THE IRRATIONAL: Max Lloyd-Jones Previews How Simon is Handling Phoebe Re-Joining Alec’s RA Team

THE IRRATIONAL’s RA team has officially expanded, with former #1 Phoebe (Molly Kunz) re-joining the still-new head RA Rizwan (Arash DeMaxi) and his #2 Simon (Max Lloyd-Jones) as part of Alec’s (Jesse L. Martin) behavioral science team.

It makes for a potential awkward professional triangle when the trio take on their first case on the Tuesday, November 26 episode, “The Wrong Side of Maybe”…or, as Lloyd-Jones points out to Give Me My Remote in the interview below, a potential experiment of sorts.

Here, the actor talks about joining the series, Simon’s backstory, the new RA group, and more.

What did they share with you Simon before you joined the show?
Like any show, you get a little bit of a preview of what’s to come, so you know what kind of energy to bring into your character from the start of the show. But I like that they didn’t tell me everything. And I think they’re still figuring out how they’re going to write for you as they go. 

Originally, I thought this was only going to be a brief stint on the show; I didn’t realize it would turn into what the character turned into throughout the season, so that was really exciting. So I knew there was a backstory, that there was some dark secret, essentially, that had yet to be revealed, but I didn’t know where exactly that would go. But I think that’s the gift of getting to act in TV, is that you get to see how the story is going to unfold, and you don’t necessarily have all the answers right away, and you have to think on the spot.

We did learn a lot about his backstory in the last episode—and we found out he knew his mother had been lying about his brother’s death, though she doesn’t know. What conversations do you have with the writers about the tension he has with his family, the secrets they’ve been keeping from each other, and how that’s played out into who he is now?
Yeah, we had some fun conversations about that—there was an awesome writer and director team on that episode, specifically. I had quite a lot to do in that episode; I felt a lot of pressure to bring authenticity and as much truth and depth as I could to this character who we’ve only just sort of met. But it comes with a heavy burden, essentially, so we had a lot of fun trying to split the difference of a character who’s trying to cover a lot of what he’s feeling and just get on with the job and to prove himself and to not be seen as incapable of performing his work because of emotional issues. 

I think we’ve all been there on work days when we feel not our best, and triggered by feelings from our past or whatnot, and having to just carry on and be taken seriously and do our jobs. So I think we could all relate to it. And, yeah, I really enjoyed how we found a thin line to play on a character that isn’t anywhere lost in self-pity, but also not denying his emotional experience entirely either.

He did confide in Rizwan about his familial trauma/drama, which felt like a really big step. What does that mean for that relationship going forward?
Yeah, exactly. What’s great [about] playing characters who are so versed in human psychology is they’re kind of almost steps ahead of maybe where us mere mortals would be, and especially for their ages, these men especially are probably in their mid-20s as graduate students. So I think the emotional maturity of them being able to share such vulnerabilities and to give helpful, loving advice so early into a male friendship, I think was quite rare to see in TV. And that was exciting to perform. 

It builds trust, obviously, if you let down your walls, and [if] you, especially for Simon’s sake, tell a secret that he hasn’t told to anybody, it builds a massive trust. And I think especially in a team like this, where they’re dealing with such high-tension scenarios, that you have to trust each other and starting off quickly in a relationship by revealing things you might not share with even the closest family, I think, is a great way to bond. So I was really glad they gave us that opportunity to explore that.

Just when they were getting their footing, Phoebe joined the group. How is Simon handling that addition to his team?
[Chuckles.] Well, I think having a pretty girl around the office isn’t the worst thing. He’s probably not horrified by it. But there’s also an intimidation and she’s obviously a star at what she does. Hermione, if she grew up, is [what] we call her. So I think there’s an excitement and a nervousness to impress her, and obviously not step on her toes, but to find his place in that dynamic now, essentially, that there’s three of them now. And it’s different than two, in that there is kind of a tie-break; someone has to decide who’s going to call the shots. And given their level of experience, they might be a little competitive when it comes to that. So I think fans will have a lot of fun seeing how that dynamic unfolds, and probably find it quite relatable.

How is Simon handling his own loyalties given both Rizwan and Phoebe have been #1s?
It’s kind of like, I think, a kid trying to play favorites with his parents and deciding who he’s going to listen to. Who’s in charge right now, Mom or Dad? And they have to figure that out themselves, as well. And I think what’s interesting is that Alec allows us to discover this dynamic organically, instead of prescribing how it needs to be done. So I think Simon is a bit caught in the crossfire as to, “How is this going to go? Who’s my boss?” But I think [he] trusts that Alec wouldn’t put people in this position who aren’t qualified, and knows that everything with Alec is likely some sort of experiment. So we probably know that we’re in the middle of a mini-experiment as we figure out the hierarchy.

What is the Simon and Phoebe dynamic like?
We have a nice moment, I think, in this next episode coming up where there’s some vulnerability expressed by Simon: That he doesn’t feel as secure and confident around Phoebe as he would like, as she is very smart, and clearly demonstrates it with being able to think off the cuff in ways that he probably thought he could [do] better. But realizing he’s met his match. So there’s an intimidation there, but he’s someone that thankfully has some emotional maturity, probably more than most guys his age, to admit when he’s feeling insecure. And so they’re able to move past that and to find a co-working relationship, where there’s respect.

The case has to deal with potential train derailments. What can you tease about how the team is trying to save the day there?
Yeah, so it’s gonna be an exciting one. It involves a concept called forecasting. So, essentially, there’s people out there—that I didn’t know existed, but they do—and they essentially, through a complex algorithm, can decipher whether there could be a natural disaster or any type of catastrophe in society. And so some forecasters come to our department [with a] warning of a potential catastrophe involving the train system. And so we are thrust into that situation with a ticking time bomb, essentially, to figure it out before there could be mass casualty events. So we have to essentially put aside our awkwardness, our team’s awkwardness of figuring out who’s in charge, and pull through to save lives.

I like that tension a lot: To have an obviously very plot-driven episode about a coming disaster, but then the relationships also being in flux. So I think it combines to make some pretty intense drama.

Simon’s mom has been lingering over his time on the show so far. How will she be impacting him going forward? 
Well, I think, like anyone that has an overbearing and larger-than-life personality of a parent, we can probably relate to someone who’s been in their shadow and needs to create his own mark on the world and not be weighed down too much by his name. But he also knows that, thankfully, in this last episode they find a little bit of resolution together and it won’t be as big of an obstacle for him going forward. So I think, like anyone, we’re influenced by our parents and it’s impossible not to affect our psychology. But I think, thankfully, we’ve seen him find a little bit of closure, so that he can focus on the cases at hand as a season progresses.

THE IRRATIONAL, Tuesdays, 10/9c, NBC

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