Anyone who got near the University School of Nashville auditorium in the mid-2000s knew the buzz: John Early, the shoo-in lead for school plays and musicals, would be a star one day.
The prophecy has been fulfilled. It took less than a decade for Early, who left Nashville almost 20 years ago for New York University, to get a brief but memorable role on 30 Rock. Subsequent spots on Broad City and Portlandia firmly established Early in the comedy vanguard. High-profile Netflix projects and voice-over gigs followed, culminating with 2023’s HBO Special Now More Than Ever, in which Early strings together rollicking bits, songs and stand-up rooted in millennial sensibilities. He brought a version of the show to City Winery in the summer.
Harried homemaker Terry Goon, played by Early in Stress Positions, will also make you laugh. Goon may also stress you out or even make you sad. The role shows off new dramatic dimensions for Early — typically a scene’s absurd and maximalist centerpoint — as Goon navigates unfunny challenges like pandemic anxiety and a disintegrating Brooklyn household. His fate becomes one satisfying thread among the movie’s meandering characters and narrative chaos. Early’s longtime friend Theda Hammel co-wrote, directed and co-stars in the film, which Early affectionately hails as his “little Parker Posey dream.”
He spoke with the Scene from his home in Los Angeles ahead of the movie’s Belcourt premiere.
Growing up, everyone had such confidence in you as an actor and entertainer. Are you finally famous?
It doesn’t feel like I’m famous. I would say I’m very moderately famous. It was very humbling coming back and doing a show at City Winery in June. I could barely sell tickets. I boldly added a second, late show because I thought it would be kind of a hometown-hero return, you know? “Get ready because the website might crash.” But literally, I was begging people on the day of to come to that show.
It was hilarious. But if people went to that show — or saw your special in Nashville — then they see your name attached to Stress Positions, they’re going to see two very different John Earlys. Why did you want to help make this?
I’ve known Theda for a very, very long time. She wrote this script during COVID, in 2021, and sent it to me on my birthday, like a birthday present. It was a starting point — more prose-heavy, a piece of text to use in a more experimental way. Originally we wanted to make this movie for, like, no money at all, completely off the grid. Theda knows that, on a kind of comedic level, people are familiar with some of the comedic tropes in this movie from my own work — the manic gay host. For some reason, throwing a dinner party is a preoccupation of mine, and I have a very emotional relationship to hosting. Like, if I oversalt something, it will stick with me for days. But Theda also knew, in a beautiful way, there’s a sadness I can bring to this character. He’s a very sad, sad man. Hopefully, if we’ve done our jobs well, you start watching with an ironic “poor Terry,” then by the end, I hope you’re, like, actually clutching your heart saying, “Poor Terry.” That’s the way this character differs from most of the stuff I put out on my own, which often shares a lot of the same comedic rhythms and the same cultural preoccupations.
I did notice that 9/11 comes up in your comedy special and in Stress Positions. Is that one of these preoccupations?
I’m borrowing from Theda’s brilliant ideas here, but I believe it’s very generationally important. The millennial generation is bracketed by these two major world events: 9/11, beginning the youth phase, then COVID, the end of the youth phase. So I think it kind of makes sense. I mean, my special also was very much about some need to investigate millennials. Some of it was very conscious and some of it not at all. At the end, I was very surprised by the thematic coherence.
Queerness, gender and lots of types of identity show up in this movie and in your comedy. Do you think about how that will be perceived in Nashville, where you grew up, as opposed to other places, particularly with how forms of representation are under legal threat here?
Frankly, I just don’t think that’s the crowd that’s going to be coming to this movie anyway at the Belcourt, so I don’t think there’s any real risk of any controversy on that end. This movie consciously handles those issues in an irreverent, non-pious way. Theda and I, as friends and collaborators over the years, have always been very allergic to the pressure of queer representation. We have never wanted to make things that fit snugly into what a “queer story” or a “trans story” is supposed to be. I don’t think either of us know what that even means. This movie has sharp teeth and pokes fun at some of those expectations — if anything, I’m curious if the other side of the political spectrum will be offended. I hope not, I hope it’s liberating. We never, ever were like, “Let’s make a queer movie.” It was just, “Let’s make a movie.” Then Theda very quickly realized that she really didn’t know any straight people. These are just our friends, our community.
What do you remember about growing up in Nashville? What were some of your inspirations or cultural touch points?
Let’s just start with what was literally on my wall: the Muriel’s Wedding poster. I also had the Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion poster, and I had a lot of Toni Collette paraphernalia framed. I was very obsessed with her in middle school. I do remember seeing Sarah Silverman’s Jesus Is Magic at the Belcourt many, many times. It was electrifying for me.
Did you personally make sure Stress Positions would play at the Belcourt?
No, it was already in the works, but I think my dad has made several calls to the Belcourt about the movie. My parents are very excited. I told them, “You cannot buy tickets in bulk. We have to let the young people who want to see this movie come in organically. If I get there and it’s all boomers who I went to church with at Second Presbyterian, I will be so angry with you.” We’ll have to see.
