I’ve interviewed a lot of successful people, but Asher Grodman is the first to become well-known largely without pants. Grodman performs Trevor, the forever-trouserless finance bro on CBS’s hit comedy Ghosts. (Backstory on his wardrobe: On the show, Trevor died while pantsless, hence his spirit is without end pantless in the afterlife.)
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On the eve of Ghost’s eagerly awaited Halloween particular (look for it on-demand, trust me), I spoke to Grodman over video from his trailer. We talked about the abilities, mindset and willpower it took for him to break into an industry that is famously unattainable to break into. His secret? Don’t be afraid to look foolish every now and then.
First query, because I can’t inform on this video call: Are you sporting pants?
I am at this second sporting pants, but I’ve got about two hours left of pantness in my life.
Are there days where you want the writers wrote your character otherwise, or do you embrace the pantlessness?
There are never days that I want they wrote it otherwise, but there are actually days where you’re just like, pants would be so beautiful. When I get to do something else and I get to put on pants, it feels like such a energy transfer. But as a man who had never finished a comedy when we began this factor off, the concept of me not sporting pants was form of like a security web because I was like, “Well, if I don’t hit a joke, they’ll just switch up the angle and reveal my thighs, and that should get a chuckle at least.”
Imposter syndrome is a huge factor. People face a huge second and think, “I’ve never done this before — I shouldn’t be doing this.” How did you get yourself in the proper headspace for comedy?
I bear in mind I auditioned and I think it was Joe Port, one of our showrunners, who was like, “Who are you? You’ve never done a comedy.” And do bear in mind saying — I don’t know where this came from — that comedy is just drama but more critical. You’re just dedicated to being an fool, to some degree, or whatever the factor asks you to be. The first line Trevor ever says is, “We scooped a copter to beat the traffic out to the Hamptons because that’s how we roll.” It’s just such a particular level of view and a particular man. I was like, I know who this is, and a lot of my job is going to be to get out of the manner of the comedy, because that’s working, and just make sure that there is a coronary heart to this man. I approached it as an actor. I didn’t strategy it with the intention of, I have to make this humorous.
So what’s the most Hollywood factor in your fancy trailer?
This is going to be actually disappointing, because we actually haven’t been in these trailers since season two. Our crew here in Montreal constructed this forged village where we all have our own little rooms, our own little workplaces with couches in them, and that’s the most Hollywood factor. But in the center is that long Thanksgiving-style desk, and that’s where we sit and work and play and goof off, and we get rowdy.
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When visitor stars come on the show, they have trailers and stuff that they can go to, but we form of invite them to sit on those couches with us or sit around the desk with us. So they’re form of half of this gaggle of idiots. Often in this show, to use a sports activities analogy, the ball gets handed around a lot. We’ve all had the expertise of being on other reveals and feeling like you’re the man who was called in to do one play and then they all beat you up on the sideline. So we need it to be a actually welcoming place. When I think of my happiest locations in the world, that desk is one of them.
You’re a huge Jaguars fan. How did your “NFL is scripted” viral video collection come collectively, and where did you get the guts to pitch it?
I’ve been a Jaguars fan from day one, since I was eight. And I’ve been very vocal about that. Someone from the group called me as season one of Ghosts was airing and requested, “Is this real?” I instructed them yes, and that hiring Urban Meyer was the dumbest choice in the historical past of skilled sports activities. So she was like, “Okay, you’re a real Jaguars fan.” So they introduced me into the household. There was this magical season in 2022 where they won the division and went into the playoffs, and there were all these conspiracy theories about the NFL being scripted. So I recommended doing a full mockumentary about the NFL truly being scripted and they were like, “Why don’t you write and direct it?” And I was like, nicely, I got a actually soft factor going on here as the outsider. I’m sitting with the proprietor and watching these video games on the sideline, and I actually don’t need to wreck that, because if you’re going to blame anyone when it fails, you’re going to blame me. But we did it and it was the most joyful artistic expertise I’ve had in my life. We shot that complete factor in two days. It was like 42 scenes. Trevor Lawrence is a main character in it, and I think we had him for half-hour. So Ghosts has taught me to shoot fast.
What advice do you have for creators who haven’t damaged through yet, besides “stick to it”?
The stick-to-it factor is not improper. Support yourself, take care of yourself, because it is a little bit about just how many at-bats you get. You can have a hundred auditions and get one. That’s not a reflection of expertise. There are so many circumstances outside of your control. I think as much as you can, you need to develop a sense of confidence. And I’m still struggling with this: a sense of confidence without ego. A way of embracing the unknown and embracing being improper and being silly, but also holding on to the confidence and the self-worth to keep making an attempt. To really feel snug in failure. That’s actually important. And show up. For auditions, I get such a thrill strolling into a room and assembly a reader who I don’t know and figuring out a manner to take this factor that’s written on the web page and making it really feel like we’re improvising. It is just an electric, thrilling factor. Be in the second.
I’ve interviewed a lot of successful people, but Asher Grodman is the first to become well-known largely without pants. Grodman performs Trevor, the forever-trouserless finance bro on CBS’s hit comedy Ghosts. (Backstory on his wardrobe: On the show, Trevor died while pantsless, hence his spirit is without end pantless in the afterlife.)
Subscribe to Entrepreneur’s How Success Happens podcast: Apple | Spotify | YouTube
On the eve of Ghost’s eagerly awaited Halloween particular (look for it on-demand, trust me), I spoke to Grodman over video from his trailer. We talked about the abilities, mindset and willpower it took for him to break into an industry that is famously unattainable to break into. His secret? Don’t be afraid to look foolish every now and then.