John Early on 'Maddie's Secret' and Tucking His Penis to Play a Woman

In his directorial debut, “Maddie’s Secret,” John Early wears a lace-front wig and a fresh face of makeup to transform into the title character, a woman who works as a food influencer while concealing a debilitating eating disorder.

But it was an invisible alteration that was most difficult for Early. “I tucked for the first time in my life,” says the comedian and actor best known for “Search Party” and his sketch comedy with Kate Berlant. “My balls were on a shelf in my stomach cavity, basically.”

The realization that Early needed to tuck and tape his genitals between his legs, a common process in the world of drag, came on the first day of filming.

“Everyone said it wasn’t necessary, and then on day one we shot the running scenes. It was totally necessary,” Early says, his eyes narr