Everything's coming up Joseph Gordon-Levitt these days.
The 30-year-old screen vet (his first role was "Beethoven" back in 1992) was already riding high off the breezy sleeper hit "(500) Days of Summer" and the cultural phenomenon/blockbuster "Inception."
Now he's winning unanimous praise for playing a cancer patient in "50-50," a poignantly funny film co-starring Seth Rogen, who co-produced the inspired-by-true-life tale written by his good friend Will Reiser.
Oh, and he's also shooting Christopher Nolan's enthusiastically anticipated "The Dark Knight Rises," where speculation is running wild about his character (is he Robin or not?!), giving emerging artists a helping hand with HitRecord.org, and gearing up to play Abe Lincoln's son in a Steven Spielberg-produced epic.
Like we said …
The buzz on "50-50" couldn't be better right now. But do you think it's being a little over-simplified when you hear it described as "the cancer comedy?"
Yeah, I would agree with that. To me, it's not so much about comedy or drama. Our goal is just to tell an honest story. Will [Reiser], who wrote the movie, actually went through it. He survived cancer, and he wrote this script, and our goal was always to try to remain sincere and genuine and real in telling the story. And so some of it turned out funny, and some of it turned out sweet. And I think that that's the truth about going through these things, that even amidst a really horrible situation, like being diagnosed with cancer, there are funny things that happen, and that's okay. And it's okay to laugh at them.
Do you think it's fair to say that you play the straight man to Seth Rogen's goofball?
No, I would say that that would be more accurate in a different movie, but not really. I wouldn't describe what Seth did as "goofball" in this movie. Seth really turned in a very heartfelt and genuine and realistic and nuanced performance and his character is funny and the situations that we get into are funny. But honestly, it's not like his character is cracking jokes all the time that I’m setting up. That's not really how it goes in this movie.
Okay, but is it fair to say that Seth Rogen does have the greatest giggle in all of Hollywood?
[Laughs] That is fair to say, yes.
Was there a lot of laughing on the set of this movie?
Yeah, a ton. It is a really fun place to be, this set. And again, I think that does speak to Seth and his [producing] partner Evan [Goldberg]. You know, they were the head honchos on this and this is sort of the first movie that they've been totally in charge. They've produced a lot of movies, they've written a lot of movies, but this is the first one where they weren't working for anybody. There's no big studio that had final say or anything.
This is the movie that they wanted to make, and I think it's really to their credit that they chose to make a movie out of their friend's story, because they both go back with Will. And they both set a really fun, collaborative, open, laid-back tone, and same goes for Jonathan Levine, the director. He fit right in and it was a really brotherly set … And when I say brotherly that's not to exclude Bryce [Dallas Howard] or Anna [Kendrick], because they're bros.
Was this the first time you shaved your head for your craft?
Yeah.
How'd you like the look?
It's alright. It's a little cold at night.
Also Check Out: 8 Great Head-Shaving Scenes in Movies
The film got a five-minute standing ovation at its premiere in Toronto. How'd that feel?
It's sweet, man. The truth is I love doing what I do and I largely do it for selfish reasons, just because I love doing it. But I also do care a lot about if what I've done means something to somebody else. That means a lot to me. So to see -- however many people it was -- 1,200 people or something in that auditorium stand up and so clearly connect with what we made, absolutely, that really does mean a lot to me.
To follow up on a conversation we had a few years ago, are you finally, finally past the point where people on the street refer to you as "That dude from 3rd Rock"?
No, now they say "30 Rock."
They haven't at least moved on to "Inception"?
They say both.
Are you sick of getting asked if the top kept spinning?
[Laughs] No, I'm always curious to hear people's different interpretations of it.
Do you ever theorize? Be honest.
Of course.
What's your theory?
I'm not going to tell you [laughs]. No, I mean, the reason I wouldn't tell you is just because I wouldn't want to deposit any authoritative position on it, purely because -- what I just said -- I really enjoy the fact that people are creative and have their own opinions and theories about it. So I wouldn't want to undermine anyone else's point of view.
Of course we have to ask you about "Dark Knight Rises." There have been rumors, and it's time to own up ... You play Catwoman, right?
[Laughs]. Yeah. I'm playing Catwoman in "The Dark Knight Rises."
Is this a new experience for you, with the constant blog leaks and the paparazzi and fan videos around the set. Do you feel like you're sort of filming this in a fish bowl?
There's a lot of people really passionate people the movie and I think that's really cool. It's flattering and it makes sense, you know, that the mytgh of Batman goes back, you know? I loved Batman when I was a kid, way before I'd ever heard of Christopher Nolan. So I get why people care a lot about it and that's cool.
