Was it your line?
Yes, it was my line.

Some of the other cast members have referred to you as the King of Improv. Was there a lot of improv?
The first "American Pie," they let me go through all the scenes and improvise them and change them, in order to change the character a little bit. So that was great. This one I didn't so much - we did our improvising in rehearsal for the first one. This one, I asked them for the same flexibility in my scenes to be able to tweak and change, and they were gracious enough to say whatever you want, whatever works for you. I did a lot of changing in my own scenes; I would adapt them, not so much improvising as rewriting. Then when I got on the set with Jason (Biggs), we would change some things. I would suggest something, I would say "Jason, what if you said this, what if I said this" etc. If it worked, great, if it didn't, we'd try something else.

Do you feel like you are at the peak of your acting ability? In the sense that you have utter confidence - your performances are very smooth.
It's called acting. No, I don't feel - maybe I feel a bit more confident than I did 10 years ago, I guess, as a performer. But I spend too much time trying to do well. Do you know what I mean? The work process is just not something I toss off as "Well, this is a piece of cake." It's always kind of work, and I'm always thinking, I'm always trying to think of another line. I'm always trying to think is this working - more importantly, is it real? Is it honest? I'm always kind of working. I'm glad it looks that way (smooth) but there's never a minute where I sit back and say, "Boy I got that - now the next few takes are cake walk."

Did you ever come up with a backstory for this character? Like what might he have gotten himself into when he was Jim's age?
No, I'm not that good an actor. No, I didn't go that deep with it. I think in the beginning when I met with the Weitz Brothers (Chris and Paul) and I had a few concerns about the character, the way it was written in the first script given to me. The character was in a more "nudge nudge/wink wink" kind of relationship with his son. It was a touch on the sleazy side - the father. I wanted him to be a meaning well father - a father who really cared about his son and was there for support, and that's why we kind of went through these improvisations. I think that during those improvisations, the character kind of evolved in a very kind of low-key approach. There was not a lot of pre-thought that went into who is this guy going to be, and what is he going to sound like. It's just the way it came out in the improvs - almost like instantaneous. It seemed like it was working and it seemed very comfortable.

If they do "American Pie 3," would you be ready to play Jim's dad again?
When I heard about "American Pie 2," I thought it was a scary thing when you talk about sequels. I think this is a great group of people. I think the creative people involved from Adam Herz, the Weitz Brothers, and J.B. working on this one, the cast - I think it's a really bright, amazingly talented group of people. If the approach is the same on another movie, I mean I don't see this as a sequel as much as an extension of the first one. It's the same movie, the characters just kind of move on. Sequel is kind of a strange word. I just find this an extension of where we were in the first one. If we went into an "American Pie 3," it's a bizarre kind of concept to think about. But the group is so good, these kids have created characters that are so great, characters that people want to see, that I can kind of see scenarios of somebody getting married, and everyone coming back for the wedding, and where they are in another two years. It's a less scary thought to think about "American Pie 3" than it was to think about "American Pie 2."

What if they called it "American Pie 3: Jim's Dad?"
Well, you know, sounds catchy.

Does Jim's dad have a first name?
There's no name. When I first read the script, way back when I got "American Pie" and I was going through it, and of course I thought - the guy doesn't even have a name. It's like playing "the salesman." Now, I'm very pleased with the way the character has kind of hit. I haven't heard one negative thing about the character since the first movie came out. Whatever the dad has been doing, I'm kind of proud to carry the moniker of "Jim's Dad" now.

Do you see yourself in that character? It seems like so many dads.
Who you hope to be. I find myself actually picking up some things from the character. Just in terms of trying to stay on an even keel and don't overreact to things, and it's a great way to be as a parent. Of course, in real life, things just aren't the way the way they are in the movie. People do lose their tempers. I've actually tried to adapt a few personality traits from the character. And he is a great character and the reason is, I think he truly means well. And he wants to do well, and he wants to be there for his son. He wants to be there, to be totally supportive of his son. That's just such a great character trait in a father that you are kind of proud to play a guy like that. The goofiness and everything else is just stuff I like to play - that's the fertile field of comedy there - but as a character, I just think the guy's a great guy.

Do you ever get people who come up to you in public recognizing you as Jim's dad?
It happens more like, "American Pie rules!" I'm getting more of that. I was in a store on my way up here yesterday - I stopped in to get my daughter some batteries - and stopped in at a Ralphs in Malibu. It was 8 in the morning and there wasn't anybody in the store but the store clerk, and he looked over and said, "Oh my God, Jim's Dad!" And I kind of went, "Oh boy, does that sound odd." "Jim's Dad" - like "The Salesman." But it actually now is like a name. They are putting it on posters now, like Stifler's mom.

Does it make you cool with your kids?
I don't know if I'll ever be cool with my kids. It's one of those odds things. In real life, parents are really just never that cool with their kids. I think it's fun, my daughter is here hanging around the junket, but not because I'm here. It's because the kids are here, and Penelope Cruz is around the corner. I think that "American Pie" is the first project that I was involved with that was important to their friends, their peers, and it's their friends talking about it that kind of gives them a "Yeah, that's my dad" thing. But it never really comes back to me.

What happened to "Greg the Bunny" (TV series)? Everyone was so excited about that. Is it on hold for mid-season?
Yes, mid-season. I think it didn't make the Fall schedule because they were not entirely sure, and I think it's a good thing that it didn't, quite honestly. "Greg the Bunny" is an unusual show. It's got puppets, and live action, and a very adult theme to it. You might think it's kind of a kid show - it might appeal to kids because the puppets that are involved - but it's really not. By the time they finished their testing - it was testing because we'd heard that we were coming on after "The Simpsons," the old "Malcolm and the Middle" spot, Sundays at 8:30, and because it was 8:30 we were dealing with the 8-9pm "what you can do and can't do thing," and we found that all this edge that this script was supposed to have, these corners were being rounded because it's still an 8-9 thing so you can't say this, and this is a too mature thing. We were all getting nervous, with "Wait a minute, what's happening to the show here," and by the time they tested it, they realized that it was not testing for kids - that it's not a kids show - and probably should not be on an 8-9 schedule. So instead of just of putting it out there, they pulled it back to say that the show should now be geared to a more adult audience. It's going to be in the next batch of shows that are starting in September; there's going to be more emphasis in the writing about going forward with an edgier, more mature kind of show. Again, between September and January, because it is a very odd, unusual show, they can promote it very carefully for mid-season. And, they've had great success in mid-season shows coming out. Even "The Simpsons" came out in January. They will then focus solely on "Greg the Bunny" when this thing comes out in January. I think it's a great thing that, number one, we get a chance to finally deal with the show the way it's supposed to be dealt with, and the fact that they can actually have the time to promote it properly and know exactly who they are promoting it for - what the market is.

More Interviews with the Cast of "American Pie 2" - > Next Page / Return to Page 1

Photos@2001 Universal Pictures