On The Brink Of Stardom

Murder trial-watching Houston native is on The Brink of stardom in new HBO series

You can take the boy out of Texas, but you can’t take Texas out of hometown actor Eric Ladin.

The Houston native attended The Kinkaid School before heading west to study at the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts. The move has paid off with impressive roles in several hits, from HBO’s Generation Kill, Big Love and Boardwalk Empire to AMC's The Killing and Mad Men (as January Jones' brother), and big screen films including Annabelle and American Sniper.

Ladin currently stars in the supporting role of country-fried Lieutenant Glenn "Jammer" Taylor in the HBO series, The Brink. The dark storyline with a comedic twist centers on a skirt-chasing, booze-swilling secretary of state (Tim Robbins), who, with the help of a sleezy foreign service worker (Jack Black), tries to stave off World War III in Pakistan.

Although the 37-year old actor currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife Katy and two small children, he makes his way back to the Lone Star State as often as he can. He was most recently in Houston for interviews and a quick overnight stay with his parents, who still live in town, before flying off to Dallas for another day of press.

CultureMap caught up Ladin about his new HBO show, what we can expect next and his Houston ties.

CultureMap: Tell us about your latest project, The Brink.

Eric Ladin: I love it! It’s a satirical dark comedy based on the brink of a fictitious World War III. It’s different than any show on TV because of how we deal the heavy subject while doing a comedy. It reminds me of (iconic TV show) M*A*S*H.

(My character) Jammer is a guy who wanted to be a pilot, but for whatever reason wasn’t selected. So now he’s a wingman for ace Navy fighter pilot, Zeke "Z-Pak" Callahan (Pablo Schreiber). I modeled Jammer after some people I knew here in Texas. He’s a funny, fun-loving guy who wears his heart on his sleeve and tells it like it is. I love his “no filter” attitude of saying exactly what he’s thinking.

CM: What was it like working with stars like Tim Robbins, Jack Black and Pablo Schreiber?

EL: I knew it was going to be a challenge to do a comedy based on a topic like this, but knowing that HBO was behind it with the cast of Jack, Tim and Pablo already attached… it’s hard not to trust that it’s going to be well done when you see that lineup. It is about being up to the standards of these guys. It’s phenomenal to watch guys like that work.

CM: Have you always wanted to be an actor?

EL: When I was younger, I wanted to be a lawyer. I used to go to the courthouses (in Houston) and watch the litigators. I’d sit for weeks at murder trials just to watch them work. Then I figured out what I liked most was their performances. When I started getting onstage at Kinkaid, I fell in love with acting. I chose to go to USC for college to continue studying theater.

CM: Do you make back to Houston often?

EL: I make it back as often as I can for holidays and a few other times a year. I have two young kids and because my wife Katy is also from Houston, when we visit family Houston is our only spot. I love coming back and seeing how much the city grows. It's important for my boys to know their family. I miss going to Astros games. My family are longtime season ticket holders. I was fortunate to be able to throw out the first pitch at last night’s game.

CM: What are some of your favorite Houston hangout spots?

EL: I still have relationships with my high school friends and tend to go out with buddies for dinner when I'm home. I also miss Tex-Mex, barbecue and JCI (James Coney Island)! I just went to Liberty Kitchen. And I went to Arturo Boada with my family. It was phenomenal.

CM: What can we expect to see next from you?

EL: I’m working on a video game as a performance capture and a voice maker. I can’t say much about it right now, but it comes out in a year or two.

CM: Acting is a tough career. How have you been able to make a living?

EL: Carefully (laughs). It is hard. I was fortunate to have transitioned from the TV commercial world, which is where I started. I had to learn quickly how to manage an income that's not always consistent. That’s the nature of our business. But I’m very determined and that's how I’ve persevered. As an actor, you don’t have a boss. You have to have a lot of discipline.

New episodes of "The Brink" air Sundays on HBO.

Houston native Eric Ladin stars in the HBO series, The Brink.

Houston, Eric Ladin, The Brink, July 2015, mid-length shot

Courtesy photo

Houston native Eric Ladin stars in the HBO series, The Brink.

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HOWDY, DOCTORS

Grey's Anatomy spins off new medical drama led by Houston-born showrunner

Photo via Meg Marinis/Instagram

Showrunner Meg Marinis poses with actor Kevin McKidd, who recently exited Grey's Anatomy after more than a decade playing Dr. Owen Hunt.

ABC is bringing the Grey's Anatomy universe to Texas with a new one-hour rural medical drama co-created by longtime showrunner Meg Marinis. Marinis was born in Houston and is an alum of both the Kinkaid School and the University of Texas at Austin.

According to an exclusive report from Deadline, which production company Shondaland shared on social media, the untitled series has received a straight-to-series order from ABC and will follow a team at a rural West Texas medical center described as “the last chance for care before miles of nowhere.”

The series marks the first Grey’s Anatomy franchise show set outside the West Coast, and it's the first that's not centered around an existing main character from the original series.

The new drama will be co-created by Shonda Rhimes and Marinis, who has spent nearly two decades working on Grey’s Anatomy. She joined the series during its third season as a production assistant before rising through the ranks to become a researcher, writer, executive producer, and now showrunner.

"This opportunity will bring new characters and stories to life that will embody the same heart, emotion, and connection audiences have loved from Grey’s for more than two decades, all set in my home state of Texas,” Marinis said in a statement announcing the series. "I am so grateful to Shonda Rhimes for creating this dynamic world and feel so fortunate that I get to be a part of it.”

Marinis’ path to running one of television’s biggest franchises started in Austin. In an interview with Shondaland last year, she recounted moving to Los Angeles during her final semester at UT through the university’s UTLA entertainment program, which allows students to complete coursework while interning in the industry. While finishing school, she interned at Universal before landing a production assistant role on Grey’s Anatomy in 2006.

Marinis has also woven Texas experiences into the flagship series itself in recent years. According to Deadline, she personally knew families affected by the Camp Mystic tragedy and rewrote part of a recent Grey’s Anatomy episode after becoming emotional while working on the script.

The West Texas setting is particularly timely, as rural healthcare access remains a growing issue across the state. According to the Texas Hospital Association, more than 20 rural Texas hospitals have closed since 2010, while roughly a quarter of the state’s remaining rural hospitals are considered at risk of closure.

By centering the new series on what ABC describes as “the last chance for care before miles of nowhere,” the franchise could bring national attention to healthcare access challenges facing communities across West Texas and other rural parts of the state.

The new series joins a long lineage of Texas-set television dramas, though not all were actually filmed in the state. Grey’s Anatomy itself is famously set in Seattle while primarily filmed in the Los Angeles area. Friday Night Lights became closely associated with Austin through extensive local filming, while series like Dallas often recreated Texas from California sound stages, with exteriors of Southfork Ranch serving as the Ewings' fictitious home. Walker, Texas Ranger, meanwhile, became one of the best-known examples of a network drama heavily filmed across Texas itself.

Even after more than 20 years on the air, Grey’s Anatomy remains one of television’s most durable franchises. According to ABC, the drama is now the longest-running primetime medical drama in television history and continues to rank among the network’s strongest scripted performers.

Ellen Pompeo, who stars as Dr. Meredith Grey in the original series, is attached as an executive producer, and the new drama is expected to premiere in 2027.

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