Lawrence Jay Duplass Jr. (born March 7, 1973)[1] is an American filmmaker, actor and author widely known for his films The Puffy Chair (2005), Cyrus (2010), and Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2011), made in collaboration with his younger brother, Mark Duplass.

Jay Duplass
Duplass in 2024
Born
Lawrence Jay Duplass Jr.

(1973-03-07) March 7, 1973 (age 51)
EducationJesuit High School
Alma materUniversity of Texas at Austin (BA)
Occupations
  • Film director
  • film producer
  • writer
  • actor
  • author
Years active1996–present
SpouseJen Tracy
Children2
RelativesMark Duplass (brother), Katie Aselton (sister-in-law)

Duplass starred in the Amazon Video comedy-drama series Transparent (2014–2019), and co-created the HBO comedy-drama series Togetherness (2015–16) and the HBO anthology series Room 104 (2017–2020).

Early life

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Duplass was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Cynthia (née Ernst) and Lawrence Duplass.[2][3][4] He was raised in a Catholic family,[5][6] and attended Jesuit High School. Duplass graduated from the University of Texas at Austin; he started a Masters of Fine Arts degree in film at UT but withdrew in the first few months to pursue independent film projects.[7] His ancestry includes French Cajun, Italian, Ashkenazi Jewish, and German.[8][9]

Career

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Directing

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Duplass attributes much of his and his brother's love for film to his appreciation for Raising Arizona. In an interview with Robert K. Elder for The Film That Changed My Life,[10] Duplass speculates on what might have happened had he not seen the film in his youth.

I probably wouldn't be making movies—seriously. It held over for so long. It really was the root of everything that Mark and I always hold ourselves to in making movies. That is to say that Raising Arizona is the most inspired movie that I have ever seen.[10]

In 2015, Mark and Jay Duplass via their Duplass Brothers Television label signed an overall deal with HBO.[11]

Acting

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In 2014, he starred as Josh Pfefferman in the Amazon Prime Original Comedy-Drama Series Transparent, alongside Jeffrey Tambor, Gaby Hoffmann, Amy Landecker and Judith Light. The series was met with widespread critical acclaim, earning 11 Primetime Emmy nominations, including nominations for Best Comedy Series and Best Actor in a Comedy Series for Jeffrey Tambor. In the second season of the show, Duplass's role became more prominent, and he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Prior to Transparent, Duplass had never acted in a featured part. He was talking with director Joey Soloway at a dinner party about the difficulty they were having finding an actor to play what would end up being Duplass's role. After suggesting many actors for the part to Soloway, Soloway turned to Duplass and told him that he should play the part.[12]

Favorite films

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In 2012, Duplass participated in the Sight & Sound film polls of that year. Held every ten years to select the greatest films of all time, contemporary directors were asked to select ten films of their choice.[13]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Credited as
Director Writer Producer
2005 The Puffy Chair Yes Yes Uncredited
2008 Baghead Yes Yes Yes
2010 Cyrus Yes Yes No
2011 Jeff, Who Lives at Home Yes Yes No
2012 The Do-Deca-Pentathlon Yes Yes Yes
2017 Table 19 No Story No
Outside In No Yes Executive
2018 Prospect No Yes No

Executive producer only

Television

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Year Title Credited as Notes
Director Executive
Producer
Writer
2015–2016 Togetherness Yes Yes Yes Co-creator
2014 Wedlock No Yes No
2016–2018 Animals. No Yes No
2017–2020 Room 104 No Yes No Co-creator
2018 Co-Ed No Yes No
Evil Genius No Yes No Documentary series
Wild Wild Country No Yes No
2019 On Tour with Asperger's Are Us No Yes No
Shook No Yes No
2020 Search Party Yes No No Directed 2 episodes
2021 The Lady and the Dale No Yes No Documentary series
Sasquatch No Yes No
Cinema Toast Yes Yes Yes Wrote & directed 1 episode
2024 American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders No Yes No Documentary series

Short film

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Year Title Credited as Notes
Director Producer Writer
1996 Connect 5 No Yes No
2002 The New Brad Yes Yes Yes
2003 This is John Yes No No
2003 Death for Sale No Yes No
2004 Scrapple Yes Yes Yes
2005 The Intervention Yes No No
2011 Kevin Yes Yes Yes Documentary short
Maurice No No Executive Documentary short
Authoritative Sources Yes No No Segment of Slacker 2011
2020 The Ride No No Executive

Acting roles

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2008 Nights and Weekends James' brother
2011 Slacker 2011 Boyfriend
2015 Manson Family Vacation Nick
Paper Towns English Teacher
2016 Rainbow Time Adam
2017 Landline Ben
Beatriz at Dinner Alex
Outside In Chris Connelly
2018 Prospect Damon
Duck Butter Jay
The Oath Clark Stewart
2019 Pink Wall Leon
Phil Malcolm
2020 Horse Girl Ethan
Shithouse Professor Notkin Uncredited
2022 Ghostwritten Guy Laury
2023 The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial Lieutenant Allen Bird MD
Pain Hustlers Larkin

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2012–2017 The Mindy Project Duncan Deslaurier 13 episodes
2014–2019 Transparent Josh Pfefferman 38 episodes
2016 Animals. Dennis (voice) 2 episodes
2017–2020 Search Party Elijah 7 episodes
2017 Room 104 Daniel Episode: "I Knew You Weren't Dead"
2019 Drunk History John C. Lilly Episode: "Drugs"
Stumptown Alan Episode: "Missed Connections"
2021 The Chair Bill Dobson 6 episodes
Cinema Toast (voice) 1 episode
2022 Industry Jesse Bloom 7 episodes
2024 Percy Jackson and the Olympians Hades Episode: "We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of"
TBA Dying for Sex Steve Upcoming miniseries

Bibliography

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Accolades

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Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2022 Peabody Awards Entertainment Somebody Somewhere Nominated [14]

References

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  1. ^ "Jay Duplass - United States Public Records". FamilySearch. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  2. ^ "Low budget and brotherly". Los Angeles Times. July 3, 2006. Archived from the original on January 11, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
  3. ^ King, Susan (July 6, 2006). "Puffy Chair carves out a living". Newsbank.com.
  4. ^ "Mr. John Anthony Ernst, Jr. obituary". Stei-23818.tributes.com. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
  5. ^ Hood, Shannon (March 19, 2010). "SXSW Interview: 'Cyrus' Directors Mark and Jay Duplass". The Flickcast. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
  6. ^ "Jay Duplass Talks Moving To The Mainstream At The 2011 Savannah Film Festival". Indiewire. March 2, 2012. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
  7. ^ Kelly, Christopher (July 2012). "Sibling Revelry". Texas Monthly.
  8. ^ Lamble, David (March 28, 2013). "The Bay Area Reporter Online". Ebar.com. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
  9. ^ "Jay Duplass Doesn't Want to be a Coen Brother Anymore". The New Yorker. 17 July 2022.
  10. ^ a b Elder, Robert K. (2011). "Interview with Jay Duplass". The Film That Changed My Life. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. p. 209. ISBN 9781556528255.
  11. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (2015-06-16). "Duplass Brothers Ink Overall Deal with HBO". Variety. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  12. ^ Lincoln, Kevin (6 January 2016). "After Years Directing Indie Films, Transparent Star Jay Duplass Found Himself in an Unlikely Place: In Front of the Camera". Vulture. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  13. ^ "Jay Duplass". BFI. Archived from the original on February 23, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  14. ^ Voyles, Blake (September 20, 2023). "83rd Peabody Award Nominees". Retrieved September 20, 2023.
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