This month, the psychological thriller series The Patient will premiere on FX on Hulu. The limited series stars The Office favorite Steve Carell in a much more serious role as a therapist who's held captive by a dangerous serial killer (Domhnall Gleeson) who came to him seeking help for psychiatric issues. Unlike Carell in real life, his character, Alexander Strauss, also just so happens to be Jewish.
In an era with increased scrutiny over representation when it comes to casting choices, there has been some criticism over casting non-Jewish actors in Jewish roles. Perhaps in anticipation of potential flak over Carell's casting as a Jewish character in The Patient, the show's creators Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg addressed the casting in a new interview with Variety. Weisberg explained that the character wasn't originally written as Jewish, but as he and Fields both come from Jewish backgrounds, that element eventually made its way into the script.
“When we came up with the original idea, the character wasn’t originally Jewish. And then you start, as you always do, looking for ways to add specificity and depth. And we came up with that idea pretty quickly. But it allowed us to tap into things from our own lives … [it] added just certain dimensions and it became really a lot more fun to write in a certain way after that. I’d say that was number one."
As far as putting Carell in the role, it was explained that the actor's real-life background was not important to them from a casting point of view.
"And casting Steve, who is not Jewish, I think our feeling has always been, as television writers, that we’re kind of in an area where people are pretending to be other people. That’s what everyone does all the time. And that’s just our main outlook on it. But we understand some people feel differently about it and that is also fine, too. But that’s where we were coming from.”
Steve Carell Is "Brilliant" in the Role
As someone who was also born to a Jewish family, Fields agreed with Weisberg. They both were able to draw upon their real lives for inspiration with the Jewish elements of The Patient, and that aspect of the story was not specific to the actor who'd be chosen for the role. According to Fields, Carell had been cast in the role because they knew he'd be "brilliant" in the part, and their hope is that viewers will be more focused on the actors' performances.
“The Jewish themes are very personal and important to each of us. My dad was a rabbi, so I grew up in that world. Joe grew up with a Jewish family, as well. So we were able to tap into something very personal for us. And, ultimately, I think a big part of our belief as storytellers is that what we’re doing is trying to amplify our common humanity. And that’s something Steve does brilliantly in this part and Domhnall does brilliantly in his part. And we hope that’s ultimately what people take away from the specifics that are in the show.”
The Patient is set to premiere its first two episodes on Aug. 30 on FX on Hulu.