It isn’t every day that an actor gets to work with someone they’ve known since they were a kid but such was the case recently with Jason Ritter and Billy Bob Thornton.
Ritter is starring in two episodes of Thornton’s new series, Goliath on Amazon. Goliath,produced by veteran TV writer/producer David E. Kelly, follows the life of a discredited lawyer trying to get his reputation back.
Ritter plays an FBI agent who tries to help Thornton’s character in the series which debuts October 11.
“I was very nervous because I have so much respect for him and I’ve known him for many years.
He’s a family friend and so I was nervous. I wanted to make him proud. I didn’t want to embarrass him or anything like that but he was so great. He was exciting," he says.
“Billy Bob plays a lawyer who goes up against this juggernaut in court and he’s in over his head and I try to help him every once and awhile.”
Ritter, 36, whose father, John (Eight Simple Rules and Three’s Company), would have celebrated his 68th birthday this week, talked about his work ethic while enjoying a day at the Doris Bergman Emmy Lounge and Party.
The younger Ritter has created an established career including an Emmy nomination for his role on Parenthood and has been appearing before the cameras since his debut as a baby in the opening credits of Three's Company.
“I do a fair amount of hustling, yeah. I try to stay on top of it and I try to read a lot and I try to choose things that sort of speak to me, so a lot of the things I am doing are independent. I sort of gravitate towards those and there are a lot of those around.
If it’s between sitting around all day or working on a project with friends or people that I love or respect, I definitely will choose that one.”
And like his father, Ritter continues to skip between movies and television, working wherever he gets work.
“I have no official preference, I try to go by 'does the character speak to me, does the story speak to me?.' There are great projects, especially the more TV has risen. There is no longer that sort of stigma of TV or film. Everyone is doing everything.”
