John Early Discusses His Character in ‘Stress Positions’

We’re back at Sundance in the Vulture Spot, where we’re interviewing the casts and creators of the year’s buzziest films. Check out all our coverage from the film fest here.

Stress Positions, an early COVID-era period piece about a group of queer people sheltering in Brooklyn, lives up to its name. Anxiety-addled millennials pervade Theda Hammel’s tense Sundance comedy, finding themselves at the center of issues of gender, xenophobia, and social justice. Considering the state of his soon-to-be-divorced character, comedian John Early thinks he’s perfect for the harried role. Playing an extremely stressed-out guy is his “bread and butter,” he said. “On some level, I must really identify as a deeply stressed person.” You can hear why he’s happy to embody such an archetype in the Vulture Spot video above, along with:

➼ Theda Hammel getting real about why she chose to depict imperfect queer characters.
➼ Qaher Harhash having fun with everyone’s ignorance about “the Middle East.”
➼ John Roberts dishing that he summers in Provincetown, not Fire Island.

Written, directed, and starring Hammel, Stress Positions is her feature directorial debut. It also stars Amy Zimmer and Faheem Ali. The film bowed at Sundance on January 18.