Jason Lee was ready to make an acting comeback after a “long hiatus” — and Netflix’s The Residence was the perfect show for his return.
“It had been a long, long time since I had worked that much. I took a long break,” Lee, 54, who plays Tripp Morgan in the murder mystery series, exclusively told Us Weekly. “So it was just exciting to be back on a set. The trailers, the sound stages, all the actors and the cameras — it was just a fun and exciting energy to be a part of.”
Lee, best known for playing the titular character on My Name Is Earl, was thankful that the Netflix opportunity came up when it did, saying, “The character was great and it was a cool thing to do after having been on such a long hiatus.”
He added: “I had done some voiceover work and some cameo stuff with Kevin Smith, which I always do. But I took a pretty long break. So The Residence came at the right time and it felt like the right character and group of people and project to dive back in.”
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After stepping back from on-camera work, Lee knew he wanted to play Tripp.
“[That] was the most sort of ‘on screen’ I’ve been in a long time. It felt like the right thing to do at that time,” he continued. “I was totally nervous. They had already been shooting and then on My Name Is Earl, that was a much smaller cast. There we did 90-plus episodes so it becomes family and you’re very familiar with everything.”
Lee found a large production like The Residence more intimidating, adding, “Here I am after a long hiatus as one piece of a huge ensemble cast and it is a massive Netflix and Shondaland production. Looking around at this monstrous production and I’m like, ‘I’d better step up because there’s a lot of people and a lot of moving parts.’”
He continued: “To my absolute delight, everybody on set was so cool and friendly and welcoming. From the cast to the crew, it felt like a kind of very warm welcome return to being on a set to that extent.”
Lee became a household name after starring on My Name Is Earl from 2005 to 2009, a role which earned him Golden Globe nominations in 2006 and 2007. He also starred in Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl, Clerks II and more.
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“That’s the fun thing about acting is that there’s so much variety and so many options. Ultimately, guest spots on TV shows are always fun. Indie films are cool and it’s been a while since I’ve done a small movie outside of cameos, but I’m also writing a lot as well,” Lee told Us. “I’ve been developing some things for me to hopefully be in — as well as produce. I’m in the [acting] pool again. It was one foot at first with The Residence and then another and then I finally just dove into the deep end and I’m back in. It’s been a lot of fun having that part of my brain click back on now.”
Inspired by The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen Brower, The Residence is an eight-part series that premiered earlier this month and kept Us on the edge of our seats as renowned detective Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) was tasked with finding out who is responsible for the Chief Usher A.B. Wynter’s (Giancarlo Esposito) death at the White House.
Lee’s character, Tripp, was one of the suspects since he was the President’s brother. Despite not being (fully) responsible for Wynter’s death, Tripp was still very much involved, which was fun for Lee to explore.
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“I didn’t want to know [whether Tripp did it] because, personally, I didn’t want to know who did it. Then also it’s in Tripp’s nature to be a little aloof,” he noted. “I definitely didn’t want to know and I’m glad I didn’t until literally much later.”
Lee admitted that while he would have enjoyed playing the mystery murderer — he didn’t see that being Tripp, saying, “He’s too dumb to have been the killer. He’s too much of an idiot. He’s too much of a deadbeat. The way he has that sort of moment when he is talking to Detective Cupp about how he knows that she knows he didn’t do it because he’s too dumb to do something like that — that was funny and that was fulfilling enough for him to not have been the killer. That was interesting for me.”
He continued: “I just tried to assert him as being a breath of fresh air — albeit very rude and pushy. I also acknowledged that he was the guy that thinks he’s entertaining people but he’s actually the kind of guy that you move away from. That’s kind of sad. It got layered too, which was great.”
The Residence is currently streaming on Netflix.
