Chris Perfetti chats with THR at the Disney Upfronts and shares how blessed he is after playing Jacob for over five seasons of 'Abbott Elementary.' Plus, he teases Jacob's future love life on the show and talks how the writers and cast keep the show funny.
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00:00We're going into Abbott's fifth season.
00:03How would you describe Jacob's character arc so far over the last five seasons now?
00:08I've been so blessed.
00:09You know, Quinta has really given him a solid trajectory.
00:13I mean, I feel like the tenets of his personality,
00:15the fact that he's always kind of tripping over his words
00:17and that he's a bit of a clown and overeager and, you know, extremely anxious,
00:23those things will always be Jacob.
00:25But, you know, we really got to see him win this year.
00:28We got to see who he is as an educator,
00:31and that's just really rewarding and fun for me.
00:35I didn't get to really do that the first two seasons.
00:37So I have no idea what she has in store for next year,
00:40but I trust her, and I sort of enjoy not knowing.
00:44So we'll see.
00:46Might we find him a new boo this season?
00:48We'll see, you know.
00:49I think Jacob is so in love with the people that he works with,
00:53and so I feel like Jacob has a lot of love in his life.
00:58But, yeah, it was fun to explore that a bit last year,
01:00and I think we've dropped some, you know, some crumbs for maybe something next year,
01:04and I think that would be a joy.
01:06Anytime we can kind of expand the universe outside of the school,
01:10I think we get to show aspects of the characters that, you know, are a little more hidden.
01:15And so I really hope that happens next year.
01:19Now five seasons in, how do you keep the comedy bar staying so high?
01:23Because these characters just get funnier and funnier every season.
01:26Yeah, look, we're blessed with a truly genius writer's room,
01:31led, obviously, by the brilliant Quinta Brunson.
01:34She has an encyclopedic brain for comedy.
01:39And, you know, I will say this ensemble is really all kind of speaking the same language now more than ever.
01:46I think we had it at the jump, but now we all really know who does what well
01:51and how to show up for each other.
01:54And, you know, we're really just trying to make each other laugh now,
01:57and so we're trying to push a joke as far as we can and, you know,
02:03just take care of our side of the street, you know.
02:05We have such great writers, and so we have an obligation to take what they've done and make it better.
02:12Yeah, for sure. And how many more seasons do you see this going for?
02:15Oh, gosh, I don't know.
02:16I never expected to play a character this long,
02:20but I am so blessed to have Quinta in my life,
02:26and I think she's such an extraordinary leader.
02:28I'll say as long as she wants to do the show, I will be right there next to her.