For Nicholas Pinnock, working alongside Oscar-winning actor J.K. Simmons on Starz’s espionage thriller Counterpart feels more like a “master class” than just another day on set. “I can’t describe it any more than that. He is wonderful,” Pinnock told The Hollywood Reporter In Studio.
“He is very engaging, he’s a consummate professional and he’s such a wonder to watch. We had a scene where it was just me and him across this table and with an actor of that caliber and you’re sitting opposite them, you go, ‘How do you make it look so easy? How do you do that?’ And I can’t match that,” Pinnock described.
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Production for season two is already underway, and the actor teased his character Shaw and Emily’s (Olivia Williams) relationship in the upcoming season. “What happens in the end [of season one], we see Emily and Shaw split and there are shards of emotions left in season two,” explained Pinnock. “They do a lot of stuff apart in the next season, but then they kind of start working together again. We see glimpses of their relationship still coming up in their professional life.”
While Simmons has “20 years’ more experience” than Pinnock, sharing the screen with the legendary actor has pushed him to “up my game and do the best I can possible do.”
“Honestly, he makes it look seamless,” said Pinnock. “He’s wonderful. Absolutely wonderful to work with.”
The actor added that he is also a fan of the show. Recalling what it’s like when a new script comes in, Pinnock said, “The email pops up and everything stops. I find time, read it and it’s just a page-turner every single time and I just get so lost.”
He continued: “What’s good about it is you read it and you forget you’re a part of it. You get to the end and you go, ‘Oh, my God, this is fantastic.'”
Season one of Counterpart is available to stream via Starz.
