Q: Do you feel that a movie like this with you and John C. Reilly is redefining the notion of a leading man, from hardcore hunks, to, you know, men who just look like normal people?
JH: No! I mean, Cyrus would be a weird movie if it was starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney. It just wouldn’t be appropriate for the film. I never understand that question, no offense. But it’s silly to me, because it’s like there have been all sorts of people who have played the leads in movies. There are all sorts of people in life. It’s like if you’re going to do some movie about the best looking guy in the world, obviously I wouldn’t play the lead character in that movie. But if you’re going to make a movie about life or any sort of movie that’s just a story, there are stories about people that look all sorts of different ways. And there are very few people that I’ve had in my life, having worked with Brad now, that look like Brad! I mean, I think people want to see movies about people that they can identify with.
Q: Do you ever feel you’re in danger of letting fame go to your head?
JH: All my friends are my best friends from growing up, and my family is obviously my family from growing up. So no, I didn’t trade in and get new parents when I started making movies. That’s my social circle. I would be really disappointed in myself if I ever acted any differently, and I would have plenty of people to inform me if I was acting any differently. So I’m pretty proud and really prideful about my career. But I’m also really prideful in my behavior, and in my morals in doing that and achieving that, you know?
Q: What about your celebrity social circle? I’m sure people imagine all you Apatow guys hanging.
JH: Well, John Reilly and I will go shoot pool or eat dinner sometimes, or see a movie. Seth Rogen and I are friends, and Michael Cera and I are friends, and Jason Segal and Paul Rudd. So yeah, we’re all friends, but it’s more like I have my best friends in the world where we hang out, and Michael Cera and Seth kind of overlap into that too, because we’re really close. But, like, I have my best friends in the world—this big group of 15 guys or something like that—and a couple of girls that we’ve all been friends with since we were literally little kids. We’re all like brothers and sisters, and our girlfriends are all in that circle. And it’s very much like what I’m sure your life is like. So there’s really no difference to me, except that every once in a while I’ll go eat dinner with someone who also happens to act in movies. But yeah, Judd is a friend and Seth and Michael, those guys. Russell [Brand] and I will hang out too, and we’re very different, obviously, but deep down he’s a great guy.
Q: What kind of differences?
JH: He’s eccentric and funny. And if he came in here, he would make you laugh and be Russell. But I couldn’t hang with someone who was just constantly on. It would be frustrating to me, because I’m a pretty genuine guy. And I think that you’d just get annoyed with it.
Q: Before you started getting these serious roles, were [you] ever worried about being typecast as the guy from Superbad?
JH: No. But honestly, you take whatever. When you’re starting out, you take any movie that you can get, because you’re lucky to—and I’m still lucky to—be in any movie at all. But I love comedy. I feel like there’s this weird thing, like I’m not doing Cyrus and Moneyball to say like, u”Uh. Finally I don’t have to do comedy anymore.” I love comedy, and I think it’s great. I love making people laugh, I really genuinely do. I never look at a movie like, “Alright. Now I just did this big funny movie, so now I gotta do like a more serious movie.” I don’t look at genre or perception. I just look at what’s good at that time. And if there’s nothing good at that time, I’ll write something and not work, because to me it should be about if the movie is going to be good, and not how people perceive you. I could care less. People who know me know what I’m like. Because if someone said, “You could only do one thing,” I could go do a play instead. I could still do other things that were showing different sides of myself, you know? I don’t worry about any of that stuff, because as long as you do good work, no matter what genre it is, I think that people are cool because they enjoy seeing it.
Q: Any dream project that you ever think about?
JH: No, I don’t think of stuff like that. I can tell you movies that I love.
Q: Like what?
JH: Goodfellas!
Q: OK, thanks.
JH: Cool. Take care.