Bravo’s latest scripted comedy, Odd Mom Out, depicts some of the real life ridiculousness of the super wealthy on New York’s upper east side. Sean Kleier plays Lex, the brother-in-law of series star Jill Kargman. When Lex sells his business, he goes from wealthy to extremely wealthy, which puts more pressure on Jill and her husband to keep up with the Joneses.
OHSOGRAY talked exclusively with Kleier about the show and what it’s like to work with Kargman.
Odd Mom Out premieres June 8, 2015 at 10-10:30 ET on Bravo.
What can you tell us about your character?
I play Lex. He is, for lack of a better vocabulary word, a douche. In the truest sense of it. He’s a really wealthy financier on the upper east side and a very oblivious and entitled individual.
He comes into quite a bit of money, does that cause some drama in the family?
Yeah, he comes into even more money than he already had. Not that the dude needed any more money in the first place. You have this dynamic in the show between these super wealthy socialites that are trying to position themselves at the top of the world and Jill and her normal family who are just trying to keep up. So the more money and notoriety we get, the more pressure we put on them to appear like nobility—the way we consider ourselves.
That’s not something Lex is even cognizant of, right?
I would say he’s entirely unaware of that. I don’t think he knows that the world he lives in is not that normal. This is totally day-to-day to him. It’s just his expectation that they would follow after him.
How is it working with Jill [Kargman]?
Jill is an absolute maniac. She’s like a mad scientist of comedy. First of all, she hadn’t acted before…so she steps in and does my job exceptionally well…you know, the actor’s job. Which you’re like, “Hey, don’t show us up so bad. Keep the illusion that this is a difficult thing to do.” She’s just so good at it, but then also they way she sees the world is so hilariously critical and satirical [that] she just has this amazing perspective. You can’t really know it until you talk to Jill, but she’s a maniac—in the best sense of the word.
Does she tend to go off script?
I think she does. The thing is, you can’t really tell. She writes her own language. She speaks her own language and she writes it into the script. Then when you’re filming it, she might even be off script and you wouldn’t know, because she’s just speaking Jill.
Are there any scenes with her that have been your favorite so far?
At the end of the season, there’s an enormous blowout and Jill is kind of—not to give anything away—she is sniffing out some of my bullshit. We had a really fun time filming these scenes where she’s super critical of me and I’m trying to hide things from her. It all escalates and spills over. So that was really really fun.
Have you had any personal experience with these type of crazy, upper east side moms?
Not the moms as much as the banker types, because I used to bartend and wait tables at some nice establishments here in New York. So you’d encounter these types of people all the time and they were every bit as self-obsessed as you might imagine. That’s just ordering a cocktail at a meal for me. You can tell right away.
Is there something liberating in now playing a role where you get to live that other side?
It’s so much fun because there’s no parameters for Lex. He can be as outrageous as I’d like for him to me. Having dealt with these guys for so long, there’s a little bit of catharsis in playing this role. You worry for a second, “Is everybody going to think I’m a douchebag?” Then you go, “Screw it. I’m having too much fun being a douchebag. Maybe I should just start being a douchebag in real life. It’s fun.”
Maybe that’s why they do it.
That’s why they do it! [Laughs] Maybe they just have more fun.
How did you get cast in this role?
I was the only one who auditioned. We asked Abby Elliott, of course, and Andy Buckley and Joanna Cassidy to join the show. K. K. Glick was part of the sizzle. […] I remember picking up a bunch of Jill’s books and reading them and just trying to get as close to the role as I could. I was lucky enough that they liked me.
What’s it like working with Joanna Cassidy?
Joanna’s a legend. She’s kind of a second mom to me. I think we’re actually going to go rock climbing on Saturday together. […] She has the spirit of a 23 year old. It’s hard for me to even keep up with her. So she’s awesome. She’s just a really talented actress and then really fun person to hang around with.
Why should people watch Odd Mom Out? What will they enjoy the most?
I think it’s a window into a world we all know exists, and we’re all kind of already a bit peeved by. So I think there’s a real catharsis in watching the show and seeing these super wealthy, horrible people…not horrible people…living their oblivious lives. It’s fun. It’s just a raucous comedy and I think that’s a really enjoyable part of it.