IN CONVERSATION WITH MARK TALLMAN

interview by JANA LETONJA

Mark Tallman stars alongside Jon Hamm, Olivia Munn, and Amanda Peet in the new hit Apple TV+ series ‘Your Friends and Neighbors’, which premiered on April 11th. The series everybody is talking about has already received an early renewal for Season 2. Prior to this, Mark is best known for his starring role as David Montgomery in three seasons of the BET+/Netflix series ‘First Wives Club’.

‘Your Friends and Neighbors’ has been generating a lot of buzz, even before its premiere. What drew you to the role of Nick Brandes?

First and foremost, the writing. Within the first few minutes of reading the opening scenes, I said to myself “This thing is already living and breathing well before any of us, as actors, have started to breathe life into these characters.” The words were dancing off the pages. Most of my favorite characters in TV, film and theater exist within a space of constant conflict, and Jonathan Tropper wrote this character precisely in that vein of conflicting awkwardness. He’s forced to put on a lot of brave faces while perhaps covering up some underlying anger, jealousy, frustration, and more. Oh, and he’s a former NBA All-Star. I’m a former athlete, so a chance to play a role of an athlete had me chomping at the bit to show and prove for all my athletes out there who cringe at the sight of watching non-athletes portray athletes on screen.

The show explores secrets, deception, and betrayal in an affluent neighborhood. How does Nick fit into that world, and what can audiences expect from his character’s arc?

I love this question. Yes, since we discover right away that Nick essentially steals his best friend’s wife, he is, in fact, a key player in this web of secrets, deception, and betrayal. But he’s also very loyal and loving. And we see these characteristics play out over the season as Nick fights for both his friendship with Coop and his relationship with Mel. It can also be easy to look at my character as a trope or stereotypically showy Black athlete, music star, comedian, or what have you. But that is real. Nick is real. He’s endearing. Unlike the other starring roles in our series, my character doesn’t come from money. He didn’t inherit his wealth or affluent lifestyle. 

The same ambition that drove him to bust his ass to become a successful NBA player continues to drive him to be successful in his post-NBA career as a businessman and entrepreneur. And the flashiness we see in his attire, jewelry, house, and so forth is less so a display of braggadocios cockiness and more so a celebration of coming from nothing and having earned everything. It’s not a portfolio of inherited wealth, but instead, qualities such as his charisma, ambition, magnetic personality, and charming smile, which surely represents a blanketing of deeper emotions, that allow for him to fit so seamlessly into this world of affluence. I take great pride in breathing these things into Nick and couldn’t be more honored to play such a nuanced character.

Coop and Nick were once best friends, but now they have a major rivalry. Without giving too much away, how does that tension play out on screen?

Our characters absolutely share some interesting tension on screen. Nick has been one of Coop’s best friends for quite some time, but the series starts off with audiences watching them as “frenemies” at best. Fortunately, Jon and I have a great relationship off screen. We’re usually either joking around or talking about sports. He’s a funny dude. And, like myself, he’s a pretty big guy, and you don’t grow up in the south like he did, with God-given size, and not play sports. So, that sports background we share has been a natural thing for us to vibe on. I think the combination of our chemistry on and off screen helps us in making that tension between our characters more believable. And I think believable art starts with trust between the actors playing the roles.

What was it like working with Jon Hamm, Olivia Munn, and Amanda Peet? Do you have any favorite moments from set?

Jon Hamm, Olivia Munn, and Amanda Peet, I mean, what’s not to love? Working with Jon has been an absolute dream. As an award-winning actor, his talent is undeniable. But for me, it’s bigger than that. It’s his work ethic that’s inspired me. Hamm is a pro’s pro. He’s always prepared and is a very generous actor, in that he always gives us fellow actors so much to work with and is reciprocally present and responsive across from us. And, with him also serving as an Executive Producer on the project, his leadership qualities are second to none. And I love me some Olivia Munn and Amanda Peet. They’re both so sweet, so talented, and, something I didn’t know before working with them, so funny. 

Olivia will cut you right down to the ground and smile while doing it, which you’ll see throughout the series. In fact, I’m still not sure whether I know when she’s joking and when she’s not. And with Amanda, I literally can’t remember a moment between takes where she wasn’t cracking me up. So much so, I’m already thinking about a way to get her back while we’re filming season 2, because she carried one too many of those in-between-takes-laugh-fests right into some of our not-so-funny scenes. She and I would even do goofy dances in front of each other to lighten the mood for filming some of our intimate scenes. And the three of us can also relate with each other’s circumstances as parents in this industry. It can be especially difficult to thrive in your roles as parents while doing the job we do, traveling, working the hours we work, so it’s been comforting to work alongside folks who can relate to one another as parents on and off screen.

