Secret weapon. Scene-stealer. If a TV series or movie has Steve Zahn in it, rest assured the prolific actor will leave an indelible mark, from early roles in beloved films Reality Bites and That Thing You Do! to recent lauded turns in the hit shows The White Lotus (for which he landed an Emmy nomination), Silo, and Hulu’s recently returned Atlanta-shot comedy Chad Powers, in which he plays the coach of the fictional SEC football team the South Georgia Catfish. In fact, the native Minnesotan often gets cast as a Southerner (in The Righteous Gemstones and Treme, among others)—perhaps not surprising when you learn he’s lived in Midway, a small town northwest of Lexington, Kentucky, for the past twenty-two years. There, you might find him stirring burgoo for hours at parties; watching lightning bugs with his wife, the New York Times best-selling writer Robyn Peterman, on their farm; or running his own production company.
You seem to have settled in the South so comfortably.
I loved Kentucky before I even got here because of the mystique and the history. I’m a big history buff. I love the outdoors. I love to fish and shoot dove. One of the reasons I love the South is that it celebrates its eccentricity. It’s odd to think that we moved to Kentucky for more diversity and more culture. But it’s true. In Bowling Green, a hundred languages are spoken in the schools. Here, we have one of the biggest Congolese refugee [communities]. We moved here in 2004, and it’s the best thing we ever did.
Tell me about your farm in Midway.
Right now we have two retired Thoroughbreds and a couple goats. I’m an avid gardener. I love my perennials. I think it’s important to plant stuff. I don’t think I’m really that great at it, but I try really hard. The trees on my property are unbelievable. I really love sitting on a tractor. I used to bale hay, and I’d roll my own. I would sell my square bales. When I’m working, one of the first things I do when I come home, if it’s summer or spring or fall, is get on a tractor and mow my fields. It’s like forced meditation.
What do you enjoy about dove hunting?
When I moved here, I was invited to dove hunts. I love duck hunting. I grew up pheasant hunting. I went on my first dove hunt, and I couldn’t believe how fun it was. There’s always a hay wagon with coolers and sandwiches, or some people bring shrimp, and there’ll be a really cool spread, and it’s very communal. Everybody’s sitting around and catching up. Somebody rings a bell and…it’s like Midway Atoll getting attacked. And I love eating them. I breast them, put a jalapeño and some goat cheese in the middle. Wrap it in some really good bacon. Put a toothpick through it and throw it on the Green Egg and slow-cook it. Put it over rice. It’s one of my favorite things.
You also lived in New Orleans for four years while shooting Treme.
We’d shoot half the year—from October to after Jazz Fest. I love that city so much. It’s the most American city. It’s one of the last ones with the original neighborhoods that hold on to traditions that they had pre–Civil War. I don’t think I’ve ever lived in a place like that.
Chad Powers just returned for season two. What appealed to you about the show?
It’s so well written. It’s so much fun to do. To have it be not only an inspiring gig, where it’s funny and the people are great, but then the subject matter is something that you’re really into. SEC football, my God. It’s a religion, man. Right? [The showrunners are] huge Georgia fans. It’s definitely written by people who understand that world.
What other Southern-set projects are you particularly proud of?
The Righteous Gemstones is on another level. Because it’s really good at poking fun. And the only way to really poke fun is to know the culture really well. That’s why it works. Otherwise it would just be…offensive.
Do you think living in the South has helped you to portray these characters accurately?
For sure. When you don’t know, you just focus on an accent. And it’s really not that. There’s more to it. The deeper you go in the South as an observer, as an actor—I watch people. That’s my job. So I’m pretty good at it. As an outsider, it’s given me an edge, because I recognize something that [someone who grew up here] might take for granted, or it might be subconscious. But I might see it and go, “Oh, that’s unique.” I mean, Walt Goggins [his Righteous Gemstones costar]—he’s so great. You can’t imitate that…it’s way beyond just the accent.
Your production company released the Kentucky-filmed movie She Dances and is shopping You Belong Here, a docuseries with chef Ouita Michel. What are your go-to Midway dining spots?
[Michel’s] Holly Hill is a staple. The porch there is my favorite place to sit and eat. That is a special place, man. Heirloom is a great restaurant. And Serendipity Public House [run by Cait-lin Battaglia and Zahn’s son, Henry Zahn]. It’s a third space…a community house.