Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Ghosts’ Asher Grodman

Asher Grodman is a multi-hyphenated talent who has quickly made a name for himself with the dramatic characters he’s brought to life in projects including Law & Order, Chicago Med, and Succession.

This fall, he makes his biggest venture into the comedy realm with CBS’ hit new series Ghosts.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Asher about his career, Ghosts, and more.

PC: How did you discover your passion for storytelling?
Asher: Oh, wow. That’s a good question. I grew up very much in the woods on a farm in West New Jersey. There wasn’t much of a community around us. There was a lot of me playing in the woods and my imagination at play, but there was also a lot of social anxiety. I was a very shy kid. My desire to connect with other people would be overwhelmed by the fear of being rejected by others.

I remember I was in the school’s jazz band and suddenly everyone graduated. There was no one left in the school jazz band except two other people and me. We did a performance of “Brown Eyed Girl” and somehow I got the courage to sing. I changed the words for a girl who I had a huge crush on. I changed the words to “Hazel Eyed Girl,” which obviously mortified her. [laughs] It was a thrilling moment because I was suddenly in the community. I was part of the school. I wasn’t so much an outsider. Not that I was popular, but I was suddenly involved. That kind of storytelling was already happening with the games I was playing at home—and then suddenly there was this connection. Acting is just connecting to other people under imaginary circumstances. That’s how all the pieces came together for me.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Asher: You’re coming in with these hard-hitting questions. My parents have played a big role. I grew up with fourteen dogs, which I think played a big role in that playfulness.

Then there were people like Philip Seymour Hoffman and George Clooney and their performances. I love all of Sidney Lumet’s movies.

I also have an acting coach named Bob Krakower, who I’ve learned so much from. I don’t know if I can signal in on one person.

PC: In addition to acting, you’re also a producer, writer, and director. How’s your work behind the scenes made you a stronger actor and vice versa?
Asher: You realize that the only one who is going to make things happen is you. You have to be a self-starter and go for it. Don’t be afraid to fail.

You also realize that all these disciplines are so competitive. Each is a small part of a larger tapestry when you’re creating something. It’s about collaboration. You can’t have your hands on all the levers at the same time. You need to find that balance and embrace that team mentality.

PC: Tell us about Ghosts!
Asher: Ghosts is this incredibly well-written, funny new series on CBS. It’s about a young couple who inherit a huge estate in upstate New York. They go check it out and soon discover that the estate is inhabited by a bunch of ghosts who have lived there. Some have lived there for over a thousand years and others are more recently departed. They’ve all been living together. Suddenly, they have a bunch of new roommates. Through the events of the pilot, Samantha (Rose McIver) can now see and interact with the ghosts. She has to convince her husband that she’s not crazy.

We were just about to shoot when the world shut down, so we sat in limbo wondering if we were ever going to shoot the pilot. Then we wondered if we would be picked up. Remarkably, through all the hurdles, we were lucky to do so—because many shows didn’t.

Our ensemble really came together so well because we sat in that uncertainty for so long. We became really good friends. I hope the relationships that we built with each other comes off on the screen. Our writers—Joe Port, Joe Wiseman, and the entire writers’ room—are remarkable.

PC: This series has been incredibly well received. What do you think is resonating most with audiences?
Asher: Something tells me that after the last year and half people may know something about being stuck in the same room with other people who have different points of view for an extended period of time. [laughs] The pandemic made this even more relatable. But especially after the last year and a half, I also know I could use some laughter. The show is a nice release.

PC: What should audiences know about your character? What can you tease about his arc this season?
Asher: They should know that he’s got some lessons to learn. He’s a late ’90s Lehman Brothers ex-frat boy wearing a suit with no pants because that’s how he died. I’ll let your imaginations run wild with that. He’s just looking for a good time. But he’s in many ways the little brother of the ensemble of ghosts because he’s the most recently dead. He’s the party animal of the group. One of the things that’s brilliant about the show is that these ghosts are not like these otherworldly things. They’re still people and they’re still people trapped in everyday situations. The only difference is that they’re no longer alive.

The show closes this gap in human awareness—the gap between the living and the dead. The ghosts in the afterlife are still interested in smelling, seeing, laughing, and having conversations. Over the course of the season, there are going to be lessons that everyone will learn. There’ll be developments for everyone. The ghosts are coming from different backgrounds, lives, and eras.

PC: What would you say is the biggest lesson you learned working on this project that you’ll bring to the next?
Asher: There are two big ones. One is a lesson that I’m always learning: how collaborative something like this is. There are so many people who work on this show and they’re incredibly talented and smart. The best content comes out when we’re working together, which happens because every discipline is so competitive. It’s very easy to think that your craft is everything. But then when you get into a situation like this, you realize that you’re a small part of something much larger than yourself.

The other lesson is about drama vs. comedy. I’ve done a lot of dramatic roles on television. As a guy who had never done comedy before, I discovered that they’re very much the same. There’s a real skill and technique to both. How do you set up a joke? How do you not step on a joke? The people I’m working with are incredible.

To keep up with Asher, follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Photo Credit: Emily Assiran