Jack Innanen wants to get something straight: He had his on-trend mustache before it became popular. “I want to get this in print: I’ve had this bad boy since 2020,” he says.
Innanen—and his mustache—are having something of a breakout summer. The comedian and Toronto native, known for his satirical videos on social media, is one of the stars of the hit FX sitcom Adults, about a group of 20-something pals living together in a house in Queens and figuring out life. He plays Paul Baker, the kind, chill boyfriend of Issa (Amita Rao) who’s so offline that he brings his pal “Jules” to a party not realizing she’s actually Julia Fox. Paul Baker’s adorable naivete has amassed him numerous fans online, who make edits of his reactions—which in turn has led Innanen to launch a campaign to become “White Boy of the Month” on his spam TikTok account.
When Innanen logged into our Zoom, his poster collection touting his cinephile bonafides was on full display, with Deliverance, Blow-Up, and Cassavetes’ Faces among them. We quizzed him on Paul Baker’s big moments, his quest for the White Boy of the Month mantle, and his ubiquitous facial hair.
David Urbanke
GQ: How did the comedy videos you’ve been making lead to Adults?
Jack Innanen: I’ve been making videos my whole life. [I’m the] YouTube generation—I was making Minecraft videos in middle school to these horrible ones in high school. Just the whole gambit. But I started taking it really seriously in 2019 and doing sketch comedy, and then moved to New York. The opportunity of acting became real and I gave it my shot. As soon as I saw the part for Paul Baker, I was like, “Oh, that’s me. That’s me at 22. I know this guy and I can be this guy.” And also the script was hilarious. I was a little hellbent on getting that role. But no real formal acting education. I think putting in the reps with the sketches over the years was a bit of an education, but it’s a whole different beast.
How old are you now?
I’m 26 now.
So being 22 isn’t that far off for you. How did Paul Baker remind you of yourself at the time?
True. I auditioned when I was 24, so it was even less [far off], but I think you do change a lot in your early 20s, and that’s what the show’s about. It’s the time after university when you’re kind of hit full on with adulthood, but you’re still a kid. It’s figuring out, “Okay, who am I to myself? Who am I to the world? Who do I fall in love with? Where do I live? What do I do for my job? Am I a good person? Am I a good son? Am I a good brother?” All that hits you all at once. I think when I was 22, 23, I had decided not to go back to university to pursue [acting] full time. That was a time where I was Paul Baker. I was like, “Who am I? I want to be this guy, but do I fit in with this friend group? What do I do for work?” I think I’m a little bit more anxious than Paul Baker for sure.
You and Paul Baker have the same mustache, which is very on trend right now. When did you decide a mustache was going to be your thing?
It was so funny, when we were shooting a bunch of the crew were like, “Are you excited to shave the stash? Once this is all wrapped, you’re excited to get rid of that thing?” I was like, “Oh, no, I’ve had this for six years.” I was quarantined in my apartment in Toronto in 2020. I went to shave and I just thought, “I wonder if I could?” And I just went around with the mustache. And truly since that day, I’ve shaved it twice. Now, since Top Gun: Maverick, it’s been a thing and now there’s the safe sleazy aesthetic and all that. You know what? I’ll take it. Now it’s cool, it’s awesome.
