The Verge: Ari Graynor

Speaking of reunions, Youth in Revolt is kind of a mini Nick and Norah reunion between you and Michael Cera and Jonathan Wright.

Yeah! Again, a lot of that has to be attributed to Michael. We really hit it off on Nick and Norah, I love him as a person, I love him as an actor, and we had a great time together. He was very hands-on with Youth in Revolt; him and Miguel did major rewrites, they did the music. Youth in Revolt is his film. I think he put in a good word for me and Jonny and knew that these were two roles that we'd be right for and have a great time doing. I put myself on tape and Miguel saw it, but I definitely have Michael to thank for that one.

Is donning a bikini and acting opposite Steve Buscemi one of those surreal moments every actress aspires to?

I was gearing up for that scene for months in my mind and in the gym, figuring out how to deal. Once I would get over the bikini part of it, then I had to get over the "I'm going to be making out with Steve Buscemi in front of a million people" part of it. Once we actually got there on the day and I had as much spray tan on my body as humanly possible, we just sort of went for it. We also had the entire neighborhood on the other side of the street, watching. Luckily, that was one of the last things we shot together, and Steve and I had spent a lot of time both on and off set hanging out, so it wasn't as uncomfortable as it could have been. I was very nervous, but I think it looks pretty good, right?

I was convinced! So Ari, let's rush through the other projects you've got coming up next year because there's about six million of them. I hear you have a cameo in Date Night with Steve Carell and Tina Fey?

I do, I'm in one of the beginning scenes, which again: huge honor to be asked to do. And I'm really excited about Betty Anne Waters with Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell. I play Sam Rockwell's daughter. Do you know the story?

Yeah, it's based on a true story about this woman who goes to school to clear her brother of a major crime, right?

Right, Betty Anne's brother is wrongly imprisoned for life and she spends eighteen years getting her GED, going to college, becoming a lawyer, and proving his innocence. The real Betty Anne and all of her family were around the whole time that we shot, and that was just a remarkably special experience.

And right now you're in Iowa shooting Lucky.

It's a film about these two people who grew up together as kids but have sort of grown apart, and the guy has always pined for this girl. He wins the lottery, and she's in a rough moment in her life where she's just been dumped and she got fired, and she sort of takes the opportunity to sort of put the moves on him. She ends up having real feelings for him, and that happens around the same time she finds out that he's a serial killer...

As though there isn't enough going on already!

It sounds really plotty and crazy, but at the end of the day, it's just this story about these two socially awkward individuals who really care for each other but don't know how to communicate in a real and meaningful way and end up getting stuck dealing with things like murder [laughs], dead bodies, and the lottery rather than dealing with their feelings. It's very quirky and weird, in the vein of Election and Rushmore.

Also, there's Holy Rollers where I'm opposite Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Bartha, and it's based on this true thing that happened in the 90's about these Hasidic ecstasy drug smugglers. I'm sort of the head of the operation's girlfriend and Jesse and I end up falling for each other. It's a very different opportunity for me and a very different kind of role.

Between that and Lucky, I think you're cornering the market on the strangest loglines going right now.

[Laughs] I know! Thank you. ♦

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