Brian is a comedy about a high-schooler dealing with extreme anxiety who decides to run for class president. While he has a loving a supportive family, his parents, Richard and Donna, have no issue poking fun and joking with him when appropriate. It has its world premiere at SXSW.

Brian stars Ben Wang, William H. Macy, Edi Patterson, Randall Park, Natalie Morales, Joshua Colley, Sophia Macy, Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Thomas Barbusca, and Jacob Moskovitz.

I talked to Randall Park, who plays Richard, and Edi Patterson, who plays Donna, about improving and working together for the first time, how Donna and Richard respond to Brian’s panic attack differently, and what it was like to take on a more dramatic role when they are known to be comedic actors.