Love, Victor showrunners reveal how Josh Duhamel's season 2 cameo happened
Warning: This article contains spoilers about episode 3 of Love, Victor, now streaming on Hulu.
What could be more perfect than the dad from Love, Simon returning to help the dad from Love, Victor understand and be there for his son who just came out?
In a sweet full-circle moment, Josh Duhamel made a surprise cameo in episode 3 of Love, Victor season 2, reprising his role as Jack Spier, Simon's (Nick Robinson) well-meaning father from Love, Simon. Jack now runs a support group for parents, families, and allies of LGBTQ people through PFLAG (based on the real-life organization), showing how far he's come after his own shocked reaction to his son coming out in the 2018 rom-com movie. And he ends up having meaningful conversations both at the support group and later, over a beer, with Victor's (Michael Cimino) father Armando (James Martinez) about how to be there for Victor. Just dads helping dads!
Greg Gayne/Hulu Jack (Josh Duhamel) and Armando (James Martinez) in 'Love, Victor'
It's a conversation Armando desperately wanted and needed to have, since his wife Isabel (Ana Ortiz) has been denying the entire situation in the months since Victor came out, putting a major strain on her relationship with Victor, which is exactly what Armando wanted to avoid. It's also a conversation that helps put his relationship with Victor back on track, changing the course of the rest of the season.
Bringing Duhamel's character from the movie upon which the Hulu spin-off is based was something that always excited showrunners Elizabeth Berger and Isaac Aptaker. "We always are like, 'What's a natural way to bring the Love, Simon world into our Love, Victor world?' That felt like a way to do it," Berger tells EW. "And Josh was immediately excited and on board and it all just kind of worked out in this magical way. We were thrilled."
Aptaker adds that Duhamel "was such a trooper" because the timing of production was a little complicated ... for a big reason. "He was getting ready to go fly down to the Dominican Republic to star in that JLo movie that he just shot," Aptaker says with a laugh. "You know, that's a big deal to be a part of that! And he still made the time and came in and did that storyline and absolutely crushed it. He understands why this kind of material is so important and much needed, and he had such a positive experience on the movie so it was a total thrill to get him back."
The main concern was always making Duhamel's cameo feel "organic, because we never want it to feel like we're just looking for excuses to bring characters from the movie into the universe of our show," Aptaker says. "But it really felt like Jack, after the events of the movie, would become involved with an organization like PFLAG. So that felt incredibly real and organic to us that this is how those two men's paths would intersect."
Greg Gayne/Hulu Armando (James Martinez) and Jack (Josh Duhamel) bond in 'Love, Victor'
And once that idea was solidified, the showrunners were overjoyed when it actually worked out and Duhamel agreed to come film his scenes. "Love, Simon was such a beautiful experience for us, and Love, Victor is this other entirely wonderful also beautiful experience," Berger says. "Whenever we can marry the two it really feels amazing. We're always so excited when we get to see Nick and having Josh there was incredible. Everyone feels good when we're able to make that happen."
Aptaker adds that "everyone was really excited about it," but especially Martinez who plays Armando. "He was really excited to bring the two parental stories together, to allow them to collide like that," he says. "We talked to PFLAG a bunch to make sure that we got it right and represented that organization correctly. So getting to use such a beloved character to really voice some of the ways they help parents cope and come to understand their children was really powerful."
Love, Victor season 2 is now streaming on Hulu.
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Related content:
