Shifting from Star Wars to You’re Cordially Invited, Vinny Thomas is seeing the massive scope and sweet personalities that keep movies and TV going. After working in the comedy scene in Chicago, Vinny Thomas has been appearing in more high-profile projects. This includes memorable appearances in Ashoka and Platonic, as well as a supporting role in the Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell-led Prime Video comedy, You’re Cordially Invited.
During an interview with BrittanyTVF, Thomas spoke about getting to work with Witherspoon and the lessons he learned from the film, as well as an improv faux pas he pulled on the set of Ashoka and the joys of tormenting Seth Rogen.
TVBrittanyF: You’re Cordially Invited is a big movie, and you actually got most of your scenes directly alongside Reese Witherspoon.
Vinny Thomas: Which was wild, by the way! I think this was my first time meeting Reese. Reese is such a capital-A actress. One of the first scenes we had together, she had her arms crossed and her brow was kind of furrowed, and I was like, oh, she’s clearly upset about something. So I walked up to her and I was like, ‘Reese, everything okay?’ And she goes, “No, it’s fine, I’m actually locked in. I’m acting right now.” So I was fully like, ‘oh, shit! Me too! We’re both professionals in the same way, totally in character!’ [Laughter].
She’s locked in, man, she’s all about that… it would have been intimidating if she wasn’t such a sweetie pie. She was such a certified cutie patootie and she’s genuinely nice. It’s easy to act with someone who is nice. I know that’s not the most interesting thing to say, but it is. It’s easy to work with someone who is nice [Laughter].
It’s not just Reese though, you also got to work with Will Ferrell in a comedy. What lessons did you take away from getting to work with these A-listers in their field?
I mean, these are people I grew up watching, you know? Especially Will, he’s someone I have been watching on Saturday Night Live reruns for a long time. So I think, if anything, what I’ve taken away with this is that you should have the ability to be funny without necessarily needing the lines. You should be able to kind of play and have fun with everyone in the room. You cannot silo yourself. You have to be able to just give up and have fun with people and have fun.
But they’re also extraordinarily hard workers. You don’t understand how much people who reach those heights are doing all the time. They’re constantly doing something. Even in the quiet moments, they’ve got their laptops out, they’re answering emails, there’s just a lot going on. I would say the lessons I learned are to give up, have fun, make jokes with people, and just work hard.
You’ve also been working with Nicholas Stoller on both You’re Cordially Invited and together on Platonic. How does the experience of working with him on a TV show differ from working with him on a film like this?
[Nicholas] is the same, wherever he is. He’s just 100% this big, goofy guy who, if he sees someone do something funny… best thing that you can get on set is hearing Nick guffaw behind the camera. He’s got this very funny chortle, almost this dude laugh. When he’s back there cracking up, that’s when you know you hit it. He’s also very open to collaborating. He’s very kind, and he’s constantly pitching lines. He’s just a great director in that sense.
The difference between TV and movies is that the movie feels rushed the whole time you’re doing it. You have to get this now and then that’s it. You get a few chances, and then we move on. And then there’s no potential to revisit that. There’s no long arcing story that you’re considering. It’s just like, this is done right here and right now. And so that’s it.
That was a little intimidating. I would be like, ‘I did my two takes of that scene, and that’s it.’ We’re just going to move on. TV feels a little more relaxed. You’re on a lot, you’re in a giant warehouse where someone’s built the interior of a family home or something… it’s so freaky too, to see people sprinkling leaves on a fake lawn that’s been built inside of a giant room. And they’re careful! People are carefully adjusting each leaf so it looks natural. And this really sells. Those are real looking leaves!
What are you most excited about for Platonic season 2?
I’m most excited to play with the kind of weird relationship that has developed between me and Seth. I’m almost this entity that follows Seth Rogen around, like a ghoul. I’m a high little ghoul who is also galaxy brained and just constantly in the background of different moments of Will’s life in the show. I think I’m more excited than ever to be a menace and a weirdo in Platonic.
What surprised you the most about You’re Cordially Invited?
Seeing Reese Witherspoon in a corporate context! That was very interesting to me. Outside of what I’ve seen her before, like Legally Blonde and Walk Hard, it was weird seeing her as this kind of corporate boss. I kind of locked in holding the clipboard next to her.
I can now see myself working as an assistant in an executive context. [Laughter] It felt very natural! As soon as I put it in my hand, I was like, ‘Oh, maybe I should be doing this. This is maybe what I should be doing for a living.’ It feels very natural to be standing behind someone like Reese and nodding your head yes or no. It was a great feeling. I would do it for Reese.
In almost direct contrast to the kind of grounded comedy Stoller likes to explore, you also got to be in Star Wars! How does that experience compare to your other acting work?
First of all, everyone has to wear a black cloak. You’re escorted out of your trailer by staff, because people fly drones overhead. They’re trying to find things. Everyone has a code name — every single character, the name that they use for you on any document, on any trailer, is not the real name of the character. For Asoka, it was all different kinds of birds. I was Senator King Fisher. That was the bird that I was. Someone was heron, someone was ostrich, everyone had a code name for a bird.
Then you get to this set, and it’s huge. It’s these 40-foot tall blue screens in the shape of a football field. They’re massive. It was this fever dream that was so different than anything else. [Nicholas Stoller’s] stuff is very grounded and close to life. Going from that to being on set with Dave Filoni and his cowboy hat… I was just shaking in my boots that I was even doing Star Wars in the first place.
I embarrassed myself so badly on that set, too. Dave Filoni was there, and I love Dave Filoni. I’ve been watching Clone Wars since I was a kid. And he heard that I did improv. So at one point, he was like, ‘Why don’t you try to just throw a little improvised line in here?’ I was like, yeah, sure, I do it all the time. And the line I improvised for that take was, ‘How on Earth?’ [Laughter]. So, yeah. Dave stops everything, and he’s like, ‘and then like, ‘So…’ Clancy Brown is behind me cackling, and Dave Filoni comes up, and he’s like, ‘Maybe don’t say Earth.’ Like, it is a galaxy far, far away. [Laughter].
You’ve also got an episode of Smartypants coming up! How do you approach making one of those presentations funny while still being informative?
I think the hardest part of Smartypants is picking a presentation. Even up to this moment, I don’t know if I’ve made the right choice. I guess we’ll see… I think I went pretty earnest initially, and I was like, this is maybe too earnest, because your instinct is to create jokes, right? To do set-up, punchlines, set-up, punchlines. The instinct is to create kind of a performance. But at the end of the day, it’s a PowerPoint presentation, so it should still feel loose and kind of open-ended, and have room for people to jump in and play. That really is the most important part.
You’re Cordially Invited is now streaming on Prime Video. Platonic is now streaming on Apple TV+. Smartypants is now streaming on Dropout.
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