Bravo's newest venture into scripted comedy, Odd Mom Out , revolves around Jill Weber making her way through life alongside Manhattan's wealthiest (fictional) mothers. It's a small, selective circle that has been dramatized for television before, but never shown from the perspective of a protagonist like Jill, who doesn't necessarily want to prescribe to the societal norms. Sean Kleier, who plays Jill's brother-in-law Lex, had to get into the head of this facet of society. "Lex represents this really entitled, and total lack of self-awareness," Kleier says. "He makes everyone else's life a little more difficult."
Lex, who Kleier describes as "uber-wealthy" — when the show starts, he's just sold his company for a ton of money — is so far removed from the norm, the actor says it's like he "lives in Disneyland." But he also argues that deep down, Lex is a good guy, and really, all of the characters in Jill's life are just "trying to be happy and trying to be comfortable."
To get into character, Kleier took a few different approaches. First, he picked up all of creator Jill Kargman's books (Odd Mom Out is loosely inspired by Momzilla) and read every single one, though Kargman wasn't even aware he was doing so much to prepare for the role. He also spent time as a bartender in New York's "finer establishments," which allowed him to gain a "semblance of exposure" to the world the show is set in.
Perhaps the most interesting method of learning about the families on the show that Kleier undertook was shadowing a friend who taught acting classes to toddlers in New York's Upper East Side. Kleier wasn't there necessarily to help teach the children, but more so to observe the interactions of the parents. "It was more like a social event," Kleier says. "The moms gossiped the whole time. It was a curious experience."
And now viewers will get to see Lex in some curious situations of his own when Odd Mom Out premieres on Bravo this Monday night at 10 p.m.
Image: Matt Hoyle/Bravo
