Justin Theroux and Malin Akerman star in the hilarious new comedy Wanderlust.
The movie also stars Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston as a couple rattled by sudden unemployment, who ultimately decide to experiment with living on a rural commune where free love rules.
The group of hippies and pot smokers provide for numerous laughs until Seth and Eva, played by Justin and Malin, decide they want to get freaky with the married couple.
We got the chance to sit down with the duo for an interview, check it out below!
Justin, how long did it take you to grow out your hair and beard for the movie?
Justin: I had a wig for my hair, but I did grow out my beard. And I actually had to grow it twice. David [Wain] told me they needed to do a pick up, so I had to grow it out twice. It’s like going to bed with a small animal. There were definitely days when I wanted to unhook it but couldn’t.
Do you think an open-relationship could work?
Malin: No. I think it’s complicated enough to just have a relationship and try to make it work. Then to add three, or four or six people to that…
Justin: Yeah that’s called being single, or being divorced.
There was a lot of nudity in the film, how comfortable were you with that?
Justin: There were only a couple days with real nudists on set. I actually thought it was going to be awkward for them but it’s not because they’re nudists. It’s actually more awkward when you’re wearing clothes around a nudist.
Malin: And then being at craft services with them was pretty awkward too.
Was there anything that Seth said that resonated with you?
Justin: He is pretty wise. But there was one thing he said, “I live where I am.” And I actually think that’s pretty good.
Malin: That is pretty good.
Justin: Eventually he starts to not follow his own advice though.
Malin: I think I just started tuning you out.
Justin: I think that’s how he got some of the commune members under his spell, was to say these things that seem to make a lot of sense but don’t really make a lot of sense.
What was it about Linda that makes Seth want to change his entire view on life and free love?
Justin: I think for all culty, narcissistic guys, if a hot girl walks into a room they’ll drop their shtick. But then they’ll try to cover it up. I guess that’s the way he scores with this faux wisdom he espouses. He says something like; “I saw a lot of myself in you.” Everyone he talks to is just sort of a mirror reflecting back at him.
Justin, what was it like shooting your fight scene with Paul?
Justin: Well I don’t do any capoeira or any Afro-Brazilian dances for that matter. But it was really fun, mainly because I didn’t have to shoot a lot of it. Some guy came in and shot it for me. It just made us laugh so hard because it was just so stupid. It was a lot of fun to shoot.
Malin, how hard was it to get through your scene in the bedroom with Paul?
M: Ridiculous! I didn’t! I never kept a straight face. The camera was actually behind my head. You can kind of see how it cuts back and forth really quickly because I couldn’t even look at him. I was crying because I was laughing so hard.
Justin: You could see in some of the cuts that Paul is almost starting to lose it in the corner of his mouth.
Justin, can you talk about where the inspiration came from for all of Seth’s crazy lines about technology?
Justin: I feel like that’s the era he checked out of society: 1994. Like, “I can’t stand all these beepers!” That was his swan song. We actually had this elaborate back story about how he lived this high-pressure life in the stock market and had Charlie Sheen on speed dial and slept with a 45 under his pillow. I don’t think it’s in the movie because I was laughing so hard. It was actually a very informative piece of the puzzle to learn that this guy was such a d-bag.
There’s a lot of great ensemble scenes in this movie, do those become long days?
Malin: They were long days definitely, but you don’t want to go home.
Justin: They were long days but you’re with some of the best comedic players in the world, its like being in an All-Star game. You don’t want it to end.
Malin: There’s never a dull moment.
Justin: The picnic table scenes and the truth circle scenes are a great example. Catherine Hahn was doing some crazy stuff, at one point she was humping a stump or something.
Who was the first one to break character in those scenes?
Malin: I’m probably a front-runner for that.
Justin: That’s pretty stiff competition. Except for Paul, that’s probably why he’s such a professional.
Malin: You kept laughing at your own lines.
Justin: When I was doing the goodbye scene where I say, “suck on it,” I was supposed to be crying and it was just so ridiculous.
Jennifer Aniston was saying she enjoyed working in Clarksdale because it was an escape from the paparazzi and the public eye. After shooting this movie, do you see the appeal of a slower life?
Malin: I could see myself going on vacation in a slower part of the country.
Justin: Temporarily, yes. It’s nice to have a job in a slower part of the country. It was just nice to have the weekends where you could go to the lake or to the restaurant and didn’t have a million options.
How long do you think you would last in a place like Elysium?
Malin: It would be over for me as soon as I went to the bathroom.
Justin: As soon as I saw the naked guy in the driveway I think it would be over for me.
