Beforeis a new psychologicalthrillerthat deals with grief, trauma, and the supernatural. The idea was brought to life by none other than comedian Billy Crystal,Killers of the Flower Moonwriter Eric Roth, and showrunner/writer Sarah Thorp. The show tells the story of a child psychiatrist who, while grieving the loss of his wife, comes across a troubled young boy seemingly destined to change his life.
The dynamic at the heart ofBeforeis that between Billy Crystal’s child psychiatrist Eli and that boy, Noah, who shows up at his door. Noah is played byPeter Pan & Wendyactor Jacobi Jupe, who makes the most of his performance in spite of the fact that his character is largely silent throughout the series. Still, Crystal and Jupe make the most of their relationship, which is the catalyst for some of the story’s biggest moments.
The 25 Best TV Shows On Apple TV+ Right Now (April 2025)
From comedies including Ted Lasso and Mythic Quest to dramas including Severance, there are many great TV shows available to binge-watch on Apple TV+.
Screen Rantinterviewed Crystal and Jupe together about their work onBefore. Crystal, a comedic legend who was evenoffered the role of Buzz Lightyear inToy Story, spoke about the more dramatic tone of the series. Jupe reflected on working with his co-star in Crystal and shared his experience acting on a show that his friends aren’t even allowed to watch.
Billy Crystal Reveals The Origins Of Before
The Drive Of The Show Has Largely Remained The Same
Screen Rant: I would love to start with Billy. I saw that you had the original idea that led to this. I know things changed a ton, but what’s the core part of that first idea that has stayed the same to this point?
Billy Crystal: A troubled pediatric psychiatrist mourning the loss of his wife, haunted by her, and this troubled young boy shows up outside his house, doesn’t speak, [and] scratches something into the front door till his fingers are bloody. That’s the beginning of the show, and it was that. It was the pursuit of trying to help this young man through his pain and understanding his trauma and helping him relieve it and getting him to basically the other side of life. And that’s pretty much the drive of the show.
Jacobi Jupe Talks Bringing Noah To Life With Minimal Dialogue
The Character Is “More Internal Than External”
Jacobi, speaking of that, your acting in this show is so great and compelling, but you have to do so much and you barely speak through a lot of it. How difficult was that for you as an actor?
Jacobi Jupe: Not speaking is something that, [for] me particularly, I would not like to be able to do. I would not like to not speak, definitely. But [for] Noah, there’s a kind of calmness in him when he is focused on something, so his emotions are expressed more through his eyes than with his words and his mouth. [They’re] more internal than external, his emotions, but he can make them external by really feeling them. So, what I did was I just loved feeling his emotions and understanding what he felt when he was doing that scene.
Crystal Knew Finding The Right Co-Star Was Key
Because the relationship between Eli and Noah is so key to this, what was each of your favorite thing about working with the other?
Jacobi Jupe: I just like loads of the jokes that we made.
Billy Crystal: I think what was thrilling for me was to see the scope of his work at such a young age. When you create a show where your costar is going to be this boy, you are really running a risk of disaster if you don’t find the right person. We auditioned, really, over 700 young actors across the country and in Canada till we found Jacobi in London. And we auditioned over Zoom and so we couldn’t be together, so we didn’t really meet each other in person until around eight days before we started shooting. It was crazy.
But that was actually great because in the show he just appears out of the blue, and in many ways he did for me. It was very natural. What I loved about it was the maturity of his approach—[it] was so professional and easy, and then he just was so determined. He has a great work ethic to get it right, to understand the levels of all that he had to play. We had this great natural rapport and you forget that he’s 11 and he’s your co-star.
We would go at each other and we have physical moments, we have very difficult mental moments, and the fact that he doesn’t speak a lot… that it is all [in the face]. The things that I put him through when he is having these terrible fantasies and horror visions and so on, and then they go, “Cut!” and then he wants a sandwich. It was just great. We loved working with each other.
Crystal Discusses How Co-Creating Before Facilitated His Performance
“Nothing Is Ever Easy,” But That Helped
Billy, I’ve heard a lot of actors say that comedy is a lot harder than drama. As someone who’s done so much comedy work, were you nervous at all taking on this kind of role? Or did it feel like easier in a way than what you’ve done before?
Billy Crystal: Nothing’s easy. Nothing is ever easy, but you hopefully get to a point where you can make it look easy. That’s confidence and, over time, skill. I just wanted to inhabit this guy as best I could, and in being one of the creators of it, I did a lot in pre-production that I would do if I just came onto the part. I did a lot of groundwork that I needed, character-wise, in working so closely with Sarah Thorp and the other writers on the scripts in developing them, so a lot of that kind of work was already done. So, when I came to the set to play, I could just be.
Jupe Reflects On Making A Show His Friends Can’t Watch
“It Feels Kind Of Cool”
Jacobi, the last one is for you. The show is so dark and dramatic and it is not something I would watch when I was your age. What does it feel like to act in something that maybe you wouldn’t watch for a while, or that might be hard to watch with your friends?
Jacobi Jupe: It feels kind of cool because my friends at school would say, “What’s your new show?” and I can say, “you’re able to’t watch it.” It’s kind of funny. But I’m excited that I get to watch it. I probably wouldn’t usually be allowed to watch this sort of thing, but I’m glad that I can watch it because, I mean, I’m in it. So, yeah, I love doing this sort of thing. I love going crazy. That’s my kind of thing.
Billy Crystal: And the other thing that I think is great about what we had to do in the show physically is we do everything ourselves. There’s very little that’s not us in the more physical moments of the show throughout the 10 episodes. We’re just in it, and it’s a full meal, the 10 episodes of Before.
More About Before Season 1
Before stars Billy Crystal as Eli, a child psychiatrist who, after recently losing his wife, Lynn (Judith Light), encounters a troubled young boy, Noah (Jacobi Jupe) who seems to have a haunting connection to Eli’s past. As Eli attempts to help Noah, their mysterious bond deepens, sparking haunting memories and unearthing unsettling secrets about the past. The ensemble cast also includes Rosie Perez, Maria Dizzia and Ava Lalezarzadeh.
Before
Cast
Before: After losing his wife, child psychiatrist Dr. Eli Adler becomes entangled with a disturbed young boy linked to his past. The series unravels the complex intersections of grief and memory as Dr. Adler searches for answers, revealing deeper connections between his present and the boy’s mysterious background.
