Writer-director Nicole Holofcener had previously cast Teague in the Kathryn Hahn-led series, Mrs. Fletcher, so the Oscar-nominated filmmaker went out to Teague for the role of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ son in the character-driven dramedy.

His character Elliott is an aspiring writer who wants to hear honest critiques of his work. “Elliott doesn’t believe his writing is the best that it can be, and he wants to hear the truth about it. And that’s how I always feel about anything that I do. I’m always a little bit uncomfortable when I hear ‘good job’ because I never know if I can believe it,” Teague says.

Teague recently wrapped his most substantial role as the lead ape in Wes Ball’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. The Apes casting director Debra Zanewas the one who cast him in those old photographs and home movies on Bloodline.

In the sequel to Matt Reeves’ War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), Teague is playing Caesar’s (Andy Serkis) son Cornelius. And as longtime fan of Serkis, the chance to pick his brain about performance capture was a career highlight for him.

“Andy Serkis and I had a meeting, and he was part of why I became an actor,” Teague says. “This was something I’d been wanting to do my entire life, and it was literally a dream come true to get to do this job and play this character.  Andy said: ‘You’ll get used to [performance capture] and you’ll stop worrying about it after the first week.’ And he was absolutely right.”

“I had a bit of an existential crisis three weeks before we started shooting, and I was like, ‘I can’t do this,’” Teague recalls. “But then you find your way back, and you realize that you know who you’re playing. I’m also not a terrible person, so I knew that people were going to enjoy working with me, at least I hoped.”

Now, Teague is feeling optimistic about his new chapter in the Apes franchise. “This was the first time that I’ve left set and been like, ‘This is going to be awesome. We made something that’s completely amazing,’” Teague shares. “And I hope that’s true. God, I’m gonna look pretty stupid if it sucks, but I have complete confidence in everyone who’s working on that film.”

When you first met Ben, was he blown away by the resemblance? 

I don’t really know how he felt. The first time we met was on the beach in Islamorada, and it was one of young Danny’s scenes. It was one of those Bloodline-esque flashbacks where young Danny was getting beat up, and we were all there: me, Norbert [Leo Butz], Ben and Kyle [Chandler]. And I was a kid, so I was intimidated by everybody. And then I remember Ben just looking at me and being like, “Hey, you really wanna do this, huh?” And I was like, “What do you mean?” And he was like, “Acting.” And I was like, “Yeah.” And he was like, “Well, it’s a lonely life, but alright.” And that was the first thing he ever said to me. I was like, “Wow, this dude is intense.” But he was nothing but very, very kind to me. He was really generous as well, because I was pretty green. I’d done a ton of theater, but that’s a different thing than a show like Bloodline. So he led me through things a little bit, but everyone on that show was really nurturing towards me.

Absolutely. The casting director for Bloodline, Debra Zane, has been championing me since I was a teenager. I would not be here without that show, and I wouldn’t know half the things I know about the industry and the craft. Bloodline was my school, and I credit everything to that.

You Hurt My Feelings

I knew Nicole Holofcener from Mrs. Fletcher. She cast me for Mrs. Fletcher, and so she just sent me this script. Her presentation was wonderful. It wasn’t like, “Do you want to do it?” It was more like, “What do you think? Do you like it?” (Laughs.) And I was like, “Of course, I do. I wanna do it.” So that was how that came about, and it’s always nice when people that you’ve worked with before want to collaborate again. I also knew some of the producers and some of the crew from Montana Story and other projects, so there was a sense of camaraderie on set. It felt like a bunch of friends getting together in New York and making a movie.

Working with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies? 

I’m glad to have learned that and to have had some success in that, because it’s actually made the work easier. It’s made it more rewarding when I get to do something that’s really good or that I really connect to, and then I get to leave it. If I don’t connect to something or something doesn’t do what I am looking for, then it’s okay. So it’s just about finding stability in life, apart from the industry.