Chris Perfetti on Going From the Stage to ‘Abbott Elementary’

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Photo Source: Disney/Gilles Mingasson

Chris Perfetti’s heart belongs to the theater. After graduating with a drama degree from SUNY Purchase, he got his big break in the original Off-Broadway run of Stephen Karam’s “Sons of the Prophet.” Now, he’s taking the small screen by storm on ABC’s “Abbott Elementary.” As sixth grade teacher Jacob Hill, Perfetti perfectly balances Jacob’s anxious do-gooder tendencies with an endearing sweetness. Here, the actor discusses how his stage experience prepared him for Quinta Brunson’s Emmy-winning sitcom.

1. How did you develop Jacob to make sure he didn’t feel like a parody or caricature? 

When I first read the pilot, I was really taken by these characters that Quinta had drawn; I thought they were very specific people. And honestly, I was a little worried that if the show were to be made, we would sacrifice some of that. Immediately upon encountering Jacob, I felt like I knew many people who were like him…and I would be jealous if somebody else were to play that part. 

I know that guy who is ferociously loyal and well-intentioned to a fault, and a social puppy dog and an overachiever and a nervous wreck. I really saw him as a Shakespearean clown. In many of the years leading up to “Abbott,” I was cast as these darker, brooding, troubled, tragic characters. Jacob is obviously the polar opposite of that; he’s like a rocket launch in another direction. So that was really fun.

2. Do you have any advice for actors making the transition from stage to screen? 

I feel infinitely more comfortable onstage; I think an actor is so much more in control there. Now that we’re going into our fourth season of “Abbott” and I’ve been lucky enough to regularly do stuff in film and TV, I’m realizing how much [stage and screen work] feed each other and how much I’m borrowing from each of them. I’ve always enjoyed working in film and TV, but I was daunted by how different they are [from theater]. The more you can embrace those differences, the more fun you’ll have. 

3. What’s the biggest contrast between performing onstage and in front of the camera? 

What I love so much about theater is that you get on a train that is not going to stop for two hours, and typically, it moves linearly. When you’re in a play, you have one foot in the story, and you have a piece of your awareness, mind, and body in the experience that the audience is having in concert. 

On “Abbott,” we are doing that with the people who are shooting the show, and it’s amazing now how well we know each other. There are three cameras shooting at all times, so there’s this cool ballet between our camera operators and the actors. That really lets the scenes breathe, and it lets us capture the intricacies and eccentricities of human behavior that might not be scripted. 

4. How do you typically prepare for an audition?

It really depends on what the project is, but I only feel safe in an audition if I’ve done more than what I should do. There is some understanding of: What is your function in this greater thing? Is it a sitcom? Is it a drama? Is it an arthouse film? Is it a multicam show? It’s important to know exactly what that is. I was told in drama school that one of the only things I can control is working harder than everybody else; so I try to do that. If I go in there knowing as much as I can, then I won’t regret however it goes.

Christ Perfetti and Tyler James Williams on Abbott Elementary

Christ Perfetti and Tyler James Williams on “Abbott Elementary” Credit: Disney/Gilles Mingasson

5. You did an interview with Backstage way back in 2012, right after you graduated from drama school. What advice would you give that young actor?

That time is just so harrowing for so many reasons, and it can feel listless and aimless and hopeless at times; but I’m so grateful for that time. I wish I could go back and tell myself to not freak out as much. But then I almost want to not say that, because freaking out is what makes you a good actor. If you dull your sensitivity to the world, then you dull your sensitivity to this art form. 

I would tell myself that the things that feel like they are not serving you immediately are going to come for you later on. The beautiful thing about this business is I have not felt a greater high and a lower low. It has the opportunity to absolutely soar or sink you. The advice I would give is to prioritize learning how to manage that feeling—because if you can do that, you can truly do anything.

But certainly with “Abbott,” there’s a lot of crossover. Being in a rehearsal room and developing new plays certainly taught me to work on “Abbott.” There’s definitely a presentational quality to the mockumentary. There’s a constant breaking of the fourth wall, which is a skill you learn onstage as well. 

6. What’s “the one that got away” in terms of a role you really wanted to land?

I want them all. Part of why I find auditioning so exhausting is because I don’t think people really know how much sacrifice actors make emotionally to invest in a new person. It’s obviously the love of our lives and something we enjoy doing, but it’s depleting. Every time you put a bit of your heart on your sleeve and do the work to figure out what this other person’s life could be like, it’s a gigantic task. I felt devastated by a Broadway play that didn’t work out and one line in a commercial that didn’t work out.

7. Which casting director gave you your break?

Carrie Gardner at Roundabout Theatre Company, when I was a little fledgling actor straight out of drama school. She kept bringing me in for new plays. I’m forever grateful to her. I was an absolute mess in those days. I remember going into an audition once, and I brought my backpack with me and changed in the room because it was peak summer. I was just an annoying, harried young actor, and she was very patient with me. 

8. What’s your worst audition horror story?

There are more than I can count. When you start to take yourself more seriously and this business less seriously, the opportunity to be roiled by it really changes. I have so many memories of walking out of a room and truly wanting to die.

9. What performance should every actor see and why?

Any of the film work that Philip Seymour Hoffman did is a master class. If you can, go to the Lincoln Center library and watch any of the productions that the Steppenwolf Theatre Company brought to New York in the last 10 years, particularly “August: Osage County”; That is the pinnacle of stage acting for my generation. 

This story originally appeared in the Aug. 8 issue of Backstage Magazine.