Josh Zuckerman has been dedicated to his work in the entertainment industry ever since he landed his first audition in high school. Now, Zuckerman is starring in the recently released comedy series, Significant Mother.
Zuckerman’s character, Nate Marlowe, plays an ambitious restaurateur who comes home from a business trip to discover that his mother has started an intimate relationship with his roommate–who also happens to be his best friend.
“[Nate] has to figure out how to cope with that situation,” Zuckerman explains. “The relationship between his best friend and his mom evolves from there. They try to figure out which route they should take. Are they dating or was it just a one-time thing?”
Zuckerman explained that his character takes his career very seriously. It’s common for him to overreact when things aren’t going according to plan, but at the same time he doesn’t want to disown his family or his best friend when dealing with this bizarre situation.
“It’s a big family mess and Nate’s dragged into the mix while he’s trying to conduct business,” Zuckerman said. “He loves his mom, he loves his best friend and he loves his dad; so the crazier they are, the more difficult it is for him to handle.”
Significant Mother’s clever and witty writing is what won Zuckerman over to play the role of Nate Marlowe. He immediately fell in love with the script and the dialogue. Zuckerman shared that he’s sold on a script when he notices his excitement to play that scene or say those words, which he definitely felt while reading the first three scripts to the quirky series.
“Richard Keith and Erin Cardillo, the creators of the show, are so creative with their writing,” Zuckerman said. “They have a very keen sense of comedic timing, but they also show an appreciation for relationships. They make sure that the relationship tracks between characters, but at the same time color that in with jokes along the way.”
Zuckerman realized his senior year of high school that he didn’t want to pursue anything other than acting. To him, nothing was as challenging or exciting. If given the chance, he recommended those who are aspiring to become actors to become involved with theater.
“[Theater] helps you learn so much by having nothing to rely on but yourself,” Zuckerman said. “You’re up there and you get one take. You learn so much from the audience and the habits you fall into. You also learn a lot from great writing. To be able to work with incredible writing is a real gift to any actor.”
However, Zuckerman noted that it’s essential not to lose sight of why you’re in the industry. He pointed out that many people in this business compare themselves to others and get swept up into feeling like they’re not good enough.
“It’s like sports; when you’re winning, everyone wants to interview you, but once you have a few bad games; nobody wants to touch you,” Zuckerman said. “You’re only as good as your last game. It’s really important to stay grounded and to remember why you’re doing what you’re doing. It’s easy to get pulled into the opinions and the popularity game, as opposed to taking it one step at a time.”
Later this year, Zuckerman hopes to co-direct a short film he wrote and explore the writing aspect of things a little more, maybe even writing a play of his own. Even though he does enjoy testing out the writing scene, he admits that acting has always been his first love.
Zuckerman is very proud of the work that has done for the first season of Significant Mother and is optimistic that audiences will respond positively to the laugh-out-loud writing.
“I hope that people fall in love with the characters, the world they live in and that they continue to come back and see what’s happening next,” Zuckerman said. “There’s so many fun surprises throughout this season and I’m so excited for people to be able to tune in and enjoy it as much as we did making it.”
Significant Mother airs Mondays 9:30 | 8:30c. For more information, visit www.cwtv.com.
