I’ve interviewed a lot of successful people, but Asher Grodman is the first to become famous mostly without pants. Grodman plays Trevor, the forever-trouserless finance bro on CBS’s hit comedy Ghosts. (Backstory on his wardrobe: On the show, Trevor died while pantsless, hence his spirit is forever pantless in the afterlife.)
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On the eve of Ghost’s eagerly awaited Halloween special (look for it on-demand, trust me), I spoke to Grodman over video from his trailer. We talked about the skills, mindset and determination it took for him to break into an industry that is famously impossible to break into. His secret? Don’t be afraid to look silly every now and then.
First question, because I can’t tell on this video call: Are you wearing pants?
I am at this moment wearing pants, but I’ve got about two hours left of pantness in my life.
Are there days where you wish the writers wrote your character differently, or do you embrace the pantlessness?
There are never days that I wish they wrote it differently, but there are certainly days where you’re just like, pants would be so lovely. When I get to do something else and I get to wear pants, it feels like such a power move. But as a guy who had never done a comedy when we started this thing off, the idea of me not wearing pants was kind of like a safety net because I was like, “Well, if I don’t hit a joke, they’ll just switch up the angle and reveal my thighs, and that should get a chuckle at least.”
Imposter syndrome is a big thing. People face a big moment and think, “I’ve never done this before — I shouldn’t be doing this.” How did you get yourself in the right headspace for comedy?
I remember I auditioned and I think it was Joe Port, one of our showrunners, who was like, “Who are you? You’ve never done a comedy.” And do remember saying — I don’t know where this came from — that comedy is just drama but more serious. You’re just committed to being an idiot, to some degree, or whatever the thing asks you to be. The first line Trevor ever says is, “We scooped a copter to beat the traffic out to the Hamptons because that’s how we roll.” It’s just such a specific point of view and a specific guy. I was like, I know who this is, and a lot of my job is going to be to get out of the way of the comedy, because that’s working, and just make sure that there is a heart to this guy. I approached it as an actor. I didn’t approach it with the intention of, I have to make this funny.
So what’s the most Hollywood thing in your fancy trailer?
This is going to be really disappointing, because we really haven’t been in these trailers since season two. Our crew here in Montreal built this cast village where we all have our own little rooms, our own little offices with couches in them, and that’s the most Hollywood thing. But in the middle is that long Thanksgiving-style table, and that’s where we sit and work and play and goof off, and we get rowdy.
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When guest stars come on the show, they have trailers and stuff that they can go to, but we kind of invite them to sit on those couches with us or sit around the table with us. So they’re kind of part of this gaggle of idiots. Often in this show, to use a sports analogy, the ball gets passed around a lot. We’ve all had the experience of being on other shows and feeling like you’re the guy who was called in to do one play and then they all beat you up on the sideline. So we want it to be a really welcoming place. When I think of my happiest places in the world, that table is one of them.
You’re a big Jaguars fan. How did your “NFL is scripted” viral video series come together, and where did you get the guts to pitch it?
I’ve been a Jaguars fan from day one, since I was eight. And I’ve been very vocal about that. Someone from the organization called me as season one of Ghosts was airing and asked, “Is this real?” I told them yes, and that hiring Urban Meyer was the dumbest decision in the history of professional sports. So she was like, “Okay, you’re a real Jaguars fan.” So they brought me into the family. There was this magical season in 2022 where they won the division and went into the playoffs, and there were all these conspiracy theories about the NFL being scripted. So I suggested doing a full mockumentary about the NFL actually being scripted and they were like, “Why don’t you write and direct it?” And I was like, well, I got a really cushy thing going on here as the outsider. I’m sitting with the owner and watching these games on the sideline, and I really don’t want to ruin that, because if you’re going to blame anyone when it fails, you’re going to blame me. But we did it and it was the most joyful creative experience I’ve had in my life. We shot that whole thing in two days. It was like 42 scenes. Trevor Lawrence is a major character in it, and I think we had him for 30 minutes. So Ghosts has taught me to shoot fast.
What advice do you have for creators who haven’t broken through yet, besides “stick to it”?
The stick-to-it thing is not wrong. Support yourself, take care of yourself, because it is a little bit about just how many at-bats you get. You can have a hundred auditions and get one. That’s not a reflection of talent. There are so many circumstances outside of your control. I think as much as you can, you want to develop a sense of confidence. And I’m still struggling with this: a sense of confidence without ego. A sense of embracing the unknown and embracing being wrong and being foolish, but also holding on to the confidence and the self-worth to keep trying. To feel comfortable in failure. That’s really important. And show up. For auditions, I get such a thrill walking into a room and meeting a reader who I don’t know and figuring out a way to take this thing that’s written on the page and making it feel like we’re improvising. It is just an electric, thrilling thing. Be in the moment.
I’ve interviewed a lot of successful people, but Asher Grodman is the first to become famous mostly without pants. Grodman plays Trevor, the forever-trouserless finance bro on CBS’s hit comedy Ghosts. (Backstory on his wardrobe: On the show, Trevor died while pantsless, hence his spirit is forever pantless in the afterlife.)
Subscribe to Entrepreneur’s How Success Happens podcast: Apple | Spotify | YouTube
On the eve of Ghost’s eagerly awaited Halloween special (look for it on-demand, trust me), I spoke to Grodman over video from his trailer. We talked about the skills, mindset and determination it took for him to break into an industry that is famously impossible to break into. His secret? Don’t be afraid to look silly every now and then.