I found it interesting that, given the subject matter, August was set in New York instead of California. Do you know if there was ever any thought given to setting it in California because of the dot.coms?
“I think a lot of people have asked that. I think that there is certainly another story that happened in California, but I think this one is a very New York story and there was a huge dot.com boom in New York as well. It's just a very different story and they wanted to tie in the historical aspect of 9/11 kind of looming around the corner as well. But also Wall Street is there; there is a lot of influence with the Wall Streeters and how they tried to kind of co-opt the dot.com boom. And in many ways they were complicit in over-blowing the whole thing. Just like that scene with Josh [Hartnett] and the guy in the bar who's obviously just a Wall Streeter that's kind of co-opted the dot.com. It's an interesting cultural clash that happened in New York that wasn't really as much on the west coast.”
You’ve been going back and forth between film and television. Are you ready for another season on Tell Me You Love Me?
“Yeah. We're starting in August and it will be on the air in January.”
Do you like doing television?
“Yeah, it's great. You know with HBO it's not as grueling as if I was on Lost or something, because it's just 10 episodes a season whereas on a regular network show, if it's successful, you're doing 22, which is insane.”
Are you getting different sorts of offers since starring in Tell Me You Love Me? Has it changed how people look at you?
“Yeah. Well, offers period is a new thing for me.”
Seriously?
“Oh sure. I still have to audition for almost everything, but every once in a while something just comes through and I'm like, ‘Wait, really?’ I'm still always surprised if someone actually knows who I am. It's really strange just because after 15 years, you just get used to being anonymous and having to kind of earn your way into every room. So it's always strange when someone even has a vague idea of who you are. Still most people don't, don't get me wrong, but every once in a while, you know, there's some recognition. It's very strange. I mean I'm very far down on the very low rung on the ladder. But it's higher than it used to be.”
And working in Judd Apatow movies also has to help, right?
“Oh yeah, yeah. They're really nice guys too, so it's a real pleasure.”
Do you feel like part of the Apatow pack now?
“Oh, I don't know. I'm just going to say no just because it would be presumptuous of me to even think that way. I'm flattered to have been involved a couple of times and they're all really cool. It's always nice to see everybody.”
And you’ve also stepped into the executive producer role with Passenger Side. When did you get into producing?
“Well, I made a movie with Matt Bissonnette called Who Loves the Sun. It was a Canadian movie which is one of my favorite things I've done, and we became good buddies. He had this script and I'm really interested in what's involved in getting movies going, just like anyone is. But this was an opportunity to help out, be involved in casting. It was fun because I learned that for every hour an actor is on set there is 35 hours of work that someone else put into providing that hour. So it was a very good lesson. It’s a lot of work. It's a really small movie that I think is going to be really good.”
Is producing something that you'll do more of in the future?
“I would hope so. I mean, I enjoyed it and I just enjoy making movies whether I'm acting or the little tiny experience I had with producing. It was a lot of fun, a real learning experience.”
