Rose Byrne had two movies at SXSW, both with Bobby Cannavale. They play husband and wife in Adult Beginners, with Nick Kroll playing her brother staying with their family for three months. He’s starting over after a tech startup failure. Byrne and Cannavale both play villains in the action-comedy Spy and only Melissa McCarthy can stop them. We got to sit down with Byrne and Adult Beginners director Ross Katz in Austin the day of their premiere, before Spy had shown.
Check Out: SXSW 2015 Interview: Nick Kroll & Bobby Cannavale on ‘Adult Beginners’
CraveOnline: You ended up doing three movies in a row with Bobby.
Rose Byrne: I did. From now on, every job. They were three different films and it was very fortuitous and honestly quite random, all three situations. This was a lovely one because he had a relationship with Liz Flahive and Jeff Cox already through “Nurse Jackie” because Liz is the showrunner on that and she’d actually written the role for him. So I read it and really loved it, and actually said to him, “Read this. Tell Peg, your manager, and suddenly it became apparent that they’d written it for him.
Ross, the last movie you made you were writer/director. Was it easy to relate to the script someone else wrote?
Ross Katz: It was incredibly liberating to direct somebody else’s script. I think for me, when I’m writing, I’m so judgmental of my own writing and then I think that I’ll never be able to turn that into the image that’s in my head. It was just very liberating. The writers, Liz and Jeff, are really brilliant. The script was a gift so it was great.
Was the tone easy to get?
Ross Katz: No. There are elements of broad comedy. There’s drama and then there’s a sweeter comedy. I think it was something that we were always aware of, which was how and when to shift the tone and try to carefully and delicately walk a fine line between drama and the comedy.
Rose, you’ve done comedy as outrageous as Neighbors.
Rose Byrne: Oh really, you think that’s outrageous? Really? [Laughs.] I’m joking.
Which type of humor do you relate more to, that broad outrageousness or this mix?
Rose Byrne: Probably a mix. I’ve gotten more used to the broader stuff working with Nick Stoller and Paul Feig, but this is a little more delicate, Adult Beginners. As for a preference of doing it, I think they’re both hard in their own way. Broad comedy is actually quite hard as well weirdly, to make it work.
That’s why it’s so impressive when it does.
Rose Byrne: I agree. I think when it works, it is impressive. What Will Ferrell does is broad but it’s so brilliant. It’s brilliant what he does and it always pushes the extremes, the characters he does and how he creates them. There’s always some humility about what he does, his characters. But yeah, tonally, I agree, this one was hard to find even as an actor. It took us a while to find our feet.
Are each of you good swimmers?
Rose Byrne: Well, I’m Australian.
Ross Katz: Does that mean everyone in Australia is a good swimmer?
Rose Byrne: Well, the majority are, because the majority of the population is on the coast. 70% of the population is on the coast so you get taught very young. I grew up with a house near the sea, a little shack near the sea. Bobby was actually on the swim team and he trained for the ’86 Olympics. He didn’t get in. He’s a natural in the water. Nick, I don’t know.
Ross Katz: Nick and swim. I can say that about him.
Rose Byrne: With confidence?
Ross Katz: Yeah, I float really well in the water.
How natural were the twins who plays the boy?
Ross Katz: They’re amazing. They’re four years old, identical twins. They’re really sweet and they have great parents. Sometimes you deal with a “stage parent” which is really an unpleasant experience. They’re just the loveliest people and they’re great kids. They’re still four years old so you’ve got to keep them interested in things like Legos but they were lovely.
Rose Byrne: They were. They were lovely.
So how many takes of their scenes were you able to do with them?
Ross Katz: I think that I learned quickly when one of the kids was starting to wind down or wind up. Nick and Rose and Bobby were really great with the kids so the key is to shoot the scene around the kids. Either get their portion of the scene done first or last so that the actors can really play and really work.
Would the twins switch out for the same scene?
Ross Katz: Yes, from time to time, when one was a little more energetic.
Rose Byrn-*e: They look the same. It’s crazy.
Ross Katz: They are identical. It was like, “Good morning, Matthew — uh, Caleb.” “He’s Matthew, I’m Caleb.” I’m like, “I know.”
You’ve both been in your careers for quite a while, but have you ever had moments of feeling like you were starting over?
Rose Byrne: Of course. Yeah, absolutely, definitely. Whether it’s from something in your personal life, or I’m from Australia so I always feel kind of like a foreigner in a way, even though New York is my home and I love it.
Ross Katz: The last film I produced was actually with Rose, Marie Antoinette. Rose is completely amazing in it and it was a very intense two year experience for me. I felt like I was completely starting over when I started directing. I thought it would be a little bit easier transition and I had a history of producing, but it was just like starting from scratch.
Rose, what are viewers going to get to see you do in Spy?
Rose Byrne: I haven’t seen it yet so I’m looking forward to seeing what I’m doing as well. You’re going to see a lot of hair on my head. That’s what you’re going to see. I’ve got an incredible hair style which should get its own credit at the end really. My hair is something else.
Is there a lot of action?
Rose Byrne: There is. There’s a lot of action. I’ve got a little bit. Melissa’s got great stuff. Again, it’s a real mix of genres I suppose, but it should be fun. It should be a lot of fun.
You get to come back for X-Men: Apocalypse. They keep coming up a decade, so what is Moira MacTaggert like in the ’80s?
Rose Byrne: I’m just hoping for some pleats. A lot of clashing prints, maybe like the Armani shoulder pads. I’m all about the wardrobe.
So you hear ’80s and you think about clothes?
Rose Byrne: Who doesn’t? Look at Fatal Attraction. The clothes in that, they really were visually amazing what Glenn wore, and her hair. It really is a specific look. It’s brilliant, when they’re done well.
Fred Topel is a staff writer at CraveOnline. Follow him on Twitter at @FredTopel.
