Seann William Scott

Interview By: Rocco Passafuime
RoccoPassafuime@TheCinemaSource.com

In a quick flash, Seann William Scott rose to stardom as Steve Stifler in the enormously popular American Pie movies. However, just as quickly, Scott found himself having to constantly prove that he and the celluloid icon of troublemaking frat-boy youth he made so identifiable and so enjoyable were not one in the same.

After a string of hits like Dude, Where's My Car' and Road Trip, the actor went through several comedic bombs such as Mr. Woodcock and The Dukes of Hazzard. However, Scott has managed to still fare well with audiences due to smaller roles in films like Ice Age: The Meltdown and The Rundown, and with unique roles in smaller fare like Southland Tales and The Promotion.

Now 32, Seann returns to the genre that made him famous, the broad comedy, with a role as Anson Wheeler in the new film Role Models. We started off by having the actor share with us just who was his role models growing up.

'I think, other than my father, my biggest role model was my brother,' Scott says, 'He was an athlete and he was one of the guys who started The Onion Newspaper. And just the idea that he kind of chose not to pursue sports and something different and start another paper, but, ultimately, yeah, he was my role model.'

Scott makes no illusions as to how much of his career has been shaped by the pervasive image of Stifler. We asked the actor what motivated him to return to the type of movies that made him famous.

'The movie was for me, I felt like I wanted to go back and kind of cater to that audience who gave me a career,' Seann replies, 'I'm not really in a place where I get offers all the time. The last couple of years has been...I've tried to do some smaller films, just to try to do something different.'

'The movies I've done, they've either taken so long to come out or they've not come out at all,' he continues, 'So, for this movie, I really wanted to try to find a commercial comedy, because, at the end of the day, it's a business and it doesn't really matter if the movie is good or if you're good in it. If it makes money, you'll get more opportunities.'

We were curious to know whether his role as an immature energy drink representative could pass off as an older version of Stifler.

'There's a little bit of my personality in the character,' Scott replies, 'He's a little bit similar to Stifler, but he's not as much of a jerk. But the fact that he really doesn't want people to tell him what to do and doesn't like responsibilities, I can pretty much share that.'

Seann says one of the reasons he was attached to the film from the start was the opportunity to work with co-star and co-writer Paul Rudd.

'Paul is just extremely bright, really just a great guy,' he says, 'But what's nice is we kind of have a different sense of humor. But we're both willing to say anything and go anywhere. I don't think we have any fear of just trying something out. But because he had a slightly different approach, yet similar in the sense like let's just the camera roll and we'll just improvise.'

'And most of the stuff ended up making it in the film,' Scott continues, 'And it's a weird thing because, well, it's not like we're geniuses here. We might be improvising here and going home, going, oh, we're so funny, and then, you watch it and go, oh man. But he was just really bright and he worked really hard in the movie.'

Another actor Scott enjoyed working with was Best In Show star Jane Lynch.

'Jane was somebody, not to take anything away from Paul, because Paul is a genius in his own way, Jane was somebody that I was really in awe of,' Seann reveals, 'My biggest fear was laughing and screwing up a take because she was like watching like Michael Jordan. It was that good. She was so funny and I kept thinking is I'm in the movie, you got to act, react, because I just kept thinking was like, oh, this is awesome.'

'I felt like I was watching Best In Show or something,' he adds, 'She's really amazing. She surprised me all the time, everything. Even when it was all kind of planned out, it just surprised me how she did it and how on point. I'd do something and it's tough to have one great full take where everything feels pretty good and you can go, well, you can actually use that take. But with every take, it was like spot on. She always did something that was like, wow, I could never be like that person.'

In Role Models, Seann William Scott's character does community servicing mentoring an unruly young boy, played by newcomer Bobb'e J. Thompson, who has guest-starred on a variety of TV series including The Tracy Morgan Show and That's So Raven. Seann shares with us the rather uncomfortable experience of having to call a 12 year-old boy a 'punk bitch'.

'It's kind of inappropriate,' he admits, 'I just knew that the movie was kind of about that and because Bobb'e swore more often than I did off sets, I felt OK with it. And I always talked to his mom. He didn't really have a foul mouth, but he wasn't afraid to say some things that I was like, whoa! But I didn't have any apprehension because I knew that was kind of the device of the film, that it was something that people are either going to be a little bit offended by or that it'd make it kind of interesting.'

'I don't think I really swore at him too much,' Scott adds, 'He actually swore at me more. But some people like the fact that a little kid is swearing in the movie. But I definitely wouldn't encourage it with my nephew, for sure.'

Scott also shares a particularly hilarious moment in the film involving Thompson's character Ronnie slapping Wheeler that turned into a privately painful experience for Seann when the cameras stopped rolling.

