‘The Righteous Gemstones’: Adam Devine on His Big Fight With John Goodman

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 2, Episode 4 of The Righteous Gemstones, “As To How They Might Destroy Him.”]

The Righteous Gemstones knows a thing or two about familial discord, but its latest installment, “As To How They Might Destroy Him,” takes the drama to another level.

At the over-the-top baptism of Judy’s (Edi Patterson) husband BJ (Tim Baltz), youngest Gemstone, Kelvin (Adam Devine) had a bone to pick with patriarch Eli (John Goodman). But, it didn’t take long for his fight against the situation to backfire.

After a flying piece of cake at the party spurns Eli’s exit from the shindig, Kelvin chases after to confront his father about denying access to the Gemstone jet for travel to the Judean Desert in Israel with his followers. Embarrassed in front of his men, Kelvin does his best to stand up for himself, but Eli sees his son as nothing but ridiculous.

(Credit: HBO)

“He’s lost it a little bit,” Devine admits of his character who oversees the uber buff pack of men known as the God Squad. “He loses the respect of his father. They have a falling out and then it gets pretty serious between Eli and Kelvin this season,” the actor further teases. Devine also says it’s been “really fun” getting to explore that side of Kelvin and Eli’s father-son relationship.

The battle in the episode escalates when Kelvin claims Eli is a false profit and the pair get into a wrestling match. “John’s a big guy,” Devine says, noting Goodman’s lofty stature. “John could throw me through a wall.”

“So he is just kind of tossing me around,” Devine recalls, “and I’m like, ‘Oh, I could legit get hurt by this 65-year-old man.'” Ultimately, the actor looks back on the moment as a great acting experience. “Beyond being scared for my life, it was just awesome getting to do so many scenes with him. He’s an acting hero of mine.”

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In the end, Kelvin suffers for his comments when Eli pulls an old move from his past, that viewers were clued into at the beginning of the season, breaking his son’s thumbs in front of the party guests and God Squad.

“Getting to be in scenes that were intense, grounded, and real about a father and son coming to terms with their relationship, was fun for me,” Devine shares. “I’m used to doing stuff like the God Squad, which is big and physical and silly, but I don’t have a lot of opportunities to do the more grounded, real stuff like I got to do to an extent with John.”

The actor promises even more for Eli and Kelvin moving forward as he teases when it comes to real and grounded situations for the father and son, there is “more in the episodes that you haven’t even seen yet.” Stay tuned for more between the father and son as The Righteous Gemstones‘ second season continues on HBO.

The Righteous Gemstones, Season 2, Sundays, 10/9c, HBO