Seth MacFarlane invites audiences to new horizons with The Orville season 3. The sci-fi dramedy revolves around the crew of the titular starship as they journey through the galaxy, navigating new worlds and their relationships with one another onboard.
MacFarlane also leads the cast of The Orville alongside Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald, Scott Grimes, Peter Macon, Jessica Szohr, J. Lee, Mark Jackson and Anne Winters.
As the season continues to score positive reviews, Screen Rant spoke exclusively with J. Lee to discuss The Orville season 3, the evolution of his character throughout the show, losing Norm Macdonald and more.
Screen Rant: It's so great to get to chat with you again, especially for The Orville season 3, which continues to be exciting as ever. The last time we talked, it was before the episodes had finally started rolling out, how are you feeling now that they're out and the reviews have been positive?
J. Lee: I'm impressed. We shoot these things in a bubble, we have no idea what the final product is gonna look like and then it takes so long for post. So by the time we see it, it's like I'm seeing it for the first time, I forgot half of the stuff I said or I forgot what the episodes were, I forgot the scene. So I'm watching it as a fan and it's been pretty impressive to see the jump from season 2 to season 3 and I've been telling people I'm just proud to be a part of it.
What has been some of your favorite things to explore with Lamar this season?
J. Lee: This season, I've been saying sort of leave it to Lamar, right? Because there's a lot of episodes where John figures something out and helps out the ship and his castmates or whatnot. But I think the thing that I'm really enjoying for John is how much he really cares about being Chief Engineer. There are some moments where if you look at John in season 1, he's just comfortable being in front of the ship, I don't want to cause any extra issues. I'm happy to be here to see him now with all the space lingo and quantum drive perfection. It's been a cool journey to play him as an actor, and again, I just think John takes his job seriously and he's happy about it and he's good at it.
Speaking of the sci-fi lingo, I can only imagine what it must be like from an actor's perspective to get a script with all that terminology in there. What is that like for you when you see when you get the scripts and you see how much of that you're gonna have to remember for each scene?
J. Lee: Well, what's funny is, like anything, you get into a rhythm. So season 1, I knew John, him and Scotty or Gordon are at the front of the ship, had a rapport. Seth knew John's trajectory, I didn't, so it goes from being flippant, kind of funny and jokey to page full of science lingo, right? But they don't tell you what's going to happen, so I got comfortable being, "Okay, I know this guy, I'll come in, look at my stuff the night before."
Can't do that with this, right, because not only do you have to say it, you have to say it and make it make sense. So it's cool as an actor to have things to do, but then you also have a responsibility. When you got 20 people in a room looking at you, "We got 30 more shots to do today, make sure you get it out," you want to come in prepared, so it's all about the preparation.
Do they also give you a bible or a glossary to help you know what each term means so that you can play with it in the scene?
J. Lee: No, no, but if I have questions I can ask. André [Bormanis] is great, he's sort of the science, techno guy. A lot of times I'll ask Seth, "What does this mean?" and he's like, "I don't know, we got to ask André." [Chuckles] So there's been some times we've been on set where we had to call André and ask him, "What does this mean, actually?" The time travel episode, as we're shooting, I'd get it and then I'd lose it and then I'd get it, I'm like, "Oh, I totally understand time travel. No, I don't." [Laughs] They've been extremely helpful and I think as an actor you want to come in and as long as I believe what I'm saying, we can move on to the next shot.
Since you do mention the time travel episode, that is really quite the emotional one for Gordon. What was it like for you seeing the arc that Gordon was going to take in that episode when you got the script?
J. Lee: First of all, Scott Grimes is amazing, right? He's just so talented and Gordon is actually not an easy character to play and he does it with such an ease, so it's an honor to work with him. I just love his character and to see what they've done with him is amazing, this sort of unrequited love and him actually finding something he really cares about and it be taken away, but also him unaware that it's going to be taken away. It's such a deep episode, but like I said before, I'm just honored to be a part of this show.
With a few episodes still to go for this season, can we look forward to John trying to help Gordon process all of that or does the season move on from that storyline?
J. Lee: It's a big part of Gordon and I think what we've seen is a lot of people come to John for advice. So I think we might see some of that. Also, I don't remember, because I forget what happens in the season. [Laughs] That's not true, I kind of know what happens, but I don't want to spoil anything. He also might come to me for another jacket with some zippers, I don't know yet. We'll find out.
As you mentioned, John and Gordon have such a great rapport, so it's always great when they're together on screen. In recent episodes, we also get to see you have a different kind of chemistry with Talla, which I did not see coming. What was that like getting to explore that relationship?
J. Lee: You know, I didn't see it coming either. But this is how you know it's written well, because before we saw it coming, there were some moments of like, "Huh" between John and Talla. I just think that moment where she gives him a backrub, I texted Seth and I said, "That scene is so funny." She's giving him a back rub and John's making all those noises, but the shot to that wide with the rest of engineering overhearing is what makes that whole scene kind of pop. What's funny is before we would shoot, Jessica would just jump on me and I had to carry her into the frame, so the camera's locked here and we're just sort of banging into the wall and crazy kiss. But yeah, I don't know, John deserves some happiness, right? He works hard, we've been outfitting the ship, he deserves a little TLC.
