I'm Tim Simons. I play Jonah Ryan on HBO's VEEP, and the creator of "Ryantology." AMA!

It's been said the Crew on Veep are a close family. In particular, just how much do you love the editors and what would you do to display that love for them, baring in mind your performance in S04Ep9 is being edited right this second?

SONOFABITCH, IS THAT YOU PANTS?!

Our editors are awful people. Our performances have nothing to do with their hard work.

smiles

As if I would come in to your AMA and try and mess with it... DAMMIT.

That second line's entirely true though.

Hahaha!

Is there a particular piece of back-story you've created for Jonah that really drives your performance?

Also, my friend Heather painted this picture of Jonah.

http://imgur.com/D6eOrSH

I am not sure if you have seen it or not, but I think it is outstanding. She wanted to paint a portrait the character might commission- something arrogant with a James Bond vibe that he would think makes him look cool.

Then she's succeeded mightily in that.

Because it's exactly how Jonah sees himself.

Let me think, is there a particular...I think that one of the things that I've built into the backstory is this idea that he was one of those kids that was told that he could do anything. That he was very special. And that he could ultimately be President. And in spite of all evidence to the contrary, he believes it. And coming from a wealthy, protected family. And so therefore, has been able to...fail upward.

Who would Jonah form an alliance with on Game of Thrones?

Oh, he'd be a Lannister!

Jonah is ALWAYS - you'll notice - standing directly next to whomever has the most power.

Even when it comes to the underlings. You'll notice that whichever underling has the most power, he's standing next to them.

Like in the second season, Kent has a lot of power towards the beginning of the season, but as the season goes on, his power starts to wane, so Jonah starts hanging out with Ben Cafferty more (or ingratiating himself more).

So he'd definitely be a Lannister.

What is you favorite nickname/insult thrown in Jonah's direction? Mine's gotta be "Hepatitis J."

My favorite is:

Jonah: Look who it is, everybody! It's your favorite Jonah.

Amy: You're not even your mom's favorite Jonah, Jonah.

That's a classic.

mine has to be "jolly green jizzface"

That one was easy to keep a straight face on, because she had SO much anger directed towards me. A lot of the times, the things that make us break the most are the simplest. Like, it's less a line and more a very small look.

Like the smaller and smaller you make a moment, the harder it is to keep it together.

We did this scene where I was trying to describe what parts of a soldier's leg had been blown apart, and that whole scene, we couldn't keep it together, because it was mostly little things.

Actually, it's "Hepatitis J."

That is true. Reed Scott came up with that one, and threw it into the scene without telling me, and I blew that take as well.

Where in Maine did you grow up? I'm working there this summer and although i've been there a few times, is there anything in particular you suggest doing in Maine? also VEEP is incredible

I grew up outside of Augusta, in a small town called Readfield.

And Maine is beautiful. But it's very quiet. So just enjoy the summer there. But if you are looking for something fun to do, go to Portland, and there are a lot of really good restaurants opening up there, and some good music venues (or there were at least when I was hanging out there).

And DEFINITELY go to Rockland, Maine, and visit my sister's bookstore, Hello Hello Books. It's a fantastic indie bookstore that my sister curates and she always makes really incredible recommendations just based off the things that you like.

What's the Julia L-D story you pull out at parties and family dinners?

Oh, that's a good question!

That we play - in trying to explain how great she is - she hosts a sometimes twice-weekly game of Shanghai in her apartment when we're filming. And we'll all go over and have a glass of wine and talk about how the show's going, and it just... because she's SO well-known and so regal, it de-mystifies this thing of Julia being Julia, and she's just like, a really cool lady to work with.

Also, my wife and I went to one of her son's high school basketball games recently, and it was really fun to sit next to Julia and her husband Brad while she was screaming at the refs.

Hi! I am such a huge fan of Veep and Jonah is up there as one of my favourites. Jonah seemed to be a fan of heavy metal music but I was wondering what would be your top albums you would recommend?

Can't wait for Sunday!

Over the past few years, I've had a trouble relationship with music because I haven't been able to find anything that I enjoyed listening to like I did when I was younger.

Like the joy that I found in music was the mystery of it. And how hard the search was to find new music. And since the advent of the Internet, you can just... if you start liking a band, you can find out EVERY person detail about every band member, and find every album and every live show they ever played within minutes.

