Editor’s note: The below interview contains spoilers for the finale of English Teacher.

Since its premiere on FX earlier this year, Brian Jordan Alvarez’s English Teacher has only been drawing in more and more eyeballs. The comedy-drama series follows the titular educator, Evan Marquez (Alvarez), as he juggles between the professional and the personal and how they often intersect at his job at a high school in Austin, Texas. Throughout the school year, Evan also strengthens his bonds with his co-workers, including his best friend and fellow teacher Gwen Sanders (Stephanie Koenig), athletic director Markie Hillridge (Sean Patton), principal Grant Moretti (Enrico Colantoni), and counselor Rick Santana (Carmen Christopher) — all of whom show up at the gay bar in the finale to celebrate Evan’s birthday, even if it’s the last place they (or we) ever expected to end up.

Shortly before the airing of the “Birthday” episode, Collider had the opportunity to sit down with Colantoni and discuss joining the hit series. Over the course of the interview below, the actor behind Principal Moretti discusses his surprising audition process, adjusting to the freedom to improv and riff during filming, and what he enjoys most about getting to go toe-to-toe with Alvarez in their scenes together. He also discusses why English Teacher has been a learning experience in itself in terms of the talented young cast (several of whom were discovered on TikTok), the significance of the finale for Moretti and his relationships with the teachers, and more.

‘English Teacher’ Was an Adjustment Process for Enrico Colantoni

COLLIDER: How did you hear about this project? Were you looking for a show like this in terms of what you wanted to do next?

ENRICO COLANTONI: You always fish a wish. You might not get exactly what you want, but I’ve been doing so many dramatic roles since Just Shoot Me that I needed something lighthearted again. I definitely manifested this environment. I didn’t know what the show looked like, but the environment is certainly as good as it was on Just Shoot Me. It was just collaborative and intimate and generous. Brian [Jordan Alvarez] creates a gorgeous environment of collaboration and improvisation.

I’m living in Canada, and I’m putting myself on tape. Very often, you think you did a great job, you audition for it, and you never hear back. I mean, this is years. I was still busy enough in Canada, but I wanted to come back to the United States. All these auditions just fell flat, and you just got to move on, but with this one, I think they called back after a day and a half, and I was just like, “What?” I thought my reps were making fun of me. “They want to make a deal!” It was like, “What?” That hasn’t happened in 20 years. It was just something they saw. Brian still says it’s because I was the only guy who started the audition with an absolute dread. That’s what gravitated them toward me, or me toward them. That was it.

Then we did the pilot, and it was very strange because, again, I come from a world where guys like Steven Levitan were word-perfect, and Rob Thomas was word-perfect. It was like, this was the scene, we spent hours writing it, and I love that. Then I thought what we had on the page with English Teacher was beautiful, but we’ll do the scene, we’ll move on. Then Jonathan Krisel, who was directing it, and Brian were like, “Okay, now, let’s just riff.” I go, “What do you mean?” [Laughs] As if I was dumb. I didn’t know. I thought they didn’t like what I was doing. But no. You learn that, “We did the scene. Now we’re gonna stay on you, we’re gonna direct you, and we’re gonna say, ‘Okay, now do it like this, now do it like that.’”

It took me a while to feel comfortable in that world. So, it’s still a work in progress for me, but I love it. I love it because they’ll end up using fuck-ups. Just real, authentic mistakes, and they’ll use it, and I go, “Yes!” Because it’s so real. You keep going, and it’s real. You’re flubbing, and they use it. It’s like, “Yes! I’m in heaven.” They’re just so great to work with.

You touched on something I wanted to ask about, which was how much room is left for improv and getting to have fun with different line readings. The moment when you’re bouncing in your chair…

COLANTONI: That wasn’t scripted. That was just one of those takes where Brian is saying, “Okay, now give me [makes noise].” “I’ll give you [makes noise] because you’re driving me crazy!” We get the scene, we have fun in the scene, the scene works. Except when I don’t do the scene, and I make it up before I give them what’s on the page. Then they say, “No, no, no, no, no.” Then they pull me back. I say, “Oh, okay, I gotta do the scene first, and then we get to have more fun.” They’re great. So much fun. There are too many moments where real mistakes happen in life all the time. Everybody knows that. You keep going on, you try to fight it, but some of those people I’ve worked with, it was just like, “Okay, cut! No, it’s ‘and then,’ not ‘but and then.’” But these guys, they use it!

You talked about your audition and starting from a place of exasperation. Your character feels like he’s a walking ulcer. What do you enjoy about getting to play a character where most of the humor in Moretti comes from that exasperation mode?

COLANTONI: It plays into my own sort of sensibility and my own exhaustion. You do it, and you do it long enough, and you’re kind of thinking, “Am I gonna survive this?” I’m partly being funny, but I’m not good at social media, I’m not good with weaponizing politics or identity politics. I don’t understand it. I’m still an old guy when it comes to that, and this show is very much coming from a current youthful representation of what’s going on in the world. Part of me is still trying to understand it all because I do come from a place of cause and effect. If I do this, this happens. But now, there seems to be less accountability — people taking responsibility for what they’re putting out there, what they’re saying, and how it affects people. It’s a frightening world for me in a lot of ways, because everybody has an opinion, but nobody wants to absolutely take responsibility for it. There’s a lot of finger-pointing going on, and so that’s Moretti to me. It’s just like, “How do I duck and cover in this situation? I don’t understand a lot of it. We’ll just say yes. You won’t actually know what my politics are, but we’ll just say yes, just to avoid any real conflict.”

