Do you think this movie is going to resonate a bit more now that we’re in the middle of this pandemic, with many people shut in with their partners and trying to escape to upstate New York and all that?
I think so. I mean, I definitely felt it at the beginning of pandemic, washing our groceries and shopping for toilet paper and stuff. It sort of reminded me of doomsday prep. I mean, I literally was at a cabin in Wisconsin this summer and my dad was chopping wood and he has degenerative arthritis. So I was like, “Let me chop the wood.” And then, knowing that my girlfriend was watching me was so stressful.
Did you do it?
I did eventually, but it took a bunch of hacks to get the wood to split. Wood is hard to chop, so I feel for Jack for sure.
Do you relate to your character’s relationship with social media at all? Those scenes where Jack and Su are sitting next to each other on the couch, eating Van Leuween and staring into their phones were a little too close for comfort for me.
It’s hell. I for sure relate. This morning, I was watching a movie with my girlfriend and we were both on our phones. My urge is to tell her to get off her phone, but then I’m on my phone also.
Have you ever tried to go off the grid?
Yeah. I’ve been on some rafting trips and things like that. Camping trips that have been weeks at a time, and then I’ll have to be off my phone. And I mean, it’s a strange feeling because you’re like, “Anything could be happening.” I went on a rafting trip in 2015 and it was really tense right before we went on the river. There had just been that shooting in Dallas. And Trump was campaigning and spouting a bunch of vile stuff. And we were like, “Oh, the world could be crumbling around us.”
What would you do in an alien apocalypse?
Damn. I don’t know. I mean, I guess try to get a weapon. And then you could lay low. I don’t know. I mean, I think you’re just doomed, right? Like in Save Yourselves! I think you’re just doomed. Not a very hopeful message. Maybe I’d try to talk to them.
How were the alien “pouffes” developed for the film?
I’m not really sure. I think they wanted them to be sort of cute and unassuming. And then practical as well. And they landed on these furry balls that look like little ottomans and stuff.
What was it like acting across from a small furry ball that’s supposed to be terrifying?
Practical effects are way more fun than digital ones. It was nice to physically see the aliens. The guy who designed them, his name’s Calder and he would always have a new practical tool, like a little tentacle and a magnet that would stick to a car. It kind of felt like a fun little treat.
So what’s going on with Search Party season four?
We already shot it. And we got it done, I think at the beginning of March. So I was like, “Oh, thank God we got it done before the pandemic popped off.” I think this one’s really fun. And there’s a more expanded role for Cole Escola, who I think is one of the funniest people in town.
Finally, my most important question: where are your glasses from?
Yeah, that’s always a big question. I feel like I get people sliding in my DMs daily. And they’re always like, “This is a weird question, but… ” You’re like the fourth person today, it’s not a weird question. But I got them from Oliver Peoples like 10 years ago. I don’t think they make this model anymore. It’s sort of a pain because I play a lot of basketball in the park. And I just wear these old antique glasses and they’re always getting smacked off my face and breaking. And then I have to go to the Oliver Peoples store and have them fix it. And they’re very mad at me every time I come in. Like, “What are you doing with these glasses?” I’m embarrassed to tell them.
Classic. The Larry David glasses.
Yeah. A lot of people like to scream at me on the street that I’m Harry Potter. You know how teens be. Teens are mean.
Oh yeah. I’m terrified of every teenager.
Yeah. They love to scream at me. I think I’m just a target. I’m big and goofy and they like to take me down.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
