In 'Joe vs. Carole,' John Cameron Mitchell Plays Joe Exotic With Empathy

To land the role of Joe Exotic in Peacock’s “Joe vs. Carole,” John Cameron Mitchell did something he hadn’t done for 25 years: audition via self-tape.

That time-honored process is, of course, rare among seasoned actors, and Mitchell is hardly a novice thespian. He created the title character in the rock musical “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” later reprising the role to great acclaim in the film adaptation, which he also directed. Well-received stints on “Girls,” “The Good Fight” and “Shrill,” among other hit television series, have cemented his status as a queer icon.

Still, playing Exotic — a former Oklahoma zookeeper turned unlikely public figure — is a major step up for Mitchell as a screen performer, so he was determined to rise to the occasion with extra effort.

“It’s an actor’s feast to play a character this complicated,” he told HuffPost. “I don’t see him as a villain. I see a very complex person who did terrible things and good things. This is what you want as an actor, to sink your teeth into something like this.”

The characters in “Joe vs. Carole,” which premiered Thursday on Peacock, will be instantly recognizable to many viewers worldwide. The eight-episode series is based on Wondery’s podcast of the same name and depicts the real-life, decadelong rivalry between Exotic and big-cat enthusiast Carole Baskin (played by Kate McKinnon).

In 2019, Exotic — whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage — was convicted of attempting to hire a hitman to murder Baskin as well as federal wildlife violations. He’s now serving a 21-year prison sentence.

The case became a source of global fascination following the release of Netflix’s docuseries “Tiger King” in March 2020, when much of the world was placed under lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

One person who didn’t binge-watch “Tiger King” in its entirety, however, was Mitchell.

“I had to turn it off,” he said. “I’m not a ‘Real Housewives’ kind of person, and it didn’t seem to be really interested in people’s inner lives. It was more like, ‘Here’s another crazy person.’ I need empathy.”

By comparison, Mitchell said he was engrossed by Etan Frankel’s “Joe vs. Carole” script, particularly because it delved deeper into Exotic’s motivations and sexuality than its Netflix predecessor. It also places a greater emphasis on supporting characters, played by the likes of Kyle MacLachlan and Dean Winters, among others.

“There’s one tape of him in the zoo in the late 1990s … before he washed away any vulnerability in his public image,” said Mitchell, who is nonbinary. “He’s quite vulnerable and he has a lisp. He’s a little gay boy who loves his animals. I was like, ‘That’s the kid that’s inside the tough exterior that he’s set up. Don’t lose sight of him.’”

“We’re not shying away from Joe’s relationships, the homophobia he dealt with, or the husband [Brian Rhyne] he was with for 17 years who died of AIDS,” he added. “We’re not stinting on the campy absurdity as well, but we find out where he came from.”

Of course, “Joe vs. Carole” is being released a full two years after “Tiger King.” As some early reviews have pointed out, that’s a veritable eternity in the COVID-19 era, and whether viewers are nostalgic enough for Baskin and Exotic’s shenanigans for their story to pack the same punch in 2022 remains to be seen. Last year, Amazon scrapped plans for a scripted series that was set to star Nicolas Cage as Exotic, purportedly because producers felt interest in the narrative had receded.

Mitchell, for his part, believes viewers who are willing to look beyond the “exploitative” aspects of Exotic’s story will find much to enjoy in “Joe vs. Carole.”

“This corrects a lot of the simplicity and sensationalism of the docuseries,” he said. “If you care about empathy — if you just don’t want to be a rubbernecker watching the accident on the road called America — watch this. It’s a cautionary tale, but it’s also a bit of a tragedy.”

“Joe vs. Carole” is now streaming on Peacock. Watch the trailer below.