Bobby Cannavale is no stranger to appearing in projects with partner Rose Byrne — but his sexually explicit cameo in Platonic might come as a surprise to some.
During the season 2 finale of Platonic, which premiered on Wednesday, October 1, Charlie (Luke Macfarlane) faced writer’s block while trying to write a novel about a fictional character named Brett Coyote. Charlie had visions of Brett (Cannavale) acting out scenes from his book, which ended with him pleasuring himself.
Cannavale, 55, spoke exclusively to Us Weekly about the special guest appearance while promoting his movie Blue Moon, sharing, “I’m a fan of [creator] Nicholas [Stoller]. We made a movie together this past year [Judgment Day] that’s coming out next year with Will Ferrell and Zac Efron. I have much more to do in that movie but we just like each other. And he asked me in the beginning of the season, he was like, ‘Hey, man, would you come on and do something? I don’t know what it is yet.’”
After hearing the idea, Cannavale was even more on board.
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“I just thought that was a scream. It was just an easy yes, to get to work with all those talented people,” he added about Byrne’s Apple TV+ series. “It puts another credit on the resume for me and Rose. It’s like 10 times now that we’ve worked together and I’m really proud of that.”
Cannavale reflected on his and Byrne’s past collaborations, adding, “We’ve worked together in TV and film. We have done a play together and we’ve made commercials together. It’s nice and it’s unusual to get to go to work together in any capacity — in any profession. We’re parents of small children and it’s nice to be able to go to work together and the kids know where we are. We’re together. It’s good and just a family band.”
Platonic, which premiered in May 2023, explores a rekindled friendship between former childhood best friends — Will (Seth Rogen) and Sylvia (Byrne) — as adults. Before Cannavale’s cameo on Platonic, he shared the screen with Byrne in Spy, Annie, Adult Beginners, Inappropriate Behaviour and Ezra.
“We’ve been doing this a long time. We’re supportive of each other,” Cannavale, who shares two sons with Byrne, 46, told Us. “Rose is my favorite actor on the planet. I’m always surprised and amazed at her work. The different qualities that she brings to all these characters — I never see her the same way twice. I would like to show up for her — unequivocally — for anything that she’s a part of.”
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Cannavale said he was “really proud” of Byrne’s recent movie: Tow.
“I think she’s phenomenal. I really haven’t seen a performance like that in a very long time. It’s one of those [movies] I think people will be talking about for a very long time,” he noted. “This is one of those performances for the ages.”
In addition to recommending Byrne’s works, Cannavale broke down the hard work that went into Blue Moon, which is out October 17 and is a biopic about songwriter Lorenz Hart.
“I’m a theater person and last year I did my first musical. I’ve always had a great, great affection for musicals and cast albums,” he recalled. “What I didn’t know was his story. The storytelling itself is really eye-opening. Not only is it just a movie about the theater, which I’m naturally interested in. There aren’t that many movies about the theater and about theater makers. It’s such an astute subject to tackle.”
Cannavale continued: “I just think Robert [Kaplow] wrote a beautiful script and captured so much atmosphere and so much of what was happening in the world at the time. I thought all of that being captured in the script — and then ultimately in the movie itself — I’m pretty proud of all of those layers coming through.”
Blue Moon has a limited release on October 17 before being released nationwide on October 24.
