RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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J ack Innanen remembers it like it was yesterday — the lightning bolt moment that made him change his life. It was shit.
It was 2019 and the Canadian native, who grew up in a town roughly an hour outside of Toronto, was attending the University of Toronto for astrophysics. After returning from a family trip to Cancun, Innanen was studying at the school's dark, brutalist library. It was below freezing. Snowdrifts felt waist deep. And a man walked in and poured a bucket of feces on a student unprompted.
"I was like, 'I gotta get the fuck out of here,'" Innanen, 27, recalls. "What do you mean [school] sucks and I could get shit dumped on me? I just remember going, 'There's more to life than Robarts Library and problem sets.' I can do more."
Innanen, 27, has come a long way from that despondent life as a STEM student. With 3.3 million followers on his main TikTok page and 1.2 million on his highly beloved spam account, Innanen is best known online for his videos mocking Gen-Z's most annoying, insufferable men — often with his signature surrealist and fourth-wall-breaking twist. It's not uncommon to find comment sections in stitches over videos of Innanen satirizing the trappings of "performative men," trying to shove a copy of Joan Didion's The White Album into a pair of selvedge denim with too-small pockets or attempting to lure NYC art baddies into a date with an iced matcha latte and a neo-feminist screenplay.
But most people might recognize Innanen as the undeniable breakout star of Adults , a half-hour ensemble FX sitcom created by former- Tonight Show writers Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw and executive produced by Big Mouth comedian Nick Kroll. The show follows a group of twenty-somethings attempting to manage the chaos of life while sharing a house in Queens, New York. Innanen stuns as Paul Baker — full name all the time — a Canadian newcomer to the group who becomes integral to his friends' emotional processing all while operating as the resident Gen-Z eye candy. The role — think sexually fluid hunk with a 'stache and a dresser full of crop tops — has earned Innanen the distinct internet honor of "white boy of the month" and a new round of devoted fans who just can't get over that face. Editor’s picks The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century
With the release of Adults ' highly anticipated second season on Aug. 27, Innanen has reached the point in his career where people on the street are more interested in his TV roles than his short form videos. It's a roundabout kind of fame that's dominating the entertainment industry, one where stars master millions of views per day and then have to tackle the infinitely harder task — tens of thousands consistent viewers every week. But with fame on his doorstep, Innanen seems to be less focused on fighting for projects and more on setting up firm boundaries between his work and personal life. Telling the world every thought and creative whim built him a following. Now, Innanen's on a mission to convince his followers the hottest thing he can possibly do is shut the fuck up.
"My leading mantra in life is 'To each, their own,'' Innanen tells me. "I don't like being perceived, let alone discussed. So the less I say on a lot, the better. Everyone should have their own things that are just for them."
IN ORDER TO MAKE FUN OF a character, you have to understand him. Which is why on a deceptively warm day in New York City's Seaport District, Innanen and I trawl through the shelves of McNally Jackson bookstore for our favorites. There's a pensive look on his face as he scans the spines and a trendy Loewe bag in his left hand. It's all the hallmarks of a performative male crawl — the only thing we're missing is the matcha. Related Content 'Wicker' Has the Internet Thirsting: These BookTok-Favorites Will Hold You Over Until Its Theatrical Release When Magic Turns Into Mayhem: Former Cast Members Speak Out About Disney Adults What the Hell Is Chanty Beluga? 'Heated Rivalry' Blu-ray Box Set Comes With ‘18+’ Label and NSFW Poster in VHS-Inspired Package
"Wait, we're getting close to the book I was going to show you," Innanen says, thumb hovering for a moment before landing decisively on the sci-fi epic Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. He then moves with ease through the nonfiction section, pointing out personal favorites and books that have stumped him. "I read bizarrely," he says, mouth quirked with a barely restrained smile. "I read Napoleon's biography and start not understanding because I need some pre-cursory knowledge on the French Revolution. Then I'll buy French Revolution books and then I'll start reading on the history of Paris. I just get too deep." His internet habits are equally diverse. "Reels has been my drug of choice recently. I'm a junkie," he admits, voice mock-conspiratorial. "TikTok's more polished and produced. My Reels is a 70-year-old man accidentally recording himself to like a Megan Thee Stallion song."
Let's be upfront about it. It's doubtful Innanen would have gotten this far in his career if he wasn't so hot — something Innanen himself thinks about. "I definitely wouldn't have gotten Paul Baker if I [wasn't] conventionally attractive," he says. "But not too handsome, that's where I live.
I went for this new season of White Lotus and the guy that got the role was the most classic Hollywood handsome. I'm like, 'Oh yeah, I'm a little boy.' Of course, it wasn't me."
Many of his TikToks, whether they're sketches or quick bits, rely on this level of self-awareness and self-deprecating humor. Innanen's most popular videos make toxic masculinity and rigid political ideologies the butt of the joke, often followed immediately by quippy shirtless videos. The underlying and often reiterated vibe is that this dude respects women and works out. It's no wonder that Innanen falls into the role of Paul Baker...
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