nicole_powers

He's a Mac, he's the former flame of Drew Barrymore and he's an actor, making him famous in that order. The computer commercials and celebrity romance have brought Long more attention than even his biggest films, Live Free or Die Hard and Dodgeball. Waiting never made the cover of US Weekly, but true fans have recognized him ever since he took out the garbage mid-mission during Galaxy Quest.

Long has stood out in supporting roles, even in the one scene cameos in Idiocracy and Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Trading on character voices and snappy one-liners, Long ensured steady work, if not a fancy trailer and entourage. This week's Drag Me to Hell, director Sam Raimi's return to horror, casts Long in a dramatic supporting role.

When Christine (Alison Lohman) denies Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) an extension on her mortgage, Ganush puts a gypsy curse on her. The timing couldn't be worse for Christine. She's scheduled to meet her boyfriend (Long)'s judgmental parents this weekend. So Long just plays the supportive boyfriend who has no idea what Christine is really going through.

Whether talking about comedy or drama, a feature film or 30-second ad spot, Long demonstrates a detailed process for his work, giving analytical and verbose answers, while still setting up some funny one-liners. Long puts on a show too, going into the voices of his friends or his critics or himself. That doesn't translate into print but imagine a full on performance every time he related an anecdote.

Question: So you're the comic relief in an action or romance film, but in a horror movie you're the straight man?

Justin Long: I guess so. That's the way it worked out, I guess. I thought Sam [Raimi], when he asked to meet with me, first of all I was obviously incredibly excited and grew up watching his movies. But, I thought it might have something to do with some sort of clown that comes in intermittently and kind of throws up and juggles something and does bad pratfalls. I think he had seen [Live Free or] Die Hard, I think, and that's where it came from. In Die Hard I'm hopefully not as goofy and comedic as I've been. I'm glad he didn't see certain movies or he would never have thought of me,.

Q: You've done horror before. Are you a fan of the genre?

JL: I did Jeepers Creepers. That was a while ago now, but I've always wanted to do one since. It wasn't for lack of trying, I auditioned for everything, Halloween 12, whatever. I would throw my name in the hat and then it got to being where I did other types of movies and the horror movies they were making were all for the most part kind of stock slasher, Saw type things that I wasn't really kind of interested in. Fun to watch, love going and having a fun date watching a good old fashioned slasher, but Sam's movies are creative and unique and stylistic. I was a big fan. I hadn't seen the first Evil Dead until later, but I grew up watching Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. I loved those movies, and as I grew up I grew with him as a director. I love The Gift and A Simple Plan, so I was well aware. The fact that it was a horror movie and a return to those movies that I grew up loving was just icing on the cake.

Q: Were you bummed then that all the cool stuff happens to Alison?

JL: She is much stronger than I am though, I will say that. I kind of thought it was cool that there is a movie where the protagonist, this strong center of the movie is a female. My part is normally played by women in these movies.

My friends...They asked me about what I play and I said, "Here's what I play. I say, 'Baby, everything is going to be okay. It's gonna be fine. I'm gonna be in the other room if you need me, but don't worry.' I go in the other room and all the stuff happens to Alison, like all the fun horror movies. And I run back and I go, 'Baby are you okay? I'm here. What happened?' End scene and fade out."

And you know what? I'm fine with that. I was so happy. I said to Sam when I met him, "I will do anything in your movie." And I meant that. I would walk across the screen, shit my pants and keep walking if it means being in your movie, like absolutely. So, I'm just happy to be part of it, truly, truly.

Q: Could there be a sequel where you have to undo the curse?

JL: Keep talking about it. I definitely thought about that. I'm hoping. And I keep passively dropping little hints around to Sam and he's like, "I get it, buddy. You want a sequel. Calm down."

Q: Is it odd to you that your trademark has become this Mac commercial more than any movie role?

JL: I don't know if it's odd. I guess, because I spend so much more time making movies, like in terms of filming and work. The Apple commercials represent a fraction of what I've done and what I relate to and identify with. Even the work I do, and I hesitate to even call it work, because literally, let's face it, I kind of just stand there and say the same two or three things over and over. It's an easy job, but I like working, I like a challenge and that job is just easy and fun. It's fun because I love working with John Hodgman who plays the PC and we've become very close. The crew is pretty much the same. So it's become sort of the clich you hear. It's become sort of like a family, and I enjoy seeing all those people from time to time.

