Interview: Jeff Kober Just Goes For It

Jeff Kober is no stranger to range with an expansive career stretching back to the 80’s. It’s that incredible range that helped Kober make history this year. The veteran actor nabbed a Daytime Emmy nomination for reprising his role as Cyrus Renault on General Hospital and a Primetime Emmy nomination for his work as Duke on The Pitt. The roles and shows couldn’t be more different, but, for Kober, it all comes back to the basics he holds near and dear as an actor.

“It’s interesting because, on the one hand, acting is acting and it requires a different set of tools to bring reality to those two shows,” he muses. “But I think it’s a tribute to the things I was taught a long time ago, which is you show up on time, you hit your marks, and you tell the truth. I think it was Robert Mitchum who said that, and that’s what I’ve always tried to do.”

Heading into award season, it was revealed that Kober and fellow The Pitt guest actor Brittany Allen wouldn’t be included with the network’s official submissions. Both performers successfully self-submitted for the Guest Acting categories. Kober’s own self-advocacy has been a process, though, that’s also worked its way into his craft.

“That, to me, is one of the things that I’ve had to really work on in life,” he explains. “I don’t know about everyone, but I know a lot of people I know have a voice in their head that says, ‘You’re not worthy, you don’t deserve, and someone else deserves it more. If they saw who you really were they wouldn’t want to know you, let alone celebrate you.’ It’s one of those aspects of acting that is so brilliant to me is that you’ve got to find a way to not just advocate for yourself, because that puts the power over there, but to get behind yourself and support yourself and find the way to bring yourself into that equation.”

Despite how different his work is this year, Kober found that they bled into each other. Soap operas famously move at a quick pace, so the process on General Hospital prepared him well to come into The Pitt.

“I had to really learn to just let go of any ideas I had about how something should go and just be fully present with it,” Kober says. “Have my words, my preparation, but then just really go for it. Because the only way to get something, to me, to get something of value, is to let yourself be free enough for something to happen…. General Hospital specifically taught me just let it rip.”

While he plays a killer on General Hospital, Kober shows a much gentler side on The Pitt as Duke, a character who subverts typical “biker” notions with a beautiful vulnerability.

“He is someone who has discovered the difference between vulnerability, meaning able to be hurt, and vulnerability, meaning able to be seen,” he says. “And he let Robby see who he was.”

His relationship with Robby builds toward one crucial scene where Robby finally opens up about his mental health struggle. It’s a major emotional crux of the entire season, but Kober stuck to his core when it came to approaching the monumental scene.

“My main acting teacher many years ago said that you make your connection with the character the first time you read the material and everything else is just bringing support to that connection and a fullness in life to that connection.”

It is Kober’s commitment to the connection that rings true and strikes a chord with audiences. His work this year, and across his career, is a testament to honesty, regardless of the character he plays.

You can watch Jeff Kober’s nominated work on General Hospital and The Pitt. General Hospital is available to stream on Hulu. The Pitt is now streaming on HBO Max. Check out our interview with Jeff below!