Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Spoilers ahead for Friends, Romans, Countrymen,the season-two premiere ofYellowjackets.
Jeff Sadecki is an unlikely MVP of a show that itself is an unlikely MVP.
His last name literally starts with Sad.
But Kole plays him in a way thats full of surprises.
And everybody earned that.
It was exciting to see the creators and this cast, young and old older soaking it up.
Enjoying the fruits of that labor was really cool.
Beyond the surprise of the shows success, theres Jeffs success as a breakout character.
Did you expect Jeff to hit the way he did?I did not.
And I liked to explore.
I liked to play and use a feeling-out process there in season one.
We see what youre trying to do.
Lets give you some writing that puts a finer point on it and lets you run with that.
The biggest moment like that in season one was definitely the book club scene.
How many different ways did you play it?
So with book club, thats all right there and hits your instincts right away as an actor.
But, you know, you get a few cracks at it.
Theyll give me a half a dozen different tries at it.
It says a lot about him and this shows savviness and storytelling.
coffee mug with this cartoon of Jeff with his hair sticking out every which way with shock.
In the first episode of the new season, Jeff reacts to some tense moments by cracking dad jokes.
I think hes trying to hold his world together.
And hes trying to find a way to rescue the moment.
Hes a little sleepy, but hell wake up every once in a while.
And maybe that will hide the crimes that are going on.
Can you share one?I think I said, Hey, fill me up, big boy.
And with Callie at the table!Right.
Am I good?I think they have a shadow marriage when we find them.
Kids see everything, and Callies a really, really smart kid.
I think Jeff thinks hes a great dad.
A lot of horror movies are about that too.
Kids getting possessed, or the kids are in trouble.
They tap into this primal fear of being a bad parent.
And as they give a shot to cover their tracks, theyre working through relationship stuff.
Jeff betrayed Shauna with the blackmail scheme, so theyre both dealing with these feelings.
What state is their relationship in this season?Jeff I like him so much.
Theres this fragile optimism coming into season two with him.
And maybe a little mania, where hes going to extract the positive things out of what happened.
He and Shauna are seeing eye to eye.
Hes going to assume that the worst thing they did is behind them.Lets move forward.
His wife isnt satisfied with him.
She sought affection in the arms of another guy.
Shes reconstituting into this dark, impulsive version of herself that he only read about in her journals.
We can assume this is a lot for him.
This is a lot for a guy like this.
How can I earn her trust?
How can I keep her excited?
Hes such a reactive surface in the story, which I really enjoy.
He doesnt initiate a lot of plot.
Hes sort of a proxy audience thats doing his best to keep up and hold his world together.
But I think hes not running away.
And hes trying, dammit!
Thats what I stuck to.
He wont listen.This is bad,but maybe I can save the day.
I dont know where I was.
But I had to listen to it about 50 times.
Oh God, its an awful song for a 45-year-old.
Maybe I would have loved it then.
But you could see that this was something that he used to get a great release to.
He probably had a lot of good memories with that song.
And it shifts into this tantrum instead.
Maybe its an easier position for me.
These actors who have both story lines are so perfectly cast and pay attention to each other.
Like Juliette Lewis and Sophie Thatcher their rhythms, their cadence, their vocal intonations are spot on.
It looks like a lot of fun, creatively.
Jeff probably fantasized about,What if I were there?
What problems could I have solved?Creating this mythical version of himself in his own head.
That was good fuel when present-day survival happens.
Hes like,Well, now Im here.
Were back in trouble.
Now its time to activate Super Jeff.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
