Jack Innanen

Jack Innanen and I met over Zoom on a bustling Friday afternoon in a city we both like to call home. He welcomed me into his room through the soft glow of a computer screen, offering a glimpse into the space where he’s spent many hours listening to Brazilian jazz, playing chess into the night with his childhood best friend, and doing the kind of quiet thinking New York somehow makes both impossible and essential. In a city where everyone is your neighbour, whether you know it or not, Jack feels like the kind you’d hope to bump into; quick to laugh, curious enough to care.

In Adults, Jack plays Paul Baker, a happy-go-lucky type with a soft heart and a sweet tooth for oblivion. Paul is the kind of character who meets seriousness with silliness, whose spirit seems stitched from pure sunshine. He doesn’t chase the big questions, but somehow, the answers have a way of finding him anyway. It’s a role that acts almost like a foil to Jack himself, who offscreen is more quietly reflective, deliberately grateful, and tuned into the odd, wonderful rhythm of the people around him. He seems to use humour not to deflect, but to investigate. He finds joy in shared experiences with strangers, and speaks with the kind of sincerity that makes you sit still. We talk about what resonated most for Jack - how Adults anchors itself in the tender, universal rituals of early adulthood: the way friendships become lifelines, how we slowly, clumsily learn to advocate for ourselves, and the realisation that growing up doesn’t mean arriving, but becoming.

Jack, like Paul, is grounded by the people who stick around through all your many drafts. The friends who see you before you see yourself, and stay anyway. Over a conversation that moved with the rhythm of a long walk; full of deadpan jokes and quirky questions, we talked about what it means to play a version of yourself, what makes someone a New Yorker, your mom’s dinner table stories, and the minor miracle of buying a carton of milk instead of having it handed to you in a plastic bag. We talked about the joy of not knowing what comes next, and how, sometimes, the only way forward is to loosen your grip and leap.

Adults debuts on 28th May on FX, streaming on Hulu the following day.

For those who are just getting to know you, what three objects best represent you as a person?
I don’t know if I could include animals as an object…

You totally can, go for it!
A beautiful swan sleeping on a lake in an early sunrise, tranquilly. And then like a napkin that's crumpled in your pocket, but it’s okay because you needed a napkin. Then a chipmunk, because that is what my mom used to say. But that is two animals, so once again don’t know if that counts! But I’m a little anxious, quick chipmunk.

Love. That was great.
Okay, good. [laughs]

I was born and raised in New York City, so I am very curious how New York City has become home for you, because I know you are from Canada. What has been the most jarring thing about New York City that is not common at all in Canada?
I am trying to think when I first came down, well, I don’t know…I love New York. Let me preface by saying I absolutely love New York! But one of the first things I immediately noticed is that when you say thank you to people, sometimes they respond with “Hmmm-mm,” and I don’t think that would fly back home. And also carton milk?

Yeah, that is crazy. I went to Canada once and never stayed long enough to see that.
No milk?

No milk! But anyways, back to you. I am guessing you are in your mid-twenties, right?
Yeah. Wait…

Oh, don’t worry. I did research!
Okay, good. I was worried I would have to change the light.

[laughs] Well, as we know, being in your twenties is really hard, so what piece of advice would you give to someone about to embark on their twenties that you wish you had heard earlier?
Not to give a really real answer, but something I wish I could beat twenty-year-old Jack over the head with is self-advocacy. I had a big complex in my early twenties, waiting for life to hit me and get going. It took me a couple of years to realise I needed to take some ownership in my life and learn self-advocacy. It took me a couple of years to figure out I needed to do this myself, and I have no one to save me. I think everyone goes through that in their twenties.

It is a rude awakening, for sure.
I thought so, yeah. [laughs]

Speaking of being in your twenties and not knowing a lot…In my eyes, Adults harbours a chicken noodle soup for the soul type of feeling for its viewers. It provides a sense of comfort that we are not failing at being adults; It makes us realise we are all individually playing house and trying the best we can. Did you connect with the show similarly?
Oh, totally. “Playing house” is such a good way of putting it. I saw a TikTok recently that really resonated with me, which was saying the first half of your twenties is trying to get with the program. You’re figuring out the plan; Who am I? What do I like? Where do I live? Who do I love? Who are my friends? What is my career? You have all those big questions, and then I think you settle into your groove when you hit your mid-twenties. The second half is all about spending time with your friends, and that is so true for me. I think the show is really fun because it captures both parts of being in your twenties. It’s spending as much time with your friends as possible, while answering those questions. I think that is where the show's beauty is. It is just universal in the idea that we are choosing to do the hard stuff together, just because we want to hang out with our friends while also figuring out how to pay a heating bill.

[laughs] That is so true! Well, this is the perfect next question. But I have to say, your character, Paul Baker, is SO funny. I was DYING at some of the stuff he would say. He is the quintessential happy-go-lucky guy character that everyone will eventually fall in love with. So, in your own friend group, do you feel like you play a similar role? What role do you play in a group?
Well, I am glad you like Paul Baker. Thank you for that! [laughs] I think on a surface level, Paul and I differ with anxiety and self-awareness. I am very self-aware and am anxious about all of those little things. The great thing about Paul, which could also be his greatest downfall sometimes, is that he is always just cruising. He is doing great, and everything just goes well for him. He’s just cruising along, occasionally oblivious to things. I am a little too Type A.

