J. Anthony Crane Talks Playing ‘The Most Hated Person in the US’ On ‘Outer Banks’ (Exclusive)
The actor talks about what it’s like to play the most despised character on the Netflix action series
Key Takeaways
- Final season: See how Groff’s story continues in 'Outer Banks' Season 5.
- Learn acting craft: Crane shows how charm, tension, and trust build complex villains.
- Enjoy set stories: Behind-the-scenes teamwork and stunts bring the show’s energy alive.
On Outer Banks, J. Anthony Crane stars as despised villain Chandler Groff, who proved himself capable of unspeakable acts. Introduced in the fourth season as the estranged father of one of the series’ stars, JJ Maybank (Rudy Pankow), it wasn’t long before Groff’s true, wicked personality began to shine through.
“He’s hard to love,” Crane said of his character in an exclusive interview with Woman’s World. “He’s done a few hard to love things. Mostly just clashing patterns in his wardrobe and then a few other personality flaws and peccadillos.”
Outer Banks, which first premiered on Netflix in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, instantly charmed audiences with its escapist appeal. Not only is the show set on the stunning, sun-soaked East Coast, but the high stakes treasure hunt and the class divisions of the Pogues vs the Kooks brought another level of intrigue. The series follows teen John B (Chase Stokes) and his three friends who go in search of a mysterious, centuries old treasure, which is linked to the disappearance of his father.
Throughout Season 4, fans discover Groff’s ulterior motives to beat the teens to the Blue Crown, another treasure, and take it for himself. Once he finally gets it, he kills his own son, JJ, leaving viewers devastated over his loss.
“We were in Morocco and I got to meet the executive producer, Shannon [Burke],” Crane shared. “He came over and he’s, like, ‘Hey, nice to meet you.’ There’s this pause, and he says, ‘So, are you excited to be the most hated person in the United States?’”
Crane spoke with Woman’s World about what it’s like to portray such a deceitful character and what fans can expect from the fifth and final season.
Woman’s World: Can you share about what initially drew you to the role?
Anthony Crane: It’s wild, because this show is definitely not my demographic. So when it was, dare I say, exploding, I was nowhere to be seen… they [the producers] said, ‘Here’s the script and we want you to read this monologue.’ It was a two page, single-spaced monologue of the most villainous energy you’ve ever heard… I spent all day like a supervillain, wandering around preparing this thing.
[Once I booked it], they sent me nine scripts but it’s 10 scripts for a season and I thought, ‘What an interesting father-son relationship! This is fascinating.’ I started talking with Rudy [Pankow, who plays JJ] at the time, and we were getting along really great and having great chemistry. But I suspected that there was something that he was holding back. Then, right before we left to go to Morocco, which was a week after I had arrived, they sent me that final script, and everyone knows what happens. And I just texted him [Rudy], “Whoa!”
It was wild. I just tried to explore him as a broken man. It’s unfathomable to do that kind of thing for any reason. The question everyone has for me is ‘Why?’ and I like to think there’s a certain kind of desperation. Things like this do happen and I imagine it’s a certain combination of desperation and, frankly, separation from your wits. I think that he’s gone crazy, and we have ways of discovering that along the way, and we’ll keep exploring that this season, too, especially since he gets what he’s after. He has to figure out what to do with that and what it costs him. It’s pretty deep for a kids adventure show.
WW: Outer Banks was an immediate success and it’s only gotten more popular over the years. What was it like to join a show with that kind of fan base?
Anthony Crane: I was lucky, [because] I had no idea about the fan base while I was working on it. I was going down to Charleston, meeting these really great, creative, funny kids doing the show… it was just a really interesting place to make art and act and be part of an adventure show… There’s always a boat, the costumes are cool and I got along with those guys great
WW: What was it like to work with the cast? You probably worked more closely with Rudy because of their father-son relationship, so what was it like to bring that to life on screen?
Anthony Crane: It was great. We would have whole days where there would just be a smaller crew and the director and we didn’t just have one set—they’d either have created a crypt, or we’d be on a boat, or we’re running from henchmen on quads—but it meant a lot of time just getting to know each other. When you play family, you start to give your heart without anything being earned. You want to open up and find out what you like about the person so that you can react to who they are. But because we [my character and JJ] were an estranged family, we kind of enjoyed keeping the awkward energy of not knowing each other. He and I had a lot in common. We both started out the same way. I started out on TV when I was younger, and had some early success and it was interesting to talk about our futures together. You do create trust so you can really do those scenes when it matters without being afraid to let go and open up and you don’t always get that [on all projects].
The cast was great. They would call rolling and usually everybody stops talking because there’s sound being recorded and here’s six kids that are still talking to each other. They’re going and improving and riffing off each other and then action would come, and I’d say, ‘Are we going?’ And they’d all look at me like, ‘Are you gonna start?’ The energy of that group is just that they never stop playing and it shows in the show. That’s where their magic comes from, kind of keeping that chemistry with each other all the time
WW: What was it like to play a villain?
Anthony Crane: I’ve played a few villains. I don’t know why I’m good at it. I like to think it’s because villains have to have a lure. It’s like those fish at the bottom of the ocean that are just a mouth full of teeth, but there’s this little light in the middle. I like to think that light is the charm for a villain. Maybe not so much with this character because he was written very strategically. But I like to think that you can bring in your audience with charm or likability of some kind, because you can’t be a rampaging villain with an ax all the time.
Most villains have to get you in the room and tempt you to let your guard down a little bit, and in doing so, gets the audience’s guard down, too. “Oh, what a charming, handsome fella this guy is! I like this guy. Wait, what? What did he just do?” There’s an art to it and a lot of great writers understand that. The charm in this series was creating the love and the hurt and the effort to rebuild this relationship with his son. That’s the lure, which we betray.
WW: What was your favorite behind-the-scenes moment from filming?
Anthony Crane: I had a lot of fun. You’re doing fun things. You’re adventuring. I shot the scene in the bottom of the well [in Season 4] in a half circle, potato chip looking thing that looked like the inside of a well, so that was sort of funny to have 10 people crammed in there and cameras and pretend you were in a well.
I had a scene this past season where we were about to shoot a scary stunt, and one of the other actors was a little nervous about it. We were high up in a location on a structure, and she was, like, “I’m sorry, but if we can do my side, and then if you could just let me go downstairs, please. I’m having trouble here.” So she leaves, and then I’m there by myself and they’re getting ready to [film], and I’m, like, “Oh my God, I’m really scared of this place. This place is really high.” I didn’t realize how absolutely stupid terrified I was, and I was, like, “Can I go downstairs? I’d also like to leave this set.”
WW: Now, it’s the fifth and final season of the show. Without spoilers, what can fans expect from your character and this final chapter?
Anthony Crane: Oh, you don’t want to know who dies? [laughs]. When you have final chapters, it’s got to be a challenge for a writer. Everybody wants it to go the way they want it to go. Fans want it to go a certain way, or the actors want it to go a certain way, and then the writers, maybe with a larger scope, try and negotiate all that. I think our writers were thinking about how fans would respond and about the actors. They’re very responsive to that and I think they put together a beautiful storyline that achieves everything. All the promises that the show has offered over the years and the friendship. They’re heroes because they get through things.
WW: If you could describe the upcoming season in a few words, what would you say?
Anthony Crane: I think it’s raw. I think it’s muscular and exotic. It starts off with a bang. Truly exquisite.
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