Jack Topalian is grabbing audiences’ attention in two very different TV shows. He recurred in the third—and final—season of HBO‘s smash hit Euphoria as Naz. Yet just as that series came to an end, the second season of Apple TV‘s Sugar premiered, featuring Jack as Teddy Garnikian. These two unique characters are excellent additions to his extensive resume.

In a wide-ranging interview with TVBrittanyF.com, Jack spoke about what inspires him as an actor and his path to performing. He reflected on working on two shows aroud the same time, and what each experience meant to him, Plus, he delved into some of his other favorite memories, and revealed who he’d like to share the screen with in the future.

Brittany Frederick: What originally motivated or inspired you to become an actor? What was it that made this the right choice for you, especially as it’s not something you did right away?

Jack Topalian: I’ve always loved movies ever since I was a little boy. When we came to the States, I was ten, eleven, and one of the first movies I watched was Star Wars. I was captivated by movies. I lived my life, but then in my 40s, I was taking my kids to casting, because my kids showed some interest [in acting]. A lot of casting directors were asking me if I was in the business and so forth… and I realized that I love it, and I started getting training for it, and it just became a passion.

I woke up thinking about it. I’d go to class; I’d study with some great coaches all over the place. The long and short of it is, I got cast in a TV show called Southland, and then the rest just kind of started to evolve. I enjoyed being on set, I enjoyed meeting a lot of people—seeing some of the people that I’ve seen some of their movies and TV shows. It was pretty fascinating.

Was there a particular role, or a particular moment, where you felt like you had made the right decision? A formative character that made that choice sink in?

Argo was this blockbuster that ended up winning the Oscar with Ben Affleck and it was just an amazing experience… We were filming it in the Ontario airport that was turned into Tehran airport, and it was pretty amazing just to see this machine at work with hundreds and hundreds of extras.

But one of the first times that I remember that it really hit me, if you will, [was when] I got cast for Ray Donovan. I did multiple episodes, but one of the first episodes I did, they said hey, we’re having a table read, would you like to attend?… So I showed up, and they had this table with my name tag on it, and right next to me is going to sit Jon Voight, and right next to him is gonna be Liev Schreiber, and across from me [are] going to be all these other stars that are in this show.

I’m the first one there, because I’m so excited I got there real early… One by one they all came in. Jon Voight came in and introduced himself, I said hey, Mr. Voight, how are you? And he’s like, just call me Jon, I’m not an old man yet, and it was like, wow. And then Liev came; he was amazing. Steven Bauer, who plays Liev’s right hand man in Ray Donovan, he was Manolo in Scarface; I grew up watching that. So that was the very first time that it really hit home for me that I’m at a place where I’ve dreamed about being, and it was almost a surreal experience, that very first time.

Viewers are seeing you in two very different shows, as Euphoria recently ended and Sugar has just started. Did you shoot them around the same time as well, and what was it like to be part of both shows?

There was some overlap. Very different shows, very different characters, very different themes. I got cast for Sugar, and then I got cast for Euphoria, so I would kind of go back and forth… I had never actually done that back and forth. I’ve done projects where there’s maybe a little bit of an overlap, but not to this extent, because I’m recurring on Sugar as well as on Euphoria, so I’m in multiple episodes. I love those kind of challenges. You get up in the morning, today I’m going to be this guy, and tomorrow I’m going to go back to being that guy again. It was pretty cool.

I think they’re very well-written characters, and they’re characters that I understood and I gravitated towards, and I felt that I could do it justice by playing those particular characters. I enjoyed both roles. They were very different, but there were elements in there that I liked. And the writing was good.

For viewers who are seeing you now, are there past projects you’d want them to watch if they want to know more about Jack Topalian?

I’m pretty proud of everything that I’ve done. So if they see any of my works, they can get a good sense of who I am… I’m a character actor, so I could be the guy next door, I could be your gardener, I could be your coach, I could be the guy that’s coming to collect, I could be the getaway driver, whatever the case may be. I like that variety.

And then I could be various ethnicities too, because I speak a couple of other languages other than English, and I’m very good with multiple accents. I’ve been told that I have kind of a unique look, where I could play various ethnicities such as Greek or Italian or Israeli.

With that range, is there anything you’d want to do, or anyone you’d love to work with as your career continues?

I’d love to work with Jon Hamm. I’d love to work with Ridley Scott or David Fincher as directors. I’d love to do some crime [stories], but I also love comedy. I go out for comedy once in a while, and I’ve shot a couple of pilots actually, and I think they were hilarious. The comedy that I bring is very different, because I come from a very serious place, and I think that’s what makes it funnier. But I ‘d love to do more comedy.

I love The Night Agent. I love Lioness. So I’d love to be a part of that, or Landman with Billy Bob Thornton; that world is kind of cool. It’s just very different, but I’d love to do some of that stuff.

What has this period in your career been like for you personally? Just the human experience of being a part of these two interesting shows and the exposure that provides? And do you know what comes next?

It was a pretty amazing experience being on Euphoria. [It’s] such an iconic show, and the fact that it hasn’t been around for a few years—[Season 3] takes a time jump to five years later. Everybody’s kind of grown up, in the adult world. Just to see that, the way that was filmed, I’m really, really excited to watch that. There’s a lot of people that have never even seen the show [who are] going to end up watching it—not only because you have Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, Sydney Sweeney, and everyone else that have become big stars, but the mood and feel of the show, and the way it was filmed on 65MM film.

Other than that, besides Sugar, there’s a feature that I did last year; I think that’s getting released later this year. I’m working on a couple of projects of my own; one is a TV pilot that’s in development, and then the other one is a feature film… We have a couple of attachments already, so I don’t want to say too much just yet, but I’m excited about both of those, and if I can do one or both, that would be pretty amazing.

Euphoria is now streaming on HBO Max. Sugar streams Fridays on Apple TV. Photo Credit: Ararel Photography/Courtesy of Precision Publicity.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.