And there's something about the mystery that surrounds bands that I really like.

And so I just haven't been a very good music fan recently.

So my recommendations are outdated.

That being said...

I mean, Pinkteron by Weezer? I think that's a classic. I'll put that on there.

I saw you in The Interview with Veep's Governor Chung, Randall Park.

While making that movie and the ensuing shitstorm with the hack, did you ever feel like you were in any danger with all the threats that were flying around? Were you surprised at how quickly it was pulled from theaters.

Thanks. Looking forward to another season of Veep

I was never scared for my physical safety.

And everything was moving very quickly, and everything was changing minute-to-minute, so it was hard to keep track of what was real, what was rumor that was just being retweeted, and what was hearsay.

Hey Tim! Love Veep and Jonah. Has there ever been a time when you struggled to get through a scene because you were laughing too much? With how hilarious the show is I can't imagine it's easy!

Although it happens all the time, there was one particular scene in the first season in the situation room where Julia was doing this entire "prayer for the President" and in the background, Tony Hale is getting sicker and sicker, and is about to throw up in a bucket, and I couldn't deal with it and so for most of the scene I had to turn away from the camera because I was in that hyperventilating, crying, shaking with laughter mode. And I had to physically turn away from camera, and they had to edit around it.

Hi Tim! I'm a huge fan of the show and of Jonah (the line "Joke's on you, I fucking love burritos" gets quoted in my house a lot.) I was wondering what it was like to work with Paul Thomas Anderson on Inherent Vice? He's my favorite director and it was an awesome surprise to see you show up in one of his films.

So he's one of my favorite directors as well.

I was very nervous. So I just tried to shut up and listen as much as I could.

Overhearing conversations between he and his director of photography about how they were going to build shots, or how they were going to build scenes visually, even the small snippets of conversation I was able to overhear, was rad.

God, I bet that was fascinating. Thanks for the answer!

You're welcome.

thumbs up

His films are so well put together that you'd expect him to have mapped out every single thing. But he plans it as he goes, and allows for things to change.

It's really cool.

Are you now or have you ever been triple A fucking awesome?

Every minute of every day, up until right now, including this minute, and then all the minutes forever from now.

Are you good at memorizing the fast paced scripting? How often does it change on set or in rehearsals?

It changes ALL the time.

Sometimes it'll change twice, on the walk to set from the trailers.

But the sort of fluid nature of our scripts is part & parcel of the show, and one of the things that makes it great, because it always feels fresh and it always feels immediate.

And the fast-paced - I mean, there is, the face pace is a tribute to our editors (^seeabove).

Because they have to edit an hour show down to 28 minutes.

And so a lot of that pacing comes from the very good work that our editors do.

Are you a Nancy Kerrigan or a Tonya Harding?

Personally?

I mean, Nancy Kerrigan right?

I'm a Nancy Kerrigan.

I feel like Jonah might be a Tonya.

Although I cringe at the question a little bit. I veer more towards the Tonya - certainly there is a competitive side to me, and a side to me that truly does want to crush somebody on my way, but I'm not going to crush their knees out. I will beat them by being more awesome than then. I wouldn't take them out at the knees, because it would feel like a cheap victory.

Do you admire any actor who you wish you could work with in the future? I mean, I know your life is already made after working with JLD, let's face it, she's a goddess.

Hahaha! She is.

I think I've been able to meet him a few times at HBO parties, but I'd love to work with Steve Buscemi, he's one of my favorites. And if it was in a Coen brothers movie, it'd be all the better.

After seeing you in Inherent Vice you REALLY have to be in a Coen brothers movie.

Yeah!

thumbs up!

I know there's a lot of improv during rehearsals, but have you (or any other cast member) improvised during the actual filming and has it made it to the show? I love you for doing this btw! I just joined reddit for this.

Awww that's very sweet!

We definitely improvise on set, but maybe less than would be recorded. It's not an improv-based show, it's a scripted show. But they give us opportunities to loosen up the script, they'll give us free takes, and plenty of times something improvised on a shooting day has made it into the show.

As an example, in the pilot, I say something about "When a sexual harnesser's wife dies, we sign his card. That's how Washington works." And that was something I threw in there, but it ended up in the show.

Hi Tim!

