Jake Lacygrew up playing a variety of characters on stage in school performances and local theater, and his ability to transform himself has made him a great character actor in his best movies and TV shows. Lacy might have got his start on stage, but appearing on the soap operaGuiding Lightbefore its cancelation gave him a foot in the door for the screen and paved the way for some stellar performances.
Though Lacy has the comedic timing and the charm to play leading men in romantic comedies, he seems to prefer more supporting roles in his work. His best movies and TV shows reflect his ability to play anyone - from privileged wealthy sons to unlikable husbands to soldiers just doing their best. Lacy has been able to create a diverse resume in a crowded field of character work.
Based on the novel by Liane Moriarty,Apples Never Fallis a Peacock original miniseries centering on the Delaney family. It’s a thriller and a mystery that gradually pulls back the layers of the familial relationships with each episode focusing on a different character in the story.
The story ofApples Never Fallkicks off when Joy Delaney (Annette Benning) suddenly goes missing. She and her husband (Sam Neill) are both successful tennis coaches who have decided to retire and sell their school, but her disappearance derails those plans, especially when it comes to light that she and her husband fought just before she vanished. The entire family has to revisit what they know about one another.
Liane Moriarty’s booksNine Perfect StrangersandBig Little Lieshave also previously been adapted for television.
Lacy’s Troy is the oldest of the Delaney sons. He is a wealthy venture capitalist, and completely different from his older sister, played by Alison Brie, who acts as a spiritual life coach.While Lacy is present in all of the episodes as Troy, the show does not get to really dig into his character until episode five, the one named for him, and because of that, he seems more of a stereotype through much of the show until Lacy is given more to work with.
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Most of the attention forBeing the Ricardoswas on the casting of Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball and Javier Bardem as Desi Arnaz. Many did not believe that the duo could convincingly pull off their roles, but they proved critics wrong.
The movie follows a flashback format. It features writers for I Love Lucy looking back on their time on the show in the present day. Specifically, the movie chronicles Ball’s desire to feature her husband in the series and to attempt to save their marriage from his insecurities about her success alongside his infidelity. While the movie has beencriticized for straying from the facts, framing the narrative as a story being told by television writers could allow room for their storytelling to embellish some of the facts.
Lacy’s role as Bob Carroll does not take place in the present day. Carroll is one of the writers on the series, soLacy often takes a backseat in the narrative as more of an observer to the story playing out around him. Lacy does a great job at fitting into the ensemble without pulling the focus from the titular characters.
While Nicole Kidman won Best Actress at the Golden Globes, the movie also received three Oscar nominations.
Jake Lacy made his theatrical film debut in 2014 with a pair of movies. He appeared in the comedyBalls Outand this romantic dramedy,Obvious Child.Obvious Childwas originally a short film that was expanded into a feature. While writer Gillian Robespierre collaborated with other writers for the short, she took on writing and directing duties for the feature, hoping to use the movie’s story as a way to destigmatize abortion.
Obvious Childfollows a stand-up comic named Donna (Jenny Slate) who gets dumped by her boyfriend right before one of her comedy sets. She ends up having a one-night-stand with a man named Max she meets at the same bar after. Several weeks later, she discovers she is pregnant and decides to get an abortion, but she also keeps bumping into Max, debating whether she should tell him the truth about what she is about to do, and avoiding the obvious connection they have.
While the movie could have been made simply to be a public service announcement about how a woman makes a decision about her body, this movie is much more of a romantic comedy in which Donna’s journey just happens to include an abortion.Lacy is charming and has fantastic chemistry with Slate as her love interest. Lacy is so often cast in supporting roles that seeing him as the leading man in one of his early movies is a treat.He would make for a great rom-com scene partner if he pursued those movies.
Jake Lacy joined the cast ofThe Officein its final season. Seasons eight and nine tried to breathe new life into the series with new cast additions and big story shake-ups as several series regulars began to depart the long-running show. Lacy was added as Pete, one of the new customer service representatives, at the same time as Clark Duke was. Mindy Kaling left the series just before their arrival.
Most of the storylines for the duo involve them being the “new” versions of Jim and Dwight, though the show quickly establishes that they are not exactly the same character types and do not have the same interests as their predecessors.Lacy holds his own against the comedy veterans of the series and is an enjoyable addition to the show, butThe Officestill ended with season 9.
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martialis inspired by the 1953 play of the same name, which in turn, is inspired by the 1952 novel. It leans heavily into the drama of the legal proceedings surrounding the incident. With the 70+ year update, however, the events of the movie are moved to the Persian Gulf instead of World War II.
The movie follows the court-martial proceedings after Lieutenant Maryk (Lacy) relieves Lieutenant Commander Queeg (Kiefer Sutherland) of duty during a dangerous storm. Maryk is the one facing a court-martial, but during the questioning and testimonies, it becomes clear that Queeg might be mentally unstable.
Lacy is steadfast and forthright in his role as Maryk. It’s a more commanding role than most of his others, though the movie itself undoubtedly belongs to Sutherland’s performance.
