Chris Zylka Of ‘The Leftovers’ On THAT Scene With Liv Tyler And The Importance Of “Honest” Full-Frontal Nudity

If we ever had doubts Disney star turned HBO actor Chris Zylka is more than a pretty face, Sunday evening’s episode of Damon Lindelof‘s supernatural melodrama The Leftovers proved us oh-so-wrong.

After diverting between the fictional towns of Miracle, Texas, and Mapleton, New York, in the first two episodes of this riveting second season, Zylka and on-screen matriarch Amy Brenneman finally had their time to shine in as cult apostates Tom and Laurie Garvey — reunited by their collective abandonment of Holy Wayne and the Guilty Remnant, respectively. Though Tom and Laurie are rebuilding their strained mother-son relationship, they’re also laying the foundation for what seems like their own following of GR ex-pats: a mini-cult in the making masked under Laurie’s counseling expertise and Tom’s willingness to go undercover (donned in white, of course). But to quote our own The Leftovers recapper Sean T. Collins, “You can take the Garveys out of the cults, but you can’t take the cults out of the Garveys.” Tom is only able to keep up appearances for so long before having to give the newcomers something to hope for following a bizarre sexual encounter with Guilty Remnant poster gal, Meg Abbott (Liv Tyler).

I had the opportunity to chat with the emerging actor, whose humble beginnings made headlines last year and whose ability to strip down — both literally and emotionally — in every frame he enters has garnered him critical praise as a sharp young talent willing to take bold risks. Zylka clued me in on what it’s been like working with Lindelof and Brenneman and why doing full-frontal scenes have the power to be “honest” and “serve a purpose.”

What were your first thoughts when Damon decided to uproot The Garveys?

I thought it was wonderful. I mean, look at the cast we brought on. Regina [King]? Obviously amazing. And then Kevin Carroll is just so brilliant in that role. And Jovan [Adepo]? I’ve gotta say is one of the most wonderful actors and one of the most wonderful people on the planet. Anytime anyone new is brought on, it’s kind of like you’re adding to your family and they were such a wonderful addition. Episode One was so good and just delightful to watch.

Speaking of family, how has it been finally getting to work more with Amy Brenneman?

Just wonderful. I’ve always been a huge fan of hers and we got to work a little bit in Episode Nine of last year, but it’s just been so nice to be on set with her more to kind of watch and learn from her creative process.

Can you talk about that scene with Liv Tyler? I know that nude scenes aren’t anything new for you after Season One of The Leftovers and Kaboom, but was your approach to this one any different?

That’s true [laughs]. I mean it’s heavy, but it’s completely honest and it sticks to the script and serves a purpose. I’ve told a couple of people now that, like, no one would go pull my pants up, you know? It serves such a purpose to the script that it wasn’t really nerve-wracking or anything like that. It was just us being the characters and being in The Leftovers; we hand ourselves over to Damon and Mimi Leder completely. And Carl Franklin is such a wonderful director: it was just a completely comfortable day.

I read that when it comes to nude scenes, sometimes the crew actually feels more uncomfortable than you do. Is that always the case?

I feel like if I have to do it — it’s out there — and a lot of the time you feel like the crew is more uncomfortable than you are. So to keep the set morale is the most important thing. You know, maybe crack a couple of jokes and make fun of yourself a little bit so everyone kind of eases into it, so it’s like, “Alright, we’re shooting The Leftovers, let’s do this.” Who cares? Don’t make nudity the main topic the scene or the day. We’re shooting a scene that I believe worked out really well, and that’s the most important thing. It’s not about nudity; it’s about the story and the connective between Liv and me.

You’ve dabbled in just about every genre there is between film and TV, but this feels like your most personal project. How much of yourself have you brought to the role of Tom over the course of these two seasons?

I’ve been very fortunate. It’s funny because you always bring a part of yourself. You kind of write backstory about the character and bring as much as you can. It would be complete nonsense to not bring as much of yourself as possible, even if people don’t know about it, you know? So, it is the most personal role I’ve ever encountered, that’s for sure.

This season is off to a really powerful start. Is there any particular end result you hope audiences will take away?

That there’s always hope. That’s a good question because most of the time we talk so much about our performances when the bottom line is the audience and that they enjoy themselves. That they get to take an hour out of their Sunday and forget about their jobs and forget about anything that’s going on and enjoy our show, and I think that’s something Damon’s creative process allows. I’d much rather be sitting on a couch and asking a bunch of questions like, “What the hell just happened?!” than, “Oh man, work sucked today.” In my opinion, we just want to take an hour out of peoples day where they’re just enjoying The Leftovers.

New episodes of The Leftovers air every Sunday night at 9 PM on HBO Go, HBO Now, and on Sling TV. 

 

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Photos: HBO