‘It's very daunting': Luke Kirby on taking the lead in ‘Étoile' after playing ‘vampire' Lenny Bruce in ‘Mrs. Maisel'

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2 days ago

The last time we saw Luke Kirby on our screens, he was admittedly in not great shape, playing Lenny Bruce on the downward slope of his career in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Luckily, Kirby is now officially a member of the Palladino-verse — and the husband-and-wife creative team of Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino centered him in their new ballet dramedy Étoile, which debuted last month on Prime Video. Kirby stars as Jack MacMillan, the head of a New York ballet company who engages in a talent swap with a Paris troupe in a bid to revive interest in both. Naturally, hilarity, romance and plenty of dance ensue.
'I'm really happy with how people are responding to the dynamism of the story, the kinetic energy of it, how different it is from our last endeavor,' Kirby tells Gold Derby. 'And I think the biggest thing is just people saying the show grows as the episodes go on, that it does work as a big movie where things are revealed episode to episode where by the end, you have this very rich tapestry of information for these characters and this endeavor to keep their art alive.'
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Here, Kirby tells Gold Derby what it means to step into the spotlight, who he thinks Jack should end up with, and what he wants to see next season.
Gold Derby: This may be the first show in the Palladino-verse that has a male lead.
Luke Kirby: Well, you know, I'm a womanish man.
What did it mean to you to have them write this part with you in mind?
It's very flattering. And it's very daunting. The biggest comfort that I get from it is that alongside me, they managed to cull together this incredible group of actors to work with. The show does feel like an ensemble piece, and there is nothing better than finding a unit and becoming a kind of organism in a way where you're together rising as a company. That's the best thing that you can hope for.
SEE'Étoile' cast and creators on fast-talking, mean drunks, and what they learned from 'Gilmore Girls'
How much did you know about Jack's arc when you first signed on?
With Amy and Dan, I don't really ask questions. I mean, it's funny with television. If you're not in the writers' room, you have to be selective as an actor as to when you make suggestions or even ask questions. Obviously, there's important things to know, but the biggest thing that I find helps me is that it relates to real life in that you don't know what's coming. And so just putting your faith in that, the unknown and then being richly surprised every time a new episode comes out is kind of a great adventure.
How much research did you have to do? How familiar were you with the ballet world?
I would say, in an adjacent orbit. I started studying theater in high school, and I really became quite passionate about it after ninth grade. I really felt compelled by this world and decided as a teenager that it was a world that I could endeavor into. I didn't know if I had talent; all I knew is that everybody I met told me it was going to be really hard. I put this room in my mind where I would have a hot plate and some ramen noodles and a cot. And I said, I'll be good with that. … And then my cousin was studying ballet, and so we were kind of like two trains running side by side in our endeavors. So I was familiar with just how much dedication was required and how competitive, the heartbreak that comes with injury, and rejection and everything else. But this was a wholly new big education.
Is it harder to play Jack or Lenny Bruce? Is it easier to invent somebody?
With Lenny, all I had to do was open the window at night and then invite the vampire in. I really got to get out of the way at a certain point, something was really happening where it was just time travel and I got to smoke cigarettes. With Jack, it felt like it was more coming out of the mud. It felt a little closer to home in some ways. I'd say I spent more time with Jack in his boyhood than I did with Lenny. I really feel like I understand Jack's childhood in a way that is representative of the man he is today. With both of those characters, I do feel a drive that I do think is similar to that vision of a door closing. Lenny clearly felt that something needed to get done quickly, and I do feel like Jack has the same sensation. It's not that the wolves are at the door per se, but that there's something of a purpose that he needs, a job needs to get done that he needs to do. And if he doesn't do it, Rome will fall.
SEE'Étoile' star Gideon Glick: 'I've made a career out of playing strange, interesting people'
Did you invent your own backstory for him, or did you have conversations with Amy and Dan about him?
We didn't have a lot of conversations about it. It's funny how with them, there's something about the way they are working in the way that a lot of things kind of match up. Maybe we talked a little bit about Jack's father and his influence in the city and where did he go to school, little things like that. But I was amazed as the season progressed and I would get these scripts where we'd be with my mom and my uncle and they would talk about me as a kid, where there were things that were coming alive in the script that had resonated with the work that I had done in kind of imagining this guy's upbringing. It's just, what do they call it, synchronicity! It just sort of happens. That does happen when a group works together the way that Amy and Dan work. I do think that that bleeds out into the whole crew. And I think that synchronicity does just start to bubble up in a really kind of pure and beautiful way.
Yes, it serves them well that they have actors and crew that they've worked together for so many years. Even though the characters may be different from show to show, they know how to write to you and you know how to perform to them.
As an actor, I think the biggest thing is just finding a way to get out of your own way. Their work is athletic, especially when Amy's directing. A lot of the time it is like a dance. It requires great precision and specificity. As long as you arrive ready to mark that and have as much work done prior to showing up, you can find a rhythm that makes the day feel very heightened and smooth. I don't mean easy, because it's not easy, but just kind of rising to the occasion, because they're aspirational. It's like ballet, what they do.
So what's your take on the love triangle between Jack, Cheyenne (Lou de Laage) and Genevieve (Charlotte Gainsbourg)? Who do you think should Jack end up with?
I have very strong feelings about this, but I do not know that they're for anybody to know but myself. I will say this — I feel like both of those relationships feel so authentic and I feel that the respect and affection that Jack has with both Cheyenne and Genevieve and the relationship that Genevieve and Cheyenne have together are lifeblood friendships so they're obviously really rolling the dice when things get more intimate. But, you know, it's the ballet! There's no great surprise that this is happening. Is Crispin (Simon Callow) going to pay for the wedding?
That's the more important question! And should there be a season two, what would you like to see for Jack and the show overall?
I'd like to meet at least one of Jack's ex-wives. I think that would be interesting. Jack does mention having a horse. I'd like to see the horse at least, or maybe even see Jack on the horse. I mean, this me just dropping wishes in the wishing well at this point!
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