1 hour ago
3
Shrinking Season 2, Episode 5, “Hold Your Horsies,” was an absolute win for music lovers. We got Alice (Lukita Maxwell) and Sean (Luke Tennie) tearing up the dance floor to sombr’s “12 to 12”. We got a legendary end credits needle drop that delivered full body chills, courtesy of Jason Segel covering R.E.M.’s “Nightswimming.” And most importantly, we got a life-changing performance of “The Confrontation” from Segel and Michael Urie that will live rent free in my head for the rest of time.
Around six minutes into “Hold Your Horsies,” Paul (Harrison Ford) asks “knuckleheads” Jimmy (Segel) and Brian (Urie) if one of them can drive him to the airport to pick up his daughter. Jimmy agrees, and Brian adds, “If I have to go I get to pick the music.” Thus, a scene straight out of Les Misérables!
“So there was a knock on my door, and Bill Lawrence is like, ‘Hey, I gotta talk to you about something coming up. We’re thinking about having you and Jason sing the song called ‘The Confrontation’ from Les Mis. Do you know — And before he could even finish, I said, ‘Just tell me if I’m Javert or Valjean. That’s all I need to know,'” Urie excitedly told Decider via Zoom.
The stunning and hilarious duet — which lasts more than a minute — shows Urie and Segel going all-in as Javert and Jean Valjean. Their rich theatrical performance features withering stares, dramatic facial expressions, passionate vocals, delicious drama, and unmatched reactions from Ford in the back seat.
“I was all in. And Jason and I already knew the lyrics,” Urie told Decider. “I didn’t need to work on it at all, because I am a show queen. Jason and I were actually giddy about doing it. We were so excited. And we didn’t tell Harrison, he didn’t know anything. And he doesn’t know that show, so his reactions were totally organic. We did it a few takes, a few different times, and we’re on a process trailer, so we’re not actually driving. It’s pretend driving. But it’s a beautiful day in Pasadena. Harrison Ford is in the backseat, and we’re driving around. Regular people see us, and we’re screaming at the top of our lungs this song. It must have looked totally crazy.”
As Broadway Word notes, “Segel famously performed a portion of the musical theater favorite on The Megan Mullally Show in 2006 and then later on BravoTV’s Inside The Actors Studio. Both times, his duet partner was Tony Award-winner Neil Patrick Harris, Segel’s How I Met Your Mother co-star.” Honoring beloved lore is so Shrinking and so Lawrence. And though theater icon Urie brilliantly filled Harris’ shoes, he says the real star of the show is Ford, who goes on a one-of-a-kind facial journey watching the two “knuckleheads” let loose in the front seat.
“Jason and I, we were playing the scene where Valjean and Javert confront one another. We weren’t playing Jimmy and Brian. We were playing the characters from the hit musical based on the Victor Hugo novel, and I was like, ‘I can’t wait to see how good we are. I might get an offer to do the musical from this! Like, this might be my audition!'” Urie recalled. “I don’t usually get the dailies, but because this was such a special one, they sent me the dailies and I went to watch it. And I’m not kidding, I only watched Harrison. His reactions were so organic. You’ve got to go back and watch it, because that is perfect. That should be his Emmy clip. He is so good in that scene. If you could bottle and sell a movie star, it would be that. He goes through every human emotion. He is sad. He is happy. He is afraid. He is moved. He is silly. He is serious. He’s going through it all. And without any words! I was like, ‘OK! This is a movie star. You steal a scene from the back seat with no lines.”
“I only watched Harrison. His reactions were so organic… That should be his Emmy clip. He is so good in that scene. If you could bottle and sell a movie star, it would be that.”
Michael Urie, ShrinkingWhen Jimmy and Brian finally conclude their award-worthy performance, Paul hilariously asks, “Did you guys make that up?” And who’s to say there wasn’t a little bit of authentic Harrison Ford in that response?
In an interview with Decider, Shrinking‘s Ted McGinley also shouted out the Les Mis moment as his favorite Season 3 scene the Indiana Jones star. “I have to say my favorite scene of the year is them in the Bronco doing Les Mis and [Harrison] in the middle in the background saying, ‘Did you guys just make that up?'” McGinley shared with a laugh. “I think that is so funny. It was so quintessentially them. I loved it. That’s my favorite moment for him this season.”
Emmys all around! And honestly, two honorary Tony Awards! And an honorary Oscar for Best Movie Star Performance On A TV Show. That’s how Oscars work, right? What I’m saying is all the awards for Shrinking and this talented, fun-loving, delightfully spirited team!
New episodes of Shrinking Season 3 premiere Wednesdays on Apple TV.
English (US)