With Season 2 of&nbsp;Adults behind him, the actor opens up to L'OFFICIEL about bumbling through adulthood once again in the Netflix series Big Mistakes.

It&rsquo;s been nearly a year since Jack Innanen first stole hearts with his portrayal of the Internet&rsquo;s boyfriend, Paul Baker, on Adults. His charming performance on the FX series&mdash;which follows a group of responsibility-averse Gen Z friends living together in Queens&mdash;introduced him to a wider audience, beyond those who had already discovered the Canadian actor and comedian through his viral TikTok sketches. While fans eagerly await the hit show&rsquo;s second season, they can catch Innanen once again fumbling his way through adulthood in Big Mistakes, Netflix&rsquo;s new crime comedy co-created by Dan Levy and Rachel Sennott.&nbsp;
Streaming today, the show centers on Levy&rsquo;s semi-closeted church pastor, Nicky, and his reckless schoolteacher sister, Morgan (Taylor Ortega), who inadvertently find themselves pulled into New Jersey&rsquo;s criminal underworld. &ldquo;I assumed it was going to be strictly comedy, but it&rsquo;s truly high stakes&mdash;and as the season goes on, shit gets really real,&rdquo; says Innanen, who stars as Morgan&rsquo;s devoted but deeply misguided boyfriend, Max. The high school sweethearts are contemplating their future when Morgan is blackmailed into working for local mobsters; Max, meanwhile, remains oblivious to the danger that&rsquo;s consuming her life, adding fuel to the fire by fixating on how her growing inattention makes him feel.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I found it challenging that he&rsquo;s this over-therapized manchild,&rdquo; Innanen, 27, tells&nbsp;L&rsquo;OFFICIEL. &ldquo;I knew that I could play him a little pathetic, but he's not whiny, necessarily; you kind of root for him. So I was like, Okay, if I'm fighting with my girlfriend all the time, how do I make that sweet? And how do I make people like me?&rdquo; Coming off his fan-favorite role in Adults, it would make sense if Innanen felt pressure for his Big Mistakes character to be similarly embraced by audiences. &ldquo;If anything, I felt pressure to make him less sweet,&rdquo; he counters. &ldquo;Watching it back, he&rsquo;s actually a lot more lovable than I had intended; because earlier on, I was like, Oh, this guy kind of sucks. But he did come out endearing, so I think I misread my own performance.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Jack Innanen and Taylor Ortega in 'Big Mistakes.' Photo courtesy of Netflix.

Ultimately, Innanen feels a sense of kinship with Max, much like he did with Paul Baker before him. &ldquo;When I told my mom that I was doing the role of a manchild, she was like, Oh, you're gonna be perfect for that," he laughs. &ldquo;Most leading men of the past have been infallible&mdash;they seemed perfect, like they had their shit together and understood everything. I don&rsquo;t know if that&rsquo;s really how things used to be or if it was a fictitious media narrative, but I definitely don't have my shit figured out; I&rsquo;m bumbling through life in many ways. So I definitely relate to these guys. If I couldn't, then I wouldn't be human.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Read our full conversation with Innanen below.
L&rsquo;OFFICIEL:&nbsp;What first drew you to Big Mistakes?
JACK INNANEN: I saw that it was created by Rachel Sennott and Dan Levy, and I was like, I need to do it immediately. Then I read the script, and it was absolutely hilarious. When I got in the room with Taylor and Dan, the chemistry was so there&mdash;and Taylor made it so easy for me to play Max. You know how when you&rsquo;ve been with a partner for a while, you&rsquo;re like, Okay, tell me when you know that you liked me&hellip;? After we wrapped, I did that to Taylor. I was like, Okay, tell me again how you guys decided it was me.&nbsp;
L&rsquo;O: Are you as in touch with your feelings as Max is?&nbsp;&nbsp;
JI: I think so. I'm just more aware of how it affects people in my life. The difference between me and Max is that he seems to be angry with himself about it; he's just confused. I feel bad for Max a lot of the time.&nbsp;
L&rsquo;O:&nbsp;Dan and Rachel are at the top of the comedy game right now. What was it like to step into their world?
JI: Intimidating and scary, but also so fun and deeply friendly. Dan was there every single day and wearing so many different hats, but not once did that affect his friendliness or the banter amongst the cast. Laurie [Metcalfe, who portrays the mother of Levy and Ortega&rsquo;s characters] was there and Elizabeth [Perkins, who stars as Innanen&rsquo;s onscreen mom]...just all these big names that I was so intimidated by. Taylor joked about it being her and Dan on set every day, and then whoever would come in and play with them. It felt like an extended family, like you were coming home for Thanksgiving and had to figure out which aunt or uncle or sibling you were interacting with that day, and how dysfunctional it's going to be.&nbsp;

