Jesse Eisenberg recalls being really high when he first met Fleishman Is in Trouble co-star Claire Danes. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, the FX On Hulu series centers around Toby Fleishman (Eisenberg), a new divorcee in his 40s who begins to find the success that evaded him during his youth. When his ex-wife, Rachel (Danes), vanishes without a trace, he has to somehow juggle looking after their two kids, his demanding job as a doctor, and all of his fleeting encounters with women. Though he brushes off her absence at first, Toby grows increasingly worried when Rachel's whereabouts remain unknown.

Eisenberg promoted Fleishman Is in Trouble during an appearance on The Tonight Show, telling host Jimmy Fallon about when he first crossed paths with Danes. Although they wouldn't work together on the Hulu adaptation for another 15 years, and Eisenberg says Danes has no recollection of the meeting, the Justice League alum remembers that he was "really high" when they first spoke and didn't leave the most memorable impression. Eisenberg's quote is included below:

My wife had to go to some benefit, and I was with her. And I had to go with her. And I just got really high because I —I knew it was going to be boring. And then… I got, you know, I got separated from her there. and I wound up talking to this woman. We had gone to the same high school, and she said she was an actress, and she went to Yale. And I was just thinking, “My God. This is, like, the coolest person I’ve ever met in my life.” And I told her that. And then, I walked over to my wife, and I said, “Honey, I think I just met my soulmate. I met this amazing woman.”And I pointed to the woman who I wanted to be my soulmate, and Anna, my wife, she said, “That’s Claire Danes, you idiot. Good luck.”

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Fleishman Is In Trouble Marks An Evolution For Eisenberg's Career

Fleishman Is In Trouble Claire Danes and Jesse Eisenberg

One of the smartest things about Fleishman Is in Trouble, which is written by Brodesser-Akner for most of its episodes, is how it uses the audience's likely familiarity with the core cast and then tweaks it. Adam Brody, for example, stars as a character named Seth. Despite some salient differences, the choice is clearly meant to evoke The OC's Seth Cohen and Brody's seminal portrayal of the character in the teen drama. The audience, in other words, is meant to imagine what it's like to grow from who you were in your teens and early twenties and move into middle age. The same is true for Lizzy Caplan as Libby, as the cool friend from Mean Girls settles into a life that's not exactly what she pictured it would be.

As for Eisenberg, one of his best performances is as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network. Since then, in different ways, and in different ways, he's played men that feel aggrieved or wronged in some profound sense. He brings that same energy to Fleishman Is in Trouble in its initial episode, but the viewer gradually comes to question whether he's right or whether the situation is more nuanced. He's not a villainous comic book character or tech billionaire, but Toby isn't merely the jilted ex-husband he's eager to tell everyone that he is.

Fleishman Is in Trouble episode 3 is part romcom, demonstrating how Toby and Rachel fell for each other before things turned decidedly sour. It works because of the chemistry that Danes and Eisenberg lean into, at least until things fell apart. From how well their scenes work, despite the initially awkward meet-up, it sounds like Eisenberg finally got the chance to click with his acting soulmate.

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Source: The Tonight Show