Andrew Rannells, known for his role as Elijah Krantz in Lena Dunham's Girls, has revealed that his father died when he was 22, a loss he says took a long time to process. In an interview with Metro, the 47-year-old actor discussed how this personal experience informed his performance in his new HBO film Miss You, Love You.
New film explores grief and connection
In Miss You, Love You, Rannells stars as Jamie Simms alongside Allison Janney, who plays Diane Patterson, a grieving widow. After her husband Henry dies, Diane's son is unable to visit her and sends his personal assistant, Jamie, instead. The film follows the two strangers as they navigate the lead-up to Henry's funeral, exploring themes of grief, ageing, and family relationships.
Jamie shares with Diane that he cared for and lost both of his parents to cancer. Rannells related to this storyline, noting that while it was 'a different situation', he admitted that 'the losing of a parent at any age changes your whole equilibrium'.
Personal loss shaped his approach
Reflecting on his own experience, Rannells said: 'My father died when I was 22, and he died rather suddenly.' He explained that his relationship with his father had only recently begun to strengthen: 'We weren't particularly close when I was a kid. As I was becoming an adult, we figured out a new way to talk to each other and how we could meet each other as adults.'
'It was the first time that I really felt close to him, and then he died. And it took me a long time to process that,' he added. The actor brought this understanding of grief's non-linear nature to his role, working with writer and director Jim Rash to explore how Jamie, though his parents died years ago, is only now opening up about it through his bond with Diane.
'That's where I think that they find themselves a lot in that film. It's like they don't really know each other, but they're sharing things that they wouldn't have told their partner or their son. So it was a unique relationship to get to explore with her,' Rannells said.
Working with Allison Janney and Lena Dunham
Rannells spoke warmly about working with Janney, saying they got on very well on set, understood when to be quiet around each other, and when it was appropriate to show each other funny videos of people falling over. Their on-screen synergy reminded him of his partnership with Lena Dunham on Girls.
While Rannells recently told The Guardian he wished he'd been a 'better friend' to Dunham, she called him her 'forever favourite scene partner, epic conversationalist, lengthy text recipient, essayist and dear friend' in a 2024 Instagram birthday post. One of his standout memories from Girls was the grace Dunham gave the cast, who were mostly new to TV acting. 'We didn't really know what the rules were,' he said. 'Lena, being the director, the writer and the star, allowed for a space where we got to ask questions and we got to figure things out.'
Girls reunion hopes and other projects
Fans have long wondered if Girls might return, especially after Lena Dunham told Andy Cohen on SiriusXM earlier this year that she wanted the show to feel 'appropriately missed' before considering a comeback. Rannells is keen: 'If it was up to me, I would say let's do it now. It feels like good timing because a lot of people are rewatching it. A lot of people have watched it for the first time. There's a whole new generation of young people who were too young to watch it when it first came out.'
He was less certain about Elijah's romantic life now, pondering whether he would still be with Dill (Corey Stoll) or might have opted for someone younger. However, he agreed Elijah would be professionally successful: 'He would be successful in whatever he ended up doing. I feel like he had a long stretch of not knowing what the hell was going on, and I feel like when we left him, he figured it out.'
Rannells has kept busy with anniversary performances of The Book of Mormon, acting with Blake Lively in Amazon Prime's Another Simple Favor, and co-hosting The Great American Baking Show with Dame Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood. He admitted being initially 'nervous' and 'intimidated' by Hollywood, saying: 'He's super fancy and famous. And I was like: "Well, he's not going to love some gay Broadway trash rolling in here."' But they hit it off: 'Then we really hit it off, and it was so much fun. I would sit in his sports cars.'
With Dame Prue, they were 'walking around arm in arm' from day one. Unfortunately, the American version has wrapped up, according to Broadcast Now. Rannells noted: 'The American version has wrapped up. But I did speak to Paul recently and he said it's great. Obviously he really misses Prue. But you know, Nigella is also an icon.'
Miss You, Love You is available to stream exclusively on HBO Max in the UK and Ireland now.
