‘Hacks’ Co-Star Paul W. Downs Talks About His Performance in the Emmy-Winning Comedy

Paul W. Downs is well known for being the co-creator and a writer on HBO Max’s Hacks, but he also plays Deborah Vance’s (Jean Smart) agent Jimmy. Here, in an interview with Awards Daily, Downs digs into what he contributes and what he avoids in Jimmy’s storylines when writing the show. He also talks about his dynamic with Megan Stalter, who plays his assistant Kayla, and how they get into their rhythm. Plus, he hint at the new challenges those two will face in the future. Finally, he shares his overwhelming appreciation for the entire cast and how lucky he feels when working on the series.

Awards Daily: I read you do not pitch much for Jimmy when writing the scripts. But as an actor, how do you get into Jimmy’s head space, and how much input did you have in creating him?

Paul W. Downs: Well, as co-creator of the show, I would say a lot. I think the thing that Lucia Aniello, Jen Statsky and myself like doing the most is writing character. Character dialogue, character growth, and really getting into the characters as we write the show. So all of this comes from a performance background and, as an actor, it kind of dovetails with my performance of the character–and the writing of the character goes hand in hand. As much as I don’t sit around saying this would be a good storyline for Jimmy, I certainly have his voice because I embody him, so it’s very easy for me to improvise and pitch dialogue in the room and on set as well.

Awards Daily: A lot of Jimmy’s best moments come from his interactions with his assistant Kayla. So what do you and Megan Stalter do to get into the rhythm of Jimmy being so annoyed by whatever it is Kayla is doing?

Paul W. Downs: We have a lot of fun. As much as it looks like Jimmy is constantly annoyed and frustrated behind the curtain, me and Megan are trying to stifle laughter because we’re having so much fun together. We just have good chemistry, we get along very well, we were both fans of each other and had been on live shows together doing stand-up. We both really tickle each other and have fun and I think you can sense that. Even though I’m portraying a character that is put upon by his assistant and frustrated. The truth is that I have a lot of love for Megan. We just have a lot of fun together.

Awards Daily: A personal favorite moment of mine was Jimmy calmly being told by Barbara that he still has to take the anger management classes as he starts freaking out. What was that scene like filming?

Paul W. Downs: Actually that was the scene I had to try not to break the most in. Because Martha Kelly, who plays Barbara, is so funny and so unique, she just has a dynamic that nobody else does. She can do almost nothing and really make me laugh. But the idea that this person would have to do 52 weeks of anger management and learn that Barbara was friends with the person who runs it seems like a vast conspiracy, and he is very annoyed by it. The fact is he doesn’t have anger issues, he really doesn’t! Anything to get Kayla off his desk for just a moment.

Awards Daily: Jimmy is given the big Jerry Maguire moment in leaving the firm as well as saving Deborah’s performance, giving your character a lot more pressure and prominence in the end of the second season. Did that change your way of approaching him at all?

Paul W. Downs: No, I don’t think it changed my approach because from the beginning we always liked the idea that Jimmy was a good well-meaning guy who wanted to do right by his clients and really believed in Deborah and Ava. So I think it was inherent in the character’s DNA that he would do whatever it takes to help them both succeed. You know him leaving the company was standing up in a way for Deborah.That was such a fun scene and so was the “he’s okay” scene in Deborah’s stand-up special. It is such a high-stakes moment for any comedian when they’re filming their special and for something like that to happen. Which was wild, because we heard a couple people be like, “Oh, my gosh, I was at a show when someone had a medical emergency.” It happens a lot, because live performances have a lot of people in them. It was weird that a lot of people were, like, “I think I know the event you’re talking about.” We were, like, “No, it wasn’t based on that,” but it is wild that that’s the kind of thing that happens.