'We did way too many takes of that,' Seann recounts, 'It was not ad-libbed. We actually had like four other moments in the movie where he slapped me. And it was getting to the point where it was like, wait a second, so all I'm doing is getting slapped and I'm wearing clown costumes. Because there was a whole different scene where I wear a chipmunk outfit and I end up working at Chipmunk Charlie's. And so it's like, wait, I'm dressed up like a chipmunk, but Bobb'e's like I don't want to hurt you. He's so sweet and such a good kid.'

'And I was like, it's OK, because it still kind of hurts anyway,' he continues, 'We might as well just get it right. So just go for it. He was like, really' So he gets kind of excited and I go, oh, boy! So the one take that they kept was the one where he literally rocked me and I couldn't hear out of my left ear. I was like, oh, don't cry in front of the kid! He goes, are you OK' And I'm like, yes, fine, didn't even feel it! It's fine, then I went inside into my trailer, I'm like, (blubbers) just crying. It was not ad-libbed, but he definitely enjoyed it. '

Despite the incident, Seann had nothing but praise for his young co-star.

'Well, Bobb'e's got a new show on MTV,' he says, 'I just heard he wanted me to come on the show and that would be great and the kid is unbelievable. I just kept thinking when I was working with him, it was such a humbling experience that an 11 year-old is way more talented and funnier than me. So that would be great. The final thing is I don't have the skills to do stand-up like he does.'

However, Seann says that even if Role Models does become a hit, he still has a tall deck stacked against him in a critical juncture in his acting career.

'I never been in a position where like I'm such a big actor, I'll have all these offers and I'll have my next three movies lined up,' Scott admits, 'It's always been kind of the same fights, ever since American Pie. When American Pie came out, it was a little bit easier, but I'm still at a place where I have to go after the same scripts all my peers go after and I'm just crossing my fingers.'

In fact, Scott says that his entire acting career in Hollywood since his meteoric start as Stifler has been a constant learning experience.

'When I first started, I didn't even know you had to audition,' he reveals, 'I just thought you got an agent and they got you jobs. Once I got an agent, I thought, when am I working with Tom Cruise' And then I auditioned for Baywatch and I was like, oh, no! So I had a lot to learn. It's a really fascinating business. I mean, there's a lot of crappy things that go on, but I'm constantly learning about the process and how fickle the business is.'

'And especially now, with the fact they are making fewer films, as opposed to when I started out,' Seann continues, 'It was just so many comedies going on and now it's a real fight and you really have to be one of the big boys to get the opportunities. But to answer that question, yeah, I'm always surprised by the things that go on in the business and all you got to do is do your best and kind of cross your fingers and hope for the best, you know.

Seann even shared with us his hopes for what he feels are the ideal roles for him that he would love to one day do.

'The surprising thing is when I moved out to L.A., I wanted to do dramas,' Scott reveals, 'I was not funny in high school. I was always jealous of the funny kids. They always got the girls and I was like, man, because I couldn't tell a joke to save my life. So I always hoped to maybe do some dramas, to do things that were just dark and I'd much prefer to play some pathologic, just nutball, you know. And then, when I got into American Pie, I was like, whoa! Because, actually, I would get a comedy audition for a sitcom and I would tell my agents at the time, don't send me up. I'm terrible. He said, but we're not in a position to be choosy here. You should really go for the audition. And I'm like, I'm telling you, I suck!'

'And all of a sudden, he called me after the audition and he was like, yeah, you suck,' he adds, 'But as far as all the roles I would really like to play, I don't know if it will ever happen because I'm so known for the American Pie movies and for being in broad comedies, it's going to take a really specific and fantastic role that's going to blow somebody away. I was thinking of like what Eric Bana did in Chopper. Something gritty, that's an indie film, really powerful. In fact, he started off in stand-up comedy and all that, it's really inspiring. But I think a role like that, but, probably, right now, I'd rather try to solidify my place in the comedy genre, because I have a lot of work to do. But I think those kind of movies like that, I've watched more than my own.'

Scott also admits as much as he personally would never encourage anybody else to get into acting, he says his love for what he still gets to do would make it hard for him to ever actually give it up himself.

'I just think it's a weird business,' he says, 'I wouldn't encourage anybody to be in it. Really, I'm blessed and I kind of think I won the lottery. I have friends from Minnesota that are like, you think I could be an actor' They'd probably be way better than me, but, man, it's hard. It's hard to sustain a career and there's a lot of weird stuff that goes on out here.'

'I was so lucky getting American Pie, I'd be like I don't know if I ever could really quit this,' Seann adds, 'Because I thought, even if it didn't happen for ten years, what if I went back to Minnesota and went back to college, whatever, or what if I had stayed another couple of months' It's that strange thing of why I feel really blessed.'