Anthony Norman shines as the lead in Company Retreat, yet it’s Alex Bonifer who adds the extra flair to the show.

When Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, the creative minds behind Jury Duty, embarked on their latest innovative social experiment, they knew they needed a compelling setup, a protagonist with the warmth of Ronald Gladden from the first season, and a team of exceptional improvisers. Thus, they concocted a fictional enterprise named Rockin’ Grandma’s Hot Sauce, gathered a stellar comedic cast, and brought in the unsuspecting Norman, a 26-year-old father from Nashville, Tennessee, to serve as a temporary assistant for a company retreat.

Every character contributed significantly to the triumph of Jury Duty Presents: Corporate Retreat. However, for the season finale where Norman would earnestly implore CEO Doug Womack, played by Jerry Hauck, not to sell the family business, it was crucial for him to form a sincere bond with, care about, and trust in Womack’s son, the aspiring CEO Dougie Jr., portrayed by Bonifer.

To mitigate any chance that Norman might recognize him from television, Bonifer, known for his role in Kevin Can F**k Himself, altered his appearance by growing a beard, bleaching his hair, and donning eccentric button-downs and merchandise from Dougie’s old ska band, Jive Prophets. Despite Dougie’s eccentricities, Anthony immediately embraced him. After connecting with his colleagues, the protagonist of Company Retreat was more than willing to defend his new-found family in the seventh episode.

“When I first got the script, my initial reaction was, ‘How am I going to pull all this off? You want me to run up and down a mountain and have Anthony eavesdrop through a vent?'” Bonifer recounted to DECIDER via Zoom. Yet, he managed to accomplish it all, and when the moment arrived, Anthony stood up for Dougie and delivered a stirring speech to rescue the company.

In celebration of Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat capturing lightning in a bottle again, Bonifer chatted with DECIDER about Sia, Bones, his Hot Ones dreams, his idea for a scripted Jury Duty series, and Anthony’s heroic finale feats.

Those last three episodes were incredible, starting strong with the company talent show. Dougie couldn’t be excited, but what was your reaction to Sia being on-board?

We can talk about Sia in a second, but Kevin’s performance was incredible! No, that was one of the most challenging things I had to do. I love Sia. I grew up listening to her music. Her songs speak to my soul truly and genuinely. We knew there was going to be a celebrity, but they didn’t tell us who, because they wanted earnest, honest reactions. Having to keep it together and stay true to Dougie’s emotions was so hard. Internally, I was like, “This is insane! We’re having a private concert from a generational icon.” It was crazy. I was speechless but I think she’s out there going, “Everyone was really into it, except that pissed blonde guy.” So Sia, if you ever read this, I love you. It was a literal dream come true.

You play a crucial role in Episode 7. What was your emotional well-being like heading into that final day? 

I maybe got two hours of sleep the night before. When they initially handed us the script, my first thought was, “Good luck! I’m not going to be able to do all of that. You want me to run up a mountain, down a mountain, get Anthony to overhear a conversation through a vent?!” But in that moment, once the first trigger went off, it became this Rube Goldberg machine of “This happens, then that leads to this, then that leads to that.” I kept telling myself, “Be in this moment. Be present.” That’s the only way I was able to get through the whole thing. I had to be present, remember what our hope was, and watch Anthony do what he did all season, which was surprise us with how good of a person he was.

Each time I watch the speech Anthony gives to Doug and Triukas I cry. What did him standing up in that moment mean to you?

In the script, I was supposed to be the one that’s like, “We’ve got to go tell my dad about this!” But Anthony beat me to it and was like, “We’ve got to go find your dad!” I was like, “Oh my god. What the heck?!” And in that final sequence, when Anthony runs in to stop the deal, I was in awe at what he did. I felt gratitude for being one of the few people that was actually physically in the room and got to witness that with my own two eyes. It’s one of the most beautiful moments on television. 

There were so many standout lines. “Father to father, I need to talk to you,” nearly sent me to the floor. “Are you really going to listen to the temp?!” Every sentence I thought, “This has to be better than whatever best case scenario they imagined.”

Oh it wasn’t even close. We all were like, “What script? Why did we waste our time? This is better!” When he goes, “Your words mean nothing to me?!”

And in the same breath, “I appreciate everything you’ve done!” Amazing. As you’re running, you stage this fall and Anthony stays the course. Was there any concern he wouldn’t barge in there alone? What was the backup plan? 

I was supposed to get tangled up in that banner and take a dive. I wasn’t supposed to lose my shoe when we were running down the mountain. I was like, “Well, I’m finishing this show with one shoe on!” But Anthony surpassed our expectations time and time again, so I wasn’t really concerned. We had a plan, of course. If he came back or wasn’t going in without me, I was prepared to hop up and go with him, let him be the first one in, walk with a limp, things like that. But I didn’t have to. It felt like a movie. It was really all moving in slow motion at that point. And I had to crawl and get up there. I was actually bleeding, because I cut myself on that turf. So one shoe, bleeding, sweaty, dirty. Just the way I’d hoped to finish it!

The big reveal is so emotional. What was going through your mind at that moment?

