“Often we think we’re going to enter some house or garden, and it’s going to stir up all the old feelings, and it doesn’t. In my film A Real Pain, it’s none of the things that they expect that give the characters their emotion. It’s just themselves. It’s the interpersonal envy and bittersweet loss of an old friendship that is most emotionally impactful.”
-Jesse Eisenberg, episode 395 of Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
Jesse Eisenberg’s latest project, A Real Pain, is perhaps his most personal to date.
He joins us today to unpack the journey that shaped the film (9:18), memories from his travels to Poland (15:40), and what he observed about his family growing up in East Brunswick (22:23). Then, Eisenberg reflects on his first jokes written on post-it notes (29:20), his breakthrough acting roles in Roger Dodger (31:35) and The Squid and the Whale (34:37), and formative visits to his aunt Doris in New York City (35:32).
On the back-half, we talk about his transformation in The Social Network (41:15), the erotic dream that inspired his play The Spoils (42:48), the real anxiety he explored while writing A Real Pain (46:39), lessons on directing from Richard Ayoade and Greg Mottola (51:14), and why he cares so deeply about his art (1:00:10).
Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at sf@talkeasypod.com.
Show-notes:
- Find showtimes to see A Real Pain, directed by Jesse Eisenberg.
- See his directorial debut When You Finish Saving the World.
- Watch more of his work: Fleishman Is in Trouble, Batman v. Superman, The Double, Now You See Me, The Social Network, Zombieland, Adventureland, and The Squid and the Whale.
- Find Jesse’s writing and plays through Grove Atlantic.
- For more talks, hear our conversations with Jeff Daniels, Joaquin Phoenix, and Natasha Lyonne.
- Order your Talk Easy mug in cream and navy or our vinyl record with Fran Lebowitz.
Illustrations by Krishna Shenoi. Reference photograph by Julius Chiu.
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