So it didn’t change my approach to the character but it certainly was a lot of fun for Jimmy to get to do it. Jimmy is the straight man, and it was really fun for him to have those moments that are a little bit more wildcard character moments that were a little bit bigger. I think we try to do that with all of the ensemble. The great thing about this ensemble is that everybody has a lot of range in the same way that Jean Smart can be so funny and make you think she is a stand-up but also move you to tears because she is such a talented dramatic actor. I believe that is true of all of our ensemble. Even Meg, who is so so funny but this season had a lot more tender heartfelt moments, because the DNA of the show is to be both funny but also hopefully touching. So it was nice for Jimmy, who is usually the grounded one, put upon by his assistant, to have some pants down funny moments.

Awards Daily: Jimmy definitely has a bigger presence in the second season. Was that always the plan for him, or did it just come about natural progression as you guys were writing it?

Paul W. Downs: We actually had thought about this show for five years before we actually got to make it, so we had a lot of the tent pole moments of the show plotted out. Jimmy was always a fixture because he is the link between Ava and Deborah. So as a go-between he was pretty essential to the fabric of the show. I think after we got a season under our belt it felt like we knew even better what Jimmy and Kayla’s dynamic was and what it was like with the rest of the ensemble. It allowed us to maximize those moments. But it was actually during the shooting of season 1 that we started talking about the special and this guy having a medical emergency and the “he’s okay” moment. That was planned long before we started writing season 2. We hope that, because it is an ensemble show at its core as much as it’s about Deborah Vance and Ava, we really try to give some breath and depth to all of the ensemble so we expand the world.

Awards Daily: So part of me wanted to ask what it is like working with Jean Smart and then I thought about Hannah Einbinder and Carl Clemons-Hopkins and all the rest of this cast. So, I will just ask what is it like working with such a talented cast?

Paul W. Downs: We feel so lucky to work with these people because they are all so good. And like I said, they all have such range, they’re all so funny and the show wouldn’t be the show if there weren’t that kind of alchemy, that you really can’t cast because it’s really hard and you never know if it’s going to work or people are going to click. I think the fact that every actor on the show really cares about their work, really loves acting, and really respects the rest of the ensemble; I think you can feel that. It just makes everyone want to raise the bar. Everybody wants to level up as much as they can. That really does come from Jean, who’s number one on the call sheet. She really sets the tone and you really want to strive to be your very best because she does every single day. She really is an actor’s actor and cares so much about the craft. Having worked on a lot of shows, it’s hard when you’re number one and you have so much dialogue and so much to do, but she knows every single line and she has thought about it and she has thought about what if I had this business to do? She really cares, and I think everybody in the ensemble does as well. We have been so lucky because we all really get along. We are lucky that there is not a bad apple in the bunch. They are all real decent people in this ensemble and so we all get along and have fun. We hang out outside of the show, which I know you hope happens on every show but I think it might be rare that people generally get along and want to see each other outside of work.

Awards Daily: Do your writing partners, including your wife Lucia Aniello, enjoy putting your character in unpleasant situations?

Paul W. Downs: Oh yeah, I think so. Sometimes I joke that the whole premise is just to torture me. But I have to say that is the most fun being put upon, even dealing with Deborah. Deborah is a big personality and a hard client to have. Jeremy is constantly put upon and it is just so fun. I think it’s as fun for Jen (Statsky) and my wife Lucia (Aniello) to put me in those positions as it is for me to get to do them.

Awards Daily: Is there anything about Season 3 of Hacks that you can tell us?

Paul W. Downs: I can tell you that, as you know, we start the season with Deborah and Ava apart, and so we get to explore what their life is like not being together. The other thing is that Deborah is coming off of a very successful special and has a lot more eyeballs on her and a little bit more relevance than she has had in quite a long time. So that’s an interesting position to be in because there are a lot of perks, but it can also bring out demons and have its negative side. We really get to explore a different fear for both Deborah and Ava, and also for Jimmy and Kayla because they have struck out on their own and they don’t have this larger firm to cover their travel expenses. They got to use UberX; they are trying to save their money.