Jury Duty's Alan Barinholtz

The New York State Bar Association’s latest episode of its “Miranda Warnings” podcast features an interview with Alan Barinholtz talking about his newfound stardom and the success of the comedy series” Jury Duty.”
Barinholtz plays judge Alan Rosen in the 8-part series streaming on Amazon’s Freevee channel. The show examines what it’s like to be on a sequestered jury during a civil liability case. In the show, however, all of the people are actors except for one juror named Ronald Gladden. He thinks the trial is real and he is part of a documentary on what it’s like to serve on a jury.
It may surprise viewers to learn that Barinholtz is a practicing attorney in Ohio and Illinois with a career spanning 40 years in personal injury litigation. He chose to pursue law after spending a few years after college trying to make it as an actor and standup comedian. Now the 72-year-old is back at it and loving every minute of it.  He is as surprised as anyone about the success of the show, which garnered 4 Emmy nominations this month.
“In my wildest dreams, I never imagined that it would take off the way it has taken off,” he said. “For the life of me I don’t think anyone thought it would catch fire like it did. “
His sons, accomplished actors and writers Ike and Jon Barinholtz encouraged their dad to audition for “Jury Duty” when he was visiting the family in Los Angeles in late 2021. They submitted a video audition and Barinholtz secured the role a month later.
In the podcast episode, Barinholtz provides a behind the scenes perspective on what it was like to work on the production, mixing scripting with improv and endless hours of rehearsal. He tells host David Miranda about the one scene where he nearly lost his composure.
“When Todd the eccentric inventor comes in with the chair pants, I started chucking and did all I could to keep from cracking up,” he said.
Hear more about the behind the scenes work with the cast, crew of Jury Duty, and Barinholtz's perspective on the current SAG-AFTRA strike in this episode of Miranda Warnings.