This interview contains spoilers for Sunday night’s episode of “The Righteous Gemstones.”
The first thing to know is that in at least one shot, the testicles were fake. Anyone who watched Sunday night’s episode of the HBO televangelist’s family satirical show “The Righteous Gemstones” knows which shot is which.
Near the end of the sixth episode of Season 3, BJ, played by Tim Baltz, becomes involved in a brutal brass knuckle fight with a naked man who has spilled onto the lawn of a suburban front lawn. Just when you think BJ is chilling, his eyes pop open and he reaches out, grabs, and twists. Neighborhood children are watching with horrified expressions.
The normally mild-mannered BJ wins in an instant. His nemesis, philandering Christian rock guitarist Steven (Stephen Schneider), falls to his knees in his relationship with BJ and pays a cruel price. Wife (Eddie Patterson).
Baltz said in a video from his Los Angeles home last month that filming the scene was difficult, and not just because of the endless takes. Although he performed most of the stunts himself, he accidentally received several punches to his face.
“There were so many decisions made so quickly that I was injured or just barely avoided it,” said Baltz of the scene, which took a full day to shoot. He added, “Today was the most intense work day I’ve ever had.”
Baltz grew up in Joliet, Illinois, near Chicago, and with his boyish-blonde looks, deadpan speech, and jovial Midwestern vibe, it’s hard to tell if he likes you. (Given the circumstances, I believed him for the shoot.) It’s that sentiment that persuaded him to play the role of BJ, the sensitive soul who dresses his wife in shiny clothes. is one of the reasons for having pink romper And someone rollerblading in full protective gear: it’s hard to believe who can do that TRUE Please be so serious. BJ will continue to amaze you. really so.
“Despite being an atheist and a non-believer, he’s the most devout and religious character in the show,” Baltz said. “It’s strange,” he added, for a character who married into a preacher’s family.
BJ may also be the most meme-worthy character in the “Gemstones” saying something in the show produced and starring Danny McBride. Baltz talked about the character, the outfit, and the true cost of fighting BJ. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
First of all, how did you choreograph that decisive shot?
It took a whole day to shoot that fight scene. When I go outside, I’m worried about the loss of light, the camera is pointing up, and the camera is moving, so I have to grab this fake testicle. I looked up at Steven, barely hiding his junk, and thought, “Okay, now I have to point the camera and get it right.”
At least some parts involve stuntmen, right?
yes. My stunt double on the show was a guy named T. Ryan Mooney who looked a lot like me. He has the same body type. To be honest, I don’t think I look like BJ in real life, but when I see a guy who looks like me and has an insane body type doing stunts, I realize I’m more like my character. I don’t feel it. for life. It’s kind of castrating. But every shot you see, whether BJ is thrown through a grate gap or dragged down a brick staircase into the front yard, I did.
Stephen looks like a champion who has done his part naked. What conversations did you have about the scene?
he was really nice. He was debating whether to go natural or use his prosthetic leg. After all, this day was the last shooting day of the season for both of us, so we had a lot of expectations and emotions. Steven was in town every few months to do a movie, and I said, ‘Let’s take him out to dinner, you’re going to have a busy day.’ And halfway through the season, he said, I’m gonna get naked I think there are a lot of challenges in life, and I think this is a challenge. ”
Perhaps he should have obtained your consent.
I mean, the Intimacy Coordinator definitely made several calls to get me ready. But for me it was something like this: “Okay, this guy is really vulnerable at this. bottom. Until the end, I thought of him as a dear friend, this naked man with whom I had to fight.
You’ve tried this wholesome, rustic image many times over the years. How similar do you feel to be in it?
I grew up playing sports. I was competitive.i really don’t [B.J.] at all. If I can relate to this character in any way, it’s his kindness and generosity, which I think many consider to be a hallmark of our society.
When I book something, whether it’s a lovely character or a creepy one, I lean into it as passionately as I can. But this must be especially understood, where does unconditional love come from? And how do I stay in touch with it? He thinks this is the first season that will really test him, and it will test him so much that he will have to change who he is. And the culmination of that is the battle scene.
After the fight, BJ said to Judy, “I hope you like me.” Does he feel worse about hitting Steven than about being hit himself?
I think he was hurt more by having his values betrayed. Danny always said “When he plays BJ, he becomes the audience’s eye in the show. He sees family the way we all see family.” I was. So that moment was, “You didn’t just betray me, you made me betray myself.”
Do you think there’s a positive aspect of him standing up for himself?
I think so. It is the evolution of an attractive character. When I read the book for the first time, I was excited to see the cards on the table for him. I think part of our culture sees it as a rite of passage, or something you have to stand up for. In that sense, he is doing it. But when he returns, that last line can also be seen as saying, “I’m not the same anymore, so I hope you like how this changed me.” Once you do that, you can’t go back.
It’s like a more complicated George McFly moment.
right.the sliding door part [“Back to the Future”] In the trilogy, we see what would happen if he didn’t throw his punches, and his life would be miserable. And when he throws a punch, everything is saved and his family is safe. I think BJ will probably look at this and think, “No, that’s a doorway that you can go in and out freely.” In fact, his values are “Don’t do that”. He was forced to, but he stood up to the situation. But even if given the choice, he probably wouldn’t.
Can we talk about your costume? They have a glamorous side to them and I always wondered what that meant.
Some things are blended. First, I think he starts out as Judy’s owner. This is her wardrobe for him, but he feels a little out of place. And I think he’ll get more used to it and start taking bigger swings.Also, walking down Charleston’s King Street [S.C., where the series is filmed], you will see men dressed like that. It may not be as gorgeous, but there are plenty of pastels in the color palette.
Plenty of salmon.
Before I really explored Charleston and saw some of these costumes, I thought, ‘Wow, this is so real. And we see that in the real world, but these people aren’t kidding about it. They live their lives as usual. I always say that if BJ were a Christian holiday, it would be Easter because of the pastel colors. And it’s my duty to feel comfortable and live in those clothes without making them the point of jokes.
