Peter Scolari’s ‘Girls’ Performance Was Central to the Show’s Triumph: An Appreciation

, had a long and decorated acting career, with starring roles in “Bosom Buddies” and “Newhart.” But a late triumph — and the performance for which, for many, he’ll be most widely remembered — was his Emmy-winning turn on HBO’s “.” As Tad, Hannah Horvath’s father, Scolari brought rare sensitivity and care to a tricky character who evolved radically through the show’s run.

“Girls” depicted a funny parallel journey among the members of the Horvath family: As millennial Hannah grew gradually disillusioned with life among the sexually liberated creative class of Brooklyn, her boomer parents began to try living on their own terms for the first time. They met less in the middle than in a sort of upside-down reality where, by the show’s end, Hannah was parenting her elders.

But Scolari, especially, leaned hard on the shared reality of the Horvath family, no matter how far from its origins the show got. In the show’s early run, he was the more sensitive and attuned of Hannah’s two parents, gently encouraging her in small ways: He took up less space, in the psychic life of the show, than either of the two clashing Horvath women.

Scolari’s was a finely-wrought performance, showing at once the self-involvement that was endemic to all three Horvaths and the shimmering kindness and good intentions that made all three so human behind all the bluster. He meant to do the right thing — it just took him a great deal of effort to figure out what that right thing was.

The actor won an Emmy for “Girls,” making him the only performer on the series to have done so. And while other performances on the series were more attention-getting, few did more to advance the central concern of what it means to grow up. The answer Scolari’s performance suggests is that it’s a process that never concludes, but that takes a radical willingness to confront oneself and what one wants.

Such a shame. I hadn’t seen him for a while then caught a Newhart re run where he has the B&B.

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Peter Scolari, ‘Newhart’ and ‘Bosom Buddies’ Actor, Dies at 66Peter Scolari, who rose to stardom on the brilliant-but-canceled “Bosom Buddies” alongside Tom Hanks, died Friday morning at age 66 of cancer, after a two-year illness. His death was co… This is so sad. I knew him more from watching Newhart with my parents. He was so good playing this guy who should be annoying but you rooted for him. Peace to him & his family. 💔 One of the very best. He is on that awesome show EVIL on Paramount +, this is terrible news.
Source: Variety - 🏆 108. / 63 Read more »