To know Lessons in Chemistry is to love its most beloved character, Six-Thirty.
Apple TV Plus had its work cut out for itself in finding actors to bring to life the characters Bonnie Garmus so vividly crafted in her New York Times bestselling hit novel. How accurately the studio cast Elizabeth Zott, Calvin Evans, and the rest of the ensemble could make or break the show (thankfully, it did a good job), but how well they brought Six-Thirty to the screen could make or break fans’ hearts.
Both on the page and the screen, Six-Thirty is a vital member of the Evans/Zott household. Starting as the grungy stray Elizabeth finds scrounging through a trashcan, he becomes more of a guardian angel over time than simply a dog. With a vocabulary to rival some tiny humans, certain sections of the book are often preluded with Six-Thirty’s inner monologue, granting us readers insight into the situation as effectively as an omnipotent narrator.
Obviously, that would require a bit of finesse in the adaptation process, as Six-Thirty’s thoughts are the only bit of magical realism in an otherwise grounded literary novel. Like the book, the show opted to bring Six-Thirty’s voice to life, but to prevent it from becoming amateurish, it would require a talented actor to lend his voice to the role.
The actor who voices Six-Thirty in Lessons in Chemistry
Looking at B.J. Novak’s career, you probably wouldn’t think he’d eventually voice the character of a dog in a 1950s feminist drama about chemistry and cooking. Best known for playing Ryan Howard in The Office, Novak — whose full name is Benjamin Joseph Manaly Novak — has earned a reputation for his comedy, which he’s flexed quite prolifically in shows such as Community, The Mindy Project, and Knocked Up.
But if you stop to look at his filmography, you’ll see that Novak also has a history of lending his voice to animated projects, including Arthur, The Smurfs, and now Lessons in Chemistry. Beyond that, he’s cushioned his comedy with plenty of drama roles like The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Saving Mr. Banks, and most recently, Vengence, which he also directed.
All that to say, Novak found a way to bring the precise combination of levity and heart to Six-Thirty. His voice isn’t as deep as the dog Shadow in Homeward Bound, voiced by the legend Don Ameche, but it carries a similar honeysuckle smoothness that dogs tend to possess in movies. It’s the kind of voice that can immediately make you cry if played over an emotional scene with the right music.
Six-Thirty isn’t the star of Lessons in Chemistry, but he is the heart, and like the character, BJ Novak managed to steal every scene he’s in.