Luke Tennie on ‘Shrinking,’ ‘The Pitt’ and ‘Abbott Elementary’
Luke Tennie in Shrinking
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It’s been nearly impossible to not see Luke Tennie on a television screen over the last few months.
The 31-year-old actor returned to Apple’s hit television show Shrinking for season three, starring as Sean. The series, which has already been renewed for a fourth season, has allowed the actor to grow into his character over the years. Tennie’s become comfortable in the role, even pitching a potential story idea for Sean to the show’s creator, Bill Lawrence.
Tennie says he pitched his character Sean becoming a leader in his own way through a veterans’ therapy group, and Lawrence ended up incorporating it into the series. “[I pitched] that Sean would now be a sort of leader in his own sort of category, his own crew, and making sure that other vets like him have help,” he says.
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“We’ve watched this character for so long. He’s somebody that really seems like purpose is something that gives him a reason to get up out of bed. And now he’s got the girl, he’s got the friend, he’s got the job, with food, he’s even got the hobby, with the martial arts,” the actor adds. “What’s that thing that’s going to get him out of bed when he really doesn’t feel like it? Helping others just like Jimmy. The fact that he incorporated that; I will be proud of for the rest of my life.”
Tennie quickly jokes that he pitched Lawrence another idea that the writer and executive quickly shot down. “I feel very happy with where Sean’s at, largely in part because it’s a great show, and I’m happy with where everyone’s at,” the actor says. “But also largely in part because one of the premier showrunner, creator, writers in Hollywood thought I had a good idea. That makes me feel nice.”
Being given the chance to grow in the character of Sean has seemingly been a blessing for Tennie, and it’s allowed the character to take on Tennie’s own interests and for Tennie to take on some of Sean’s interests. “We ended up exchanging things. The writers asked me what [I thought] would be fun to explore as Sean, and I suggested cooking. That’s something that I gave him,” he explains.
“Something that he gave me was martial arts,” Tennie adds. “I now train in Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu because when I did it as Sean, I thought it was nice and wanted [to] keep doing it. I have my blue belt in jiu-jitsu now.”
Sean is the character the actor’s been with the longest, he notes. “He’s the character that has grown the most, not just because of the time I’ve played him, but because he’s somebody who it was clear to the writers, he needed to grow,” he says. “I feel like we both helped each other grow.”
There’s a bit of security in knowing the show is continuing on, and it’s not always a guarantee, but Tennie notes that’s there’s a bit of anxiety that comes along with furthering the story. “We did a great thing with season three, but I’m starting to feel these nerves [about] how we responsibly revisit these characters’ lives and tell a story that’s true to our original plan, and at the same time, make sure that our message still comes through,” he explains, adding that the characters can not just be the same people.
“When Bill told us there was going to be a season four, which that dude got the utmost confidence — He hollered at us before we wrapped season three. He was like, ‘The writers and I, we in the room grinding all this, but it’s going to be different, guys,’” Tennie recalls.
The actor says that Lawrence told the cast that the last people would want to see is for the first episode of season four to have the characters be doing the same thing they were doing in the first episode of the series.
“That excites me and also terrifies me,” he admits. “I’ve really figured out Sean and season four Sean, he’s going to be a different dude.”
In addition to his continued work on Shrinking, Tennie’s found himself in a rare situation for an actor — he’s featured in three major, buzzy television shows at the same time with a recurring spot on Abbott Elementary and a place The Pitt’s night shift.
The HBO Max medical drama is a show