Jocko Sims explains Tucker's reaction in Grosse Pointe Garden Society (Exclusive)

Jocko Sims is known as Dr. Floyd Reynolds in New Amsterdam and Lt./Cmd. Carlton Burke in The Last Ship. Now we get to see him as Tucker in Grosse Pointe Garden Society.

We chatted with Sims about the new role, especially after the way he reacted to Catherine’s affair reveal. It was not what you would usually see in a TV series, with him just accepting and forgiving. Is it really that easy? Why would he react that way? Well, we got the details.

And if you’ve kept track of Sims lately, you’ll know that he’s shown up in a fair few shows. How does he keep all the storylines and characters separated in his head? It turns out that Grosse Pointe Garden Society’s own storylines are trickier than that!

Jocko Sims talks the intriguing response to Catherine’s affair in Grosse Pointe Garden Society

Precinct TV: Let’s jump straight in to talk about Tucker’s weird reaction to Catherine’s confession. What was it like for you reading that script?

Jocko Sims: So, I spoke with Jenna [Bans] and Bill [Krebs], the showrunners. Incidentally, I had worked with Jenna on Grey’s Anatomy back in the day as a guest star, and I guest-starred on Bill’s show Franklin & Bash, so there was some relationship history in there. They are just incredible, so I was up for the role.

I gave them a ring after we shot the pilot, and I was like “Where’s this gonna go?” So they were talking me through each episode, and when they told me about that reaction, I was like “I’m in,” because it’s weird. There’s something going on with them, and I just found that intriguing.

I’ve never played a character like this. I’m used to playing lawyers and doctors who are kind of in your face. What you see is what you get, and they wear their emotions on their sleeve. The fact that he is dealing with so much coming off this situation with Catherine was very fascinating to me. I love the reaction, and I just couldn’t wait to dive in.

More: Grosse Pointe Garden Society season 1, episode 3 recap and review

PTV: What was it like working on this storyline with the big question of whether marriages can work after affairs, because it’s not really just Catherine? Tucker said he fell for someone else as well.

JS: I think it’s interesting because of that very reason. He’s got something going on that we don’t know yet. I think Tucker also realizes that he let something go on without him showing the amount of love and respect that she deserved. He really loves her, but he lost sight of that and kind of took it for granted. He put his work first.

I think Tucker seems to be a persona who’s fair and understanding, and for him, I feel like it just balanced out a little bit. “I’ve got something going on over here, and I lost sight of how amazing you are, and I got a little too focused on work, so it makes sense that you would stray.” But the most important thing for him is that he wanted to know the details. Where they hooked up, how long it’s been going on, does she still love him? He feels like as long as she can be forthcoming with it, from there, maybe they can work through it.

PTV: Let’s talk about the mystery, because it’s not a “whoduntit,” but a “who is it” and “why done it.” What’s that like to have this unique mystery?

JS: It’s so damn fun! It’s rare that I’m on a show that I can’t wait to come on every week, because I want to see what’s going on. Not only that, but most shows are locked down when it comes to not revealing anything and taking photos, because there are storylines we want to hide until they air, but this is so top secret that there was a period of time that nobody in the cast knew who was in the garden. I thought that was fun.

I came in as a guest, and I ask Aja Naomi King [Catherine], who’s just incredible, and I said, “So, who is it?” She didn’t know. So, just to watch them navigate having to have these emotions, not knowing who’s in the garden initially, was so fun. It’s been so fun on set trying to play that guessing game, wondering if it’s me? It could be Tucker; it could be anybody.

PTV: Did that affect the way you were playing some of the present-day storylines?

JS: Not so much for me. More so for the rest of the case, because, as you can see, they’re directly involved in whatever happens. Tucker seems not to much to be, so I just played it straight. I also made a note not to put too much on Tucker. That’s one of the cool things about playing a character on a series. You have sort of this relationship, this marriage with the character.

In the beginning, especially with a characterlike this where there’s a little bit of mystery, I was a little nervous, because I don’t know who he is yet. The time you’re spending with the cast and with the scripts, trying to find him hit his stride is such a wonderful experience. But as far as my approach regarding the murder, I just kind of played it cool, playing it as I see on the page.

PTV: There’s not just this one mystery, either. I want to know who killed Molly! What’s that been like having so many individual storylines and mysteries?

JS: I think that’s what keeps it interesting, especially nowadays. People have such a short attention span, so you got to have all of these things going on. It’s really fun for me, because being on the set with this cast is truly incredible. They are so kind and so lovely to work with and talented. They’re such a tightly knit group, especially the girls. I remember being on set — I won’t reveal if I was in a scene with them or not — but I saw them in between takes just hanging out. People kind of just go into their trailers, and I’m guilty of that, but to see everybody sit around and be with each other and talk about their lives is so refreshing.

PTV: So, I need to know from you how you keep everything so organized in your head. I swear, you were on three film sets at once. You had How to Die Alone, a guest spot on High Potential, and then Grosse Pointe Garden Society. How did you keep the storylines separated and focused in your head?

JS: So, actually, it’s crazy, because they were shot kind of spread out. How to Die Alone took about a year and a half to come out, so it’s just timing out great. But as far as keeping it in my head, as long as I’m there an din the moment, I try not to think about other things.

What could be difficult is actually keeping in our head what’s going on in Grosse Pointe. There’s so many things to keep track of, and I can tell you right now, we’re not great at it. We’ll have different directors every episode, and we’ll have to do like a quick recap at the beginning of a scene. It’s like “We left off in the flashback and you were here.”

There’s one episode coming up that got really confusing for me, but it was fun, because we just get to do a quick recap right before we shoot the scene, and everybody’s good to go.

PTV: They keep you on your toes!

JS: Absolutely!

Grosse Pointe Garden Society airs on Sundays at 10/9c on NBC. Catch up the following day on Peacock.

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