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Hangover Guy Went Up A Hill
From disappearing groom in The Hangover to toyboy in The Rebound, Justin Bartha now stars as a travel shy American stuck in a Paris hotel room in Every Jack Has A Jill.
Justin Bartha's role as the groom in last year's surprise mega-hit, The Hangover, has taken his stock to a new level. Recently seen opposite Catherine Zeta Jones in The Rebound, the 31 year old is now starring opposite Inglourious Basterds' Melanie Laurent in Every Jack Has A Jill, a French rom-com with a twist. We caught up with Justin on the phone from New York where he lives and is currently appearing on Broadway in Lend Me A Tenor, a farce directed by Stanley Tucci, co-starring Anthony LaPaglia.
How did you get involved in Every Jack Has A Jill?
"A few years ago I was sent the script from the writer/director Jennifer Devoldère. I thought it was great. She flew from Paris to New York and we sat down and talked about what film we both wanted to make. She was brilliant and I jumped at the chance to work with her and Mélanie Laurent."
Did you have to audition?
"For some reason, Jennifer was a fan of my work and wanted me for the movie, so I was flattered and pleasantly surprised that it was such a great script."
What appealed to you about the film?
"I'd always wanted to make a romance and this was a classic romance that subverted the genre at the same time. That drew me to it. And then I saw a unique opportunity to make a movie in Paris, doing something in a genre I hadn't done before, with great actors [Laurent, Billy Boyd and Jessica Paré] along with a lot of other immensely talented people."
Was it strange that you and Mélanie Laurent are the film's stars yet hardly have any screen time together?
"The interesting part is that I almost saw it as a prequel to a romance. In any Hollywood romance, it's about good looking actors who meet in the beginning of the movie. You know what's going to happen next, and you know how it will end. So I thought it was interesting how the ending of this movie is like the beginning of many other movies."
Have you been to Australia?
"I have. I love it there. I was on a trip with old friends from high school. We went to Australia and New Zealand. We had a sailing trip through the Whitsundays, bummed around Sydney for a bit and then went to drive the South Island of New Zealand."
What does the future hold for you?
"Every actor sets out to do great roles. What I set out to do as an actor is to find great characters and play as many different characters as possible with as many talented people as possible. It is an impossible business to see the future. I feel very grateful and lucky for the amount of success I've had so far and hopefully people will continue wanting to work with me."
Could you have foreseen the success that The Hangover would have?
"No, no. Everyone had a sense that it was going to be good, that's why we signed up. I was a huge fan of the director Todd Phillips and I had made movies with Bradley Cooper before and I had been a fan of Zach Galifianakis since I was in high school, so I knew that the ingredients were there. We just didn't know if people would like the things we like."
How has it been dealing with the film's success?
"It's been quite an interesting experience. The movie has turned into quite a phenomenon so it's hard to even wrap my head around it now. I mean people, from all over the world of all different ages and all different colour and stuff, just all sorts of people love that movie. And it's just been a joy to talk to everyone who loves it. It's become almost a milestone of a generation in a sense. People love it so much."
Are you involved in the sequel?
"I am. We're doing that in a couple of months."
The studio have said that it will be in 3-D...
"It will be in 3-D and it will take place on Pandora, where Avatar took place and it will be starring Will Smith, and all of the Twilight vampires."
Very good... What about National Treasure 3, a franchise in which you have a recurring role?
"They're writing the script for that. There are no definitive plans for that film yet."
You're also in the film Holy Rollers, which sounds intriguing.
"It's out right now in the US. It's a little independent drama loosely based on a true story about Hasidic Jewish drug dealers in the mid-‘90s and it really turned out great. It's a really dark movie."
You've played a few Jews in the past. Are you Jewish?
"I have, and yes I am..."
So the play, The Hangover 2...
"And then maybe a little vacation."
Every Jack Has A Jill is in cinemas July 1.