There are No Small Parts, Just Great Side Characters Like Stevie Janowski on "Eastbound and Down"
/I am currently on my third rewatch of "Eastbound and Down". The show still rules if you were wondering. It is as funny and crazy and wild and nuts as anything McBride, Jody Hill and David Gordon Green have been known to do. What I have noticed more lately though on this watch is how great Steve Little is as Stevie Janowski.
For those that may not know, Little's character is a pathetic former high school mate of McBride's character Kenny Powers. As they got older Janowski became a teacher at the school where Powers ended up working and then became his personal assistant during Powers' comeback to baseball. And he nails his role. At first Janowski seems pretty meek and pretty okay with where his life has taken him. He is okay to be a teacher, he is fine being alone and he seems good with his lot in life. But then Kenny comes back to town and he starts to change. He follows Kenny around everywhere and basically makes himself his assistant. He dresses like Kenny, he acts like Kenny, he curses like Kenny, he tries to party like Kenny, and it is all so pathetic and sad and funny and Little totally nails it. In the first season, seeing him go from meek to sidekick to asshole was pretty amazing. His acting is a masterclass in how to be an also ran, how to cowtail to someone who you think may be better than you. He also totally nails being an obsessed fan of a fallen professional athlete. Janowski still thinks Kenny is rich and famous and important. There are only two people that think this, Powers and Janowski. I love the way Little shows all this during season one. When he starts to dress in all black, it is hilariously sad. When Kenny says he is going to have to let him go, and Janowski starts to cry and complain, it is perfect for his character. When he shows up with the steroids at the pitching contest, it is weirdly sweet, but also super upsetting when he tells Kenny he has never left him. And when he leaves North Carolina, and leaves Stevie behind, he is more upset than anyone else. He is more upset than Kenny's ex-girlfriend, his brother, his in-laws and nieces and nephews, Stevie is the most upset. And when he follows him to Mexico in season two, following his credit card statements, of which Kenny stole, that just takes his character to a whole other sad and depressing level. And Little totally crushes it. He is so good at being Kenny's butler. He does everything he asks of him, with no questions. Kenny shoots him, and Stevie does nothing. Kenny puts him on a truck back to America and Stevie finds a way back to the baseball stadium. And when Kenny then blames him for not being there to support him, Stevie apologizes to him. He is so invested in being Kenny's friend that he will stop at nothing to get him on his side. It is completely pathetic, and I think that is exactly what they wanted with this role. I read that he is really the only person not in the tight knit group that created this show that they kept around because he liked them and they liked him. I also read that he based his character on people he knew from his high school, and truth be told, he does a great job representing former high schoolers everywhere. It is simply perfect.
Steve Little has done a whole lot of stuff, way more than I thought while looking him up for this blog. But Stevie Janowski on "Eastbound and Down" may be the best thing he has done to date. I'm sure he will continue to work, and that's great for him. I just do not know that he will ever top this role. And that is a great, great thing.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.
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