Daryl J. Johnson doesn’t play it safe. Not in real life (he once chased bourbon to the Woodford Reserve) and certainly not in Self Reliance, Jake Johnson’s genre-warping directorial debut now streaming on Hulu. In a film that mixes loneliness, paranoia, reality-TV satire, and genuine heart, Daryl shows up as a comedic highlight—Jake’s weary brother-in-law, a grounded foil in an otherwise off-the-rails premise.
“I read the whole thing cover to cover,” he says. “That never happens.” Most scripts, he admits, get the skim treatment—skip to his part, check the jokes, move on. But Jake Johnson’s story of a man offered $1 million to survive a month-long manhunt (on a live-streamed dark-web game) was too weird, too funny, and too surprisingly human to ignore. “It’s one of the most unique things I’ve read,” he says. “And I just really wanted to be a part of it.”
Daryl wasn’t even auditioning. Jake saw him on Drunk History—which, fun fact, apparently has more industry pull than you think—and called him directly. “My friend was like, ‘You’re about to get a call from a number you don’t know. Answer it.’ And sure enough, it was Jake. I was like, ‘My brother!’”
The two hit it off, which is lucky, because one of the film’s standout scenes has them sharing... well, let’s call it a moment of extreme bathroom intimacy. “He told me about that scene early,” Daryl laughs. “But I was on Punk’d. I’ve run down the street naked chasing Miley Cyrus. A toilet scene? That’s nothing.”
Still, there’s craft in the chaos. “Jake’s only direction was: keep it real, keep it grounded,” he says. “It doesn’t have to be ridiculous. Just act like it’s your actual life. And I was like—cool, I already spend a lot of time on the toilet.”
That lived-in honesty defines Self Reliance, even when the plot veers into simulated assassins and conspiratorial absurdity. Beneath the madness is a portrait of a lonely man trying to reconnect—with others, with himself, and maybe with some kind of purpose. “Coming out of the pandemic, a lot of us felt that,” Daryl says. “That loneliness. That search for something that feels real.”
Would he ever play the game himself? “For a million dollars?” he laughs. “That’s not enough. I need at least 100 million. With today’s inflation, a million dollars is like winning a raffle at Wendy’s.”
And even if Andy Samberg himself pulled up in the limo (as he does in the movie)? “Still not sure I’d trust it. He’s too nice. That’s how serial killers operate.”
But that balance—laughing while side-eyeing reality—is what makes Daryl's performance work so well. Whether it’s bantering with Jake or texting Mary Holland’s real-life husband to say, “She’s my wife now,” Daryl brings a rare mix of comic timing and emotional intelligence.
It helps that he comes from a long line of creatives. “My brother was a stand-up. My sister’s a writer. Another brother’s a rapper,” he says. “We’re like the Wayans family. Just not discovered yet.”
Well, that discovery may be happening now. Daryl’s hilarious, heartfelt turn in Self Reliance feels like the start of something bigger. And he’s ready—just maybe not for any more limo invitations.
Watch the interview above and then check out the trailer below.