I totally get that, especially with living in New York, you have to be a little bit more Type A. The show really emphasises the value of friendship. It made me want to hug my friends. It also let me reflect that my friends really can help me get through a lot of the hard components of life because I can laugh things off easily with them. So I am curious if there is a moment of kindness you shared with a friend that has really stuck out to you, or a moment that has really made you laugh?
That's good! [laughs] Well, thank you for saying that. That is a great reaction to the show, and a great thing to hear. I think what you said is so true, and a big thing for me was that I moved down to New York with one of my childhood buddies. We kind of lost touch when we went off to school, but he got a job here and we moved to New York together. I could not have done this without him. It’s such a Billie and Samir dynamic, which is so important.

It should be noted that at this point on Zoom, Jack has unknowingly, while talking about such a heartfelt moment, set off a bunch of balloons to bloom across his screen and float around him in celebration.
I didn’t even know you could do that, I had no idea what that was.

That was awesome.
That was sweet. I totally did that on purpose. Anyway, it was such a Billie and Samir relationship. He knew who I was at seven, he’s seen me pee my pants…all those things. Anytime a friend thinks about me, and I don’t realise it, it feels like the kindest thing. It is also a wake-up call for me to reach out to more people. Whenever anyone does something for me, says something kind to me, or gives something to me, it makes me realise that they are considering me at that moment. Moments that make me laugh…Hmmm, can it be people in general or just friends?

You know what, we can branch it out.
I had one. Oh my god, what was it? I have one that is so not about friendship, but it could be an absolute tangent. It was just the first thing that popped into my head.

No, please share anything that has stuck with you. Now I need to know!
I love it when people embrace moments and don’t take anything too seriously. I was on a ski trip, and I was trying to drive a rental car up to a hotel, and I got to this road that was super steep and covered in ice. I was like, Oh shit, I have no idea how I am going to get up this. So, I gunned it and made it up, but then slid right back down. Then, these hotel employees come out, speaking in thick French accents, telling me to go full speed, gun it, gun it! And here I am thinking, I mean there’s no shot, but I go to back up and right before I slam my foot on the gas, they come over and they are laughing their asses off. They are saying “Oh, I’m fucking with you! It’s a ski slope!” I look up, and these two little children are skiing down the road. I had accidentally driven onto the ski slope, and these little children are skiing around the car. I loved that it was a serious situation, and instead of yelling at me or kicking me out, they were trying to get me to go full speed. Then they ended up pointing me in the right direction.

[laughs] That’s awesome. Okay, now I have some silly fun questions. Are you down?
Oh yeah, of course I am down!

Okay, amazing. If you had to live in a house with four other people, who would you live with? Dead or alive.
That is a great question. My immediate answer would be the cast or the characters they play - Anton, Samir, Billie, and Issa. This is not a judgment on any of these people, but I think this would be a house where no one gets along. I would choose Mr.Beast, The Pope, Mr.Satiry, my high school physics teacher, and William Lyon Mackenzie King, who was the prime minister of Canada in World War Two.

I was thinking, I have no idea who that one is.
Yeah, so no one would really be able to have a conversation.

I feel they would all keep the bathroom clean. And you would have meals together, things would be great, it could be a lot of fun in that house.
You could come over! You are welcome to come chill.

Cannot wait. What is the strangest dream you’ve ever had?
[laughs] Um, all of my dreams are pretty much about plane crashes, which is scary. They are all anxiety dreams. I have dreams where I get The Truman Show tricked into cheating on a partner. I had a dream recently, actually this past week, where I was Chandler from Friends, and I cheated on Monica with Rachel. I thought we were filming an episode, but I was actually Chandler in real life and was tricked, and I actually cheated on Monica with Rachel. I don’t even know.

Wait, that is insane. I am obsessed with that. I have similar anxiety dreams - dreams where I do something bad, and I am arrested. But I have no idea what my crime is.
Oh my god, you have to read The Trial by Franz Kafka, if that was your dream then that is your shit. You are going to love that book.

Okay, adding to my list. Going beyond dreams, who is someone that you admire in or out of the industry? It could range from your old physics teacher to Jacob Elordi.
All of the above. I mean, I think Donald Glover is really fucking cool. He is creatively really cool. He is a multi-faceted and multi-talented person, going from comedy into music, and then making his own show. I really respect him in many ways. I aspire to have a career similar to his and also be a man in the same way.

Yeah, he is sick. I am obsessed with his music.
Also, shout out to my mom. Not to throw her in at the end, there.

[laughs] Yeah, it’s almost Mother’s Day, we gotta shout out our moms.
Checks his phone immediately.

Wait, it’s in May in America. I am so sorry to spook you. You have time.
[laughs] You cannot do that to me.