It was by far the most emotional day of the whole shoot. We’ve all had careers prior to this, but we’re not A-listers, B-listers, or C-listers. We couldn’t be, because we could be recognized. We’re people who’ve had careers, but who’ve been underdogs for a long time. And the show was so important to every single person on that cast. But when you book it, you’re reminded that there’s a reality where we fail, and there’s no show at all. Over a month of rehearsals went into building our backstories, the Rockin’ Grandma’s world, learning how to function as an employee. And then the retreat itself, living in this stress bomb where at any moment with one door ajar or slip of the tongue the whole thing comes crumbling down — it was all those emotions of, “Oh my god, we did it. We reached the finish line.” Then, “Anthony Norman’s life is about to change. How beautiful it is to get to celebrate him in this moment.”

Beyond his immediate reaction we see, what did the rest of that day look like for you all?

That’s such a great question. When we first started, our producer Nick Hatton said when we reach the finale, we’re going to throw the best surprise party anyone will ever receive. After that moment [in the yurt], first and foremost, Anthony went and met with Nick. They had a trained mental health professional on site. So he was handled, throughout this whole process, with such care and reverence. They had a private conversation to make sure he was OK and knew he was supported and loved, and when he came out, the crew cascaded down the mountainside. We had an ice cream truck. I got a root beer float, people had sundaes. It was such a release of all that stress. We got to sit in joy and happiness for Anthony, and ourselves, and fully be with one another. For the first time, I introduced myself as Alex to other people in the cast, who I’d known for months. We were all like, “Hey, what’s your name?!” Because we were asked not to use our real names. They took them off the call sheet. We didn’t want to know, because we were so afraid of slipping up. But it was one of the best days of my life, outside of the birth of my two kids. Certainly the best day of my professional life.

After Season 1, Ronald was open about how long it took to process the experience and the lingering paranoia he had about still being filmed. How did Anthony cope post-retreat? 

I was constantly checking in, making sure he was OK and that he knew the friendship we forged during filming wouldn’t stop. I wasn’t putting that on. He has a friend in me for life. Being the good-natured person that he is, he’s handled it well. A funny story is I perform and teach at The Groundlings with Emily Pendergast, who plays Amy. Two months ago, they were going going to fly us to Nashville, where Anthony’s from, to do a corporate event unrelated to the show. We let Anthony know and he was like, “Nah, I don’t trust it! You two coming? Let me know where the cameras are hiding!” Anthony and I met up for breakfast and I was like, “You’re choosing the restaurant so you don’t think I’m up to anything other than spending time with you.”

I bet watching Season 1 and meeting Ronald also helped him.

Exactly. Ronald Gladden and Anthony Norman are the only two people on this earth that have experienced this. So seeing how well Ronald’s doing and how he’s still taken care of was really great for Anthony. He still matters to the people in his cast. It really feels like family. 

I have to ask about Bones. Rachel Kaly’s entire performance — especially that bit — slayed me.

I loved that Bones bit so much. Rachel Kaly is a killer. She does all the things I wish I could do, which is be so unbelievably funny at dry, deadpan, flat humor. But she had to become a Bones expert. She watched so many episodes we were like, “What’s the most ridiculous episode of Bones?” She picked the Christmas episode where there’s a mall Santa who was killed by another mall Santa. It was insane. I’d never seen Bones, and my jaw was on the floor. I can’t believe I wasn’t present while it had its time in the sun. That night was as fun as it looks.

I’m dying to see you on Hot Ones. Have you guys heard from Sean Evans? 

It’s funny. I talked about Sean Evans so much and it didn’t make the cut. In the first scene where you see Dougie and Anthony connecting in the conference room, and I’m mixing hot sauces like, “Gotta get on Hot Ones. That’s the holy grail, dog. If you can get past the Sauce Goblin, Sean Evans, that’s it. You’ve made it.” So I was planting those seeds. I really hope we get to go on Hot Ones. That would be a dream fulfilled. Sean Evans, if you’re reading, let’s go!

I sensed how honest Anthony was in Episode 1 when you asked if he was a hot sauce guy and he said, “I am, and I’m not.” So many people would have just lied to appease the hot sauce company heir.

Nicole, when he tasted the Jamaican Jerk Sauce — Project Unicorn — and was like, “Not bad. Like, 8.5!” I was like, “Oh my god.” It’s the best thing I’ve ever seen. 

So many fans say Jury Duty helps restore their faith in humanity. Do you feel the role change you at all?

It really has changed me, and quite honestly validated how I’ve been trying to live my life. One thing we see early on at basic level improv at The Groundlings is people going straight to an argument or the negative choice. One of the sayings I have when teaching is “Choose joy.” We think in life that something happens that causes joy. And seeing what Anthony did, and ultimately, how our story finished, showed you can choose to do what’s right. You can choose to be a good person and see good in people. Now more than ever in our society, that’s a message we need.

That’s beautiful. The James Marsden-hosted reunion/bonus episodes are still to come. Would you like to see a Jury Duty Season 3?

Absolutely. I think the creative team behind Jury Duty is capable of anything. The only thing is, they would never be able to pick a woman to be the hero. Women are too smart. There’s no way.So fellas out there, stay dumb just like me. Sorry, ladies. You’re too smart. You’re too intuitive. But I think they’ll come up with something that even tops what we did, and keep building that. Also, I want to put this out into the ether. Our show’s been called the real-life Office or Parks and Rec. What fun it would be to explore the Rockin’ Grandma’s universe in a scripted sense, and really get to know these characters. Think of all the adventures we could go on. That’s not in the works, I’m just putting that out there for any of the EPs that want to listen.

You’ve got The Office dream duo, Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg. A quick call to Greg Daniels? Mike Schur? We’re manifesting the Jury Duty scripted series!

Please!

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat is now streaming on Prime Video.