MR. JEALOUSY: INTERVIEW WITH ERIC STOLTZ

A Cineman Syndicate feature

MR. JEALOUSY: INTERVIEW WITH ERIC STOLTZ
|* By Prairie Miller *

Playing a man who, like just about everybody else, can't help wondering about his girlfriend's love life before they met, Eric Stoltz is a nervous wreck when he's not just plain funny in Noah Baumbach's Mr. Jealousy. Stoltz first made his mark in movies as the disabled kid in Mask who gets to have a mom otherwise known as Cher. The soft spoken actor with a nonstop sense of humor talked about driving Annabella Sciorra completely nuts in Mr. Jealousy, as his very unfortunate love interest.

PRAIRIE MILLER: Why was Mr. Jealousy the movie for you?

ERIC STOLTZ: Well, I read the script, and it made me laugh. And it's so rare to not only want to finish reading a script - because most scripts are dreadful - but that I actually laughed out loud, to the point where I was disturbing the people around me. So I thought to do this film would be fun.

PM: And what connected you to your character Lester?

ES: What I liked about all the characters in Mr. Jealousy, is that they are the antithesis of the Gen X stereotypical young people in film. They are people who care, who are smart, who are articulate, who have careers and who fall in love. And yet they are still capable of acting like complete idiots. Which I find enormously attractive.

PM: Are you anything like Lester in real life?

ES: I'd have to say that my character in the film is a much better looking man than I am in real life!...I'm of the mind that any role you play as an actor really is a side of yourself. And it's just a question of bringing it out and getting in touch with it. I think we are capable of being all kinds of people, in life and in film. So naturally I relate to every role I play.

PM: So Eric, have you ever gotten to the point where you're so jealous that you would act like Lester?

ES: I have gotten to the point where I've been so jealous that I've acted in the most embarrasssing, degrading, humiliating ways. And I'm not about to tell you any of it! Let's just leave it at that. I think that everyone who's been in love has done really stupid things. That's what's wonderful about the film, is that you see this and think, of God, I've done something like that. And yet you're able to laugh at it.

PM: You seem pretty upbeat about Mr. Jealousy. What was special for you about this movie?

ES: Everyone knows you have to have jobs to pay some bills. But every once in awhile you get a job where everything clicks, you can't wait to go to work, and the time flies right by you. And this was one of those jobs.

PM: What's the high of being an actor?

ES: I don't know, the feeling that I get in my stomach. I guess it's that butterflies in your stomach kind of feeling. It's like what I would imagine going on a tightrope would be. You feel a little bit scared, a little bit high and a little bit excited. It's a fun life.

PM: Now, I know you're one of those refugees from Pulp Fiction. How about contrasting for me the directing styles of Tarantino and Noah Baumbach.

ES: [Much laughter] Well...Noah's much quieter. I can't say that he's any less passionate about film. I think both those directors are passionate film lovers, and I think that comes across in their films.

It also makes you want to work with them, because the most important thing is the work. It's not about, you know, the motor homes, or the money involved, or whether the film will be an acute hit or not. It's about 'we're making a movie!' That is the greatest feeling in the world. And when your boss has that kind of energy and passion for it, you can't help but get caught up in it.

PM: What's your favorite moment in Mr. Jealousy?

ES: Hmm...It's only a brief scene, where Annabella and I are walking along the park at dusk. My arm is around her and she says, let's not have sex now, let's just have the suggestion of it, and we kind of laugh. To me, that really captured our relationship.

PM: I'm stepping back in time a little bit now. What was it like starring opposite Cher in Mask?

ES: Wow...It was great working with Cher. Actually, I get asked that question a lot because Cher is a much wondered about icon. And I gotta say, she was a delight to work with. An absolute delight. I mean, when you see Cher, that's what she's like. She says what she thinks. She's honest, she's straightforward, and she's talented. And I think people respond to that. I certainly did.

PM: Do you guys still keep in touch?

ES: No, not really. I saw her at the Academy Awards, and we spoke briefly. I couldn't believe her son is all grown up. When we were doing Mask, he was about five. Now he's a man.

But I rarely find it possible to really keep up with people that I've worked with. We're always traveling. We're migrant workers, and we're always on different schedules. And there's a weird sort of understanding between those of us who do this kind of work, that when you're in town you can have a meal, and that's great. But if you're working, there's not a chance that you're going to be able to catch up. It's a strange life.

PM: What was it like getting romantic on screen with Annabella?

ES: It was one of those lucky experiences, for me anyway. We clicked. I had a little crush on her, which always helps. And we both cared about the film. That's always the best way to be working.

PM: I heard a rumor that you were originally in Back To The Future.

ES: Yes, it's true! You're really stuck in the eighties, aren't you?

PM: Could be...Well, what happened?

ES: I was fired!

PM: Really?

ES: Yeah.

PM: What for?

ES: The director said that he wanted more of a wacky kind of comedy, and I was giving him 'thoughtful' comedy.

PM: Let's get back to the whole jealousy issue. What would you do if you had a lover who was jealous like your character?

ES: Boy, I keep looking for a relationship like that. I want someone to be jealous. I would love to be the object of someone's jealous obsession. But sadly, it's yet to happen to me.

PM: Why would you want that?

ES: I think it would be fun. I think it would be sort of powerful. I think it'd be neat!

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