The Chair is now available on Netflix, and it’s one of the best shows of 2021. Jay Duplass stars as Professor Bill Dobson, whose actions have Pembroke University embroiled in an academic scandal. Jay stars alongside Sandra Oh, who plays Professor Ji-Yoon Kim.
Jay gives one of his best performances as Professor Dobson. He’s no stranger to acting in front of the camera or work behind the scenes. From his collaborations with his famous brother to past roles, here are 5 key things to know about Jay.
1. Jay is Mark Duplass’ brother.
Jay is Mark’s older brother. The Duplass brothers often collaborate on projects together, including Room 104, The Lady and the Dale, and Togetherness. They grew up in New Orleans. The brothers are known for directing and writing the films The Puffy Chair, Cyrus, and Jeff, Who Lives At Home.
2. He is married.
Jay has been married to Jennifer Tracy-Duplass since 2001. They have two children together, a son and a daughter.
3. Jay is known for his role on ‘Transparent.’
Jay played Josh Pfefferman on the award-winning Amazon series Transparent from 2014 to 2019. He also played Duncan Deslaurier on The Mindy Project from 2012 to 2017. Jay has also had acting roles in films like Horse Girl, Beatriz at Dinner, and his TV series Room 104.
4. He is also a prolific producer.
Jay was the executive producer, alongside his brother, of the Netflix limited series Wild Wild Country. The series won the 2018 Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. He’s also executive produced Cinema Toast, Sasquatch, Room 104, Togetherness, The Bronze, The Skeleton Twins, and more.
5. The $3 movie he made with his brother launched their careers.
“My brother and I struggled for 10 years making bad pieces of art until we hit that first $3 movie that got into Sundance [Film Festival],” Mark told CNBC Make It in 2018. This Is John was a 7-minute short film that featured Mark as the actor and Jay as the director. The 2003 film cost the Duplass brothers $3 for the mini digital video tape they used to shoot it. “It looked like a home movie, but it won pretty much all the awards that year, and it signed us to our big [talent] agencies and got us our first major script deal,” Mark told Newsweek.