"Nathan Adler was actually a name I'd carried around for a while," Acord says as our chat finally turns to his own alter ego, ODNT's big-hearted, fabulously follicled leading man. "I knew I was going to play him -- although I did toy with the idea of playing Brad for a while -- and I didn't want him to be an actor, because I didn't want an actor playing an actor, especially as the lead."
For Leon that would have felt way too similar to another über-buzzy former HBO series about four close buds living in Lalaland: Entourage. But even at the risk of comparisons to the bro-ified version of Sex and the City, the actor was sure that he wanted Nathan to be in show business, or, more importantly, "to have access to actors and musicians." So having Adler own a talent agency seemed like the most reasonable bet -- provided that one thing be made quite clear: "Arvin, in the early days, thought Nathan should be a bit meaner, be more of an agent like [Ari Gold on Entourage], and I was like, 'No, we see that all the time. Let's make him a nice agent -- even if they don't really exist.'"
We share a laugh, but Acord makes it quite clear that his own experience with representation hasn't been nearly as malevolent. Instead the longtime actor characterizes it as much more "uneventful" -- occasionally helpful in a decidedly hands-off, anti-Nathan sort of way, which means no late-night counseling sessions, no open office hours, and absolutely no putting their asses on the line for him, all of which Adler has done simply for Ross Stein alone (especially this upcoming season, which finds the tightly wound thespian straddling the edge of professional glory -- or a nervous breakdown, depending on how you look at it -- when certain proclivities of his are made public).
