His most recent series, “Pivoting,” aired its first episode on January 9, 2022.
Dewey stars in the series as Henry, the husband of Coupe’s character Amy.
What do you think about the way it kind of balances that serious subject with also the comedy?
Well, I think it strikes the right tone.
It certainly did for me, and I think it’s real.
I do think people are scared of looking at grief, but I think gallows humor is okay.
In fact, sometimes it’s the only way through.
It’s not making fun of the tragic event.
And if every scene is pulling at your heart strings in a certain way, it can be numbing.
And do you feel you have any similarities with your character Henry on the show?
I’m not nearly as chill.
I had a lot of issues and did have a lot in common with that character as well.
So I thought this maybe…
I think Henry is fun loving.
He’s always looking to turn something into a good time.
We were talking about gallows humor earlier.
My defense mechanism when things get rough is humor, and I think Henry does that.
It’s the best.
Eliza and I met on that show “Casual” on Hulu.
We laugh a lot.
We blow a lot of takes, but we … She’s one of the funniest people I know, and I think she’s great on the show.
Do you have any favorite memories from filming with her?
I have many, but there’s a couple that come to mind.
In fact, I don’t know that we ever did.
Again, I just couldn’t stop laughing.
That’s the stuff that makes this job great.
It’s a good gig.
What was it like getting to reconnect for this project?
It was great, and in fact, made the decision to do the show really easy.
I was like, “Great.”
It made that piece of it really easy.
It’s a very different relationship in “Casual.”
I had a sense that we’d be able to pull it off, but it was …
I’m rambling now, but it was the perfect setup.
I know we’ve got the foundation there.
I know we work well together.
Now, can we translate that into a slightly different kind of show?
At some point, probably six, seven years ago, I thought, I’ve never really done …
I talked to my manager about getting a voiceover agent, and we took some meetings and got it.
I could not get a foothold for the longest time.
Animation’s a pretty small world.
I kept submitting tapes and doing my version of things.
It’s a different beast from the on-camera acting thing.
The journey is actually not that interesting.
It’s my first big gig, and it happens to be “Rugrats,” which is huge.
It’s amazing, but they very quickly made me very comfortable there.
You want to bring humor and emotionality to it and all that stuff.
Come on, that’s a good day of work too.
What’s it been like doing a reboot of a popular ’90s cartoon?
Well, it’s awesome, and there’s a certain built-in audience.
Another great thing is that …
I’ve got some nieces and nephews in their early 20s.
It postdates me a little bit, although I certainly watched a bunch of it.
Because this guy, Jack Riley, was the original Stu, and he’s amazing.
So I had to … “What did you enjoy about playing Alex on that show?
I loved everything about that gig.
Working with her was incredible, but also it’s … you talk about layers.
That show got dark and deep and was really challenging, but also really funny.
It could be super emotional.
It could be laugh-out-loud funny.
There was a little bit of physical comedy, and it just felt really real.
I think Alex spoke to some of what I was going through at the time.
Alex’s experience being in a much more extreme fashion.
I miss that show.
One thing I do love and appreciate Hulu for is that we got to tell the whole story.
That was an absolute laugh fest too.
Maybe I’m the problem, now that I’m explaining it.
I remember the last week working on that show.
The last episode was a really emotional one.
Wrapping up the show, personally, was really emotional.
We were pretty teary the whole week, but also taking the time to appreciate the experience.
Michaela remains one of my best friends.
I see her all the time, talked to her yesterday.
I feel really lucky for that one.
What was that like?
I wrote it with Michaela.
That’s been my other gig since college.
I guess, your instinct would be to think that must make it easier.
The experience of playing the character is a little different, but I loved it.
I’m so grateful for that opportunity.
It made me want to do more of that stuff, write for stuff that I am in.
It came in the third season, so we felt like we had a safety net.
Then, you have to toggle back over to actor mode.
As you do in television, the writer oftentimes produces their own episode.
I should probably leave it at that.
I’m able to appreciate their work and see them work without being in there with them.
The writing of that episode gave me an opportunity to do that, which was great.
I am doing a little recurring gig on the HBO show, “Perry Mason.”
I don’t know when Season 2 airs, but that’s been a blast.
I’m working on that now.
That was just announced.
My involvement wasjust announced[over a week] ago.
Talk about switching gears, going to 1930s LA and putting on all those incredible three-piece suits and fedoras.
“Pivoting” one day, “Perry Mason” the next.
I’m pinching myself here.
