Brandon Scott Jones On How Isaac’s Baby Steps Are Huge Leaps for ‘Ghosts’

Brandon Scott Jones has an affinity for the classic comedy, Clue. So many queer people love the film, and there is a loose similarity between the 1985 film and the riotously funny CBS comedy. Both deal with large groups of people trapped in a huge mansion, and their perspectives clash together in a spectacularly absurd way. Jones not only has the fortune of galavanting around a house with a true ensemble, but his Isaac gets to come out in his own way–proving that coming-of-age stories aren’t simply reserved for teenagers.

The inhabitants of Woodstone Manor have spent decades (centuries, even) trapped within the house’s walls. I couldn’t help but notice that most of the residents have the ability to touch any of the objects on set. You might think it’s a minor detail, but Jones was eager to reveal that this changed his physicality on set.

“It is so hard. You want to hold things or lean on things or put your foot up. Knowing you truly can’t do any of that is wild. There is that element where you try to find creativity in the restrictions, and the more restrictions, the more specific you have to be. Sometimes when you get a script, you start thinking of all your choices and, with Ghosts, you can’t do a lot of it. It’s nice for continuity, and here, I only have to worry about my hand placement. That’s a benefit from it.”

Ghosts features one of the strongest ensembles on television. There is a common misconception that an ensemble is just a large number of actors on screen at one time. The actors lean on each other to make the writing sing as a unit while retaining their individual perspectives. That true ensemble work is something Jones was thrilled to tap into.

“It’s one of my favorite things about it, and it jumped out at me when I got the script. One of my favorite movies of all time is Clue, and I have the script of it in my office. I just hold it sometimes when I start thinking about writing something. Ghosts reminded me of that–all these huge personalities running around in a house in a screwball comedy-esque way. You don’t seem true ensemble shows anymore, especially not one that is this large. I came up through Upright Citizens Brigade and theater work, and the concept of an ensemble is so paramount. It’s not just about your voice or your performance, but it’s how you fit in with this group of people. For us, it allowed us to connect that we might not have had a chance to if it was more about direct storylines.”

Of course, you get two Clue lovers on the line together or in the same room, we can’t stop talking about it.

“Every single time I watch that movie, I find something new,” Jones added. “I’ve seen it fifty thousand times by now, and everyone is doing such specific work that it is such a hallmark of true ensemble comedy.”

Because Isaac was not the kind of role that Jones typically gets offered, he had to find a way to connect with the character and find the groove with his closeted personality.

“I would never normally get asked to play a Revolutionary War General. Then you find out that he’s dead and trapped in a house. Trying to find your “in” with this character was sort of a challenge. Once we started to figure out how long he was in the closet, I could find a way. Everybody’s coming out story is different. There is the weepy version we see on television or we see the youthful take on it. It’s a coming-of-age moment, and we assume that that means they are young. I found Isaac being a few centuries old to be very interesting–what an interesting struggle.”

A lot of coming out stories talk about kicking down the closet door, but what if you aren’t the door-kicking-down type? Just because Isaac finds the courage to announce who he is doesn’t mean that the change will happen instantly, and the original concept of Isaac’s revelation was very different at first. Instead of a tearful, emotional announcement, Isaac simply acknowledges that he likes another man. If we expect everyone’s journey to take its own path, we have to recognize that they will also happen at their own speed.

“Isaac is keeping up this façade even in death when you’d think the stakes would be at their lowest. I was so excited about it. The original script of Isaac’s moment was very different from what we ended up shooting. There was a big moment where Isaac had a big proclamation and then we kissed. I talked to Joe Port and Joe Wiseman about having less of a moment, because the tiniest step forward is the biggest step forward. When you’ve literally hidden yourself for this long, you aren’t going to come right out and say everything at once. We wanted to have the most catharsis in the smallest moments possible, and that was a great way to approach the scene. We are always trying to figure out who we are, and that journey to self-discovery doesn’t stop. It’s a very queer narrative in that idea of spending so much time lying to people you’re close to. I wasn’t trying to dupe you maliciously. Once that door is opened, going through it is very challenging. That’s not reserved for just young people.”

Isaac and Hetty, more than anyone else on Ghosts, have absurd expectations for themselves, so it’s such a joy that Jones gets the chance to perform privately with Rebecca Wisocky. If a closeted Revolutionary War officer and the wife of a robber baron can find a way to garner empathy for each other’s lives, the rest of us can too.

“Rebecca [Wisocky] and I became friends, and our weekends up in Montreal were spent together. I think Joe and Joe saw that friendship happening off screen. With Hetty, she has all these blind spots, and Isaac’s blind spot is thinking that he’s fooled these people. The only person who has never given it a second thought to is the one who becomes his confidante. I found that really touching. We are similar in stature and thinking we are of high status, so dealing with crises of identity between these two people lends itself to a nice dynamic. Also, just performing with Rebecca is such a joy. She’s such a joy. When you get these two person scenes, they don’t come too often, so having a couple of them with Rebecca was something I looked forward to. They are two people in purgatory so they have nothing to lose, but they do.”

Ghosts is streaming on Paramount+.