What was casting like for Veep? I'd imagine it must have been daunting. Do you have any other fun projects/shows coming up? I want to follow your career, as you often steal the scenes on Veep.

Thanks for doing this AMA!

What was my casting process like?

It was incredibly nerve-wracking, because I had never auditioned for anything this big before. It was also the first network test I'd ever been through. But Julia and Armando were very good at making us feel comfortable. I had one producer's callback with Julia, Anna and Armando, and then I had a network test, so I was really only called back twice.

And I just finished filming a movie with Melissa McCarthy called "Michelle Darnelle" where I play Peter Dinklage's idiot brother.

And I have GOOSEBUMPS coming up too.

Is it difficult to play a character that no one really likes? Do you ever get tired of being insulted at work all day?

No, it's fun to play. The only times that I wish I was playing somebody different is when I see everybody else in the show being able to play in one big scene all together. When you're on the outside of that, sometimes it looks fun to be inside with all those actors, sitting around, playing a scene. So that's the only time it gets weird. And it's fine, I don't mind being insulted at work.

Rumor has it you are an incredible Geometry Wars player. A savant even. What other games do you enjoy?

Haha!

The rumors are true. I am an incredible Geometry Wars player.

In fact, at one point, was ranked as high as #611 in the ENTIRE WORLD.

I really liked the first few Call of Duty's. And as you well know, I was a big fan of playing doubles on HALO 3. Since having kids, I haven't been able to play games as much, though.

Currency.

Thanks Tim from television's VEEP. Good info to know!

Your friend...Elton

HAHAHAHA!

First, I love Veep, probably my favourite show now airing, the best HBO has done since the Sopranos (Yes, I said that!), you and your character, Jonah are one of the most enjoyable parts of the show (one of A LOT).

Anyway, What do you think would be the reaction from Malcom Tucker (from The Thick of It) to Jonah? Any interesting insult? Or maybe they would get along? (Probably not)

I don't think they would get along.

I think that Malcom Tucker's insults might be so scathing, and so cutting, that they might actually get through the skin that Jonah has created.

What be your first course of action if you became president tomorrow? Also, what do you think Jonah would do if he suddenly became president?

Hahaha!

My first course of action? I would require Congress to work. Or they would not get paid, get benefits, or be able to leave DC. They would have to stay in town. Because a lot of stuff doesn't get done because Congress wants to catch their planes and go on vacation...

If Jonah were suddenly President... he would make Ryantology the landing page for all browsers. And he would be half-serious in proposing a "No Bra" day. He'd throw that out as a joke, hoping that other people would bite on it... He'd immediately commission a James Bond-like painting, a very regal, Presidential painting - even though that's typically something that happens later in the Presidency, he'd want it the first day.

Hey Tim! You're like, a super sweet and nice guy irl. Has anyone come up to you and gone "oh, it's that annoying guy from Veep" or something like that? I loved the Paley chat btw you were hilarious.

Oh, thank you!

No, people tend to - I think Jonah's so ridiculously awful that nobody's really assumed that I would be like that in real life. I think it's just that he's so ridiculously awful that everybody that I've run into - it's mostly people commiserating with me about an awful person that THEY work with. That's what I hear most of the time.

How insane has press been to launch this season? Have you noticed a crazy change from the previous seasons?

I think because we're somewhat of a niche comedy, I think we always knew that if we were able to keep making the show, we always knew it would be a slow build to its success. It wasn't going to be an out-of-the-gate hit. But it's been really fun, every year, to have the press and the interest build and build.

Thank you for doing this! Jonah is one of my favorite characters on television, and I can't wait to see more of him. One of my favorite things about Jonah is his relationship with Dan, so can we expect more scenes with Dan and Jonah in the new season of Veep?

Yes, definitely.

One of the things that I love about that relationship on the show is that they are funhouse mirror versions of one another.

I think Jonah doesn't see himself as a "Jonah." He sees himself as a "Dan."

But I think Jonah sees himself as attractive, and well-dressed, and someone whose star is clearly on the rise - like Dan's is.

I did improv comedy for 1.5 years and I really enjoyed the experience. Do you have a particularly funny scene/experience that really cemented that you made the right decision to do improv? Any advice for anyone who does/aspires to do improv as a hobby?

