Luke Tennie on His ‘Shrinking’ Breakthrough and the Moment He Knew He Wanted to Play Sean

Luke Tennie is Shrinking’s most pleasant surprise.

Tennie stars alongside Jason Segel and Harrison Ford in the Apple TV+ dramedy that follows a recently widowed therapist, Jimmy (Segel), who turns to unconventional methods to treat his patients. Tennie plays Sean, an army vet forced into therapy after getting into a series of fights. Jimmy and Sean form an unlikely friendship as they work through their collective trauma.

As the season progresses, Sean’s tough exterior begins to crack, revealing a sensitive and kind man trying to do the right thing and trying to find his way back to himself. Tennie’s performance moves through these layers of complexity with charm and vulnerability—a standout acting breakthrough in a cast stacked with seasoned professionals.

Here in an interview with Awards Daily, Tennie discusses landing his role on Shrinking, working alongside Segel, and offers insight into Sean and his motivations.

Awards Daily: I love Shrinking and your character so much. How did this opportunity come to you, and how much of a breath of fresh air was it to get to play someone like Sean, who is so warm, gentle, and kind?

Luke Tennie: Great question. I’m really glad that you enjoyed it. Well, it came to me in an email, as all my auditions do, and then I see who’s attached, and I freak out because it’s the likes of the creators of Ted Lasso and Jason Segel. So, I’m like, ‘How do I convince these people I’m the one for the job?’ Then there’s an audition; I call one of my good friends, Esteban Dagger, to come and help me out. We workshopped it for a bit, and when they called me back, I was like, okay, I guess they like something. It was all over Zoom. I didn’t meet anybody until after getting hired, but I got to do some improv and reading with Jason. It was incredible. They decided that I was the best guy for the part, and I screamed, jumped up and down with my wife and our little dog, and celebrated. So, it came to me the same way it comes to any actor who’s still trying to make a name for themselves, just hoping that I was suitable for the part, and I’m glad that they decided that I was. 

AD: What does it mean to you to have a character like Sean represent your big breakthrough? 

LT: It’s a bit scary playing a vet and somebody I don’t want to mess up for obvious reasons. We have a lot of freedom and many benefits that come with living in this country, and a lot of those were fought for and earned by people who put their lives on the line. I want to make sure I’m portraying that well. He’s also written as a human being. Sean is a very complex, nuanced guy, and it was incredible for me to see that for the first time in the pilot script. I was very nervous, but overall, I was excited because there were so many layers to this guy. The line that got me to go,’ Man, I really enjoy this guy,’ was after Jimmy taught Sean to celebrate any step forward, no matter how small. When Jimmy comes to pick Sean up after he had finally not exploded on someone. That moment was so cool to watch Sean learn, ‘Oh wait, I should celebrate this. This is a good thing. This is a step forward.’ Then you see Jimmy getting down on himself for not being there for Alice (Lukita Maxwell)’s game. And Sean, his immediate response was, ‘Let’s go.’ He didn’t think twice about it. He was just, ‘Hey, man, if you are supposed to be there, and you’re not, we can fix that by getting there.’

There was something about that balance between Sean fighting to figure out his own stuff and his complete and utter support to help someone else. I was terrified, but more than that, I was excited and honored to sink my teeth into a character like Sean.

AD: Well said. There’s such a natural ease and chemistry between you and Jason that comes across watching the show. How do you establish a relationship like that?

LT: Great question. I think Jason has that with everybody. He’s just a good dude. Jason’s hilarious for free when nobody’s paying him, which is nice. He’s also very kind and warm. That’s a testament to him because he’s had to build chemistry with a myriad of different performers. He’s done a litany of romcoms and comedy movies, and he’s always got some sort of connection with whoever’s working across from him. So, to his credit, I think he’s just the type of performer who can blend in with everybody.

He just extended his hand to me, and I felt like I had to rise to the occasion to ensure it wasn’t wasted. So, when he would throw out an improv and just do something off the cuff, I would make sure I did my prep enough to respond in character and not break. And that just resulted in us looking like we’re having fun because we are, and I can’t wait to get back to work. I love my job. I can’t wait to do some more.

AD: I have to ask you about the relationship between Sean and Alice because I think if we’re being honest, played differently, that could have been a little bit creepy. Tell me about getting that chemistry just right.

LT: I actually had no idea about it before the part because I only got episode one, and there’s no foreshadowing in that first episode that anything will be crackling between Alice and Sean. But as the episodes went further, I got debriefed by our director James and the writers that they’re trying to explore some of this gray area.

Now, I’m very cautious when it comes to that kind of content, and I wanted to make sure that, at least from Sean’s perspective, even if Alice misconstrues some of his choices as coming onto her or maybe leading her on, I could justify his choices through either ignorance or Sean actually thinking he’s doing the right thing. So, if you look at the scene where Sean goes to comfort Alice, from my perspective, I’m actually doing everything I was taught growing up by my parents: if you are in a room with a young lady, the door is open. So, first things first, he asked if he could come in, and then the first place he goes is to the desk. He doesn’t go and sit on the bed with her. In his mind, it’s very clear that this is a platonic relationship. Alice doesn’t see any of that. She’s hurt; she’s going through grief. Her father just hurt her. And there’s another person in the room who seems to care about her. So, from her perspective, everything’s pointing to ‘go.’  From Sean’s perspective, he’s like, ‘Wait, I didn’t even know we got here.’