Their Finestis a British movie inspired by the bookTheir Finest Hour and a Half. The primary focus of the movie is on Gemma Arterton and Sam Claflin’s doomed romance as writers who do not initially seem eye-to-eye. The movie as a whole, however, examines the use of propaganda films during wartime as Arterton and Claflin’s characters are tasked with writing one that embellishes the truth of some heroic acts.
Lacy stars as Carl Lunbeck, an American Airforce member. A flying ace, the production team wants him in the film. When he arrives on set, however, it’s discovered he is a horrible actor.Though the movie as a whole is a drama, Lacy brings some levity to the occasion as he gets to play someone who is horrible at the very craft in which Lacy excels.It’s excellent work on his part, especially since Arterton is the movie’s clear star.
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Carolis inspired by the bookThe Price of Salt. Its story sees an aspiring photographer (Rooney Mara) cross paths with a wealthy older woman (Cate Blanchett) while the latter is in the midst of a divorce. The two form a near-instant connection and, eventually, a romantic relationship that threatens both of their existing relationships.
Lacy plays the boyfriend of Mara’s aspiring photographer who wants to marry her and move to France. While Mara plays an ambivalence to their relationship as her attraction to the titular Carol grows, Lacy plays a man clinging to the relationship he wants. He is a stereotypical “nice guy” here, seemingly perfectly fine until he begins to lash out at his girlfriend over her connection to Carol, calling her feelings an infatuation, and believing the novelty will fade.
While the movie is a fantastic showcase for Blanchett and Mara’s talents, especially in some more subtle aspects of their performances, it is not the best showcase for Lacy. It’s one of many movies that prove he is an adept character actor, but he gets in even better performances.
Carolwas nominated for six Oscars and five Golden Globes.
…a great showcase for several character actors, Lacy among them.
Dianeworks as a quiet character study of the titular woman, played by Mary Kay Place. Beyond that, it is also a great showcase for several character actors, Lacy among them.
The movie follows Diane as she devotes her time, seemingly tirelessly, to serving others around her. She volunteers at a soup kitchen, regularly cooks and visits ailing, and ultimately dying, friends and relatives. She continually tries to get her son to get help for his addiction. She also repeatedly tries to atone for the mistakes of her past.
Lacy plays a supporting role as Diane’s son. He gets to have almost three distinct characters in the movie: the addict who refuses to listen to Diane, the put-together man who gets help for himself, and the religious zealot who finds a new path in life. After each of those chapters of his life is revealed through Diane’s eyes, however, the audience also gets to see him seek out his mother and spill the truth of how he feels to her.
Lacy is quietly fantastic in the movie. Place might capture the attention of the audience, but Lacy buoys her performance in all of their scenes together.
Berchtold is a very different role for Lacy.
This Peacock original miniseries is inspired by the real-life abductions of Jan Broberg by Robert Berchtold that have been recounted in Broberg’s memoir and the documentaryAbducted in Plain Sight. The case, in which Broberg was abducted at 12 and again at 14 by a family friend has been deemed largely unbelievable by those not connected to it, and filmmaker Nick Antosca wanted to bring the intricacies of the story to life with the fictionalized miniseries.
Berchtold is a very different role for Lacy.While he is at turns charming and dark, he is a completely believable villain in the story who still maintains his family-man aura. It’s a challenging role for Lacy, and one of the most critically praised of his career.
According to Lacy (viaVariety), he did not want to truly get into the headspace of Berchtold, but instead, emulated charismatic on-screen characters like Danny Ocean ofOcean’s 11, but with an edge:
He wants to be the dangerous, cool, edgy guy in this LDS community in Pocatello, Idaho … I leaned into a lot of that ego and assumed charisma, assumed charm and fearlessness.
Lacy’s approach to the character worked.The Wrapdeemed him worthy of an Emmy nomination for the role, though that did not come.
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The White Lotusbegan as a miniseries spotlighting the privileged guests at the White Lotus resort in Hawaii. With its immense popularity and overwhelmingly positive critical reception, however, the series has become an anthology series with each season moving to a new White Lotus resort in a different location with a different cast. While some cast members have appeared in multiple seasons, the show largely rotates to new performers with each story.
The series attempts to satirize the lives of the privileged, but each season also works as a character study of the main roles as well as, in some cases, a thriller, as mysteries build and relationships become fraught with tension in every season.
Lacy appears in the first season of the show as a newlywed real estate agent. He is the kind of man who wants things just so and becomes fixated on the mistakes made by the resort staff duringhis honeymoon with Rachel(Alexandra Daddario), a journalist who has built her career writing listicles and begins to doubt her relationship.
Lacy was nominated for an Emmy for his role inThe White Lotus. The show as a whole has received 23 Primetime Emmy nominations in its first three seasons, winning six.
White Lotus marks some of the most layered work of Lacy’s career so far.While his character appears as a stereotype of a wealthy man who wants a trophy wife, he also demonstrates his strong connection to his mother, his need for order, and his need to protect and care for his wife despite his belittling of her career. These little character traits emerge throughout the season, fleshing out the character andallowing Lacy to give his strongest performance in his best TV show.
