The Studio star Dewayne Perkins felt his time making fun of the film industry, and in turn, his bosses, "was cathartic and therapeutic."
For those who don't know, The Studio is a fun, chaotic, and fast-paced satire about the film industry that follows Seth Rogen's Matt Remick, head of the fictional Continental Studios, as he navigates the unexpected challenges and ridiculousness in the world of moviemaking.
Perkins, who plays Tyler on the series, spoke to The Direct's Russ Milheim in an interview where he spoke all about his time on the show, pitched his own Kool-aid movie, and more.
The Studio Star Dewayne Perkins on Making Fun of His Bosses
"It Was Cathartic and Therapeutic."
- The Direct: How weird must it have felt to be able to riff and, you know, basically take aim, not only at the film industry as a whole, but it must have felt at times like you were given full reign to just simply make fun of your bosses.
Dewayne Perkins: It was cathartic and therapeutic. I think I've experienced quite a bit in this industry where I've had to kind of tailor and tamp down the things that I wanted to say and how I wanted to exist. And so it was very cool to be able to express those things in this setting.
There's a line in the first episode that I really love where we're talking about TikTok and like the Za dance, and I tell Seth [Rogen's] character Matt, as our boss, you should know more. And I felt that so deep in my soul.
I've been in so many settings where I felt that exact thing, what I wanted to say, Hey, you are in charge, and you make so much more money than me. Why don't you know more? Very simple, but I feel like that line really encapsulates what 'The Studio' means to me.
- The Direct: "Who on set would you say, you know, is most like their character, then who's least like their character?"
Dewayne Perkins: I think Seth [Rogen] is least like his character, because I feel like Matt is kind of a fuck up. He really any space he's in. I'm just like, girl, get it together. And I think Seth is the opposite. He's pretty chill. The times I've been around him, he's just, he has a very low key, he's not trying to take up too much space.
And I feel like Matt was the opposite, where he was like, I want to be seen, I want to be heard. And then I feel like the closest, and we joke about, this is Keyla [Monterroso Mejia], and she was like, yeah, I'm not acting. I'm just kind of being like, what's going on? Why am I here? I love her so much.
We became very close. There was a point on set where we were like, truly at the hip, and Bryan Cranston came over and he was like, What is this? What is going on? And we're like, I don't know. I think we're soulmates.
- The Direct: "Tyler spends a lot of time with Kathyrn Hahn's Maya, who is, you know, absolutely crazy in this. How is it like working across from her energy?"
Dewayne Perkins: Fantastic... I brought a friend of mine to South by Southwest. And he was very shocked by how close normal everybody was, and specifically with Catherine, and she said it to him, she was like, the moment that me and her met, there was kind of an instant connection.
And I was like, Hey, I think you're her. She was like, You're him. And we really became very close very quickly. And when we were going to South by Southwest, I saw her at the airport, and she, like, screamed.
And I was like, Yes, this is like a true energy. I think she is so wonderful, so funny, so playful. And we hit it off pretty instantly. So it was very easy to kind of reflect that dynamic.
Dewayne Perkins Breaks Down How He Crafted His Performance for Tyler
Dewayne Perkins and Tyler Share Some Similar Experiences.
- The Direct: "Now for Tyler's position, how did you dive into getting that foundation for your performance regarding his experience and perspective in in the industry?"
Dewayne Perkins: I think, like writers rooms, kind of dynamics that I've been in, I've been kind of the token black person who's just kind of happy to be there and knowing that, well, there's not many of us here. So I can't say too much because I really got to hold down the position, but I'm trying to find every way I can sneak in my true intentions and my true thoughts. So that was very easy and true to bring in for Tyler, because I am Tyler, and they were very similar in that regard.
- The Direct: "The show [has a great and] a very chaotic vibe throughout the whole thing. But what is it like maintaining that chaotic nature not only in the take but throughout the whole day of shooting? How does that feel?"
Dewayne Perkins: I think, with the training that I've had, like improv, sketch theater, the process of felt very theater, where, with the one takes, you really kind of had to be present because you didn't want to be the person that messes up the take. Because, you know, oh, we're going to have to redo this because of me.
So, there was a competitive spirit, but like, a really great competitive spirit to be like, okay, we all have to nail this because if I mess up, it's like, it felt like a sporting event, like we were on a sports team. And being like, okay, we all have a position to play, and if you don't bring your best, it's going to be noticeable because we're going to have to start over, and it's going to be your fault.
And so there's this energy of being like, okay, we are a team. We got this. And I think that instantly created a camaraderie and an energy that was like, pretty consistent. And the more we did it, the closer we felt to be like, okay, this is gonna be it. This is gonna be it. And that energy, I think, really energized every scene, and so that chaos was easy to sit in because you felt it. You felt the energy.
You felt like, okay, this is take 16. All right, how many more takes are we gonna do? Okay? Take 20. Oh, okay. And as you're getting closer and closer, the stakes feel higher, which created, a very cool energy. And then when we hit it, there was like a celebration. And been like we got it, like it was an energy that I have not felt filming anything else, because I've never been in something filmed in that way.
So, it was just very, very cool. I'm going to steal it, and I'm going to film things of my own in that way. I really enjoyed it as a performer.
The Studio's Dewayne Perkins Pitches His Kool-Aid Movie
"I Love a Four-Quadrant Movie."
- The Direct: "Now, as a writer yourself, what is your pitch for the Kool-Aid movie?"
Dewayne Perkins: My pitch would be, I think Nick Stoller's was like, pretty, pretty close. Because I love a four-quadrant movie. I love me a family time like, I think that is a good time at the movies. And as we can see with 'Minecraft,' it works like there's clearly a blueprint that I feel like they were commenting on, but in my pitch, Kool-Aid will be played by Dewayne Perkins.
- The Direct: "At the end of the day, what do you want audiences to take away the most from what from the story that 'The Studio' is telling?"
Dewayne Perkins: As a person that works in this industry and kind of experiences it the day-to-day, I think that there is such a gap and a separation of information as to what people think the job is versus what it is.
And I really hope this show creates, like, shortens that gap and let people know that there is a very universal experience to having a job, and that even though this may look cool from the outside, it is still capitalism, it is still a job, people are still having to navigate hierarchies, have to navigate the social settings of these places, have to navigate power dynamics, and that Hollywood is actually not as far away or like as separate as people may think, and that though people may have cool drives, it may still be fucking terrible.
The full spoiler-free interview can be viewed here:
The Studio is streaming on Apple TV+.
