The third season of Future Man has just dropped on Amazon Prime Video, bringing to a close the adventures of nerd hero Josh Futturman. Chatting to Paul Simpson, Josh Hutcherson looks back at all he’s learned from three years of TV…

 

What’s been the biggest challenge for you going into a third year of playing the same character?

For me, I think with this show in general the biggest challenge is just not knowing where the hell it’s going to go. It’s such a crazy show that when you get the script you’re just like “OK, what am I in for now?”

Knowing it’s going to be the final season the writers could sort of plot out where they wanted the characters to end up and work backwards from there.

But I think with doing comedy – my new experience, it’s my first time doing it – it gets hard when people on set aren’t laughing. To just continually keep doing the joke and do multiple takes and someone doesn’t laugh, it’s just like “Ugh, this kinda sucks,” but they tell me it’s going to work. They believe in the process.

It’s also that people who are part of the joke can’t actually be laughing at it, so you’ve got to keep a straight face, come what may.

I’m telling you, working with Seth Rogen is the hardest thing. I’m terrible at not laughing in scenes when something’s funny. Seth is extremely funny and always doing something unexpected, improv and everything so, I’ve ruined a lot of takes.

How much has Josh the character absorbed from Josh the actor over the run of the show?

You mean, how have I personally influenced the character?

Yes – are there certain little things that you have done as you’ve developed the character that have come from you?

I think that I’ve influenced the character in some ways. I try to be a person that lives in the moment and is present and doesn’t get too nervous and worried; Josh Futturman is a very high intensity kind of neurotic person. Actually in the third season you see some of that go away, especially towards the end. I think that’s part of the influence I had over him.

And obviously he’s been through a hell of a lot during the time the show’s covered that he’s bound to change anyway

For sure. They go through the craziest shit. I mean, if any of this were potentially real it would be extremely traumatising.

But that’s the thing with all of these types of series isn’t it: you have to put that level aside and accept that’s the reality

Completely. You can’t step out and think “what the hell is going on?” You have to be in the moment and live it and trust it. I definitely put that to the test in the show.

You say that not knowing what was coming next has been one of the challenges but did you have an idea going into this last season where he was going to end up?

Yes, for this last season we kind of knew where we wanted the characters to end up but getting there is just the craziest part with these writers. They have absolute freedom to write anything they can dream up and they dreamt up some very weird stuff. So we knew where he was going to end up but I didn’t not know exactly what his journey was going to be to that point.

Has there been any point in any of the three years where you’ve gone !I’m not sure I want to do that!?

Yes, it’s an absolute mix – pretty much almost every script there was something where my character was in a giant thing of goo naked with a prosthetic dick between his legs or some crazy thing and I’m just like, “ugh, I don’t really want to do this but it really will work only if I dive in and trust it wholly.”

As you said you hadn’t done comedy before, what’s been the most surprising thing to you about playing a comedic part or being part of an ensemble in a comedic show?

I think the biggest surprise to me is that you don’t have to try to be funny. If it’s well written and you have a good environment and there’s great actors around you, you just live it, you just make it real.

Derek [Wilson] and Eliza [Coupe], playing Wolf and Tiger, they had to more create something that’s funny or build something that’s funny but I think with Josh Futturman, we had really good writing and I could be relaxed and natural.

I think the hardest part was just letting go and having to believe the reality we were living and that’s just what acting is in general, no matter if it’s comedy or drama or whatever.

If that credibility is there from the actor then it comes across on screen, there’s no question about it. Have you gone back and looked at any of the first season episodes recently or do you not do that sort of thing?

I haven’t. I remember an episode when there are two versions of me and we’re interacting in the same scene together, and one version is zany and crazy. I love that storyline. A little while back my girlfriend and I were trying to share it with somebody because it’s so crazy and weird.

But no, once I shoot a project and work on it and maybe see it once, I don’t go back and watch it. I just torture myself.

You can’t take yourself out of it and see the character?

No, it’s impossible, I mean even in scenes when someone would say ‘hey you did really great there’ if I watch it and I’m like, “No, I’m lying, I’m full of shit because I can see my face and I don’t believe it” and it create a whole monster – it’s just better to keep it in its cage.

The rapport between Josh, Tiger and Wolf feels very strong. Did you improvise at all on set or was it pretty much laid down for you?

Most of it is laid down; the writing’s really great in the show so you know what they write is almost always better than anyone we could come up with. For sure, we had a very comfortable relationship and friendship in general, and we would play some and find moments and add stuff at the end and mess around. But truthfully we were really happy with the writing across the board

Looking back on the whole experience, what do you think you’re going to look back on in 20 years and go “that’s what Future Man was for me”?

I think it’s when I was in the tub of goo. It’s burned into my brain until the end of time I think.

Would you want to do more television or more comedy?

Yeah, I’m completely open to that. I really love this process and I love the experience.

It was more fulfilling as an actor I think than I 100% expected it to be. I’m definitely open to doing more comedy, more television.

I’m also focusing some behind the camera work, some directing and things like that. I’m excited and ready to move onto whatever comes my way next.

What were you anticipating that didn’t happen then?

I had this idea of what a comedy would be and what it would mean to be a comedic actor. I think, like we were saying before, it’s just all the same. Acting is acting and so I think that was a surprise to me, that I didn’t have to try to be something different. I could just play the character and then it’s just good writing so it was funny. It worked.

 

Future Man is available now on Amazon Prime Video.