John Krasinski may be best known for his role on TV’s The Office, but the appealing actor makes his cinematic directorial debut with an engaging adaptation of David Foster Wallace’s Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. The comedy-drama features Sara (Julianne Nicholson) as a graduate student interviewing various guys about their bad behavior as a way of coping with her breakup with Ryan (Krasinski). The actor-director chatted with Aroundphilly.com about his film and male/female relationships.
GK: What makes a man hideous?
JK: Wow! I think there are plenty of things. The big irony of the title is that none of the guys are hideous. These guys are insecure and vulnerable. They are protective of the things they fear. One of my favorite parts is how they are cordial/charming they are at beginning of interview—putting their best foot forward—and then they come to realizations and feel embarrassed and insecure, and their undoing happens. They can say pretty outrageous stuff, but it stems from insecurity. I play the only hideous character—he knows what he is doing is wrong and he continue to do it.
GK: How did you inform the character you play?
JK: They say with all great work, the answers are in the writing, and that’s the case here. David [Foster Wallace] wrote this character who was incredibly smart and academically [Sara’s] equal. But for me [the key] was to not overplay any one side. Keep him calm, so he can win the discussion/battle. He’s too overzealous and selfish and manipulative and starts unwinding himself.
GK: What is your connection to this material?
JK: Without being overly sentimental, it was when I decided to be an actor. I did a reading [from Brief Interviews] and it was so provocative and polarizing. It was incredibly moving, and it had a huge impact on me. To read material that is so honest and jarring was incredibly insightful. It was something about David Foster Wallace’s perspective—he presents this world with an incredible power of observation. He writes in a way that makes you look at things from a few degrees to the right or the left. I found that pretty awesome.
GK: The style of the film uses cinematic flourishes from jump cut editing, to playing with sound and magical realist moments that dramatize the speeches. How did you develop your visual approach to the material?
JK: The material is completely nonlinear in the book, which was a problem. In my creation of the interviews, it was obvious a woman [interviewer]. The editing was my way to decide to break all the rules so the audience could take it in as a series of experiences. They can like some, not others. I wanted to break boundaries and [expectations]. Because of how fragmented the book is, the linear structure couldn’t hold up.
GK: What about casting the film? Did you choose to work with friends?
JK: At the time, I didn’t know any of the [actors]. I started writing the script while I was still waiting tables, and didn’t have the rights yet. I don’t recommend doing that! I had all those people—Ben Shenkman, Chris Meloni—in mind when I wrote the script from seeing them on stage or screen. I knew they would be able to do such incredible work with the parts. The difficult part was pitching it to them.
GK: Julianne Nicholson is terrific, and she’s excellent at listening/reacting. How did you work with her on the character/her performance?
JK: I think she gives one of the most courageous performances in the film. How she emotes so honestly… What we talked about were her initial feelings, and how she was representing the only woman character—not just in her personal search, but also her academic one.
GK: So, I’ll ask the some of the questions the film asks: “What do today’s women want?" Or what do you think they want?
JK: I have no idea. Hopefully the movie does a good job of saying. There’s no way to be sure.
GK: Before I continue, are you in a relationship?
JK: I am. I just got engaged [to Emily Blunt]. I’m very much one of the lucky ones. She challenges me to be a better person.
GK: Congrats! But back to the film. It seems many of the men in the film are ashamed. Are you a passionate male? What are your desires/fears?
JK: I hope I’m a passionate guy. This film put that to the test. I was passionate about the book, and I find that I’m a pretty open guy, and dealing with things head on, or hold grudges or bad feelings. I love talking things through. I’m open/honest.
GK: Do you think men fear smart, beautiful women as the film suggests?
JK: [Laughs]. I hope not. They are the best kind, I think. It’s not that they fear them—it’s the male insecurity that protects rather than opens up. It’s male thing to put up defenses when they feel vulnerable.
GK: You starred in Away We Go, which was co-written by Dave Eggers, and now you are adapting David Foster Wallace. What do you like to read?
JK: I’m a big classics guy. I’ve been reading and reading A Moveable Feast, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Catcher in the Rye. I also love writers like David Foster Wallace, Dave Eggers, and Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections—people who break boundaries and force you to see world in a different way.
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men opens Friday, November 13, at the Ritz at the Bourse. Shows at 1:30, 3:30, 5:25, 7:20, 9:30
AroundPhilly Staff
