Is Schnieder Drinking Again One Day at a Time
One Mean solar day at a Fourth dimension's Todd Grinnell on How His Sobriety Inspired Schneider'due south Big Episode
Todd Grinnell. Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Role player Todd Grinnell walked into the One 24-hour interval at a Fourth dimension writers room last June, took a seat at the long conference tabular array where the sitcom's rapt writers were waiting for him, and said, "I tin can tell you a bunch of sad stories."
"Tell us a funny story," suggested co-showrunner Mike Royce.
"Well, they're all funny now," replied Grinnell, who plays the affable if sometimes socially clueless Schneider. The histrion, who has been sober 17 years, was invited to run across with the writers to share his experiences with habit a week before production of ODAAT season three began at Sony Pictures Telly Studios. Schneider has made references to his sobriety in by episodes, just this season, he relapses after his male parent pops dorsum into his life and pressures him to convert his apartment building into condos. Grinnell's appearance in the writers room is not that unusual: Royce and co-showrunner Gloria Calderón Kellett have brought in other guests to speak to the writing staff, including armed services veterans, health-care workers, and Kellett'southward ain parents, who shared their immigration story from Republic of cuba.
"Information technology's great to hear somebody else'southward perspective," Kellett told Vulture. "At that place's ever things they say or the style in which they say it that informs something. It definitely makes its mode in so I think it has more of an touch when information technology's seen. Even though it's a one-act, we're doing a real moment and that'southward a existent affair and people recognize it. It resonates a little bit more."
When Grinnell starts talking, stories spill out fast. He started drinking at 13, and he says he was a "amend" drinker than all of his friends in that he could beverage a lot more than than they could before passing out. By 17, he was as well doing cocaine. In one case, when he was a senior in college, he got so drunk that he went looking for drugs with his friend and crashed his parents' new Volvo through a debate and into the porch of a home. When the police stopped him, he denied that the huge piece of wooden fence draped over the back of his auto had anything to do with the accident. "This was five years before I sobered upwards," Grinnell said. "In that location were many moments in my life that I knew I should hang it up and then I wouldn't."
One twenty-four hour period, at age 25, after he had moved to Los Angeles and had a 3-solar day bender, he decided to get sober. There was no epiphany, just exhaustion. "The reason I drank was to be courageous and interesting," he told the writers. "By the cease, I couldn't even speak. I was not the life of the party anymore. I was simply a guy who drank by myself. I didn't want to be around other people. It became deplorable and less interesting to me."
The writers peppered him with questions for over an hour, and Grinnell shared several details that brand information technology in the episode: how the Alvarez's trust in Schneider would interruption when they acquire of his relapse and dishonesty; a common expression nearly the disease "doing push button-ups" while an addict is sober; and how humiliating it is for an aficionado to attend a meeting after a relapse.
Although Grinnell suggests that Schneider too practise drugs — and early drafts of the script for "Drinking and Driving" include that — the writers decided it's likewise much for one episode. Executive producer Dan Signer and producer Andy Roth, who co-wrote the episode, said Grinnell'due south visit opened up the story and gave them ideas for consequences they hadn't considered. "One of the things he said concluded upwardly nigh verbatim in the script, about what a big deal it was for Penelope to ask him to take Alex to his baseball games," Roth said. "That'southward not something I would have fifty-fifty thought about had we not spoken to Todd about information technology. That thought that nobody would trust an addict to practice that stuff."
Grinnell spoke with Vulture on set about inhabiting Pat Harrington'southward iconic Schneider role, why he wanted to share his personal stories with the writers, and what it felt like to pretend to break his sobriety.
As a fan of the original One Day at a Time, how did you arroyo playing Schneider? Your version is different but the producers kept the name, so at that place is homage being paid at that place. Was it scary?
It was daunting because I had to really forget what Pat [Harrington] did. I didn't desire to try to imitate him in any style because it'southward plainly a totally different testify. The characters are the same constructs and information technology's by and large the same concept, simply everything's different, so we talked near ways to view information technology through the lens of, How tin we honor the spirit of the character? I remember, deep downwards inside, these two guys are similar. They're both really lovely people who are very lonely and only love the ii families and so much.
I've been fortunate enough to talk to Pat's son and his girl a little chip, who are really lovely. I was really sad that I didn't get a take chances to come across him before he passed abroad 'cause it would have been only a huge honor of my life to talk to him virtually the role. He's an inspiration to me for sure. I go on a picture of him over my dressing room — there's a pic of him dressed as Schneider, doing the double fingers thing. I'm such a dork, but before every show, I give him a fist bump and I'm similar, Let's exercise it man. I believe that everybody's watching. We've got some mementos of Bonnie Franklin's and Pat's on set and there'due south merely a deep connexion with the original series. It's then squeamish to honor that on a daily basis and remember.
The writers like to bring in experts to help with their research. What did yous think when they asked yous to speak nearly addiction?
It was the get-go time I'd done that. We all talk on a regular basis and we're very collaborative during the rehearsals and run-throughs, but I loved that they wanted me to come in. That attribute of the character is inspired by a role of my life. When I initially got the role, they were withal trying to figure out what the character was. Gloria called me and asked if they could use that office of my life in the show. I think information technology'southward actually an important thing to talk about on Television receiver and I'm excited to have that conversation. So when they asked me to come in the room, it was more for me to share my experience so that nosotros talk about this in the correct mode.