I came late to it. I came late to Improv. I started when I was in LA. Although I'm not a fantastic improviser, I really do like performing it.

And the tools that you learn in doing it have done nothing but help me in scene work, or in auditioning, and movies that don't have improvisation, it's still something that helps.

And if you want to pursue it as a hobby - I'd say take classes, get up onstage and fail, and don't make it about yourself. Don't make it about being the funniest person. Make it about making your scene partner look the best they can, and you'll be fine.

What is your favorite and least favorite part of shooting Veep in Maryland? Also what was the funniest moment you saw on set when you were filming The Interview?

My favorite part about shooting VEEP in Maryland is being able to go to New York City!

And the Charles theater. I'm just a huge fan of indie movie houses. And I go there once or twice a week, whenever I'm in town.

And least favorite is just that I have to be away from my family. Which is hard, but we're obviously there under good circumstances.

There was a... moment of it in the deleted scenes, but watching James Franco say "Skylarks, assemble!" and he would do this Ka-KAW! bird sound that was just so insane and ridiculous that I couldn't keep it together...

Hi Tim! Just wondering, would you want to hang out with Jonah?

Oh, GOD no.

NO. Absolutely not, no.

NO.

No!

He's just about everything that I hate being around.

Dunno, seems like a fun guy to go to a Death Metal show with.

That's for damn sure.

He's good to go to a death metal show. That's absolutely right.

What can we expect from good ole Jonah in the new season?

He's been exiled from the Internet. So he has to find another thing of value that he can do. And oddly, in the first episode, he's in the same position of the liaison to the VP's office, but in the first scene, they take him seriously and give him a serious position of being the new VP's eyes and ears in the West Wing.

And you can take it from there.

So if you HAD to choose...would you rather have a work partner like Dan or like Jonah?

I would go with Jonah.

Because Dan would try to sell you out.

You want to have somebody weaker than you, that you know will never outshine you.

Dan would take credit for all the work that YOU do. And then he'd try to steal your girlfriend.

Jonah - he'd just never stop talking, either. He would a nightmare to share an office with...

Hey Tim! I absolutely love you on Veep and I must ask, what is the best part about having twins?

Knowing that when they're young, they're always going to have somebody they can talk to about us?

Like, they'll have this person that they can - if one of them is having trouble with us as parents, that they'll have someone who knows inherently what they're going through, and they'll have somebody to confide in.

Hi! Always love to see another Chicago theater/comedy person crushing it on the national level. Between Veep and Inherent Vice, you seem to be carving out a niche for yourself of playing kind of, I don't know...by the book dorks, I guess? But it seems like in real life (or at least on Instagram/Twitter) you're a cool Silver Lake dad. Is there something conscious in a decision to play characters that are so far removed from your real self? Do people often assume that you are actually a Jonah-ish dork in real life?

I think it's really funny that somebody would ever say "by-the-book dork" because I'm never...I'm never actually, I was always a behavior problem growing up! And I've never been organized, and I've never felt comfortable in situations that are constantly changing, and I've just never been much of a rule-follower. So it's weird that that's the niche I would fall into.

People don't necessarily assume I am a Jonah-ish dork. But I think if you were to meet me on the street, I wouldn't be a first read "Wow, that's a cool guy!"

I have always kind of been a dork.

Hey Tim! Love Jonah on VEEP - gives me the best one liners. Do you have a favorite scene partner or someone who does the best improv while filming?

Matt Walsh and Sam Richardson (who came on this year as a regular) both have amazing improv backgrounds. And just always the cleanest way to the joke, and both of them, you could improvise with them for hours.

I'm not as great as they are. So being able to play scenes with them always makes you look better than you really are.

What is the best part about working with Julia? Can you share something interesting about her that we don't know?

Best part about working with Julia is that she's an incredibly supportive castmate. And always wants to make sure that your creative voice is a part of the show.

And something that you might not know about her is that she is a very dedicated basketball mom. Her younger son Charlie is a basketball player, and she's constantly going back and forth to tournaments and games.

favorite snack?

My favorite snack is peanut butter filled pretzels from Trader Joe's. But I had to stop eating them, because I stopped being able to control myself and could just eat bags at a time.

If, say, there's a particularly nasty joke about you and/or your physical appearance, do you ever get a little offended? God, sometimes I feel bad hearing the stuff that's said. I'm just curious. Keep up the good work, your hilarious!

