Long Story Short is an animated family sitcom arriving on Netflix this week. It follows the Schwooper siblings at different stages of their life jumping back and forth in time. When we spoke to creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg about the series, we also had an opportunity to speak with stars Ben Feldman and Abbi Jacobson who play two thirds of the siblings Avi and Shira respectively.
When asked how closely he related with his animated counterpart, Feldman replied, “Deeply…Sometimes when you’re on a show, especially a sitcom, a couple years in the writers all figure out what’s wrong with you and write to that. This just sort of from the jump felt like that. I identified with this character so much that when I read for it, everybody was like, don’t get married to one of these characters. It’s an ensemble. You have no idea who’s going to do what and when. This is just one script that you’re reading.”
The actor performed some sabotage to ensure he received the part of Avi. Feldman continued, “I don’t care. I’m in love with this guy. This is the guy that I want. I think I phoned in my other ones. I instantly identified with Avi and then I saw him and that sealed the deal. But, very much it was a very easy part to play for me I would say.”
Interestingly enough, one of Feldman’s costars took a similar approach to land a role on Long Story Short. “It was funny you say that,” Bob-Waksberg recounted. “Max Greenfield who plays your little brother Yoshi on the show. We also had him read for a bunch of roles. In the tape that I heard, he says ‘Hello, I’m Max. I’m reading for a bunch but this is me as Yoshi which is obviously the part I should be playing. It would be silly if someone else played the role.’”
On the other hand, Jacobson’s family experiences varied from that of Shira from Long Story Short. Part of the reason she explained was due to the regional differences between the fictional Schwoopers who are Northern California.
She said, “You know what? I got to say I’m from the East Coast from a Jewish American family and there are certain aspects I related to, but I got to say my family is so different. We do not fight. We’re like a different kind of Jew. There’s no therapy growing up. It’s just not as out. It’s really sort of like passive.”
But that didn’t mean she couldn’t connect with Shira and her family. “I didn’t relate but I know these people,” Jacobson continued. “It was so easy for me to come and understand this character and the dynamics and so it was so fun…But I don’t relate. It’s so specific.”
Stream the first season of Long Story Short beginning Friday, August 22, on Netflix.