We've seen John get that here and there in previous seasons, but what was it like for you to get to do that with someone who is a main part of the cast with Jessica?
J. Lee: Well, first of all, Jessica [Szohr] is awesome in general and she's a great actor, so it's easy to do these things. People always think, "Oh, how's it kissing and stuff on camera?" It's awkward, because you got 50,000 people everywhere, there's bright lights, it's all technical. But I think it's a cool storyline for John and Talla, we'll see where it goes. I think it could be something special, I don't think it's a one-night stand type of thing. But you never know.
One of my other favorite episodes so far this season was the one with the admiral who slowly turns into that alien monster and you get in on some of that action? What was it like for you when you first saw the design of the creature on set?
J. Lee: So I think we were supposed to do that sort of spider alien in season 2, but it just didn't work out with the episodes and the flow of the show in that season, so we put it in this one. It's very scary to look at in person, it looks very realistic, Howard [Berger], who does all of our aliens and monsters and is the head of that department killed it. But when I'm in those tunnels, they actually built that set, I'm in the conductors, so it makes it feel very real.
When that thing comes around the corner, I was like, "I'm out." [Chuckles] But it was cool to do a little action thing. It's funny when I'm running down the hall, because I ran track, the first take I was gone. I was like, "No, you're not catching me" and they were like, "J, you gotta slow down, you got to let the camera catch up to you." [Laughs] But it was awesome, that was a fun episode doing some action stuff and I think it's cool to see John doing multiple things.
It's funny that you do mention the running, because that was gonna be my follow up question was whether you ever outran the camera?
J. Lee: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I was like, "Y'all are gonna have to keep up," but then I said, "Okay." But they had it very cool, they had the stunt actors up on wires that were actually on the ceiling, a lot of that stuff was practical, which is super impressive. And again, it makes it a lot easier for the actor to feel like you're actually being chased by a Spider-Man thing.
I know that The Orville season 3 was filmed quite a while ago, but what can you tease about what's to come in the final few episodes?
J. Lee: I'll tell you this, this isn't even blowing smoke, but each episode we watch, I'm increasingly more impressed with the show. From storylines to production to the acting and directing and the music. Each episode is a film and I think everybody put a lot of time and work into it and it's very special to see now. To see all those hands on deck, pun intended, to see this final product, so I think what people will see for the rest of the season is more of what've you got so far. If you're in, I think you'll be very pleased with how these episodes turn out. I think there are a couple of twists that you're gonna go "Oh!" from episode 1 to the finale.
Last time we talked, you and Scott had jokingly mentioned doing a podcast for the series with and, though it was a joke, you do often see a lot of shows have actors create podcasts for them, would you ever seriously consider that with Scott?
J. Lee: I would actually and I think we'd have a good time. I think I'd be nervous that whatever we said in the moment would be great and then six months later, everybody would hate it. [Laughs] I try to censor myself as much as possible, but I think that would be a super fun thing, especially to do it with Scott. Even from season 1, we've always been paired with interviews and press and we try to make it fun. A lot of times you get asked a lot of the same questions, but Scott he's just awesome to work with and also sort of talk about art in the show and character and behind-the-scenes stuff. He's got a good insight on all of that stuff, and to me, that's also the fun stuff, it's not just the final product, it's everything that goes into it.
Before I let you go, this season did mark the final appearance of Norm Macdonald for the show. Given that John and Yaphit have such a close relationship as the show goes on, what was that like for you when you first heard about his passing?
J. Lee: Oh, it was horrible. The cast immediately texted [each other]. Even beyond the show, Norm was a legend. I grew up listening and watching him, so to be on the show with him was a very, very big deal for me. I think we ended up going up to Seth's house that night or the next night and we just watched a bunch of old stand up and clips and had a couple of drinks to his honor.
It was nice that we opened up the season with that for him. He just brought so much to the show, just his name alone and his voice. It's hard to do that, you know, to make an animated CGI character feel real, especially since you have that storyline with him and Claire. He was very, very talented and I think we all miss him.
The Orville Season 3 Synopsis
Seth MacFarlane’s epic space adventure series "The Orville” returns exclusively as a Hulu original series. Set 400 years in the future, “The Orville: New Horizons” finds the crew of the U.S.S. Orville continuing their mission of exploration, as they navigate both the mysteries of the universe and the complexities of their own interpersonal relationships.
Check out our other interviews with Orville: New Horizons stars Scott Grimes & J. Lee as well as Adrianne Palicki & Penny Johnson Jerald, Mark Jackson, Peter Macon & Chad Coleman and Jessica Szohr & Anne Winters.
More: The Orville Improves Upon A Controversial TNG Geordi Story
New episodes of The Orville season 3 air Thursdays on Hulu.