Subscribe
The Daily Grind Video
CLOSE


Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in the dramatic-comedy 50 50 which hit theaters yesterday.

His mysterious demeanor is not only intriguing but it’s so damn sexy! He’s grown up since his days on Third Rock From The Sun and with this new starring role, he’s undoubtedly on his way to becoming an A-list star. 

We were lucky enough to catch up with Joseph to discuss his role in the new film. Check out our exclusive!

GlobalGrind: What attracted you to this movie first and foremost?

Joseph Gordon-Levitt: The script.  Most of the time you read scripts and the characters don’t feel real.  They feel like stereotypes or plot devices but these felt like human beings.  And then it was Seth.  I was a fan of Seth’s before meeting and getting to work with him.  Once I did meet him we hit it off right away and we became really good friends and it’s always nice to work with your friends.

The screenwriter, Will, took the experiences of people he knew who were around him going through similar experiences. What was it like to play him-but not play him, with him being so close in proximity, was it confining or freeing?

It was really just inspiring. 50/50 is the story of this guy will who wrote the screen play and he actually survived cancer and when he got better he decided to write this comedy about it. And I actually think that’s a really healthy and wise way of coping with and ordeal like that.  And then yeah he was there on set every day while we were shooting.  The character I play is not exactly him, I mean it’s not a biopic or anything but it is very much inspired by him and informed by him and so having him there was just hugely beneficial to me.  It made me feel able to know that I was being honest, know that I wasn’t just full of it doing these things and I was accurate. And also I think it allowed me a freedom to push boundaries and maybe take certain risks that I wouldn’t have been able to had I not had this guy who could testify and say, “yeah that’s cool, like I buy that.  And that makes sense to me, like that feels real to me.” 

What do you hope audiences take away from this film?

I think 50/50 is a good story about the fact that even in the darkest of times, and the hardest experiences that there is humor there, there are funny moments.  Whether its an illness or anything else that’s really messed up and hard to deal with, sometimes stuff is just funny and that’s okay.  It’s okay to laugh.  I think that we are a culture kind of have a tendency to shy away from laughing in the middle of a serious circumstance.  We don’t know if its proper.  You’ve got to walk on egg shells.  And I think its really good like they say, laughter is the best medicine. I think that’s true.  It’s okay to laugh.  Its okay to loosen up and just find something funny.

I think that’s what makes this film real.  It’s interesting because what you want to classify as a comedy is actually just real life.  Talk to me about working with Jonathan Levine:

Yeah Levine’s a great director.  He has a great sense of aesthetics and visuals and he’s great at picking music but he’s also he’s a really collaborative guy and this was a collaborative set.  Seth and Evan are just that way and I don’t thin that every director would be able to handle that with as much grace as he did.  It was never about his own ego or about him saying. “I’ the director”  it was always just about making the movie as good as it could be and being open to take everybody’s contributions and suggestions and inspiring people to do so because when you feel like, “hey this could actually become a part of the movie,” then that inspires me to actually put that thought into it and want to contribute in that way. And you could see that from the cast to production design, everybody I’m sure it went the same with post production.  He is that kind of director.  I admire that.  It makes it more fun to work.

You and Seth looked like long time best friends, was it a very easy, immediate connection with you? Or did that happen over production, over time?

Yeah Seth and I just hit it off right away.  He and Evan and me and Jonathan [Levine} and Will [Reiser], I think we all have similar outlook on life and work and I think we all have a similar sense of humor and just happened very naturally and quickly.  We kind of got on the same page and landed on that “Bro” wavelength.  And the movie is a lot about that.  And I think a big part of why it feels so real is because we actually did hit it off in that way.  I mean we hang out other then when we are shooting together, we hang out.