You have to develop a thick skin. And also, being a part of the film industry, you should have a general idea of what you look like, so it's not like they were saying anything particularly surprising.

How do you think the interaction between Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreations and Selina would be like? I think it'd be one of the most hilarious things ever.

I think it would be hilarious because their attitudes are diametrically opposed.

Selina is all negativity and judgement. And Leslie Knope is all positivity and good feelings.

And also, unfortunately for Leslie Knope, there is no way (if they were ever pitted against each other) - Selina would win in a MOMENT because she's so cutthroat.

But maybe it's a push.

Hi Tim!

Can we expect to see Jonah receive a compliment for once rather than insult, or does he continue to be his usual incompetent self?

So excited for Sunday!

Patton Oswalt pays me what could be considered a compliment in the first episode?

And outside of that... the only time anyone would compliment me is if they needed something from me.

Ha! Would this have anything to do with your "sex scene" as mentioned at Paley? Yep, it reached Ireland

Definitely does.

Can't say more.

But you'll see on Sunday.

what do you like to read?

I generally tend to read a lot of modern fiction. And am remarkably unread when it comes to the classics, but my favorite author is John Steinbeck.

Oh, please tell us more about recent fiction you've read! Or even better, join Goodreads, I'd love to follow you on there. (nerdy not creepy I swear)

I'll join with Goodreads but you should check out the book The People In the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara. It's a really amazing story with a horrifying final 2 pages.

Do you go by Tim in real life?

Tim is fine.

What's your favorite Jonah burn? Jolly Green Jizz Face?

"Hepatitis J."

(According to wiki) You are to appear in the Goosebumps movie, did you ever read them growing up, or are you in the wrong age group for that?

Thank you for doing this AMA

It's my pleasure to be doing the AMA!

I'm about one year too old to have grown up with Goosebumps. Everybody ONE year younger than me grew up with them. So I missed it by like one year! But I'm actually disappointed to have a Wiki page, for a long time I didn't, and I enjoyed that, and every once in a while, I would go to check and make sure it wasn't there, and I think I screen grabbed it, but one time I think someone had started one and it had just been deleted, and there was a message from Wikipedia that said:

We have deleted this because we cannot verify this person's cultural significance.

What was your take on the controversy with The Interview ?

It was an absolutely insane thing to live through. Much harder for Seth and Evan and James and Randall, because they were at the forefront of that movie, and although I was in it, I was not as visible of a part. But it was a really unprecedented circumstance, and I am looking forward to a large-scale conversation about everything that happened around it, because I don't think it's something that should be repeated and I don't want that conversation to just be lost to our short attention spans.

Any chance we get to see Nancy Lenehan in the new season? Good god, she killed it as your mom.

We don't see her this year. But everybody loved her so much and she was so massively funny that I know they're looking for ways to get her back in the story-wise.

Story-wise, we end up seeing so little of their personal lives that it just has to be the right thing.

Everyone seems to have some sort of golden rule in life. Neil Diamond informed me his golden rule is to try to never swear, whats yours?

It's certainly NOT never swear.

Here's one thing: don't judge your own success on the success of anybody else. Everyone has their own timeline. And if you do judge it based on others, the jealousy and bitterness will keep you further from getting what you want.

What's your personal favorite Jonah-directed insult? Also, what's your favorite of Jonah's comebacks?

I like "Hepatitis J." I also like when Julia says (when Jonah's possibly going to sell Ryantology), she says "Jonah with money!? That's like if Hitler could fly!"

And then my favorite Jonah comeback is in the first season, when I make fun of Syracuse, by saying "You're from upstate New York. You guys THINK you're New York City, but you're not."

Hey Tim! Any chance I could have you over and watch That Thing You Do? Maybe even share popcorn and burrito recipes?

I'm probably not going to be able to stop by.

And I haven't seen THAT THING YOU DO, so I'm assuming you're recommending it. So I'll for sure check that out.

But quick popcorn tip: toss a little bit of parmesan on there!

[deleted]

HAHAHAHA!

I know who this is.

And that's the sound of an erection.

What do you enjoy most about the internet?

