Posted in: NBC, TV | Tagged: Felix Wolfe, Grosse Pointe Garden Society

Grosse Pointe Garden Society: Felix Wolfe on Show's "Fearless" Nature

Felix Wolfe (Raven's Home) spoke with Bleeding Cool about NBC's mystery/dramedy Grosse Pointe Garden Society, the creative team, and more.

You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone as grateful, humble, and talented as Felix Wolfe these days. Since making his debut in Fox's House in 2010, he's worked his way up on television through some of the biggest successful shows like TNT's Rizzoli & Isles, Fox's Bones, Glee, and The New Girl, and CBS's The Mentalist leading to ensemble roles in Disney's Gamer's Guide to Pretty Much Everything and Raven's home, and Prime Video's animated series Pete the Cat. His latest is the NBC mystery crime drama Grosse Pointe Garden Society as Ford, Birdie's (Melissa Fumero) biological son. The series follows four members of a suburban gardening club that share a murderous secret in the affluent Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Wolfe spoke to Bleeding Cool about working with creators Jenna Bans and Bill Krebs, and his willingness to learn on set from the creatives, co-stars, and crew.

How Grosse Pointe Garden Society Became a Learning Experience Unlike Any Other for Felix Wolfe

Bleeding Cool: What intrigued you about 'Grosse Pointe Garden Society '?

Right off the bat, working for Bill [Krebs] and Jenna [Bans], I was a big fan of their work prior, and so was my family. Getting the opportunity to audition for them was exciting because it's always a good feeling when you're going into a project knowing the people behind the project are in good hands. We all go into projects with good intentions, but having people behind that you trust and you know can deliver is a world of difference, and it changes everything.

In addition to Bill and Jenna being there, working for NBC Universal, it doesn't get more iconic than that. They've been a family I wanted to work for. It's been a company I've wanted to get to perform and entertain under. The whole project felt momentous, and so I was eager to…I didn't think I was going to get it, but [laughs] I auditioned with high hopes. I was honored they chose me, but mainly, the people behind it. Once I found out I was cast, I was like, "Okay, well, this is going to be the best six months of my life," and it was. They made every day I was on set the greatest experience. That whole crew is so wonderful. I've become friends with so many of them. It's just a great project to be behind.

What was it like working with Bill and Jenna as creatives?

Jenna and Bill have a way of quickly incorporating aspects of you. They are so inquisitive into you as the artist. I appreciate it, but I don't always come across that. It was very invigorating for me to have them care so much about the artists behind the character and be like, "What about you? Are you associating with Ford and trying to mesh the two?" It made performing and becoming Ford and finding that character so much easier. I give them so much credit for that.

They have this way of seeing through all the haze, getting to you, the character, and understanding the through lines of those two. That partnership in a way and how they are fearless and being like, "We're going to write this character in a way that will push you as a performer to bring something completely original" because they don't want copycat characters, and that's fun. I like creators who are ambitious and trusting. They trust the actors, all of us. We would always talk about that on set; they trust us to do our job and do it well. I have tremendous thanks and gratitude to them because they trusted me, and that means a lot.

What does a series like this allow you to do that you wouldn't normally do as an actor?

I love working with incredible artists and equally incredible crew. That's the best thing about the job is that no matter what, every time you step into a new set, it's a new life form. It's a new canvas, and there are so many new colors that pop and explode onto that canvas throughout the shoot. With this project, the number one thing that comes to mind is how this project allowed me to work with Aja [Naomi King], Melissa [Fumero], AnnaSophia [Robb], Ben [Rappaport], Matthew [Davis], Nancy [Travis], Alex [Hodge], all the guest cast, incredible crew, and then the team of writers.

I always think what makes a great project is the team behind it. It doesn't matter if one piece works. All the pieces need to work, and they need to work well for something to click. As wonderfully conceptual as this show is, it's interesting. It wouldn't have been what it became had it not been for each and every person that was in front and behind, especially behind the camera. The show opened a gateway for me to study under some of the best I've ever worked with and watch them. I would come to set on my days off, study, and sit by the cameras, monitors, and watch the actors, camera guys, writers, and directors work. You're working with some of the best in the industry, it's a free lesson in a master class in either acting or cinematography, sound, or whatever. This show opened so many doors for me.

Grosse Pointe Garden Society airs Fridays on NBC and is available to stream on Peacock. You can also check out our interview with Davis.

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