That’s fun for me. [Laughs] It’s fun to play that guy in a world where everybody else has such a clear opinion of things. Coach has a clear opinion, Evan has a clear opinion, Gwen is sort of trying to find herself, but the students definitely have a clear opinion, and Moretti is sort of like, “Yes. That’s good for now. We’ll earmark this for later. It’s fine.”

Related ‘English Teacher’s Brian Jordan Alvarez on the Show’s Genesis, the Finale, and Hopes for More The creator and star also talks about casting students off of TikTok and Evan’s big choice.

From the first episode, Moretti finds himself in that position with Evan most of all. What do you like about those scenes with Brian where it’s the two of them getting into hairy topics sometimes?

COLANTONI: Half the time I’m not even aware of what we’re talking about, but the joy of just playing with Brian is at the forefront of everything, and how playful he is. But what we get to talk about, to tell you the truth, when I did Galaxy Quest, I didn’t know that there were fan conventions, Star Trek conventions. I discovered it while we were doing the show. I didn’t know what AI was or what ChatGPT was until we were reading it, and I had to ask, “What is this?” I’m really just a Luddite when it comes to technology and stuff. So, I learned a lot. I learn a lot from what’s going on in the show.

I know Brian claims to be an avid TikToker and internet guy. People just today said, “I DMed you on Instagram. You haven’t responded.” I go, “I don’t know how to.” I just figured out how to post something! FX is sending me these great gifs and photos, and I’m trying to download them on Instagram, and I finally managed to do one yesterday, but I didn’t tag anybody or anything. It’s just the picture.

So a lot of the things that we talk about in that room, I’m learning firsthand. I really, really am. I don’t live under a rock. I read the newspaper — literally, I read the newspaper. But yeah, I didn’t know half those kids are YouTubers. There’s a lot that I’m learning. I’m catching up by being on this show. I’m grateful.

Enrico Colantoni Reveals What’s on Moretti’s Mind During the ‘English Teacher’ Finale
Image via FX

I did want to ask about the finale, and everyone getting invited to Evan’s birthday party at the gay bar. It’s not the first time they’ve been out of school, but this is definitely not the type of environment that you expect to see most of these characters in. Moretti, to his credit, is very open-minded. Do you think he walked away from that experience changed?

COLANTONI: That’s the beauty of these characters. I know that any successful show always has heart. These characters love each other, plain and simple, and when we see them outside of the workplace, we recognize the love that they have for each other. Moretti loves Evan — loves him — sees himself in him, loves the integrity, loves everything about Evan. He just can’t always show that. It’s like any dad or parent. “I can’t coddle you; at the same time, I have to reprimand you and guide you.” But the love for these characters, for each other… Yeah, he’s in a gay bar, and he’s supporting his friend on his birthday. I’ll go anywhere. He’ll go anywhere. That’s what’s beautiful about Coach. He has an idea, but it doesn’t stop him from caring. That’s what I love about this show. You have different perspectives, but it doesn’t stop these people from caring about each other. That is the model that I’m proud to represent — because we are divisive in everything we’re doing these days, but if we lose heart, if we lose compassion, then we’re really messed up.

In that last scene with them at the pool in Gwen’s backyard, having this really lovely quiet moment, Moretti even says it’s a special night. What do you feel the biggest evolution has been for him in terms of those relationships with his coworkers? Where they end up at the end of the season is a far cry from where they start.

COLANTONI: Story-wise, you really get a sense of it right from the pilot where Moretti’s asking [Evan] to write a letter, and, “I’ll support you.” He goes, “You want me to quit?” I go, “No, I don’t want you to quit. She wants you to quit.” It’s like, “How do I say it in so many words? I want you to be here, but play by the rules.” Then by Episodes 7 and 8, when you see them outside of that environment, you really get a sense of who they are. They’re allowed to express that emotional life for each other. Moretti is allowed to say, “You’re a good person, Evan. Good people make good teachers.” He can’t say that in school. He’s got to say it outside, in the world.

Even though I believe that the explosions happen in the school environment, you need storylines that make everybody relax and remind them that we’re not at war all the time, and this is how we really feel about each other. Then we go back to war, and then you see it all. I think it was a subtle evolution in how they did it, but you definitely see it in the beginning of those early moments, of him not wanting to quit, but, “Just play by the rules.” By the end, you know that he really sincerely cares for him and calls him a friend.

I want to know what’s going on at Moretti’s house. What’s his home life like?

COLANTONI: That usually happens in Seasons 4 and 5. When students graduate, it just becomes less interesting. But I remember in early drafts of some episodes, Moretti was at a restaurant with his kids and his wife, and he’s just absolutely miserable. [Laughs] You know that he’s more miserable at home than he is at school, so he’d rather be at school. At least he’s the principal there. At least people kind of listen to him, but nobody listens to him at home. When he says, “I haven’t had a burger like this in 20 years. My wife won’t allow it…” Devastating.

English Teacher is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.

English Teacher is a comedy series that follows Evan Marquez, a gay high school English teacher in Austin, Texas. The series focuses on Evan and his colleagues as they navigate the challenges of modern education, dealing with both students and parents in an ever-changing social landscape.Release Date September 2, 2024 Cast Brian Jordan Alvarez , Savanna Gann , Sarah Kopkin , Ben Bondurant , Treylan Newton , Matthew Smitley , Mason Douglas , Ralphael Lester Main Genre Comedy Seasons 1

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