The things that I like about the internet are the things that I would have loved to have had when I was in high school. The ability to have somewhat direct access to somebody that was in a movie that I loved, and as somebody living in a small town where not much happened, the ability to see what was happening in bigger cities or in other towns, to help me imagine what it would be like living there. Personally, I'm glad that social media weren't around when I was in high school because i would have made bad decisions. I was on Friendster and MySpace but i was already out of college by the time that came around.

And to have access to good jokes too.

Hi Tim, how are you? What is your favorite thing about Jonah? And if you could be another character of the show for one episode, who would it be and why?

His ability to wake up, every single day, and ignore his obvious failings, and the opinion of everyone around him, and keep working toward what he wants.

I think Congressman Furlong. Just because he has really profane and angry monologues that I think would be fun to perform.

How did you get into acting? Did you always know you wanted to be in theater or on the screen?

I didn't. I went to college with the intent of studying physics. But there's a big difference between being good at physics in high school, and being a physicist. So I stopped. I didn't start acting until I was in college, because I was having a hard time making friends, so I auditioned for some 10 minute plays just to get out of a bad living situation... and I've just been going after it ever since.

Which house do you fight for?

Personally?

Or Jonah?

Because if it's personal... Stark.

But if it's Jonah, it's Lannister.

If you to change career tomorrow, what would you choose to do?

I would want to be a photographer or a director of photography.

My dad was a photographer, and I did a lot of it growing up - like we had a darkroom with an enlarger, develop my own film. So I would like to do something like that.

I'd be like Terry Richardson without the creepy stuff.

i am in college in the UK and i am in the first of two years where we sort of try out university majors and I am doing graphic communication and drama. I really like both but I am veering a bit towards graphic communication because of the financial security. although drama/acting is what i would really love to do but its a risk. help?

That's a big choice.

Don't go into this unless you really, really love it and can't imagine your life without doing it.

It's definitely a risk, but if you enjoy it, then you should. Because why would you want to spend your life doing something you don't enjoy?

What was your impression of the controversy surrounding the release of The Interview?

It was a really hard thing to process, because it was an unprecedented event. So we had no frame of reference on how to react.

No kidding. At any point during filming did you think it would cause as much drama as it did? Or was it just like any other production?

I think there was a sense that it might cause a little bit of drama. But nowhere close to the amount it actually did.

Hi Tim! I actually grew up in Readfield with you, and if memory serves me we saw Pulp Fiction together for the first time. It's been great to watch you advance your career and your current roll on VEEP (and in The Interview) cracks me up.

Have you always wanted to act?

Is acting your "end-game" or are you interested in directing as well?

Fun Question: Who is the biggest prankster on Veep?

What's another random thing that I might recall?

I'd like to keep acting as long as people keep asking me, but I have started both writing and creating things, for both myself and other people.

And we're kind of "fuddyduddies" on set. We're an early to bed, early to rise kind of team.

Hi!!! I'm a huge fan with a big crush on you!! You called into my college radio show last year, and I just wanna say that was so awesome of you to do. Our college radio program has since been disbanded (lack of funding, booo) but I'll never forget that day.

Since it's 4/8/15, I guess I'll ask: were you a fan of Lost? (no lame "until the finale" answers, please.)

I was a fan of the show. I missed the first season, caught up to it with the second, and was a huge fan of the show until it stopped knowing what it was doing at some point in the penultimate (or final) season.

And I absolutely remember calling into to your radio show. I put it in my radio show to keep calling. But I think that someone went on summer break, because I kept calling on that Monday - I thought it would be funny to call in every week to some college radio station, just to call in.

So I did call back, at some point.

Oh my god, I can't believe you called back. That is incredible. This just makes the loss of the show so much worse. Thanks so much!! I'm looking forward to Michelle Darnell like bonkers.

I've done it before. Let me know if you want me to record you a voicemail message to make up for it.

Ummmmmmmyeah I think that would probably be the greatest thing ever.

VICTORIA NOTE: please DM /u/Chooter best number to reach you at and we'll take care of this Asap.

who do you think would win in a fight - a horse sized duck or 100 duck sized horses?

So duck-sized horses, or one giant horse-sized duck?

The giant horse-sized duck is going to win. Because even though there are greater numbers of the mini horses, they don't have the ability to jump up and swarm.

And the duck would be able to use its giant wings to bat away tens at a time!