lost. A very important trait in this role is that, these guys he's working with are totally, endearingly inept, but he stays there because he feels a kinship and trust in the authenticity of these people. It's a fun balance of getting to feel that inspiration of being part of a team but also... kind of being inept himself!
Now, to go back to the show's inherent optimism, there's also the small problem with one of your main characters maybe being a murderer. We've seen Dexter; we know John Lithgow can pull off pretty much anything. How does your character approach him? How do you, as an actor, approach someone like John Lithgow?
When you approach John Lithgow, subservience is the word. You're on your knees, you remove your shoes... [laughs] No, I cannot sing his praises enough. It's not hollow. He is as talented as he comes across. He's richly witty, intelligent. He's an extremely curious guy. The thing I always talk about with him, though, beyond the accolades is his enthusiasm. He loves acting. We work long hours, and particularly in this format, there's not a lot of resetting. We may do 15 or 20 takes most of the time. That can be exhausting, but he's sprightly! And deeply fun! I had the great joy of getting to do the most work with him.
As far as the character... I think the thing that drives Josh early, he does trust Larry, but he is wary of Larry. But part of it is now he has risked his young career on this guy. Early, he's driven by fear to some extent, that he has to figure out a way to get Larry free. There are times he's conflicted and has those moments of "Well, I'm not the first guy to get someone off who's guilty."
Apart from Josh's relationship with Larry, is there someone else on the show you particularly liked working with?
Well, as you've probably realized by now, I don't do things simply. I talk for a very long time about almost nothing [laughs] that's my thing. Simply, the truth is everyone is so good. But the most exciting relationship that we're still seeing evolve is with Jayma Mays, between Josh and Carol Anne Keane. Working with Jayma, those scenes become so... deranged. [laughs] We had so much fun, the writers had so much fun digging into that. I haven't seen a lot of her stuff, I've only seen snippets of Glee, and she was on The Millers, but she's whip-smart and so funny.
Do you think people are going to be surprised by the ending of this show?
I do, I hope so. I would be shocked if anywhere near the majority of people had figured it out yet. You could; we lay the groundwork early. But there are so many twists and turns that happen along the way, and so many red herrings. I'm excited to see how people react.
Anything else you'd like people to know?
Yeah. Very briefly, I just wanna say: I was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1980 to a young couple named— [laughs] I'm just kidding.