Laurie Metcalfe, Elizabeth Perkins, and Jack Innanen in 'Big Mistakes.' Photo courtesy of Netflix.

L&rsquo;O: Did you have any favorite scenes to film?
JI: There&rsquo;s a scene at the end of the first episode where Max proposes, and I get down on one knee with the ring and Laurie creeps around the corner putting the phone, boomer style, in everyone's face. She would do it differently every time, and just shove the camera in Dan's face and wait a beat for her line. I've always prided myself on not breaking, but I kept breaking because the way she would creep around Dan and Taylor was so ridiculous. I couldn't not laugh. That's my favorite memory from shooting.
L&rsquo;O:&nbsp;How do you think this role is different from how people have seen you before?
JI: I mean, I'll compare Max to Paul Baker, because I think they're both parts of the spectrum of modern masculinity. Paul Baker is very sweet and empathetic and loving; he&rsquo;s kind of puppy dog-esque. Then you have Max, who is really earnestly trying, but he is so deeply misguided, over-therapized, and unaware. He&rsquo;s oblivious and out of sync with the people around him. I definitely tapped into the truths of some guys I know in my real life&mdash;I won't say who&mdash;for the role, but it was definitely a departure for me. He may be likable, but he's not as likable as Paul Baker. Even though he is sweet at his core.
L&rsquo;O: If you were to drop yourself into Adults, which character are you most similar to?
JI: We debate this constantly, but I do think Paul Baker. In the second season, which we just wrapped, we explore more sides of him&mdash;his myriad complexities&mdash;that feel closer to me. There's more depth, and he's not as linear. So I see fragments of myself in everyone, but probably him or Samir [played by Malik Elassal].
L&rsquo;O:&nbsp;Do you think the roommates would let you&mdash;Jack, not Paul Baker&mdash;move in?
JI: Probably not. I think I could convince them, but I'd be far too anxious for them. I&rsquo;d be like,&nbsp;Hey guys, all these hijinks have to stop. Let's lock in. I think they would stress me out.&nbsp;

Jack Innanen and Amita Rao in 'Adults.' Photo courtesy of FX Networks.

L&rsquo;O: Last season ended with a very telling kiss between Paul Baker and Anton [Owen Thiele]. How did you feel about the way things transpired, and&mdash;without giving anything away&mdash;what do you hope for Season 2?
JI: It was a huge thing for me that I didn't want Paul Baker to cheat [on Issa, played by Amita Rao]; I thought that would be a character assassination of who he is. So I'm glad they played it this way, where he was able to express something there while being egged on by everyone else. I think the first season was all about friendship and adulthood, and this one's so much more about relationships and love and what it means to really connect to someone. I was, of course, shipping Paul Baker and Anton. But how that connection manifests, who&rsquo;s to say?&nbsp;
L&rsquo;O: We love a teaser. There's been a growing campaign for a crossover between Adults, Overcompensating, and I Love LA. Would you be down?
JI: Hell yeah. I think the only hiccup is that Owen would have to play two characters. I saw someone pitch it online that the impetus would be that Anton's twin goes to the university [in&nbsp;Overcompensating], and that's who we're visiting. But I would do that in a heartbeat, no question. I think there should be more crossovers.
L&rsquo;O: You also very publicly pitched yourself to star in the second season of Heated Rivalry. Was that a bit, or are you waiting to get the call?
JI: That was serious. I was throwing my hat in the ring, and I'm waiting. I think we're all waiting for the casting announcements.
L&rsquo;O:&nbsp;That would be a different note for you, since you&rsquo;ve been primarily exploring comedy. Is there any other genre you hope to tackle?
JI: Comedy is what I love so much, and it's why I got into this. I just wanted to kind of fuck around and be funny on camera; that was the career goal. But I've been really flirting with the idea of doing something darker, even if it&rsquo;s in more of a comedic way. The concept of a rom-com is also really exciting to me&mdash;a really cheesy one, with early 2010s, Brooklyn exposed brick vibes. I love the Obama- and Millennial Optimism-era of rom-coms so much. To be a sarcastic lead would be fun. And then I&rsquo;d also love to do something dark. Like, let me be a serial killer.

