Martin Starr
by Daniel Robert Epstein for SuicideGirls (http://suicidegirls.com/)

No matter if Martin Starr grows a beard, becomes president or discovers the secret for eternal life he will forever be known as the lovable nerd, Bill Haverchuck, from the cult classic TV show Freaks and Geeks. But Starr turns in a hysterical performance in the new Judd Apatow helmed film Knocked Up. The film mostly focuses on Ben Stone [played by Seth Rogen who, on a one night stand, impregnates Katherine Heigl’s character. Starr is one of Ben Stone’s roommates that along with a bunch of other lazy pot smoking slackers who apparently are unaware of Mr. Skin because they are trying to start a site which lists the exact points that actresses get nude in movies. In fact a running gag through the film is that Starr’s character places a bet with the other guys that he won’t shave his face for a year and after a few weeks they start to rip into him for looking like Charles Manson. I got a chance to talk with Starr during the big junket for Knocked Up.

Check out the official site for Knocked Up

Daniel Robert Epstein: Hey Martin, how are you doing?

Martin Starr: Good, I’m a huge fan of the SuicideGirls! When I got the email about these interviews I was so excited that SuicideGirls was on there.

DRE: In Knocked Up you have a lot of scenes with a group of guys that are also your friends. Your character gets picked on a lot by them. Are you the one they always pick on in real life?

MS: Everyone picks on everyone. It’s funny because most of us are sensitive in some areas so sometimes we’ll go a little too far but we’re definitely all great friends.

DRE: I did notice in the movie that no one called you a nerd and they never called Jonah [Hill] fat.

MS: Yeah.

DRE: I imagine those might be two areas people might be sensitive about.

MS: Yeah, I would imagine too. [laughs] I wasn’t geeked out in that but who knows about the next one.

DRE: Have you always been able to improvise?

MS: Yeah, I used to go to this place called Center Stage LA. Kevin McDermott was there and he was by far the best acting teacher I’ve ever had. He taught me through a lot of my childhood. It was all improv type experimental shit, like turn the lights off and see what happens when you walk differently or whatever. It was fun experimenting with your body and your voice and everything. It was all very enjoyable for me. That’s where it all started for me. I loved my acting class. It is definitely different from being in the business.

DRE: Was Undeclared the first time you got to improvise on film?

MS: Oh no, Freaks and Geeks. That was a lot of improv.

DRE: I didn’t know that you guys did improv there.

MS: Yeah we did a lot of improv. There was a lot of stuff that they would let us fuck around with.

DRE: You were 16 when you were on that show, were you surprised that they let kids do that?

MS: Once they found their core they trusted us and they wrote to the strengths of the actors. So it wasn’t hard to see why they let us run with it because they really did take into account what people were going through. Every story that came out, especially on Freaks and Geeks, was from one of the writer’s lives, if not [Freaks and Geeks creator] Paul [Feig] and Judd specifically. A lot of the stories were straight out of Paul and Judd’s lives. It made it easier too, because you could hear it from who it happened to.

DRE: Are you amazed by the loyalty Judd has in this business?

MS: Yeah, he took Seth under his wing right after Freaks and Geeks and helped him start writing and stuff. Seth took a real interest in it. Now that all these opportunities have risen especially since 40 Year Old Virgin, I think Judd is a lot less frustrated than he used to be. I remember during Freaks and Geeks NBC messed around a lot with us. They would always just pick us up for a few episodes at a time. So it always felt like the next call we got would be that the show was over. It was frustrating for everybody, but for Judd and Paul especially. Judd got really pissed when they got the cancellation notice. He said, “You guys are losing the best thing you have on your schedule.”

DRE: And look at him now.

MS: Yeah [laughs]. They probably regret it. It was the cheapest they probably would have gotten [James] Franco and Seth [Rogen] at this point.

DRE: Do you feel like this is your most adult role even though you guys are pretty immature?

MS: [laughs] No, I don’t think so because I’ve probably played more adult in episodes of different shows. We act like kids, we are porn addicts. Like 14 year old boys that just realized they had penises.

DRE: They never go on the internet, obviously, to find Mr. Skin.

MS: [laughs] Yeah, we don’t pay attention. Maybe we do go on the internet but we’re not paying attention.

DRE: [laughs] You guys look like you’re having so much fun in this but is it ever weird to play a hyped version of yourself?

MS: Well, we were and we weren’t. We had our same names which makes it confusing because we weren’t playing ourselves obviously. Jason [Segal] is definitely not as creepy of a guy that he plays in the movie. Although he does it well. It’s just fun working with all your friends day in and day out. That is something you always look forward to in a career. I just hope that this maintains and I get to work with these guys again.

DRE: The first thing I did when I got home from Knocked Up is go on the internet to see if you really can get pinkeye from farting on someone’s pillow.

MS: Yeah. [laughs] I wondered about that one too. I actually haven’t looked that one up yet. What did you find out?

DRE: It didn’t really mention fecal matter that much [laughs].

MS: [laughs] When I’m in the shower and I rub my butt with something and then I rub my face I think that something bad is going to happen.

DRE: That’s what I think too [laughs].

MS: Yeah, you’ve got to wash all parts of your body. I think that’s the scariest place or the most likely place that would happen. If pinkeye is going to happen to you, odds are, you get it in the shower.

DRE: Yeah I’m thinking about getting two different washcloths.

MS: [laughs] Yeah, one for the butt, one for the face.

DRE: Is the beard stuff or the pinkeye thing based on stuff you guys did to each other?

MS: No, I knew nothing of any story like that. I think that was completely contrived but hilarious. I think it was just an excuse to give someone pinkeye.

