Bill Posley landed “Shrinking” writing job thanks to “Troop Beverly Hills” sweater

Bill Posley told Colton Cumbie on Survivor: One World back in 2012 that he was going to make it in the world of comedy. “I don’t want a fall-back plan,” he informed Colton, who had mocked his life as a struggling stand-up comedian. “That’s what I want to do with my life.”

And that is precisely what he has done. Posley is now starring at the SoHo Playhouse in his one-man Off-Broadway show, The Day I Accidentally Went to War. The show comedically looks back at his time in the military, which culminated in his deployment to Iraq. But it also delves into the post-traumatic stress disorder that Posley and many other veterans experienced once returning home after active duty.

The stage is not the only place where Posley has drawn upon his experience as a veteran. It’s also what helped him land a writing job on the Apple TV+ comedy Shrinking, which has a military veteran character named Sean (played by Luke Tennie) who is also suffering from PTSD.

But that’s not the only reason Posley got the gig. “I had worked at Cobra Kai for a season, and there were talks of it coming back, but we didn’t know,” Posely explains to Entertainment Weekly. “And so my agent says, ‘Hey, they’re looking for a position, and there’s a veteran character.’”

But as Posley soon discovered when he showed up for an interview, it’s not just about what you know, but what you wear. “I wore a Troop Beverly Hills sweater, because it’s one of my favorite movies. And one of the development executives in the room was like, ‘Oh my God, I love that movie!’ So we just started talking about Troop Beverly Hills. And it was like, we didn’t even really get into [the show].”

In fact, the person who Posley would be directly working for couldn’t even get a word in edgewise. “Neil Goldman, who would be my boss, was also in that meeting, but he didn’t talk because me and her were talking so much! So then he and I started talking, and we talked about like how to portray veterans, and the experience, and how I feel about comedy, and it really felt like our sensibilities were aligning.”

Soon after, Posley was offered the writing job, and on his first day of work decided to sport his lucky charm. “I wore the Troop Beverly Hills sweater, and my boss goes, ‘That’s the shirt that got you this job!’ I said, ‘Really?’ And he goes, ‘Yeah!’ So that’s how I got that job, is a Troop Beverly Hills sweater.”

Sweater or no sweater, it was a wise hire on Goldman’s part as Posley — who was promoted to executive producer for the upcoming season 3 — has been a key component of Shrinking, especially when it comes to the character of Sean. While stressing that “everybody contributes to everyone” in an “all-hands-on-deck type of mentality” when it comes to the writing staff, Posely has a unique insight into Sean’s circumstances returning back home after the horrors of war.

“When it comes to some of the specifics around Sean’s experience overseas, I am brought into the conversation more. As far as how he felt when he came home, how he feels talking to other veterans, and what it’s like to see somebody you served with and them talking about the past and stuff like that — I have spoken to that and storylines that may be worth pursuing. Some of Sean’s experiences that we speak about are some of the experiences that I had as well. They lean on me, but it’s not all me, for sure.”

While Posley enjoys getting to thread some of his past into the program, he also can’t fathom the fact that he is writing lines for Han Solo. “It’s the craziest thing of all time,” says Posley.  “I remember the day it hit me in season 2. It’s my proudest moment as a writer. I pitched a joke for Harrison Ford. It’s when Krista Miller’s character Liz says, ‘Is this all therapy is? You charge for this?’ And Harrison Ford says, ‘What am I supposed to do? Pull my pants down and make my ass clap?’”

The line originally confused the legendary actor. “He didn’t even know what it meant. [Laughs] And that’s the best part. He is like, ‘What am I saying?’ And then when he said it, the whole place laughed, so he was like, ‘All right, I’ll say that again.’”

For the writer, it marked a new career highlight. “I can’t believe I got Harrison Ford to say that line. I can die and go to Heaven.”

But Posley is seemingly an expert at getting people to do things that might seem confusing at first — like convincing the entire audience at The Day I Accidentally Went to War to wear matching yellow work vests during the show.

“I wanted to figure out a way to make everybody feel uniform,” he explains. “Feel like they were at a part of a team, feel like we were all on the same page. And I thought: While I can’t get everybody to buy the same clothes, what if everybody just had some sort of signal that felt like we were all uniform? When I went through basic training, you get stripped away of all your clothes and all the things that make you different or identify [you]. And when you look around, you look like you are a part of a tribe, a part of a unit, a part of a team. So the vests represent everybody suiting up and getting ready to go on this journey together.”

While Posley has been soaking up all the positive reactions from his show, it hits a little harder when it comes from fellow veterans in the audience. “Veterans coming to this show and their reaction is ultimately why I do it at this point,” he says.

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That includes one incredible reunion when he staged the show in Ventura, Calif. “I’m coming out after the show and there are these two vets standing there and they go, ‘We have to tell you something. We were in Iraq the same exact time you were. He and I served together.’”

Posley continues, “And he goes, ‘We haven’t seen each other in 20 years. This is the first time we’ve seen each other, at this show. And we came separately.’”

Posley gets emotional remembering that interaction. “I watched them reconnect for the first time since being in Iraq together. And it was magic, man. It was magic.”

The magic continues at the SoHo Playhouse in New York City through August 30.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly