'Population 11' on Paramount+: Ben Feldman's Australian castmates expected him to be an 'obnoxious' American
The actor and executive producer made the "tough" decision to leave his family and travel to the other side of the world to film this show
Silicon Valley, Superstore and Mad Men star Ben Feldman travels to the Australian Outback in the series Population 11 (now streaming on Paramount+ in Canada). Inspired by a true story, Feldman plays Andy Pruden, a man from Cincinnati, Ohio who heads to an Australian town of 12 people, called Bidgeegud, to connect with his estranged father, who unexpectedly goes missing.
Throughout the 12 episodes, with Feldman also serving as an executive producer of the series, a number of fascinating secrets from this small town are revealed. Filled with a funny and dynamic cast of characters that make up the residents of this town, Population 11 blends appealing Australian humour, with Feldman delightfully sarcastic tone, and a dramatic mystery.
Watch Population 11 on Paramount+ with 7 days free then plans start at $6.99/month
While some may still associate Feldman with the 2000s sitcom Living With Fran with Fran Drescher, or the 2005 movie The Perfect Man, starring alongside Hilary Duff and Heather Locklear, Feldman is now a married father of two. That means deciding a show was worthy enough to travel to the other side of the world for, without his family, is a big deal.
"It's a tough decision to make," Feldman told Yahoo Canada. "When you have two kids it's nice to get away, especially if it's a guest star, or if you're shooting two weeks or something on a movie or a show. Three months on the other side of the planet, in the northwestern Australian Outback is not that. That's a big conversation you have to have with your family."
"When I was sent the script initially, I was certain I wasn't going to do it. I couldn't wait to not like it. It was like I had a magnifying glass just searching for anything that I would hate in the script to be like, 'Well, that's there. Can't do it. Sorry.' And with each page turn I became more and more depressed about the fact that I was leaving my family. ... They can't come, mainly because the kids were in camp, but also there was nothing there. I was in a tiny town. There was no stop sign. I was eating dinner out of a gas station. It was like a billion degrees and all the animals are murderous."
Watch: 'Population 11' star Ben Feldman made the 'tough' decision to film series in Australian town, 'eating dinner out of a gas station'
'The bar is low for us Americans'
Feldman may be our entry point into the town we see in Population 11, but there's an endearing ensemble cast of characters to watch throughout the show. From Sgt. Geraldine Walters (Katrina Milosevic) who stops Andy as he's driving to the town, questions his sobriety and asks him to breathe in her face, to Audrey (Emily Taheny), the meat pie baker who's quite pushy about her products. It's a fun part of the show.
"They're so funny and they're so talented, and because it's Australia they all knew each other, for the most part," Feldman said. "These are legendary Australian actors that have been around for a long time. ... They're used to an ensemble and they're used to just sitting around and taking the piss, and so it was really kind of cool I got to join this club of people."
"They were all so ready for me to be an a—hole that every time we'd go out to various parties, someone would have enough drinks and come up to me and be like, 'Mate, we're all thrilled that you're not an asshole.' ... They were waiting for me to just be super obnoxious. So the bar is low for us Americans."
'I'm never impressed by actors that are able to channel daddy or mommy issues'
Another core element of Population 11, on a slightly more serious note, is Andy's quest to find his father, which puts him in a position to really evaluate that strained relationship.
"I love that there's the family and human element," Feldman said. "Because the show is so fast paced, we don't have a ton of time to go back into exposition and motivations and life journeys, ... so to be able to play it in real time really, really made that kind of nice for me, and really fleshed out this character. Made it very easy to understand."
"We all have some issue with some parent or parents, so it's always easy. I'm never impressed by actors that are able to channel daddy or mommy issues, and I don't claim to be impressive in doing it here, but it was great. And also, Darren [Gilshenan], who plays Hugo, Andy's dad, is just the greatest actor on earth. So I loved that stuff, I lived for stuff with him."
But it really is that balance between the comedy, the mystery and the more emotional moments that makes it easy to watch episode after episode of Population 11. With Feldman being a perfect example of operating within all those boxes.
"I don't love the idea of being on something that's just full-on comedy. I hate doing a full-on horror movie or show, or whatever. I like it when things cross genre," Feldman said.
"I'm always happy being the funny person on a serious show or the most serious person on a funny show. That's my little middle Venn diagram that I'm thrilled about. And this show is that. So when we got to be super silly, I felt I could have a lot of fun with it, because I knew in a couple hours I was shooting something super dark and creepy and sad. It was like a buffet."
