‘Apples Never Fall’ Star Jake Lacy on His Real Name, Playing Douchebags vs. Boyfriends and More

Todd Williamson/Peacock

Awards Circuit Podcast: “Apples Never Fall” and “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” actor Jake Lacy on the range of his roles, and more

Before Jake Lacy graduated drama school, he had to make a huge decision: picking his stage name. Born Jameson Griffin Lacy, he planned on using his given moniker throughout his career. But, after seeing his decision, his dean questioned him: “Who is this Jameson? You’re the most Jake person I know!”

Lacy, who plays Troy Delaney on potential Emmy nominee “Apples Never Fall,” said on an episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast that he thinks plenty of actors are pigeon holed in the industry, but he can chameleon around and play a multitude of characters: “I’ve never been a star. Most people don’t know who I am or recognize me… Now it feels like there’s a little wider scope there as to what people will see me for or think of me as.” Listen below!

The Peacock limited series follows the Delaney family, Palm Beach tennis royalty that begins to fall apart when its matriarch Joy (Annette Bening) goes missing and family secrets are revealed. Comparing this character to the childish frat bro Shane Patton he played in “White Lotus,” Lacy says Troy lies somewhere on the spectrum of “douche” to “good guy.”

“In his worst moments, he sees himself maybe worse than he is and has higher expectations for himself than what he’s living up to,” Lacy says. “I think (he) maybe doesn’t have a great barometer for what is it what it is to just be human, what it is to be flawed and trying to be better.”

Lacy points out that each of the siblings on the show thinks that they’re the black sheep of the family, and that every Delaney has their own weird narcissism and obsession with their place in the brood. He said it feels like the siblings have the blinders on to other people’s needs and lives, choosing instead to focus on their own.

The Showtime TV movie “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial,” where Lacy plays executive officer Lieutenant Maryk, is also up for nominations this season. The legal drama follows a Maryk, who stands trial for mutiny after taking command from a ship captain.

He calls the project one that had the greatest effect on him in the past decade. He said the cast was allowed only one or two takes for scenes by “The Conjuring” director William Friedkin, marking his last project before he died last August.

“Everybody’s got their pencils and their script and everybody’s a good little student,” he said of the cast’s first meeting at Friedkin’s house. “(Bill was) like, ‘Well, we’re not going to read it, that’s for sure.’ Everybody kind of cracks up and he’s like, ‘Yeah, we’re not going to read it, we’re not going to rehearse. I’ve doing this for 70 years and the thing in all that time that I have found to be the most important is spontaneity. I want to be able to film you hearing these things for the first time and saying them for the first time.’”

Lacy also recently wrapped a shoot for an indie movie in India titled “Mosquito in the Ear,” which is in the editing process and will likely head to festivals in the fall. The film follows an American couple who travel to India to adopt a young girl from India, who does not want to leave her orphanage and is based on an Italian graphic novel from Andrea Ferraris, which tells the true story of his adoption journey.

But, on his character’s level of douche-ness in “Mosquito in the Ear,” Lacy describes him as “A good guy. He’s a good guy, but he’s also like trying his best, and he’s coming up a little short.”

Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jenelle Riley, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines, and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts.