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Producer · Actor · Writer

1973-03-07 · New Orleans, Louisiana, USA · Male

23 series in the catalog

Lawrence Jay Duplass Jr. (born March 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker, actor, producer and author widely known for his films The Puffy Chair (2005), Cyrus (2010), and Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2011), made in collaboration with his younger brother, Mark Duplass. Jay and Mark run Duplass Brothers Productions together.

Duplass starred in the Amazon Video comedy-drama series Transparent (2014–2019), and co-created the HBO comedy-drama series Togetherness (2015–16) and the HBO anthology series Room 104 (2017–2020).

Early life

Duplass was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Cynthia (née Ernst) and Lawrence Duplass. He was raised in a Catholic family, and he attended Jesuit High School. Duplass graduated from the University of Texas at Austin; he started a Master of Fine Arts degree in film at UT but withdrew in the first few months to pursue independent film projects. His ancestry includes French Cajun, Italian, Ashkenazi Jewish, and German roots.

Directing

Duplass attributes much of his and his brother's love for film to his appreciation for Raising Arizona. In an interview with Robert K. Elder for The Film That Changed My Life, Duplass speculates on what might have happened had he not seen the film in his youth.I probably wouldn't be making movies—seriously. It held over for so long. It really was the root of everything that Mark and I always hold ourselves to in making movies. That is to say that Raising Arizona is the most inspired movie that I have ever seen.In 2015, Mark and Jay Duplass via their Duplass Brothers Television label signed an overall deal with HBO. In 2012, Duplass participated in the Sight & Sound film polls of that year.

Acting

In 2014, he starred as Josh Pfefferman in the Amazon Prime Original Comedy-Drama Series Transparent, alongside Jeffrey Tambor, Gaby Hoffmann, Amy Landecker and Judith Light. The series was met with widespread critical acclaim, earning 11 Primetime Emmy nominations, including nominations for Best Comedy Series and Best Actor in a Comedy Series for Jeffrey Tambor. In the second season of the show, Duplass's role became more prominent, and he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Prior to Transparent, Duplass had never acted in a featured part. He was talking with director Joey Soloway at a dinner party about the difficulty they were having finding an actor to play what would end up being Duplass's role. After suggesting many actors for the part to Soloway, Soloway turned to Duplass and told him that he should play the part.

Bibliography

Like Brothers (2018) (with Mark Duplass)

Interview with Jay and Mark Duplass on "Baghead" at IFC.com