Was it difficult to reveal all of that to your colleagues?
No, it wasn't. I've been sober for 17 years. At this point, those stories are from when I was a dissimilar person. When we got into the shooting of it, there were a couple things that I hadn't thought about in a while.
Similar what?
In an earlier version of episode 12, there were actual hard drugs in improver to the alcohol. We were near to have some prop stuff brought in and I was like, Oh, wow, this is weird. I was gonna exist handling some drugs and I haven't seen that in 17 years and I don't know how that feels. But and then they cut that considering they idea it was too much.
I don't have emotionally arduous episodes like that, unremarkably. The season finale of season two was tough for that reason, as well. The comedy of this graphic symbol comes a little fleck easier for me, so it was interesting to explore all that stuff within this character, which nosotros don't normally do. I got to play a actually different person because that's what happens when people use drugs and alcohol and have a trouble with drugs and alcohol. You become a different person and yous do things yous wouldn't usually do and you go in trouble and life doesn't go then well. That's what happened in this episode for Schneider. And when I say it was challenging, it's because I don't even know what this person is like nether the influence of alcohol. I'thousand not used to Schneider being manipulative and mean and yelling and saying not nice things. You have to rebuild the character or rebuild a parallel character to the character, which was interesting.
You've been friends with Gloria for a while and she directed that episode. Did that help?
It was amazing because I'one thousand in the best hands I could be in. The whole cast and crew are very sensitive. Most people know that I'm a sober person, and and so everybody was really sensitive and checking in with me and making certain that I wasn't getting triggered. [Laughs.]
Did your visit to the writers room help your operation? You lot knew the whole story ahead of time. Production hadn't even started notwithstanding.
For sure. Going into a season, nosotros have a general idea about what'south going to happen, but you don't know everything that's going to happen with our characters, although if yous ask them they'll tell you. It helps because so yous tin recall well-nigh your operation leading upward to those episodes. Yous can brand adjustments. It's a squeamish luxury to accept as an actor.
Did it always get besides close to home when you were working on "Drinking and Driving?"
A piffling scrap, aye. You bring whatsoever you can from your own life to these things. To become a really honest functioning, it tin can impact you in a personal style. In a roundabout mode, it brought up other stuff from my life. His relationship with his dad really pushed him over the edge. I don't accept that kind of relationship with my dad — my dad'southward one of my best friends and we dear each other. But in episode 12, in that location's a lot of him feeling like he's a piece of crap and that'south why he drank. And whether you lot've had a stable family or good life, part of alcoholism is having some piddling vocalization inside of you lot that'due south telling you that yous're a piece of crap, so that function was relatable. It'southward tough. Information technology brought up some feelings that I had from when I was in my twenties of not feeling great well-nigh myself. It was weird to recollect that 'cause you dredge information technology up and you go, Oh God, I call back I used to crush myself upwards a lot and have lower self-esteem and say atrocious things to myself in my head. That was uncomfortable to dive back into, only at the same time, information technology did feel very foreign so it also was a nice marker of Well, look how far we've come. Like you're a different person at present.
You have all of that going on internally and and so sometimes in the episode you likewise accept to be funny. What was that like?
Justina [Machado] and I were joking because it was like nosotros switched roles. In this episode, she had some of the goofier stuff than she normally does and I was playing the serious, emotional stuff. We flipped roles. Nosotros thought information technology was bizarre and difficult. There were a couple of moments where she was playing a little bit dense and she said it was hard playing dumb. [Laughs.]
The eighth episode, "She Drives Me Crazy," is your directorial debut. What was it like directing yourself?
Information technology was a lighter episode for me, but it was interesting. The manner we do it, nosotros have a stand up-in and nosotros block the scenes and rehearse with him and then I'd be able to see all the shots. And so I'd bound in and perform. I was lucky that they gave me an opportunity to exercise it. Earlier we even got picked upwardly for season three, I told Mike and Gloria that I'd love to direct and they enthusiastically and passionately said yes. Since our first episode, I'd shadow Pamela Fryman and she told me at one point that I should practice this. Pam Fryman thinks I could do this, so I'm gonna do it! Then, I spent the outset two seasons shadowing Pam and Phil Lewis, who'southward one of our other large directors. I also shadowed a really good friend of mine, Richie Keen, who was working on Disjointed. It was terrifying the first mean solar day and simply sky past Friday. I had the time of my life, merely it was a lot more than piece of work. You're on your anxiety a lot more and you don't get as many breaks.
What would yous like to see for Schneider in flavor four, since Avery's back and he's in a serious relationship now?
I don't know how long he's going to be able to stay in a serious relationship. I recollect there'll be some conflict between how serious it gets between he and Avery and how much time he spends with the Alvarezs. In that location will be a tug-of-war.
I've been through that in my life. I was unmarried for a long time, I used to hang out with my best friend and his married woman, I was their tertiary cycle for years. And then, I got a girlfriend and information technology became serious and it was like, Well, you can't continue to hang out all the time.
Lydia won't handle that well.
That's what I mean! Exactly. The stress. You merely don't know. He could get his centre broken. Or if there are more seasons, maybe there'due south a baby!
In that location have to be more seasons.
Let's promise!
Source: https://www.vulture.com/2019/02/one-day-at-a-time-season-3-todd-grinnell-schneider.html
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