At the World Premiere of "Dodgeball," Justin Long was so talkative it took him a lot longer than any other cast member to make his way down the red carpet. Animated and enthusiastic, Long probably would have been willing to continue answering my questions while the movie screened without him, had there not been a publicist close by 'gently' prodding him into moving along.
INTERVIEW WITH JUSTIN LONG:
How tough was this role?
I get slammed with balls. My acting teacher from college is going to be very proud. All their Stanislawski training is really paying off.
How long did it take for you to recover?
It took me awhile. I hate to say it but I literally had dodgeball injuries.
Why the sport of dodgeball?
It’s just one of those things. There’s a dodgeball tournament going on and we need to raise $50,000 and the winner of the dodgeball tournament gets $50,000, so why not play dodgeball?
What was your worst sports experience as a child?
As a child? I can tell you this for sure, it was when I played baseball in high school and I was in the outfield and I would literally pray to God – I’m not joking, it would be like “Dear Lord, please don’t let the ball come to me.” I’d pray to God not to let the ball come to me. I was so bad, I was just terrible. I played soccer – I was the goalie. I would pray to God it didn’t get kicked anywhere near me. I was an awful athlete. I know it is a big surprise now, judging by my ridiculous physique, my stunning pectorals belie the fact that I actually was a bad athlete in school (laughing).
Working with Vince Vaughn in this movie, does the script pretty much just go out the window or did you stick to it?
No, he let the script go a lot but he was smart about it. He wouldn’t like fly all over the place. But his adlibs were some of the most genius things in the movie, and there’s a lot of them in the movie. He’s one of the best. Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell ["Anchorman"]are the best ad-libbers I’ve ever [encountered]. Just getting to work with them and see how they work was incredible. It was like watching a god. They have sort of inhumane powers when it comes to that.
Were you able to keep up with them?
It was rough because they would throw these things out there. But I hope so. You’ve got to ask them that. Ben [Stiller] was the one guy who would make me crack up. I would pride myself on being able to keep a straight face. But with Ben, I would lose it a few times. Just looking at his face with the handlebar moustache and the hair - it was absurd. He’s hilarious. He could read the phone book in this movie and I would crack up.
ADDITIONAL "DODGEBALL" RESOURCES:
"Dodgeball" Premiere Interviews: Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor & Stephen Root / Writer/Director Rawson Marshall Thurber / Chris Williams & Joel David Moore / Premiere Guest Kimberly Brown ("Be Cool")
"Dodgeball" Photos, Credits, and Trailer