Portrait of Jack Innanen by Brian Meller. Courtesy of Jack Innanen.

L&rsquo;O:&nbsp;Was acting always the plan? You studied physics and astronomy at the University of Toronto, so it feels like a pretty sharp turn...&nbsp;
JI: Yeah, you don't see that often! It wasn&rsquo;t something I thought I could realistically pursue; it took pursuing social media and then moving to New York to really take it seriously. It was not where I saw myself, but I'm so deeply happy that I&rsquo;m now doing it. I would not be surprised to wake up and find out that I&rsquo;ve been in a coma this whole time and this was all made up.
L&rsquo;O: Successfully making the leap from TikTok to Hollywood isn&rsquo;t common. What has the past year been like?
JI: It&rsquo;s a whole new world. There are so many people involved in everything, and I love every second of it. Doing stuff online is really fun, but it&rsquo;s lonely. It's just me, alone in my room. So to be a part of projects&mdash;especially a project as fun and exciting as Big Mistakes&mdash;is deeply exciting. That is what I've kind of become addicted to, because it's like summer camp on steroids: we go off and work hard to make something really cool with really cool people. And then we get to show it off, which is kind of insane.
L&rsquo;O: You've also had some pretty big fashion moments, collaborating with brands like Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton, and Coach. How would you describe your style?
JI: My style, I would say, was poor and unkempt but has gotten better. I&rsquo;ve transitioned from being a 22-year-old university guy to having a Brooklyn Carhartt workwear era to now, when getting to do press is so fun. I can pull some pleated Loewe pants and tap into my Paul Mascal, Harris Dickinson, Jacob Elordi swag. I'm in my effeminate era&mdash;the almost-blouse with flowy pants and some dainty jewelry. That's what I'm tapped into right now. 
L&rsquo;O:&nbsp;What's your dream project?
JI: I would love nothing more than to be in a Wes Anderson movie. To be in his world would be&hellip;otherworldly. I'd also love to work with Donald Glover, and then there's the Greg Daniels and Dan Harmons of the comedy TV world that I really love. I'm sure there's a bunch of people I'm going to be kicking myself for not mentioning. Rachel Sennott was someone I thought I'd love to work with one day, and then&nbsp;Big Mistakes came about. There are so many young, cool people doing young, cool stuff.&nbsp; 
L&rsquo;O: Speaking of, you&rsquo;re celebrating your 27th birthday this week. What are you leaving behind from your early 20s?
JI: My youth. My mobility. No back pain or shoulder pain. I feel like the beginning of my 20s were kind of robbed by Covid, especially in Canada. It started when I was 20, and by the time the restrictions were officially done, I was 23. A third of my 20s were consumed by being inside, so then I had a little party era, and then I got into this business quickly and tightened up. I think I'm leaving behind doing my taxes late and a bad diet, but I'm trying to bring the party forward with me and rage into that dark night. The manchild lives on.

For Jack Innanen, the Manchild Lives On

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