‘I’ve never played a character like this before:’ Billy Crystal and co-star Jacobi Jupe talk acting joys & challenges on Apple TV+’s ‘Before’

Apple TV+’s Before marks Billy Crystal’s first TV project since 2015’s The Comedians, and viewers get to watch him engage with a much different story than they’re used to seeing him in. TMS got to chat with Crystal and co-star, Jacobi Jupe, about how they handled this challenging material.

Crystal is very aware of what audiences expect from a ‘Billy Crystal project,’ but as TMS‘ Rachel Leishman mentions, Crystal has a theater background, and has performed a variety of roles on stage throughout his career. When it comes to tackling a complicated role like that of child psychologist, Eli, Crystal says, “It’s a matter of years of understanding your skills and your talents and just being open to the stresses that I had to play. And just doing it, basically. You just do it.”

Crystal proceeds to talk about the challenges not only in performing this role, but in embodying a story like Before from a production standpoint. “I’ve never played a character like this before,” he said. “And it was relentless in this kind of painful pursuit of helping this young man.”

Meanwhile, his 11-year-old co-star seems to find nothing but fun in the acting challenge he was given. Jupe plays Eli’s client, Noah, a foster child who is experiencing frightening visions. He certainly enjoyed the more ‘normal’ aspects of his character’s life, but says he, “[R]eally, really enjoy[s] doing all the crazy stuff, because I don’t really wanna be the ‘normal’ kid. I wanna be the ‘crazy kid.’ I wanna act as the ‘crazy kid.’ I wanna do crazy stuff.”

Leishman tells Crystal that he has Legend Status in her family, which seemed to delight him. “I hope people enjoy and get involved in Before with an open mind,” Crystal replied. “All of us worked so hard to make this as entertaining and as interesting and as scary and thrilling as the show becomes. So, I’m looking forward to hearing from your family.”

To watch the full interview with Billy Crystal and Jacobi Jupe, check it out on the TMS YouTube Channel! New episodes of Before drop every Friday on Apple TV+.