[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Atlanta, Season 4 Episode 5, “Work Ethic!”]
Atlanta’s final season continues its march towards the end with “Work Ethic!,” in which Van (Zazie Beetz) finds herself as well as her daughter Lottie (Austin Elle Fisher) sucked into the world of a TV mega-producer. Van initially arrives at a studio lot as a day player on a sitcom, but after an outburst from Lottie attracts the attention of the seemingly omniscient Kirkwood Chocolate (who communicates with his underlings strictly through a PA system), Van finds herself fighting to locate her daughter in the chaos of Kirkwood’s many, many ongoing productions.
In classic Atlanta fashion, Van’s quest to find Lottie grows increasingly surreal and violent, until she eventually is able to confront Kirkwood face to face — a heavy-set, bald, goateed figure hiding in a control room in his robe and eating grits out of a mug. “You’re a con man,” Van realizes. “You just make unrelatable shit that takes advantage of the people you say you’re trying to help!” Reunited with Lottie, Van pulls her away from “Mr. Chocolate’s” world, despite Lottie’s protestations.
“I shall have her!” Kirkland yells as they leave. “She can’t be not-eighteen forever!”
You might have noticed that no mention has been made yet as to who plays Kirkwood Chocolate. And that’s because when asked for comment as to who’s behind the role, an FX representative shared the official cast list for the episode, which credits the role of Kirkwood Chocolate as being played by… Kirkwood Chocolate.
So that’s not a confirmation that the role was played by an unrecognizable Donald Glover, who also directed “Work Ethic!” But there’s precedent for Glover taking on uncredited roles in Atlanta, specifically the titular role in Season 2’s “Teddy Perkins.” And Glover’s visual transformation for Teddy Perkins was arguably even more extreme than his Kirkland persona, as the character’s skin condition required blazingly pale make-up. Like Kirkwood, though, the credits read “Teddy Perkins as himself.”
Atlanta (FX)