“It’d be very easy for them to sideline him.”
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the limited seriesEric.
But the show doesn’t simply follow the family.
McKinley Belcher III in ‘Eric’.Ludovic Robert/Netflix
Entertainment Weeklyspoke with breakout McKinley Belcher III about the experience of telling Ledroit’s story.
Ludovic Robert/Netflix
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did this all start for you?
Was it a pretty classic audition story?
McKinley Belcher III in ‘Eric’.Ludovic Robert/Netflix
MCKINLEY BELCHER III:It very much was a classic audition story.
We need it by tomorrow morning."
So I started learning the lines during intermission in my dressing room.
I did the tape next morning.
And one of the things that struck me initially was, “This is really weird.”
So it’s a call to action for him.
What drives him in your mind?
So there’s nowhere that he can do everything.
It really does feel like he’s an island.
Was the experience of making this show what you expected?
Did anything surprise you about it?
We did our first table read on a Tuesday morning.
I got married Tuesday afternoon, and I flew out to Budapest Wednesday evening.
And then to get a little bit personal, while we’re shooting, my sister passed.
So in a way it felt like the Twilight Zone and in a way it felt like a gift.
It was a way for me to process through my work.
It was all very much unexpected, but really gratifying and fulfilling.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Ericis streaming on Netflix now.
