Iconic funnyman Billy Crystal shows us something new in this mind-bending thriller about a grieving therapist and the mysterious young patient who drags the good doctor down a psychological rabbit hole
When we first encounter child psychiatrist Eli (Billy Crystal), the man who’s used to breaking others free from their burdens is in a state of emotional paralysis himself — the pain over his late wife Lynn (Judith Light) insurmountable to the point of delusion. “It’s been over half a year, and he is really stuck, unable to move forward,” says showrunner and series creator Sarah Thorp. “The loss of his wife was something that he just can’t wrap his head around, and he’s trapped by the grief of that, and the guilt surrounding not being able to save her. So, when we meet him in the pilot, he describes himself as a broken man.” Out of nowhere, a young boy (Jacobi Jupe) shows up on Eli’s doorstep, propelling the doctor on a journey that is as unnerving as it is effective in breaking Eli’s spell. “It sends him off a cliff,” says Thorp.
Between hallucinations and implications of something even more sinister, Before is a psychological thriller where the viewer is constantly questioning what is true. For Thorp, using the horror lens was an obvious way to approach the story. “Trauma is horror,” she says. “When you’re troubled by things that you can’t understand or put a finger to, it naturally manifests in that way. It really felt to me like the genre stuff was a Trojan Horse to bring in the really character-driven, emotional story that’s at the core.”
Emotions of some sort are a given when you have an actor famous for his comedy at the helm. But not only does Billy Crystal star in the psychological thriller, he was responsible for developing the idea together with Thorp and producer Eric Roth. “Billy started this,” says Thorp. “Eric Roth, our other EP, called me up and said, ‘Hey, my friend Billy Crystal and I have an idea, would you like to develop a show with us?’ I’m like, ‘Are you kidding?’ But I have to say I was super-surprised. I didn’t know how Billy would be with the genre, but he loves that stuff. He really pushed us to go darker.”
What delighted the new showrunner was that the more blood they poured over the When Harry Met Sally . . . actor, the happier he was. “That’s when we were having the most fun,” she says. And when an actor is known for fun, you can also take their character to some surprising places. “Billy is such a known quantity — we all know and love him — but we haven’t seen him in this way. So he’s a great way into the story because we are with him and then we’re surprised at the turns it takes. But he always keeps you locked in with what he’s going through.”
In this case, it is the mystery of a haunted child that becomes the key to Eli’s own survival. “This kid shows up who’s clearly struggling with something terrifying that he can’t communicate. And he also clearly came specifically to Eli. For whatever reason, he’s asking this man to help him,” Thorp explains. “All of those things combined make it irresistible for him to say, ‘If I can help this kid, maybe I’ll become myself again.’”
While surrounded by industry veterans like Light, Rosie Perez and Hope Davis, the scene partner that truly had to go toe to toe with Crystal was his young co-star, Jupe. The brother of fellow child actor Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place, The Undoing) was a true find for the creative team. “We saw hundreds and hundreds of really talented kids, and the second we interacted with Jacobi, it was clear that he had a really unique and unusual talent,” says Thorp. “We never felt like we were working with a child actor. He was on par with Billy, on par with Rosie, always brought it, was super-prepared, really intuitive, understanding of material — just really talented.”
What made Jupe even more unique was his ability to exit his dark character at the end of the day. “This kid needed to be able to access this emotional state over and over again, which Jacobi was really able to do, and also to bounce back from it super-easy,” Thorp recalls. “Billy and Jacobi were cracking each other up from the second that they got on set. They were making each other laugh. They had a really good bond.”
Indeed, with such heavy themes at the core of this series, it was a relief for Thorp and the others that all the trauma was saved for the camera. “All I know is that we laughed a lot,” Thorp says. “Like I said, the gorier it got, the more Billy would be saying, ‘You did this to me. What are you doing to me?’ But you could tell he was just loving it. Everyone was happy to be there. Billy really set the tone. He’s an incredibly kind and generous person, and also the hardest-working person, so everyone followed his lead. He really created this incredible atmosphere. Even though there’s a lot of heavy topics involved, the set never felt heavy.”
Before, streaming on Friday, November 8, on Apple TV+