‘Hacks’ Guest Star Christopher Briney on Romancing Jean Smart’s Deborah Vance for Episode 3

Hacks dove into the deep end of age-gap romances for its latest episode, “No New Tricks,” which introduced Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) to up-and-coming singer, Nico Hayes, played by The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s Christopher Briney. Warning: Spoilers for Hacks Season 5 Episode 3 ahead!

Meeting him at a party in Las Vegas, Deborah was beckoned to Nico’s side as he wished to meet her amid the kick-off of his residency. He told her about how impressed he was by her career, and explained how his own experiences with falsified news stories led him to understand that her departure from late-night was more important than the breakdown others had presented.

When Nico invited Deborah out to a date, she thought it was a PR stunt, and agreed because she could use all of the free press she could get in order to hype her MSG show, but she was shocked and delighted to learn that Nico’s invite was of genuine interest in her. Things even get steamy with a kiss. “I thought it was legitimately hot,” showrunner Lucia Aniello says of the moment shared between Nico and Deborah.

In order to boost her star power, Deborah called her paparazzi friends to catch her and Nico on dates, but when one photographer mentioned her antics, Nico shut down the relationship, angered that she’d betray his trust.  “I’m shipping them,” fellow showrunner Jen Statsky shares, adding, “I’m really still rooting for Deborah and him.”

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While it was a brief and magical romance that had Deborah checking her phone like she was a teenager, Briney was just happy to be a part of the HBO Max comedy. “I would have played a f**king waiter at their restaurant… I would have done two lines for them. It’s such a great show,” he gushes.

Below, Briney opens up about portraying Nico — who Aniello and Statsky confirm will be back later in the season — including singing, finalizing his rock star look that may or may not be inspired by Harry Styles, and how his role in The Summer I Turned Pretty helped open the door to a part like this.

How did your role come about?

Christopher Briney: I’ve been a big fan for a while. It was one of those shows that all my friends were like, “God, you have to watch Hacks, you have to watch Hacks,” and I was like, “Nah, it’s probably not even that good.” And then two seasons [into airing] I finally turned it on, and I’m like, “S**t, this is it, man.” So to then end up being a part of it is… it still hasn’t really hit me, but it’s really, really cool. And you know, I lied to a few casting directors about being able to sing, and then I ended up with them in Vegas. I feel very lucky to be a little piece of a show.

Was it daunting going into this role knowing you’d have to sing? How was that experience? 

I’ve definitely turned down auditions because the character sings before, but it’s Hacks, you know? If I have the opportunity, I’m gonna show up and figure it out, and I feel lucky they put a lot of faith in me that I would figure it out, and they gave me a safe space to [do that]. I spent a good, long day in a booth recording some ADR and some sound, and I had a lot of great help from the people in there. I hope we figured it out. It for sure scared the s**t out of me, but we shot all the scenes first, so what are they gonna do? Recast it? recast it? They don’t have time for that [Laughs].

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Nico has a very specific look that has drawn Harry Styles comparisons. What was the inspiration behind the look, and did you have any say on accessories? 

Some of the first work I did for this character was asking the question, “Who is this guy? Who can I use as inspiration?” There’s definitely some Harry Styles there. I really wanted him to have this old soul — and not that Harry Styles doesn’t — but I wanted him to have some essence of old rock ‘n’ roll. They have a great costume team, hair team, and makeup team. The tattoos, the shirts, and the pants…. but for the most part, I take no credit. That is all their wonderful production team, and the tattoos were really funny, so it was a little bit of everybody’s point of view, and I’m sure there’s some Harry Styles in there from a few different places.

How does Nico initially see his relationship with Deborah? Is there a genuine attraction, or is it partly PR from his standpoint?

I don’t think any of it for him is ever PR, and I think he assumes a little bit about her, that she’ll sort of understand that without him having to say it, and maybe it’s naiveness on his part, maybe it’s more on her, but I always thought that it was very genuine that he was into her and thought that she was cool and got it in the way that he gets it. I think he’s a dude who really thinks he gets it, and he might be right about everything, but I think he makes a lot of assumptions that they’re on the same page.

We quickly learn how much Nico is interested in Deborah when they share a kiss. Was it daunting approaching that scene? What kind of behind-the-scenes rapport did you build to sell that connection onscreen? 

I mean, I had nerves. Just walking into a show that is established because it’s a show that not only I have a lot of respect for, but that is well-respected and regarded. It’s one of those shows that wins Emmys, and everybody talks about it, and it’s an industry show. So, I think everybody has their own level of imposter syndrome, but I was like, f**k, I hope I can hang, you know? But Jean was just lovely. My first day, I was sitting in my chair, and she came over, and we just chatted for a while. Not only is she nice, but she’s just a total pro. You just go in and do your job. She made time to chat and welcome me to their set, and so it was, it was great, and their whole team is just a bunch of rock stars.

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Nico’s life has been tough, and it’s pretty evident he can’t trust many people around him. Does that make Deborah’s calling of the paparazzi that much more of a betrayal in his eyes? 

In the vein of like this dude who really thinks he gets it, because he’s been spurned so much by the media and by paparazzi, I think it just really felt for him like she stuck a knife in the wound. Whether he sees that there was some of her that was genuine about it, I don’t know. That’s it for him. That’s his line; she crossed it, that’s it.

The Summer I Turned Pretty has been a global hit. How does it feel to know that the show’s success can open doors to parts like this one in Hacks? 

I feel lucky that it’s created so many opportunities that I know I wouldn’t have otherwise. So, I hope to just capitalize on those opportunities and do the best work I can and prove I can do as many things as my mind tells me I can. I’m grateful that it got me in the door, you know?

Is there another genre or type of project you’re dying to explore next?

I’d love to do more comedy, and I think that there’s cool stuff going on in comedy right now. I think Hacks has been at the forefront of where comedy’s been for the past five seasons. I think comedy is going in a cool direction, and I think it’s getting weirder and weirder by the day, so I’d love to do some more comedy here and there. I don’t know, I’d love to keep working.

Hacks, Season 5, Thursdays, 9/8c, HBO Max