Brief Interview, Not that Hideous

BlackBook and Lou Taylor Pucci prove that the pen is sometimes mightier than the phone interview.

By Nick Haramis

Lou Taylor Pucci first started acting at the age of ten, when his aunt promised to give him ten dollars to audition for Oliver. Immediately, he was all, “Please sir, I want some more.” After landing plum roles in Thumbsucker, Personal Velocity, and The Chumscrubber, Pucci broke out the brass knuckles to compete for roles against Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jamie Bell, and Anton Yelchin. His latest projects—The Go-Getter, a road trip movie with Zooey Deschanel, the film adaptation of David Foster Wallace’s Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, and the much-discussed Southland Tales—have him poised as the next big thing. And still, somehow, all he wants to do is chase skirts.

BlackBook: From Thumbsucker and Empire Falls to Fast Food Nation and Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, you seem to veer towards film adaptations of literary works.
Lou Taylor Pucci: The truth is, scripts written from books are usually written better. That’s just an opinion.

BB: Are you an avid reader? What are you reading?
LTP: Yah, I guess, because this question has me stumped. There are so many options: On the Road, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Einstein’s Universe, and anything by Joseph Campbell.

BB: What’s a hideous man like?
LTP: He’s just a man, I guess. I think that if he weren’t at all hideous, he would cease to be a man. All men have something hideous about them, whether it’s hideous to others or just themselves.

BB: How awful is filming in Winnipeg?
LTP: I actually had one of the best times in Winnipeg. We had parties, went ice-skating, even in -30 degree weather. I love the outdoors. I recently bought an RV and fixed it up. I’m writing you from inside it right now.

BB: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
LTP: I always thought about stopping time so I could look up girls’ skirts. That probably just makes me a hideous man.

BB: You went from being a student at Christian Brothers Academy to Green Day’s “Jesus of Suburbia.” Are you very religious?
LTP: One hell of a question—first off, sorry CBA, but I’m not only Christian. I’m a religious mutt, really. I believe all religions hold some truth. I remember asking my teacher once, “If a person believes a little bit from every religion, how might the theological world define him?” His answer was “Irrational.” At that point, I knew it wasn’t for me. I like my free thought.

BB: But free thought often gets people into trouble.
LTP: Do the wrong thing! Learn from it. I know I’m a slight hypocrite because I seldom do many “bad” things—but I’m learning.

BB: Speaking of your school, how does it feel to be one of the first notable alumni not known for his athletic prowess?
LTP: I was misplaced—either that or original. I went to CBA on scholarship. At this point, you have to be fairly wealthy to even attend CBA without one. So, I always felt a little bit out of place. Not that people were snobby, it wasn’t like that. But, I grew up in a house where money was constantly the source of problems.

BB: Despite the initial, perfunctory auditioning process, you seem to have sidestepped the part where you begin by working on really shitty movies.
LTP: I’ve been incredibly lucky so far with parts. That’s not to say that it was all luck, but if the luck ain’t there, all that talent goes right down the toilet.

BB: I’ve heard Southland Tales described as a “strange hybrid” between the sensibilities of Andy Warhol and Philip K Dick. How would you sum it up?
LTP: I was able to try something I might never have had the chance to try. Richard Kelly [director of the film] somehow believed, from seeing Thumbsucker, that I could play a rich kid from Beverly Hills who drives a Hummer, sells pot, and thinks he’s black. Awesome.

BB: Which actors do you aspire to be like?
LTP: My favorite actors are Vincent D’Onofrio, Gary Oldman, Steve Buscemi, and Johnny Depp. I want to be able to play anyone.

BB: Finally, how big is your crush on Zooey Deschanel?
LTP: Obese, morbidly obese.

Photo courtesy of Patrick McMullan Company