The actor discusses the memorial service that Tara Reid, his mother (guest performers Laraine Newman and Chip Zein), and his character attended at Woodstone B&B.
Spoilers from Thursday’s Ghosts episode can be found in this article.
The finding of Trevor Lefkowitz’s remains seemed to be a foregone conclusion as soon as it was revealed in a previous Ghosts episode that his body had been dumped into the pond at the Woodstone B&B.
Early Discovery of Trevor’s Body in “Ghosts” Episode
But even the actor who plays Trevor, Asher Grodman, didn’t anticipate “Trevor’s Body” to appear so early in the run of the popular CBS sitcom.
There is no need to discover my corpse until season 7, according to Grodman, who tells PEOPLE, “I look at this program and I’m like, ‘There are a million options.'” “I never anticipate events to take place as swiftly as they ultimately do. I was taken aback.”
Grodman, 35, isn’t grumbling about the show’s guest stars Laraine Newman, Chip Zein, and Tara Reid, whom Trevor loves to mention in anecdotes about parties in the Hamptons. Instead, even in the scenes, he wasn’t in, he is laughing.
The fact that this episode was so humorous, he continues, “was a wonderful delight for me.” “We’ve only ever done one table read during which I truly burst out laughing. The entire incident involving the lusty Pilgrim [a spirit from a nearby house] who spoke as though he were in a chat room on the internet or something? That was hilarious.”
Below, Grodman elaborates on his involvement with “Trevor’s Body” and discusses what lies ahead for Trevor and some of the spirits, particularly Hetty (Rebecca Wisocky).
Let’s speak about “Trevor’s Pants,” the best episode from the previous season before we discuss “Trevor’s Body.” What does the fact that it appeared on so many best-of-2022 lists signify to you?
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Grodman’s Reaction to Guest Performances
ASHER GRODMAN: I’ll take you back to when I spent 20 years out of work and the only acting I ever did was for two people in a windowless audition room. It’s incredible to think that we produced something in our tiny Montreal bunker that customers rated on a list. This insane stuff is it.
That was episode 16 of 18, so we had 16 episodes to work on developing our cast dynamics, chemistry, and other things. We only had a very little amount of time to work out Trevor’s group dynamics with the friends who really helped shape him as a person between the time we received the screenplay and the time we began filming, which was roughly 48 hours.
What happens to that? Those special guests were amazing, down to play, and so much fun. The episode plays out like a murder mystery, but it’s actually about a misplaced pair of trousers, so the juxtaposition of those two things is incredibly amazing, and I have to tip my hat to the authors for that.
There is a braggadocious version of the sort of man Trevor is, when everything is all tales and bulls—-. For Trevor, everything you may assume to be a lie—like Tara Reid’s birthday or attending the White Party—is true; it’s just that the nice guy stuff is all kept secret. That changeover, in my opinion, is also quite exciting.
The genius of that episode is how it unexpectedly reveals Trevor’s depth and fundamentally alters how the audience perceives him.
The eight of us ghosts are always working out how to relate to one another. How do we stack up against one another? Trevor is, I believe, the most sociable of the ghosts since the worst thing that ever happened to him was understanding that the people he loved and cared about didn’t view him the same way or were incapable of doing that. I consider myself really fortunate to be a part of this notion because there is something about the show’s concept that allows you to contrast something as unimportant as a pair of trousers with issues like hazing, group dynamics, and heartache.
What came to mind when you learned Laraine Newman and Chip Zein were playing your parents in “Trevor’s Body”? However, you mostly get to play around with them rather than with them.
While we aren’t conversing, we are sort of poking fun at one another. They’re doing something that will set me off, so I get to act as sort of the surfer in the back of their boats. That’s a lot of fun since they both have such great spontaneity and intelligence. Laraine’s remarks during the memorial service were really moving and tragic. I wanted to continue spending time with my parents, therefore I didn’t want them to go. Both of them are legendary!
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What Did You Think When You Learned Tara Reid Would Truly Be Appearing on The Program?
When the pilot initially aired, I recall waking up to a tweet from Tara Reid the next morning. She had quoted the Trevor speech, and all she had to say was, “You guys are amusing.” When one of the movie stars turned around and said, “Oh, I like you guys,” we were all like, “Ah!” For us, it seemed like we were just tiny geeks and losers trying to make jokes and were just poking bears and movie stars, etc.
💜💜 @bodycourage @rebeccawisocky @imrosemciver
Love you all & can’t wait for the fans to see us on screen together and make Trevor’s dreams come true @AsherGrodman
One of the best cast I’ve ever worked with @RomanZara_Goza @UTKtheINC @sheilatabasco @larainenewman pic.twitter.com/542jKPpRnH
— Tara Reid (@TaraReid) February 9, 2023
Our showrunners saw it when I submitted it to them and immediately said, “Oh my God, we have to get her on the show.” We were all excited, and when I saw it, a part of me naturally thought, “Yes, this had to happen,” but another part of me was more like, “I can’t believe the wild ride that this show has been on, out of the pandemic, of being completely isolated and now we did this show, and people are watching this show, and people are wanting to be on this show.”
Were You Shocked that She Wasn’t Present out Of Sentimentality?
Going for the humor there, in my opinion, is the most enjoyable thing to do. It also reveals a fascinating fact about Jeremy and who Trevor’s brother is, which I hope we can further explore. When Tara turns the corner and you see her, you’re like, “Wow, something did happen between Trevor and Tara [when Trevor was alive],” and I really believe that something did “She exclaims, “Oh my God, it’s real, and I’m here to cash in on this. I was compensated.” Funny thing is, Tara, walked up on set and said, “Well, they certainly spent the night together,” to which I responded, “Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking too.”
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We Must Discuss Trevor and Hetty. Are They Truly Done Hooking Up, or May Trevor Develop Feelings?
I can tell you with certainty that they are not finished. We all just notice behaviors, which is a great thing that is going on right now in the family. The focus of Season 1 was on Sam getting to know us and us getting to know Sam. Now that we’ve seen Sam and Jay live together, be romantic, have sex, and do all of these other things, all we want to do is have sex. It seems like we are all just mimicking our parents in different ways.
It makes me laugh a lot, in my opinion. Our showrunners once said, “Give us pitches, do you guys have any thoughts?” just before we started season 1. Although we held these sessions and gathered in the writers’ room, we each conducted them independently and they never offered to do it again.
Afterward, I discovered that Rebecca, who portrays Hetty, and I had entered the room with the exact identical argument: Trevor and Hetty must own something. Both of us thought, “These two need to have an attachment.” We didn’t want it to be romantic, and I don’t believe it will be either;
I think it’ll have tones of that, but it’s not what’s at its center. They are at once quite similar in that they regard the world as a hierarchy and strive to dominate it, despite their 100-year age gap. It’s all about the money, the power play, and the finances. Trevor is more interested in the enjoyment and respect that come with power, while Hetty is only interested in it. He is extremely sexually free, whilst she is approaching that point, thus in other respects they are diametrically opposed.
There is therefore plenty of potential for combustibility. I think it’s a lot of fun to have this sexual yet transactional sort of connection, but Trevor’s also a fantastic guy to plan with if she wants to go manipulate some people. Despite the fact that they both find something about each other repulsive, they function similarly.
Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT, CBS broadcasts Ghosts.
