How John Reynolds Went from Having $74 in the Bank When Cast in ‘Stranger Things’ to Directing His First Feature

John Reynolds is many things. He’s an actor, a comedian, a writer, a producer, and a SAG Award winner (for his work on “Stranger Things”). Most importantly, though, he is a Midwesterner, something that shines through as I chat with him about his upcoming film “Never Change!”

The comedy, which follows a group of millennials who must return to high school for two weeks due to a legal loophole, is Reynolds’ first feature film as a writer and producer, and was directed by Reynolds’ close friend Marty Schousboe, who helped develop the story. When I ask Reynolds about leading the project with Schousboe, however, he gives the most Midwestern answer possible. 

“I felt a lot of pressure, obviously,” he said, “Just because I wanted everyone to have a good time, and I felt so grateful for them being there. I wanted it to be a fun time, and that was the most important thing.” 

If you were to poll Hollywood producers about the “most important thing” that happens on their sets, I doubt many would say they hoped everyone had fun, but as a fellow Midwestern millennial, I deeply understand the urge to make everyone happy. 

“As an actor,” Reynolds continues, “you can check out. If there’s a problem, you’re like, ‘That’s not my problem. I’m just going to be a nice guy today.’ It’s just a different level of responsibility [as a writer/producer]. You have to watch every single take, be at the monitor, and make sure everyone’s comfortable.” 

Perhaps Reynolds’ Midwestern charm is especially pronounced in the lead-up to the premiere of “Never Change!” at the Tribeca Festival because he is talking so much about high school. Reynolds attended Madison West High School in Madison, Wisconsin, where he played sports, acted in theater, and performed improv comedy. 

“In a lot of movies, they have these tropes where there’s the art kids and the jocks, and everything is so separate,” he said. “In my experience, it wasn’t really like that. We didn’t have social hierarchies.” (Very Midwestern, if you ask me.)

The idea for “Never Change!” didn’t arise from Reynolds’ own high school career, but rather from watching high school movies like “Can’t Hardly Wait.” He and Schousboe, who met doing comedy in Chicago, were getting together to work on a different script, and lamenting that they were too old to create a high school comedy. That’s when the lightbulb went off. What if they weren’t too old after all? What if thirtysomethings got called back to high school? 

The pair originally developed the idea to be a TV show before Hulu asked that it be condensed into a film instead. Reynolds distilled the script down to feature length, keeping the iconic tropes of the genre like the prom, the school play, finals, and graduation all intact. 

From the beginning, Reynolds and Schousboe always planned on casting their fellow comedians. Reynolds wrote parts for Carmen Christopher and Gary Richardson, whom he met in Chicago at 18 and lived with for years. He also cast New York comedy staples like Matt Barats, Patti Harrison, Micah Sterenberg, and Jo Firestone, with whom he’s performed. 

“Jo is just incredible,” he gushes. “She’s heartbreaking and funny in all her scenes, and I was really lucky she said, ‘yes’ to doing it. I would check in a lot, like, ‘Are you sure you want to do it?’ ‘Still want to do it?’ We got her, which was huge.” (Again, incredibly Midwestern energy here.)

Reynolds also cast his longtime “Search Party” co-star John Early in a small part. The indie comedy, which premiered a decade ago, in 2016, on TBS, became a hit, launching the careers of not just Reynolds and Early but also Alia Shawkat, Meredith Hagner, and Cole Escola. 

‘Never Change!’Tribeca Festival

“I’m not surprised,” Reynolds said about the success of his fellow castmates. “‘Search Party’ was such a difficult show tonally. You had to be funny, and then the next scene, you’re burying a body, there’s a murder, or you’re having a dramatic fight with your partner. You could see firsthand just how skilled they were as comedic actors.” 

In “Never Change!,” Reynolds plays a himbo jock named Sonny Football. “I just thought it was funny if his name was so overt and stupid,” said Reynolds. “I hope people get on board with that. We want the absurdity to come through immediately, so people can relax.” 

While Reynolds had little trouble writing funny roles for his friends, he struggled with writing a character for himself. “I come from an Irish Catholic family in the Midwest,” he said, “So you don’t talk about yourself, and you don’t do work on yourself, so the idea of trying to talk about yourself or write for yourself is still a work in progress for me.” 

Ultimately, Reynolds decided to craft himself a character that’s a bit more aspirational. “I’ll get cast because [a film or TV show] needs conflict,” he said. “My characters are so stressed, and my wheelhouse is playing stress, so [in “Never Change!”], I just wanted to have a good time and be a happy-go-lucky guy. There are certainly elements of Sunny that I wish I had.” 

Even if helming a film can be nerve-wracking, bringing together so many friends from across his career reminded Reynolds that he belongs in this industry. “To see people from different eras of your life makes it feel more comfortable on set, and you have less imposter syndrome,” he said. “When I first moved to New York and started doing acting roles, I was terrified, and I’m less terrified now.” 

While Reynolds, in true Midwestern fashion, is quick to downplay his own talents and career, his IMDb page is loaded with credits on interesting projects like “Miracle Workers,” “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” “Yellowjackets,” and “Adults.” He was also on “Stranger Things” from the very first season before the franchise blew up. 

“When I got that job, I literally had $74,” he said. “I was truly having a panic attack, and then got a phone call that was like, ‘You’re gonna be in this show. It shoots in Atlanta. You leave in a week.’ I was like, ‘What is it?’ and then I remembered that I had auditioned for it.”

“I was working with dramatic actors like David Harbour, so getting to see his process was new to me, because I had only known comedians at that point,” he continues. “When people asked me what the show was in general, I was like, ‘I think it’s like a sci-fi thing.’ Then the show came out, and it was this massive hit, and people were like, ‘This is what you were talking about?!’ It was bananas. My life didn’t really change from it, but around me, people in the cast were changing.”

Despite his past successes, Reynolds said the thought of “Never Change!” being out in the world is “terrifying.”

“You spend so much time working on it, and you really hope people give into it and have a good time,” he said. 

Luckily, his Midwestern Irish Catholic family will be in town for the premiere. “My family is always grounding,” he laughed. “They bring me to reality quick.”