What would you do if you found yourself in a real-life Truman Show scenario? Twenty-five-year-old Anthony Norman recently had to answer that question.
Born and raised in Middle Tennessee, Norman was chosen out of more than 10,000 applicants to be the star of Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat, the second season of the Amazon Prime show that features an unsuspecting individual dropped in an extraordinary (and scripted) situation, surrounded entirely by professional actors. In 2023, Season 1 took place during a fake jury trial, with unwitting “juror” Ronald Gladden at the center of the action. Season 2 centers on a fictitious family-owned hot-sauce business’s company retreat.
Norman was “hired” as a temp worker for the fake company — Rockin’ Grandma’s Hot Sauce — assisting the company’s head of HR. In actuality, he was presented with a (mostly) scripted series of increasingly zany and often stressful problems to overcome and circumstances to navigate.
The Scene recently spoke with Norman by video call. We discussed his once-in-a-lifetime experience making the show, whether he wants a future in show business and his thoughts on local sports.
There were a couple of moments in the show where you actually commented on the crazy events going on around you. But were there any times when you questioned how much responsibility they were giving you?
No, because I think that was my job. I was there to assist in any way that I could. But one moment where I was like, “Y’all want me to do this?” was when [pop star] Sia came. They asked me to go help her. I was like, “Out of all people, y’all want the temp that’s been here for a handful of days to go help Sia?” That was one moment — not that it was a lot, but it did kind of raise the hairs on my neck a little bit.
It was a cool experience. She’s such a sweet lady, she’s funny, and just being around a star like that, it’s always exciting.
There were obviously a lot of things that made sense once you found out it was scripted, but was there one thing that stood out once the puzzle pieces fell into place?
The most prominent one that I think about all the time is — the jobs that I was doing, they didn’t need somebody from Nashville to do those jobs. I was like, “Really, y’all brought me out here just to assist on a retreat?” But I wasn’t asking too many questions; it was a great opportunity, and I was happy to get it, so I was ready to jump on.
It seemed like you were incredibly close with the cast by the end of the show. Are you still in contact with everybody?
Yeah, absolutely. With me being from Nashville, it’s kind of hard, but every time I’m in [Los Angeles], I meet up with at least one of them.
So is this it for you when it comes to TV and film work, or is that something you want to pursue?
I’m a ball player, so I would like to retire, build a facility and just coach and allow the kids and the environment that I grew up in to thrive. But I’m not against any opportunities that may come. I never dreamed about being a movie star or anything like that.
Since you were a college baseball player at nearby Cumberland University, I have to ask you about the Dodgers jersey you were wearing in the show. Was it a Mookie Betts jersey?
There was no number on it. I’m actually a Yankees fan. I just thought the jersey was super cool, and that’s why I’m glad it just says Los Angeles across it. The only Dodgers part of it is that there’s a D on the side.
If I did get a Dodger jersey with a name, it would definitely be Mookie. My first job, I worked at a bowling alley. It was Tusculum Lanes, and [Mookie, who was a state champion bowler at Overton High School] and his mom used to come up there all the time. My boss knew I was a big baseball fan, so anytime I could go over there to help him out and kind of pick his mind about ball, he was always happy to chat, but I didn’t like to bother him too much.
Since you played for the Donelson-Hermitage Warriors youth football team as a kid, I have to ask if you’re a Titans fan.
Actually, crazy enough, I’m a Chargers fan. My options were the Titans or the Cowboys. I couldn’t pick either team, so I had to go off on my own. At the time, the Chargers had Philip Rivers, [LaDainian Tomlinson], Antonio Gates. How could you not love them?
Is there anything else you want to say about Nashville?
Shout-out the whole city, man. Nashville’s home. I love it. We’ve evolved for sure, in good ways and bad, but Nashville will always be home.
