Boys to men: Adam Brody and Joshua Jackson finally grow up

Ladies and gentlemen, we are here to celebrate that special moment in an actor’s life when the smoothness of their youthful appeal has finally dissipated and they’re able to belatedly embrace maturity. Please stand up and take a bow Adam Brody and Joshua Jackson and let us admire you – as the audiences of your respective new shows, Nobody Wants This (Netflix) and Doctor Odyssey (Disney+), have been – as grown men. Never again shall you shave four times a day to keep the stubble at bay.

The pair both have Millennial roots that run deep with the temptation of nostalgia. Jackson’s breakthrough came in 1998, when Dawson’s Creek introduced equal measures of self-contemplation and soapie frankness to the teen drama, while Brody became a bedroom wall staple after The O.C. attained pop culture phenomenon status in 2003 with a showy mix of Californian ennui and droll dialogue. Jackson’s Pacey Witter and Brody’s Seth Cohen were also both outlined as comic relief, playing class clown and verbose geek respectively.

Joshua Jackson, centre, with Don Johnson, Phillipa Soo and Sean Teale in Doctor Odyssey.Credit: Disney+

Those roles gave the duo enduring careers, but they also straitjacketed their appeal. Each had a boyish streak that audiences and writers alike wanted to hold on to, whether on television or in the movies. Brody, in particular, had to learn how to master Seth Cohen’s nerdy charms, to control them instead of them controlling him, before he could leave the nest. Each did good work in the supporting casts of involved dramas – The Affair for Jackson and the underseen StartUp for Brody – as a kind of thirtysomething penance.

Now, however, in their mid-40s they are free to be objects of desire, to revel in their artisanal leading man appeal. In Doctor Odyssey, which takes Grey’s Anatomy to sea, Jackson plays newly appointed cruise ship doctor Max Bankman. First seen sizing up his wardrobe wearing nothing but crisp white trousers, Max has ticked off every dedicated doctor box – including a stint saving lives in Africa – and now wants some work/life balance, aka casual sex. The show, which is enjoyably nutty, certainly indulges the character.

In Nobody Wants This, Brody inhabits Noah Roklov, a Los Angeles rabbi who sidesteps everyone’s expectations to fall in love with Joanne (Kristen Bell), a chaotic blonde whose abiding faith is oversharing with her podcast audience. In a nod to Andrew Scott’s “hot priest” from Fleabag, Noah is referred to by teenage members of his extended congregation as “hot rabbi”. He’s a dedicated boyfriend and can also draw thoughtful advice from the Torah. Noah’s domineering mother, Bina (Tovah Feldshuh), is a busy archetype, but Brody plays off the cliches with quick-witted aplomb.

Adam Brody, right, with Kristen Bell in Nobody Wants This.Credit: Adam Rose/Netflix

With the proviso that male television actors still get more leeway to reinvent themselves as the years pass than their female counterparts, neither Doctor Odyssey nor Nobody Wants This are averse to letting their leads show off their wares, even if the method differs. Jackson’s Max keeps losing his shirt, whether he’s swimming laps in the pool, working out with a colleague, or delivering a sultry coup de grace to a nurse at a tropical dance off. Brody’s Noah wears the hell out of a distressed orange jumper.

One thing that distinguishes the two as they enter this new phase of their career is their approach to grey hair. Max has a distinguished tinge at the temples – somewhere George Clooney’s Dr Doug Ross from E.R. is nodding with approval – that emphasise his maturity. It is integral to having the authority of a television doctor. Jackson can convincingly kickstart a heart with both his jawline and a defibrillator. Noah doesn’t have a hint of grey, and it is testament to Brody’s grasp of his appeal that he can still deliver a suggestion of boyishness.

Joshua Jackson, right, with Michelle Williams, James Van Der Beck and Katie Holmes in Dawson’s Creek. Credit:

It’s fascinating to watch the pair moving the boundary lines of their careers in rough tandem. Neither have tried shock tactics, which was the option chosen by Gossip Girl star Penn Badgley when he chose to play literary snob, devoted stalker and serial killer Joe Goldberg in Netflix’s psychological thriller You. Badgley is the leading man as sociopath, but Jackson and Brody have leaned back into their post-adolescent screen personas.

Which actor will have longer with their character? Nobody Wants This is a streaming hit and already has the greenlight from Netflix for a second season, while Doctor Odyssey is dropping a weekly episode – with crazy weekly illnesses and mishaps – on the ratings-dependent American broadcast network ABC. Hopefully both enjoy a sophomore commission because Joshua Jackson and Adam Brody each have a deceptive ease to their performances that is pleasurable to watch. Their patience has paid off and they’re now blooming in middle age.

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