The second half of the fifth season of Nashville begins tonight, June 1. And there's an added element that connects the Season 5 cast to Southern Methodist University.
Jeffrey Nordling, who most recently starred in HBO's sexy drama Big Little Lies as Laura Dern's husband, will join the Nashville team as Brad Maitland, whom Country Music Television describes as "a successful, charming, egotistical and narcissistic owner of the most successful record label in town."
Anyone who has ever met Nordling will tell you he's one heck of a nice guy, so it's funny and surprising to see him play such roles, which he plays quite well. And why shouldn't he?
Nordling pursued a degree in theater during the golden years of the SMU drama program. He was a protégé of the great Jack Clay, who taught so many gifted actors.
Back in 2001, when last we profiled Nordling, Clay described him as a "tall, handsome, manly actor not unlike Gary Cooper." Clay recalls Nordling as having a natural gift for "stage fighting" and the look of someone who could have been a professional athlete.
Now 55, Nordling is part of a killer ensemble of SMU theater grads who made it big in the acting world. They include Dylan Baker (The Good Wife, The Americans), Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls, Parenthood) and, of course, Oscar winner Kathy Bates and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley. Even Powers Boothe, who recently died, spent time at SMU and on the cast of Nashville.
Nordling earned his master of fine arts degree at Meadows School of the Arts in 1987 and then starred in the critically acclaimed ABC series, Once and Again, as Sela Ward's rakish estranged husband.
Fast forward to 2017 and Big Little Lies. I caught up with Nordling recently, and he shared some funny stories with me about Big Little Lies, some of which I can even publish. To wit:
"Big Little Lies was an absolute blast to make," he told me. "Everyone gave their all. We were led by fearless women, including my incredible partner, Laura Dern. She just leaps off the edge with abandon and complete trust that she'll be taken care of by [director] Jean-Marc Vallée, me and everyone else. A joy to work with.
"Jean-Marc doesn't rehearse. The scene in Episode 3 in my office discussing whether to put our daughter into therapy was on my first day on set. I hadn't had a chance to read it through with Laura when I got to set. I asked her if she wanted to read it through and she said, 'I have one more take on this walk-and-talk' -- her phone conversation leading up to the scene in my office. I said, 'OK, I'll be in my office.' I went in, put my feet up on the desk and waited.
"A few minutes later, I heard them finish. She walked through the door, and we looked at each other. I'm thinking we'll get a few minutes to read it through, talk about it. ON HER HEELS was Jean-Marc. He looked at me and said, 'Stay right there. Cameras up. Let's shoot.' So, our very first time reading the scene together is what you see in the episode. I'm from the theater, so I'm a huge fan of rehearsing. You just keep digging deeper and deeper getting rid of things and finding things. But there was something so scintillating about shooting the rehearsals. You really are just riveted to your partners. Because you honestly have no idea what they're gonna bring. So you just listen and react. Real fun."
Nordling then told me, in some detail, about a scene he filmed with Dern, but this is a web site belonging to a family newspaper, so we'll spare you the graphic details.
This is part of what he said:
"Jean-Marc kept running in, giving instructions ... He leans in, eyes wild like he does when things are moving fast and yells to both Laura and me ... "
Sorry, we're skipping the next part.
"We cut, and Laura and I laughed harder than I've laughed in a long time."
As for Nashville, Nordling said, "I've only had two scenes so far on Nashville, but -- and I've done this before -- you're jumping onto a very fast-moving conveyor belt. This show's been going for a while and they all know each other. So it's about catching up and keeping up. And I get cool clothes. And I get to be in Nashville. It's amazing that you can walk into any little honky-tonk and hear world-class musicians -- ON A TUESDAY NIGHT! Incredible. And fun."
Great guy, as you'll see for yourself during the second half of the fifth season of Nashville, which begins tonight at 8 on Country Music Television (CMT).
