NEW YORK –Jordan Firstmanneeds a vacation.
The irreverent multihyphenate is struggling to come down after a prolific 2025: releasing comedy album "Secrets"; directing his first feature film, "Club Kid;" and appearing in Season 2 of FX's since-canceled "The English Teacher." Most notably, he's broken through as part of HBO's hustle culture comedy "I Love LA," which wraps its inaugural season Sunday (10:30 pm ET/PT).
"I'm in my work era. I feel very stimulated," Firstman, 34, says brightly during a sit-down early this month. "I definitely want to take a week off, and I need to figure out what the best use of my time is. Half of me wants to go to Korea and get a new face, and then the other half is like, 'I should sleep.' Two very 'I Love LA' problems!"
Jordan Firstman says 'I Love LA' is both 'modern' and 'confronting'
Created by Rachel Sennott, "I Love LA" follows an aspiring talent manager named Maia (Sennott) as she tries to wrangle her chaotic influencer bestie, Tallulah (Odessa A'zion). Firstman plays millennial stylist Charlie, who pals around with the girls when he's not contending with New Age pop stars or an ex-boyfriend's sex tapes.
Throughout his career, Firstman has been sent his share of scripts with "offensive, poorly written gay characters." But he's grateful that Sennott, a close friend, entrusted him with someone "complicated" like Charlie, who's forced to confront himself and what his priorities are.
"He has a major shield around him through his ability to be cutting and sarcastic and judgmental, and throughout the season, he sheds a bunch of layers," Firstman says. "His journey feels very spiritual to me."
Some critics have dismissed "I Love LA" as "vapid," "exhausting" and "self-indulgent" in its depiction of terminally online social climbers. Firstman notes there have been countless film and TV characters obsessed with money and status, many of whom didn't receive similar levels of vitriol.
"It's interesting the way people perceive ambition when it's filtered through women and gays (working) in what a lot of people think is this superficial industry," Firstman says. "But then they can watch shows like 'Succession,' which is about objectively way worse people. You see so many tales of ambition – like Timmy (Chalamet) playing ping-pong – and that's somehow more valid to them than getting a brand deal.
"Younger people are resonating with this show because they understand how hamster wheel the world feels right now," Firstman continues. "This is what we have to do to stay alive, whereas 10 years ago when 'Girls' came out, you could flounder more. We're fighting to pay rent, and everyone is just trying to chase something. That is why the show feels so modern to me, and there is going to be a knee-jerk reaction when something is so confronting."
He understands firsthand the pitfalls of internet stardom. During the 2020 COVID lockdown, he went viral with his hyper-specific impression videos that caught the attention of Ariana Grande and Katy Perry.
"It definitely felt a bit lonely, because it feels so big in the moment and then it's forgotten about so fast," Firstman recalls. "People are there like, 'We love you! You're our favorite person!' And then they're not there anymore."
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He's leaned on comedian friends including Benito Skinner ("Overcompensating"), who also found fame on TikTok and Instagram during quarantine.
"If I get a brand deal, I'll be like, 'Is this too corny? Can I do this?'" Firstman says. "Or when people are hating on me - we both, as gay guys, know the game of gays on the internet. The second you get any modicum of success, they're going to turn on you. I've been through so many ups and downs with that."
Why it's 'complicated' to watch gay hockey show 'Heated Rivalry'
Firstman recently ruffled feathers with comments about HBO Max's hockey hit "Heated Rivalry,"telling Vulturethat the show's depiction of gay sex was unrealistic. He was somewhat more complimentary days before that interview published.
"I watched it and it's complicated, as a writer," Firstman says, grinning. "You're like, it's not good! But it's also really hot. You've got to give it to them, like, that's OK, too! Let people have fun."
A Long Island native, Firstman grew up loving the works of Stephen Sondheim, Woody Allen and Paul Mazursky: "Not a lot of Gen Z have those references, so I'm able to have a different point of reference than a lot of this stuff going on."
Firstman has had numerous "diversions" as a standup, musician and TV writer. The actor has long felt comfortable in his body, he says, and in the 2023 indie film "Rotting in the Sun," he performed unsimulated sex on camera.
"I've always been a very sexual person," Firstman says. "I definitely did it in a really intense way in 'Rotting,' although my feature ('Club Kid') is not super-sexual. I wanted to take a step back from that. You get wrapped up in that persona and it does get boring."
He feels that Hollywood "has not even begun to skim the surface of a lot of issues going on with gay people." "Club Kid," for instance, "is a very emotional story for me" about party drugs and the ways they can "creep into your life."
"I Love LA" was picked up for a Season 2, and he hopes that Charlie will continue to be "iconic" and even "a little crazier." ("There's something an audience likes about seeing me embarrassed and humiliated.") He also doesn't take work for granted, and wants to keep "fostering a community" in the industry and beyond.
"You can't burn bridges," Firstman says. "You have to be well-liked because those are the people giving you the jobs. I'm such a s---talker ... I've learned you can't do that."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'I Love LA' star Jordan Firstman says 'Heated Rivalry' is 'really hot'