That is the power of these writers who are so painstakingly specific on how to create characters with nuance yet still explore humanity in the gray. Because when we do see Sean say, ‘Hey, you’re a kid.’ A lot of us, we cheer, we rejoice because we’re like, ‘Oh, thank God I enjoyed liking Sean. I didn’t want to not like Sean.’ At the same time, we now have to watch Alice suffer this terrible embarrassment. And now we’re in this dichotomy again. So, just another credit to the amazing nuance in creating this story. 

AD: I hope that as we get into future seasons, we tap more into Sean and the relationship that he has with his family. Again, there’s a dichotomy between what Sean is supposed to represent versus how he actually feels. Tell me about the weight he feels, being a big brother, and those family dynamics. 

LT: In my personal life, I have a big brother, Joshua, who is my freaking hero. I love that dude. He’s the coolest guy I’ve ever seen. That guy is awesome, and I took those feelings I had for him and inverted that for Sean, thinking, ‘I want Sean’s younger brother to feel how I, Luke, feel about my older brother Joshua.’ I just admire him so much, and every choice he makes seems to be a wise one.

From Sean’s perspective, it’s obvious he’s not making wise choices. The wisest choice is to go get help. He was forced to get help, which allowed him to start making wiser choices. So, a lot of Sean’s engine is, ‘Just get back to my little bro, get back to Graham, get back to my family. I want to be the guy who’s the example for this little dude.’ So that was a lot of my drive and engine. As soon as I learned Sean was an older brother, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m using that; that’s where I’m starting.’

And in his relationship with his father, he won’t tell his father about what he went through overseas. He’s not going to open up to his father about that. Not only is he ashamed, he’s embarrassed, and he’s judging himself and doesn’t want anyone else to judge him as well. So, when he finally opens up to Paul (Ford) and Jimmy, when Paul comes over with the beers, that’s a big moment. It’s not just because he’s talking to therapists about it; it’s because these words would allow so much more context and understanding for his family. But he’s unwilling to share it with them for fear of judgment. That’s what is creating the biggest distance between him and his father. I’m hoping we can explore that more, not just because the writing’s good, but because I also really love the performers who play my family, and I can’t wait to work with them again. They’re all great. 

AD: You have such a deep, nuanced understanding of your character. How did you develop this connection and insight?

 LT: I went to a drama school a few years ago, and that really taught me how to build the process. I think it goes by episode because that’s how the writers release the story to us. So, I get an episode, and I treat it like a film. It’s a short, 35-45 page film. I do my system of preparation, and that involves a lot of filling in some blanks. Now, what’s crazy about TV is I’m not going to get episode 10 when we’re shooting episode three, so I don’t know what will happen. There’s also an element of letting go for me that’s important. With a film, once it’s done, it’s set. You shoot it; you go home, the editors chop it up, and it comes out. TV is very different in that we don’t know where the story’s going. You and I both know the same amount of the Shrinking story. I don’t know anything that will happen in season two until I get the season two, episode one script. When I get it, I start my prep. But a lot of filling in those gaps comes from me just trying to understand why Sean is saying what he’s saying. What mood is he in today? Who did he have interactions with? Why does he feel this way about Jimmy? And then, in the moment, it’s paying attention to what I’m getting from wonderful performers like Jason, Harrison, Jessica, and Lukita.

AD: What are you hoping to explore with Sean in season two?

LT: Well, first and foremost, I love cooking, and the writers worked in one of my favorite things to do in my life into Sean’s character. So, I’m hoping that we get to see Sean cooking a lot more. And secondly, I liked that sequence at the end of episode one, where we got to get into the fight. It was awesome to choreograph that with the fight team. So, I’m just hoping that I get to fight more and I get to cook more, and of course, have more laughs anytime I get to study and learn from these amazing performers in comedy. I feel like I have grown so much, and it’s a good time. It’s just so much fun—fighting, cooking, laughing.

AD: Do you have anything non-Shrinking you’re working on at the moment?

LT: I do indeed. There’s a film I shot after season one called The Nickel Boys.

AD: Based on the Colson Whitehead novel?

LT: Yup! That’s pretty much it. Colson and our director, RaMell, came together to create an adaptation to bring that story to life. I’m from Florida and hadn’t heard any of the stories about the Nickel Boys, so I think it’s a very important story I think people will benefit from learning about. I’m also a writer; I’m trying to get on that Brett Goldstein level, that Jason Segel level, that writer-actor thing. I’m trying to get there. I’m chasing these gentlemen.

I’ve co-written a short film, and we will be premiering at the Burbank Film Festival soon. I’m hoping that goes well. We’re trying to take our short on the festival circuit and see whom we can meet, see what other creators are out there, and we’re looking forward to it.

Shrinking is streaming on Apple TV+.