WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR A SERIES LIKE ADULTS. AFTER THE PEAK OF NEW YORK-BASED HANGOUT COMEDY THAT INCLUDED SEMINAL SHOWS LIKE GIRLS AND BROAD CITY IN THE 2010S, THE GENRE IS FINALLY BACK IN THE SHAPE OF THE NEW FX SERIES. CENTRED AROUND A GROUP OF ROOMMATES TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THEIR GROWN-UP LIVES, THE SHOW HAS THAT NAUGHTY, OUT-THERE SENSE OF HUMOUR THAT WE MISSED ON TV. ONE OF THE ROOMMATES, PAUL BAKER, IS PLAYED WITH HEAPS OF CHARM BY THE CANADIAN ACTOR AND COMEDIAN JACK INNANEN, WHO FIRST GREW TO PROMINENCE WITH HIS SERIES OF VIRAL SKETCHES ON TIKTOK. SHORTLY BEFORE THE SHOW’S PREMIERE, WE CHATTED WITH HIM ABOUT HIS FIRST LEADING ROLE ON TV, EASING INTO STAND-UP, AND ACTING ALONGSIDE THE QUEEN OF NYC, JULIA FOX.

Tank Top **Tom Ford**, boxers **Calvin Klein**, tie **Bottega Veneta**

Your character in Adults, Paul Baker, is such a charmer! What did you enjoy the most about him? Are there any similarities between the two of you?

I feel I was at my most Paul Baker-ish when I was around 22. He’s very chill and laid back, he’s down for whatever. Something that I related to when it comes to him is being this “extra” person. We’re introduced to him as the boyfriend of one of the housemates, and he’s just along for the ride. He’s not yet part of the group, but he’s trying to be. And that’s something that I have definitely felt before. Also, my only “flex” is that Paul was originally supposed to be from Denver, Colorado, but because my American accent was so bad, they rewrote him to be Canadian.

Have you ever lived in a similar set-up as the characters in the show? Do you have any roommates stories that you’re willing to share?

I had one roommate at university – a childhood friend of mine – who was just a character. I remember one time going out to the living room at 3:00 am because there was so much noise coming from there. I was trying to sleep, I had an exam the next day. And he had taken his mattress into the living room and put it up against the wall, set up a cardboard box, put a golf tee in it and was setting up golf balls. He was just full-on swinging golf balls at the wall, and they were just banging everywhere. And he did this quite routinely. He would just turn our living room into a golf range at all hours of the night.

Left Full look **Dior Men**
Right Full look **Thom Browne**

That is definitely a unique experience! [Laughs] My favourite episode is the dinner party where we find out Paul is BFFs with THE Julia Fox. What was it like to work with her? Is she exactly like the persona we know from her many viral moments?

Julia Fox is Julia Fox – what you get is exactly what you expect. And I was so excited for every single second of it. The writing on the show is incredible and so funny. But I believe that when it comes to Julia’s lines, they were all just her; she was just riffing. And I was like, you know what? Fair, because who can do Julia Fox better than Julia Fox?

Full look **Dsquared2**, jewerly **Sophia D**

I want to backtrack a little and talk about your beginnings in comedy. Was it always something that you knew you wanted to do?

I always just really loved it. I loved trying to make my mom laugh a lot. That’s a big memory from my childhood. But I didn't really consider that I could pursue it professionally until I was at university. It was always just fun to make my friends laugh. But no one was ever like, “This guy's going to the top.”

What do you think had the biggest impact on shaping your sense of humour?

I think it would have to be a lot of the late 2000s, early 2010s YouTube creators like the Jake and Amir series and the GoodNeighborStuff channel, as well as sketch groups like Whitest Kids U’Know. Stuff that’s a little bit more bro-ey, but almost a subversion of a bro. I contribute any funny bone I have in my body to a mix of all those people.

You now have viral social media sketches and a TV show under your comedy belt. Are you at all tempted to try out live stand-up next?

I've recently been tempted to get into it, getting to know the work of my co-stars Amita Rao and Malik Elassal. I have a tight five ready to go – it is all my jokes that I couldn't turn into a sketch. I think I could do it, and I think it would be good exposure therapy, but the thought of getting up in front of a crowd and performing definitely might take me a second.

Left Full look **Dior Men**
Right Top **David Koma**

How do you go about creating your sketches?

I write down every sketch before filming it. It's mostly my intrusive thoughts. Just like, “Oh, what would be the most absurd thing that could happen here?” When I was living in Toronto, I would do what my mom called “spicy edits”, which is when I essentially lie or exaggerate a story. I'd experience something in real life and then be like, “It'd be funnier if in this part they had done that.” And then I would go home and tell my mom that it did happen, and she would call me out on that. Then I started turning those edits into sketches.

Who are your comedy heroes?

Someone I really look up to is Donald Glover. For his comedy, of course, but also as a talent in general. I think he's so cool. He's an incredible musician. Atlanta is incredible. He’s just a very multifaceted person. If I could have a career like anyone, it would be like Donald Glover.

I read that you studied physics and astronomy at university — is it something that you still come back to, albeit in a more hobbyist capacity? Do you go on Wikipedia deep dives?

For sure, I'm a big Wikipedia guy. I probably spend three hours a day on that website. I'm also a proud donor. But yeah, I still dabble here and there. I think it’s something I would revisit later in life, like my grandma did with architecture. She went back to university in her sixties and got a bunch of architecture degrees. I could see myself doing that as well.