Since Nick is a retired NBA star, did you have to undergo any specific training or preparation to portray that background authentically?

They offered to hire a basketball specialist and shooting coach, but I was proud to show them they could save their money in that department. I was a Division 1 college football player and earned All-Star honors in football, basketball, and baseball in high school, so I was very comfortable with whatever they had in mind for my character as a former NBA All-Star. But as well-rounded as my sports background is, I, however, did not have any experience with the sports of affluent leisure, like tennis, swimming, golf, etc., that they wanted me to also be comfortable with, so I took full advantage of the professional lessons they offered for those. You all will have to tell me how I did with the swimming and tennis once you watch the series.

What was the biggest challenge in bringing Nick to life?

In an interview with Deadline, our creator and showrunner, Jonathan Tropper, said “Probably our hardest bit of casting was Mark Tallman, because we needed him to play a guy who had slept with his friend's wife, but you still believe him to be an earnest, sincere, sympathetic guy, and happens to be a former pro athlete. Let me tell you something, it's a tall order, pun intended. He took us the longest to cast. We went through everybody. We knew we could find somebody really sexy who might not be funny. We could find someone really funny who you don't buy as sexy. And we needed to believe this is somebody Mel would be in a relationship with. It was a lot of work to find him. And we ended up finding him in our backyard in Brooklyn.” So, naturally, I felt a lot of pressure to live up to the purpose and conception they had in mind for this character.

You’re also known for your work on ‘First Wives Club’. How did working on a drama like ‘Your Friends and Neighbors’ compare to a comedy-drama series like ‘First Wives Club’?

The first thing that comes to mind for me is how both projects showcase strong female characters, played by supremely talented actresses. In terms of comparing the two as drama vs comedy, I actually don’t approach one much differently from the other. Aside from maybe a timing factor associated with making comedy pop, you still really do the same work for each, live as truthfully as you can within the given circumstances presented by the writing. And the writing in both projects is stellar. 

Lastly, similar to my experience as a teammate and leader during my athletic career, on acting projects, each person is a vital member of a team. And that team’s success usually relies quite heavily on its leadership. Being trusted by Tracy Oliver to bring her, meaningful, fun, nuanced pieces of work to life was an absolute honor. And earning the opportunity of being a pivotal character in a Jon Hamm-lead Jonathan Tropper brainchild has been a dream come true.

You’ve played a range of characters. Do you gravitate more toward drama, comedy, or a mix of both?

My answer here would be very similar to what I explained in my answer above regarding my approach to drama vs comedy. I essentially do the same work in my approach to both, so it doesn’t make a difference to me. I genuinely love both. I feel like my look has influenced productions to cast me in more drama than comedy. I don’t really have a charactery look, per se. But I think getting the opportunity to showcase more of my personality over the span of my career has led to more and more opportunities for me to work on comedic projects. At the end of the day, drama or comedy, I just love to act.

‘Your Friends and Neighbors’ has already been renewed for Season 2, ahead of the premiere of Season 1. What excites you most about continuing this story?

Oh, I see what you’re doing, trying to get me in trouble, asking about Season 2. Okay, I think I can do this in a safe way. So, with Nick being as jovial and non-confrontational as he is throughout most of season 1, I feel like there’s a lot of room for our writers to expand on his storyline. Is Nick hiding something behind that smile of his? Is there some dirt on him for audiences to discover? Will his business ventures continue to be successful, or no? What will his love-life look like in season 2? We shall see. I’d also love for audiences to see more of the friendship between Coop, Nick and Barney. I say that for selfish reasons as well. We had a great time together during the 1st season.

Tell us more about yourself and your other passions outside of acting.

At this point in my life, it’s all about my family. With schedules as complicated as ours, my wife, Jessica and I are intentional about scheduling consistent date nights for ourselves, especially since we spend so much of our “free time” driving our children to what feels like 100 soccer practices and games every week. I know all my fellow youth sports parents out there feel my pain. And we love every second of it. I’m also a hardcore foodie and sports junkie, so I’m usually either hunting down the next best bite or cocktail (I also make a mean cocktail) I can get my hands on or busy being the loudest person at any stadium or arena I can score tickets to.

What can you share with us about your other upcoming projects? 

My main upcoming project is Season 2 of ‘Your Friends and Neighbors’. We’re just getting started on filming our 2nd season with Apple TV+, so I’ll be locked into this for the next 5 months. And no, I’m not telling you all a single thing about it. Just know that it’s going to be good.

CREDITS:

photography ORION BUSTAMANTE 
styling SEPPE TIRABASSI 
hair and makeup LAURA COSTA