The first thing that many people think of when they hear
Anna Faris’ name is her work in often ridiculous and entertaining comedies such
as “The Hot Chick”, “The House Bunny”, and of course, the “Scary Movie” series,
which put her on the map. In between the rated R humor and the bizarre
characters, she has done television (“Friends”), supporting roles in
award-winning indies (“Lost in Translation” and “Brokeback Mountain”) and conventional
romantic comedies (including last year’s “What’s Your Number?”)
My all-time
favorite role of hers is the overwhelmed stoner Jane in the underappreciated
“Smiley Face”, which has to be one of the most impressive comic performances of
the 2000s. A tale of a aimless woman who tries to replace the pot that her roommate had used for baking treats that goes from humorous to beyond bizarre, Faris was not afraid to go all out for this role. (Highlights include attending an audition while still really high and being stuck on a Ferris wheel.) This movie also includes John Krasinski, Adam Brody, John Cho, with
pre-“Glee” Jamya Mays and Jane Lynch. Go rent this movie when you get the chance.
DP: Did you have any reservations about working on his
movie, given Cohen’s controversial reputation in comedy?
Faris: I feel like I’ve been a
part of so many offensive comedies that I’m a little numb to it. I don’t think I ever really get offended, but
every time I take a role, I start worrying about my mom and what she’s going to
think because she’s pretty conservative.
She always wants me to play someone like Amelia Earhart. And I’m like, ‘oh,
is this the kind of thing that I have to tell her to avoid or not?’
And then, I guess it didn’t
occur to me at the time, but Sasha, when we were like one day during shooting,
he mentioned that he had like some fatwas
against him, or something along those lines.
And I would say, ‘Wait, what?’
And he was like, ‘Yes, there’s all these like jihadists that are really
upset with him for Borat and Bruno.’ And then it occurred to me, like, ‘Wait a
minute, this could potentially be like a kind of a dangerous project to be a
part of.’ But so far, we’re all still here.
The DePaulia: If you could show this movie to one person in
the world and only that one person, who would it be and why?
Anna Faris: Oh, if I could show
it to one person and why, I think I have to go with Keenan Ivory Wayans. He is very dear to my heart. He gave me my first break in “Scary
Movie.” And I know that he would really
appreciate it– he loves humor that offends everybody equally. So I would love to – I’d love for him to see
this. I’d love to be in the screening
room as he watched it.
DP: This is Sasha Baron Cohen’s
first movie with the use of a script. Were you guys still able to improvise on
set or did you guys stick to the script all the way through?
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| Faris in a scene from "The Dictator", in theatres May 16 |
Faris: No, it was very, very loose. It was a little bit of a learning curve for
me. It was unlike pretty much any
filming like process I had ever gone through before. I really didn’t know where a scene was going
to go. We had a script and we would do
the scripted version a couple of times.
And then, the writers and Sasha would collaborate. And then, next thing you know, you would be
headed in a completely different direction. So it forced you to really stay on
your toes, which was hard, but also, an exciting challenge for an actor.
DP: What is your favorite part of
performing comedy?
Faris: It’s made me be able to
laugh at myself a lot easier. I think I used to take myself very seriously.
There’s also the reward of when you sneak into a theater, which I rarely do,
because it just scares me so much. But when
I do, I hear other people laughing at the movie. It feels amazing. It’s amazing
to give people joy and to be a part of a hugely challenging process as well.
DP: What do you look for when you
are looking at roles?
Faris: I look for interesting
characters. For “The Dictator”, I was really excited to work with Sasha. I had
been such a fan of this for a long time, so it was a thrill to be involved in
one of his movies. I feel really fortunate that I’ve been able to do a variety
of different characters, and I hope that continues.
DP: I have an odd question. If
you and your husband (Chris Pratt, or Andy on “Parks and Recreation”) start a
family, would you ever consider being more selective in your roles for the sake
of your (theoretical) children? Or would you continue to choose roles like
Cindy Campbell (“Scary Movie”) or Jane (“Smiley Face”)?
Faris: I don’t think I would ever
want to. I know it sounds awful, but I don’t think I’d ever want to choose my
roles for the sake of my children. I
mean, I guess if there’s an inappropriate movie, maybe I don’t let them see it.
I think that I had to have that
conversation with my mom a little while back.
I told her, “I’m not going to make my movie choices because I’m worried
about what you’ll think”, which I still am worried about what she thinks, but I
just had to vocalize that.
DP: What was the strangest thing
you had to do for a movie?
Faris: For “The Dictator,” I had
to grow up my arm pit hair, which was a new experience for me. And I was very
naïve about it. They asked me if I would do it, because they said they could
put some hair – glue some hair on me.
And I was like, no, no, no, I’ll totally do it.
And I was sort of thinking that
maybe (the hair) would grow kind of thin and wispy, and maybe even kind of
cute. But that was not the case. It was dark and thick. It defined my whole
summer. No tank tops, no swimsuits, I couldn’t hail a cab. At a party, if I’d
had a drink or two, I would lift my shirt and show off my arm pit hair. And it made people gag. It was amazing. #
The Dictator, starring Sasha Baron Cohen and Anna Faris, hits theatres May 16.
