Lawrence Jay Duplass Jr. (born March 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker, actor, producer and author widely known for his films The Puffy Chair (2005), Cyrus (2010), and Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2011), made in collaboration with his younger brother, Mark Duplass. Jay and Mark run Duplass Brothers Productions together.
Duplass starred in the Amazon Video comedy-drama series Transparent (2014–2019), and co-created the HBO comedy-drama series Togetherness (2015–16) and the HBO anthology series Room 104 (2017–2020).
Early life Duplass was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Cynthia () and Lawrence Duplass. He was raised in a Catholic family, and he attended Jesuit High School. Duplass graduated from the University of Texas at Austin; he started a Master of Fine Arts degree in film at UT but withdrew in the first few months to pursue independent film projects. His ancestry includes French Cajun, Italian, Ashkenazi Jewish, and German roots.
Career
Directing Duplass attributes much of his and his brother's love for film to his appreciation for Raising Arizona. In an interview with Robert K. Elder for The Film That Changed My Life, Duplass speculates on what might have happened had he not seen the film in his youth.I probably wouldn't be making movies—seriously. It held over for so long. It really was the root of everything that Mark and I always hold ourselves to in making movies. That is to say that Raising Arizona is the most inspired movie that I have ever seen.In 2015, Mark and Jay Duplass via their Duplass Brothers Television label signed an overall deal with HBO. In 2012, Duplass participated in the Sight & Sound film polls of that year.
Acting In 2014, he starred as Josh Pfefferman in the Amazon Prime Original Comedy-Drama Series Transparent, alongside Jeffrey Tambor, Gaby Hoffmann, Amy Landecker and Judith Light. The series was met with widespread critical acclaim, earning 11 Primetime Emmy nominations, including nominations for Best Comedy Series and Best Actor in a Comedy Series for Jeffrey Tambor. In the second season of the show, Duplass's role became more prominent, and he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Prior to Transparent, Duplass had never acted in a featured part. He was talking with director Joey Soloway at a dinner party about the difficulty they were having finding an actor to play what would end up being Duplass's role. After suggesting many actors for the part to Soloway, Soloway turned to Duplass and told him that he should play the part.
Filmography Film Year Title Credited as Director Writer Producer 2005 The Puffy Chair 2008 Baghead 2010 Cyrus 2011 Jeff, Who Lives at Home 2012 The Do-Deca-Pentathlon 2017 Table 19 Outside In 2018 Prospect 2025 The Baltimorons 2026 See You When I See You
Executive producer only
Lovers of Hate (2010) Black Rock (2012) Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) Bad Milo! (2013) The Skeleton Twins (2014) The One I Love (2014) Adult Beginners (2014) Tangerine (2015) Manson Family Vacation (2015) The Bronze (2015) The Overnight (2015) 6 Years (2015) Rainbow Time (2016) Asperger's Are Us (2016) Blue Jay (2016) Take Me (2017) Duck Butter (2018) Unlovable (2018) Paddleton (2019) Horse Girl (2020) Young Hearts (2021) Drought (2021) As of Yet (2021) The MisEducation of Bindu (2021) Language Lessons (2021) Not Going Quietly (2021) 7 Days (2021) Spin Me Round (2022) I’ll Show You Mine (2022) Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off (2022) The Drop (2023) Jason Isbell: Running With Our Eyes Closed (2023) Biosphere (2023) Last Stop Larrimah (2023) Jazzy (2024) The Knife (2024)
Television Year Title Credited as Notes Director ExecutiveProducer Writer 2015–2016 Togetherness Co-creator 2014 Wedlock 2016–2018 Animals. 2017–2020 Room 104 Co-creator 2018 Co-Ed Evil Genius Documentary series Wild Wild Country 2019 On Tour with Asperger's Are Us Shook 2020 Search Party Directed 2 episodes 2021 The Lady and the Dale Documentary series Sasquatch Cinema Toast Wrote & directed 1 episode 2024 American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders Documentary series
Short film Year Title Credited as Notes Director Producer Writer 1996 Connect 5 2002 The New Brad 2003 This is John 2003 Death for Sale 2004 Scrapple 2005 The Intervention 2011 Kevin Documentary short Maurice Documentary short Authoritative Sources Segment of Slacker 2011 2020 The Ride
Acting roles Film Year Title Role Notes 2008 Nights and Weekends James' brother 2011 Slacker 2011 Boyfriend 2015 Manson Family Vacation Nick Paper Towns English Teacher 2016 Rainbow Time Adam 2017 Landline Ben Beatriz at Dinner Alex Outside In Chris Connelly 2018 Prospect Damon Duck Butter Jay The Oath Clark Stewart 2019 Pink Wall Leon Phil Malcolm 2020 Horse Girl Ethan Shithouse Professor Notkin Uncredited 2022 Ghostwritten Guy Laury 2023 The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial Lieutenant Allen Bird MD Pain Hustlers Larkin 2026 I Play Rocky John G. Avildsen Other Mommy Russ Post-production
Television Year Title Role Notes 2012–2017 The Mindy Project Duncan Deslaurier 13 episodes 2014–2019 Transparent Josh Pfefferman 38 episodes 2016 Animals. Dennis (voice) 2 episodes 2017–2020 Search Party Elijah 7 episodes 2017 Room 104 Daniel Episode: "I Knew You Weren't Dead" 2019 Drunk History John C. Lilly Episode: "Drugs" Stumptown Alan Episode: "Missed Connections" 2021 The Chair Bill Dobson 6 episodes Cinema Toast(voice) 1 episode 2022 Industry Jesse Bloom 7 episodes 2024 Percy Jackson and the Olympians Hades Episode: "We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of" 2025 Dying for Sex Steve Miniseries 2026–present Sterling Point Steven Jacobson 6 episodes
Bibliography
Like Brothers (2018) (with Mark Duplass)
Accolades Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result 2022Peabody AwardsEntertainmentSomebody Somewhere
References
External links
Interview with Jay and Mark Duplass on "Baghead" at IFC.com