Apple TV+’s ‘Physical’ Stars Rose Byrne, Rory Scovel ‘Gush’ Over Cast Chemistry

Apple TV+’s newest series, Physical, pairs Rose Byrne and Rory Scovel as a struggling couple with big dreams who find support in some of the most surprising and underserved places. The show features several incredible performances, and Byrne and Scovel recently sat down with PopCulture.com to “gush” over how great the chemistry was among the cast. During a press roundtable with PopCulture and other media, Byrne spoke first about Lou Taylor Pucci, who plays Tyler, an infinitely positive surfer with a heart of gold.

“Lou really is the most truly nice character in the pace,” the Golden Globe-nominated actress said. “He doesn’t want anything from Sheila [Byrne’s character], and he’s not manipulative. And he’s genuinely kind of wears his heart on his sleeve and is sensitive and loving. And they have a strange sort of friendship in a way.” She then went on to say, “I don’t want to gush, but I mean, I loved all the actors. We really relished our parts.”

Byrne also praised working with Scovel, who plays her often unsavory on-screen husband, Danny. “Rory and I grew very close, and that was a very hard part to cast,” she said. “Danny is self-centered, but he has to be charming. There’s a certain quality you need to play that character and still want to root for him.”

She added how “Rory just has that” quality and can “naturally” tap into what he needs to capture the most accurate depiction of the character. “Obviously, he’s a stand-up and all that stuff, but he can just access his vulnerability very effortlessly,” Byrne continued. She also felt that Scovel knew how to “bring humor to that character in a way that the audience is always kind of laughing at him, even though they’re also probably slightly despising him as well at times.”

Scovel shares many scenes with Geoffrey Arend (Super Troopers, Madam Secretary), who plays Danny’s old college buddy Jerry-turned political campaign manager. Jerry has grown very little from his academic days at this point in his life, mostly content being drugged out and drunk. With Danny and Jerry both being characters that are tough to side with, there is a very apparent bond that Scovel and Arend pull off so perfectly.

“It came naturally on-screen,” Scovel said of how the pair came across. “We had never met until basically right before we’re about to shoot a scene together in Episode 3, I think it is. We were just sort of thrown together.” He went on to say that, “given the fact that the nature of these two characters is that they’re very close friends from the past and they’re still very supportive of each other today, you hope that that chemistry’s there.”

Scovel went on to call Arend a “truly amazing” actor and complimented how much fun it was to watch “his process of getting into that character.” The comedian then recalled “a little anecdote” from Arend’s “very first-day” on-set, which he felt perfectly captures the actor’s process. “We had to switch some scenes around, and so he was thrown a scene that had quite a lengthy sort of monologue really, a speech to Danny and to Sheila, and he jumped into it, and he learned it, and he crushed it,” Scovel shared. “That was my first day of meeting him and working with him. I think for me. Personally, I was just inspired by that.”

Concluding his thought on the cast’s perfect blending, Scovel said, “You look at Rose Byrne, and you look at [Arend], and you go, ‘Okay, try to be the dude that can keep up. Don’t be the guy that no one wants to pass the ball to because I’m turning it over.’ So it’s like, ‘All right. He’s playing up here. She’s playing up here. I got to keep up.’ I think maybe that, with him and I just kind of pushing each other, led to that chemistry.”