[laughs] Anyway, what kind of guilty pleasure music do you dance to in your bedroom?
Oh my god, what a perfectly timed question. Bossa Nova? When I first moved to New York, my buddy and I were just on a Bossa Nova kick. Are you familiar with them?

Is it like EDM?
No, it’s like Brazilian jazz in Portuguese.

Oh my god, okay. Not even close.
It is so great, I am sure you have heard something like them before. When we first moved here, we would just put on Spotify’s Bossa Nova playlist that was curated for me, and play chess for like three, four hours a night. I was on my way to an audition this morning and listened to it, and it totally brought me back to that moment. Also, I talked to Malik [Elassal] on the show about this; I had daydreams where I listened to Chief Keef or very intense rap music. I don’t daydream about winning an award, but I dream about reacting to my fellow castmates winning an award. The reaction cam is on me, and it’s me dapping up Malik or Amita [Rao] on the way to get their Emmy. I don’t know what that says, but…

I mean, you love to see your friends winning, and I respect that.
Shit, I guess I just am like a great friend.

Oh, of course. Switching gears from friends to family, are there any funny stories from your childhood that your parents tell about you at dinner parties?
I was talking about this with my mom recently. She’s got a couple…I was a really goody two-shoes, polite little boy. My mom loves to tell this one story, where one day I was really upset coming home from school, on the verge of tears. And then, at night, I went into her room and just broke down crying because I was so upset and ashamed. She kept asking me what was wrong, because she thought something really bad had happened. I couldn’t say it, I was so ashamed. But then, she finally got out of me that during reading time in Grade One, there was a girl in my class sitting in front of me. She had an issue where she couldn’t put her pants on properly, and her underwear was out, and I was so ashamed that I saw this girl’s underwear. I was so ashamed and thought, This is not something I am supposed to see. I just thought I did something absolutely horrible. I was devastated for a week after that.

That is such a wholesome, great story. [laughs] That was such a plot twist, I had to know what happened to you. Speaking of your younger self, what did your younger self want to be before you grew up? A part of me felt like you wanted to do hockey, but I didn’t want to assume because of the Canadian thing.
[laughs] I totally appreciate that, it’s definitely one of them. Also, are you trying to steal my password with that question? That’s like a password reset? What the heck uhhh I wanted to be a professional hockey or soccer player when I was little. But then I had a little stint of wanting to be a cartoonist, and then I wanted to be a businessman. I didn’t even know what that meant, of course, I just was like, I want to work in an office.

You wanted a briefcase.
Yeah, someone get this kid a briefcase stat. But from middle school through high school, I wanted to be an astronaut.

That’s super cool. Speaking of past lives and careers, I have known you from TikTok since the COVID days, like dark COVID days. A form of escapism was TikTok. So, before embarking on acting, you had a strong presence on TikTok. How has that app changed your life, and what has been the best part of connecting with strangers?
Well, aye, thank you! Yeah, definitely dark COVID days. But the app totally changed my life. Life is completely different because of it. I was living in Toronto, going to school, getting a STEM degree, but then this completely opened up opportunities for me. Back to the self-advocacy, when I was twenty, I tried to do some videos to see what happened, and it was the best decision I have ever made. The biggest joy is knowing that people like it, that’s insane. Getting to do this kind of show has also been incredible. The creators are the funniest people. The writing is hilarious, the cast is so funny and so talented. It opened up so many windows and personally showed me so much. I don’t just have to go to school and do physics, I can do all of these other things. So yeah, it’s meant everything to me, and knowing that people have loved the videos is just the craziest and most surreal thing. And I hope people feel that way about the show.

Yeah, I mean, honestly, I watched the show on the Amtrak from Boston coming back to New York City, and I was just crying and laughing.
[laughs] Oh my…

The person sitting next to me definitely thought I was crazy, but I think that you guys did such an amazing job, and I am so excited for everyone to see Paul Baker. Would you like to share anything else about the show or anything?
Yeah, I mean, thank you so much for saying that. I truly think that the show is the funniest thing I have ever read. I read the script, and I was hell-bent on getting it. It was so funny, and Paul Baker felt like me in so many ways. And as we are talking about friendship, that is the beauty of the show. It’s figuring everything out with your friends because you are never alone. I think it can really speak to young people and older people. I am excited for people to watch it. Please go watch it.

Yes! Yeah, everyone’s gonna get convinced, don't worry.
Perfect.

Paul has some really great character moments, and I am excited for the rest of the world to see them, so I can talk about them with everyone! I am on the edge of my seat and need to watch more. The whole skit at the gun store talking to the man who owns the gun store was absolute gold. You don’t get a lot of shows that explore the generations interacting, so I think that was so well done, and every line was great.
The generational twist is fun, anyone can enjoy it! Thank you for saying that, I really appreciate it.

Oh yeah, of course. I know you have to go, but enjoy New York, don’t move back to Canada!
I won’t. [laughs] I love this city, I think my “thank you,” “hmm” response comment was too harsh. I love this city. It's the best.