EXCLUSIVE: John Henry Ward Talks his Appearance in The Girl From Plainville

Up and coming actor, John Henry Ward has appeared in a number of projects since he made his way onto the acting scene in 2017, but now audience would most likely recognize him in Hulu’s new series, The Girl From Plainville.

Playing Adrian Peters, the character made quite the impression in the April 12 episode of the series, “Mirrorball” when Adrian accompanied Elle Fanning’s Michelle Carter to prom. We got the chance to speak with Ward about his role in the episode, his upcoming work, and so much more. You can check out what he had to say below.

Let’s talk about your role in The Girl from Plainville. You played Adrian, who takes Michelle Carter [Elle Fanning] to prom in last week’s episode, so how did you end up landing the role?

I got the audition. I saw Liz’s [Hannah] name, Elle’s name and got really excited. I’d seen The Long Shot, Liz’s film. And I was like, ‘oh, this would be fantastic.’ Then I got a call back and then watched the documentary, read the articles, and got really excited.”

Did reading the articles and watching the documentary change your approach to playing Adrian?

“It definitely did. I think the documentary really illuminated that there was a lot more than the media had portrayed, what I had heard of when the case was actually happening. I remember it being super black and white, at least in the headlines and the blurbs and stuff. I thought there was a chance to really bring some empathy to the entire situation, which I really tried to put into Adrian.”

Your performance also reminded the audience that Michelle was a real person and not just a headline. For you, when you look back and you watch the episode, was there something in there that you would’ve done differently or are you pretty happy with how it ended up?

“No, I’m pretty happy with it, honestly. I think he’s sort of this rope ladder out of a cave [for Michelle]. And I think in the end, it’s not really enough, she’s in too deep at that point. There’s too much to deal with, but that’s what I love about the character. Adrian reminds me of a lot of people, a lot of queer people in my life who have been there for me, especially when I’ve been feeling on the fringes of things, or when I’m feeling different, they understand you, and that’s why I tried to bring it. I think it came through.”

It did. Adrian didn’t care what was going on, he had his own personal troubles in school, and was able to see past all that and ask Michelle.

“Yeah, you deserve to live your life as a teenager, as a normal teenager.”

Do you find yourself gravitating to roles similar to Adrian?

“ I think so. Really the empathy thing is really where I gravitated towards Adrian. I try to always approach situations with care and empathy as well as characters. Especially this project. I really wanted to come at it like that.”

Are we going to see more from him this season?

“Adrian is gone.”

If he had continue on into the series, what would you have liked to have seen?

“I would’ve liked to have seen Adrian, I would assume Adrian would be supportive during the trial or down the line in the future. So, I would’ve liked to see something like that.”

So what’s next on the horizon for you. What’s coming up in the world of John?

“Big things. I can’t talk about it right now, but be on the lookout.”

Can we get a hint, is it TV, movie?

“Some TV”

Well for my final question, is there a genre you are interested in exploring more?

“I’d say while I can still play teenagers, I’d like to do some more coming of age stuff. It’s always my favorite genre growing up. It still kind of is. I’d like to maybe write something, maybe direct something.”

Photo credit: Steve Dietl/Hulu

*This interview has been edited for length and clarity