Warren Kole (‘Yellowjackets’): ‘Does Jeff have psychological problems too? Or is he just a scaredy cat?’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
“‘Yellowjackets’ just hit the bullseye,” says Warren Kole, who plays Jeff Sadecki in the Showtime drama series. “I’ve never been a part of anything so well-received. You know you’ve captured an audience when everyone is thoughtfully theorizing about what’s motivating, what’s next and what’s underneath the story and the characters.” Watch the exclusive video interview above.
Fresh off seven Emmy nominations for Season 1, the sophomore cycle kicked off March 26. After killing her lover (Peter Gadiot) in a fit of paranoia, Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) must evade Detective Kevyn Tang (Alex Wyndham) and keep her friends from discovering that the mastermind behind Season 1’s extortion attempt is her kindly and indebted furniture-salesman husband, Jeff (Kole).
Jeff and Shauna’s relationship is explored deeper as more secrets come to the surface. Kole jokes that Lynskey “is a problem” to work with. “All of this attention that she’s getting is clearly going to her head,” he jokes. “She’s not thinking about how hard this is for the rest of us when she comes in and just blows through and obviously has superior instincts…and intuitions…and steals all the scenes!” He explains how his training allows him to keep up with the Emmy-nominated actress, before stating, “It’s been a real pleasure with her, she’s very generous.”
While discussing his character, Kole asks, “Does he have some psychological problems too? How much is he going to put up with? Is he being loyal or is he just a scaredy cat?” The actor continues, “I don’t need to know a whole bunch. There are plot points where I ask, if Jeff knows it maybe I can know this too? That’s helpful for me. Maybe not for everybody. But the writers and creators have a really strong outline of what’s going on. For the characters just to deal with what’s in front of them totally works. Just be honest to what the scenes are and keep that tension.”
Kole also reminisces about working with Jennifer Lopez and the late Ray Liotta on “Shades of Blue” for two years. “I learned a lot from [Liotta] and I miss that guy.”
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