DRE: On Freaks and Geeks you guys idolized movie comedies and guys like Bill Murray. Now Judd and Adam Mckay are making movies like that. Knocked Up is going to get quoted just like 40 Year Old Virgin and Anchorman. I know it’s a process and all that, but is it ever nerve-wracking to try and come up with something funny on the spot?

MS: Yeah it definitely can be. I feel like sometimes there just is too much pressure but if you’re relaxed it doesn’t matter either way. Something always happens that feels right.

DRE: Who is more immature, Seth or Judd?

MS: That’s hard. That’s been brought up a lot in the last year. They might be on an equal plane. They are both a little immature in their own right. They have got to be immature in some realms because they are here in the movie business doing it right.

DRE: How do you think you’d fare after getting a girl pregnant on a one night stand?

MS: I wouldn’t have a one night stand but if I was dumb enough to go through that experience I would have to be supportive no matter what. If we didn’t like one another then I’d still throw some financial support in there.

DRE: Did Katherine Heigl’s improv skills surprise you?

MS: Yeah, she did really good. I was pleasantly surprised by it all and she was really sweet in person too. In this business you always hear shit about people but she was awesome to work with.

DRE: I’m probably a sexist jerk…

MS: Congratulations.

DRE: [laughs] There are just not as many good women improvisers as there are men so it is cool to see someone like Katherine do so well.

MS: There are some amazing women out there. All I have to do is watch Amy Poehler or someone like that and you realize that oftentimes women can be a lot funnier than men.

DRE: Amy Poehler is brilliant. I used to see her live at the UCB Theatre in New York all the time.

MS: Yeah, she’s amazing. I go down to the UCB [in LA] sometimes and I am so glad to see that she co-founded that.

DRE: Was your beard real?

MS: The beard was real in the beginning and then they had five prosthetic beards. It was a hassle. There are scenes in the movie that I was written into but then I got cut out for beard purposes.

DRE: [laughs] Like which scene?

MS: The abortion conversation. “It rhymes with mishmortion.” I think that’s one of the funniest scenes in the movie.

DRE: They’re trying to do this thing with smoking in the movies, where the person in the movie has to be evil if they’re smoking.

MS: [laughs] Oh yeah, or gets cancer.

DRE: Yeah, even though you are guys are pretty much losers, it is so refreshing to see potheads act like actual potheads.

MS: Yeah, I think it’s that we’re all fuck ups. If we’re smoking pot, no big deal. We’re not showing it in a good light and we’re not successful. We can’t even make a porn site. I think it shows pot in the right light for the guidelines of America or whoever the fuck is trying to eliminate free speech.

DRE: Is it unfair that Paul [Rudd] is really funny, a great dramatic actor and also really good looking?

MS: I wanted to have sex with him but I don’t think it is going to work out. He just is the sweetest guy. He really is. You almost want to hate him because every girl likes him. If you say to any girl that you’re working on a movie with him they’re all like, “Oh really? What’s he like?” Clueless made him everyone’s dreamboat. But he’s one of the best guys I’ve worked with and he melts my heart.

DRE: I was at the Museum of Television and Radio before the DVD of Freaks came out but when you came on screen during the opening credits people would just go insane. They would scream and yell. Have you ever experienced stuff like that firsthand?

MS: I don’t know if I should even say this. There was one girl that went a little crazy. She watched Freaks and Geeks and she was drunk so I think that’s what it was. I don’t think she was actually as crazy as she came off there. I told her that I had a girlfriend and I thought that would stop her from saying all these strange sexual things. Then she kept asking me to make a kiss at her while she was taking a picture of me with her phone. I was really uncomfortable. She’s telling me to put my tongue out and all this weird shit. I was extremely uncomfortable so I couldn’t abide by her request. I think that was the craziest incident. Most people that like Freaks and Geeks are really nice and cool people. I usually get a good conversation out of it.

DRE: With Judd having taken Seth under his wing, do you eventually want to go beyond acting and create movies or TV?

MS: Yeah I’m working on my own ideas right now. I’m a big comic book fan so there are a few comic books that I’d really like to adapt. There’s another movie that I’m working on right now that I’ll probably take out soon. Maybe it will be with Judd or somewhere else. At the very least I’m sure Judd will help me figure out how exactly to go about it. He’s really good at being a friend and a guide in this rough business.

DRE: What are some of your favorite comics?

MS: I really like this guy J. Michael Straczynski. Anything that he writes like Rising Stars, Supreme Power and another title I can’t remember. His writing is intense and he did Babylon 5 which I believe he planned out to be five years exactly which is why he titled it Babylon 5. Five year arcs like that are unheard of in television. It was just like a giant movie. I still haven’t seen all of them but I feel like he’s innovative in his style and his thinking. I dig his stuff.

DRE: I know your Mom is still very much a working actress. Do you ever ask her for advice?

MS: We talk about things like that, but not as much. We come from different places. It was great growing up in that environment because I was around a lot of actors and up on stage all the time. I was there entertaining people as her kid but my foundation is really in improv. I didn’t really learn from her school. I never really took classes or anything like that. I guess I’m just a different breed.

DRE: Do you know what you’re doing next?

MS: I just got a new agent. I didn’t have an agent for a while. I’m doing a lot of writing and figuring out how to take that to the right place. I’ve seen what Judd went through on Freaks and Geeks and I don’t want to be so emotionally invested in something and watch everyone rape it in right in front of my eyes.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

SG Username: AndersWolleck

web address: http://suicidegirls.com/interviews/Martin+Starr/