Mark Duplass Suspects ‘Crappy Male Bosses’ Made Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon ‘Nice and Humble’ on ‘The Morning Show’

Mark Duplass is revealing what The Morning Show costars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon are really like on set

Duplass, 47, spoke to PEOPLE at the 2024 PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly Emmys red carpet, saying he has had all good experiences with the iconic actresses. Explaining that he enjoys working with them, he speculates that they prioritize a positive work environment because of their past experiences.

“This is where I’m supposed to say, no matter what, how nice and humble they are,” he says. “But the truth is, they really are incredible. My supposition is that somewhere, through their journey coming up in the 90s, when they were just actresses, they probably had some crappy male bosses that were around, and they made a decision, like, ‘When I’m the boss, I’m gonna make this set the best set it can be.’”

He continues: “‘Inclusive of everybody, and I’m gonna make sure the writers team writes great roles, supporting cast, show up to the award shows, and they do it. They really do it.”

The filmmaker and actor also talked about The Morning Show’s success in this year’s Emmy nominations, bringing in 16 total. 

“I’ll be honest, I’m real thankful that Succession is over, because that made some room for us that was really good,” he jokes. “And I think that the supporting actress category, for me, is the real point of pride. We have four nominations in that category.”

Listing Holland Taylor, who has “been doing incredible work for 50 years,” and Nicole Beharie, who is relatively new to TV acting, Duplass says he is glad the category is “opening up” for all of the cast members. Greta Lee and Karen Pittman from the Apple TV+ series are also nominated. Rounding out the category are Elizabeth Debicki and Lesley Manville from The Crown, and Christine Baranski from The Gilded Age.

Duplass was nominated for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series for his role as Chip Black.

In February, ahead of the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards, The League alum told PEOPLE that there is one part of TV news he knows he portrays correctly on The Morning Show: stress eating.

“The producers, they will tell you, if you look closely in The Morning Show, like I’ve got, little mustard stains on my sleeves like little ketchup on the lapel,” he said. “It’s just … you only have two minutes to eat, and you have to wolf it down.”

“And that’s your only chance for any sort of emotional calm, is carbs,” he added. “That’s what I’ve been told. They’re like, ‘You guys got the stress eating down.’ In this way, The Morning Show is true to life.”

See PEOPLE’s full coverage of the 76th annual Primetime Emmy Awards as they’re broadcasting live on ABC from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.