How ‘A Teacher’ Pulled Nick Robinson Back to High School

After vowing off teenage roles, Nick Robinson is returning to class one last time thanks to Hannah Fidell’s A Teacher. The FX on Hulu miniseries follows the twisted relationship that forms between a female high school teacher (Kate Mara) and her male student (Robinson). What begins as a seemingly romantic affair transforms into a saga about the horrors of grooming and sexual abuse that makes its very audience complicit.

It is exactly this complexity that led Love, Simon star Robinson to reconsider his “no high school” rule. Decider spoke with Robinson about what drew him to this project, what the research process was like for its complicated subject matter, and which parts of A Teacher were inspired by real life.

Decider: This is such an interesting project and your character is so complicated. What drew you to this role?

Nick Robinson: Hannah [Fidell] and Kate [Mara], mostly. I met with them at the beginning of last year, which now feels like a million years ago. But February of 2019, somewhere in there. We got coffee, and Hannah told me about the show. I had a good feeling at the meeting. I really liked Hannah and Kate. I read the scripts, and I thought that it had something interesting to say. I also am a big fan of FX’s programming, so I was really excited to be a part of it.

How much research did you do into survivors of sexual abuse and grooming before you went into this?

I took my cue from Hannah on that one. Because she, in the course of writing the series, had done a lot of research herself. She put me in touch with a child psychologist who didn’t necessarily just deal with children but specializes in male survivors of these kinds of relationships. He was actually a survivor himself and went through a similar assault that Eric did. I got to talk to him about how men internalize trauma differently than women, how that’s expressed often, and how it can take a lot longer for them to view themselves as survivors or victims — oftentimes, years and years.

Depressingly, you hear about these stories, but you typically hear it as a male teacher and a female student. Whenever you hear it the other way around, it’s sensationalized or headline-grabbing, for lack of a better word.

The research I did was I looked up as many of these relationships as I could. There’s quite a few. Most often the headlines are clickbait, for lack of a better term. They don’t give much of the story; they don’t give the full story. What was interesting about this series is you really have the time to explore the characters, both in the before and the after of their relationship being found out.

I was especially impressed with the back half of the series because it focuses on the aftermath of the relationship. You rarely see those repercussions on television. You typically just see the relationship.

It is interesting, the way the series is structured. I think the early episodes are meant to draw the audience in and make them complicit in Eric and Claire’s relationship. The later episodes are designed to make the audience question their perception of the relationship and the rationalization of the relationship.

Between Eric and your Love, Simon role, you’ve developed a reputation as a really great teenage lead. How do you get into the headspace of these sensitive teenage boys? Because it’s unusual from what we typically see.

Thank you. I guess it helps that I was one at one point. I had said prior to this role that I wasn’t going to do any more high school roles. But when I met with [Hannah Fidell and Kate Mara], their pitch for the show was really intriguing to me. Then I read the scripts, and I was like, “Oh, shit. I guess I’m going back for one more.” It’s just such a formative time in most people’s lives. You’re having a lot of very big feelings for the very first time. A lot of firsts: first love, first heartbreak… When you’re in high school, it feels like there’s a lot at stake.

Absolutely.

But yeah, I think I’ve graduated now, officially. I’ve moved on.

Speaking of your Love, Simon past, how do you think your fans who know you from that movie are going to react to A Teacher?

I don’t know. It’s a little bit of a departure for me, but I hope they enjoy it. See it as something different from work I’ve done in the past and are both entertained and informed by it. I don’t know.

A Teacher is an emotionally heavy show. Were any scenes especially difficult for you to perform? 

There were definitely emotional moments in Eric’s journey. We also were up against the clock a lot of the time, which was difficult. We didn’t have a ton of time to shoot it.

What was the production schedule?

It was kind of getting shoehorned into an opening that both Kate and I had free. I’d have to look back, because I left a little bit early to do a play in New York. I think it was a two-and-a-half, three-month shoot schedule, which would mean it was doable, it just sometimes was a little bit tight.

That was an added challenge. Just trying to get into that headspace is challenging if you’re having a bad day, or just don’t really feel like going there. I was working with a bunch of pros, so it made it easier.

Is there anything that you’d like to tell viewers and fans?

The show is partnered with RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network) to help address the content of the show in the most sensitive and correct ways possible. They’ve been great partners. If you are, or if you know anyone who’s going through an experience similar to Eric, there’s help available.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

New episodes of A Teacher premiere on FX on Hulu on Tuesdays. 

If you or someone you know needs to reach out about sexual abuse, RAINN is available 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE (4673), or online at RAINN.org.

Watch A Teacher on FX on Hulu