As far as identifying with it, yeah, I guess it is odd because I don't personally. But, I don't want to be like, "I know I've done so much more work and people should [remember that]." I remember when I first started doing it, the question came up: Do you want to do this commercial? There's that thought because there is sort of that pretentious stigma attached to commercials certain actors have. It crossed my mind for a second and I made the mistake of vocalizing it to a friend. I was like, "Do you think that, I don't know, I'd be selling out in any way?" And I'll never forget, my friend who I love, he goes, "No offense, dude, but what are you selling out? Herbie Fully Loaded? You're not Johnny Depp, all right? So take it easy?" You need those moments that bring you down to earth and remind you, "Yeah, let's take a minute and examine this."

My mom was a commercial actor. That's what she did, and she made money, not a lot of money. But aside from that one passing moment which I quickly regretted even saying out loud, I didn't have that stigma that's attached to it. So now the oddest part is just knowing how to deal with, on a daily basis, it's like, "Oh, Mac Guy." A spectrum of that, from like, "Hey, I really enjoy those commercials. Well done, great, awesome," a little exchange, to like, "Hey, PC. You got a PC? Go fuck yourself!" Then there's that side of it and everywhere in between.

Q: In the last couple of years you've gone from being an actor who stole a lot of scenes in movies and people starting to recognize you, to being the Mac Guy, to the general public knowing you as Justin Long from the roles you've been playing. Now there's an interest in who you're dating, and what you're doing. How have you dealt with that transition in your life?

JL: There's no playbook. There's no real preparation. It's just really trial by fire. How do you deal with it? I was fortunate to be close to people who had dealt with it on a much bigger level, so I had that. I'm still trying to figure it out and deal with it and know how to deal with it and know where to put it in my life. There's an impetus to get mad and to take it to heart and to lash out and protect the people in your life that it's also affecting, and you really kind of have to ignore that, to a certain extent. Aside from that it's not difficult and I hate when I do, because I step back and look at what's happening in the world which really matters and you gain those moments of perspective. Really, I'm going to worry about a couple of guys following me with cameras? It's ultimately not that big of a deal, but in the moment when it's happening - especially when it's happening to people close to you - it's infuriating. And it's also something that I just don't understand. I see the magazines and they're everywhere. It's like they're at the forefront of the newsstands. So I understand the need for it, but I don't understand personally why people would care, but they do and it's created a surreality to my life that I wasn't prepared for and I still don't really know how to deal with.

Q: Has it made you more guarded as to the people you keep into your circle? Or let in?

JL: Allow in, yeah. Of course your sensors go up. That's been an added element of just socializing, which weirdly enough I do so much less now than I ever did. I have very close friends and I'm close with my family, so I know what it is to trust someone and to allow people in. That's remained more intact. If anything, I've gone the other way with it. I've seen this happen to people, I've seen people become corrupted by it, and I know the pitfalls and I'm wary of them. I'm just glad I have people in my life like my friend who made the crack about Herbie Fully Loaded or even family who'll make me look at myself. Just going back home, I'll start to complain, "Oh, the paparazzi, they're doing this or that," and they're like, "Shut up. You're doing really well and you're doing what you love to do, and we're playing Monopoly right now in our living room, so let's leave the Hollywood talk for some other time." It's just something that I'm trying to navigate and it's not the end of the world.

Q: Do you think this awareness of your personal life has helped your career?

JL: I don't know. I truthfully think that really that is not helpful. I think that's a myth that stuff like that, that kind of exposure helps you. I think it might hurt to be exposed in that way, just in terms of acting, being able to play different characters and roles. I remember Billy Crudup said something really interesting in an interview. He acknowledged that it was super critical because it was in an interview and he was talking about how much he doesn't like doing interviews and why he doesn't like doing interviews. It's not an egotistical pretentious actor thing, but he really articulated well. He said, "The more people know about me and the more I expose myself to people, the harder it is for them to believe that I'm somebody else." Just in the long run I think it makes it harder to have a career that is sustained through like character work and various roles. I don't want to just go out there and play myself every time. So it ruins that kind of potential. It makes it harder, I think.

I don't want to complain because I love my life and I'm so blessed to be able to do what I do, and I don't want to complain about any relationships. It was wonderful, it was beautiful. I made certain choices in my life and I made them happily and completely willingly, I would never fault somebody else for bringing that into my life. That being said, it's fraught with a lot of kind of negativity that you can't really imagine until it happened to you. Like I said, I think if anything it maybe made it more difficult. I have no interest in being like a celebrity or a famous. That never appealed to me really. If it appealed to me, it did in the sense that it meant I got to be in movies. I got to act, I got to work, so I don't know if there is a way to have one without the other. Maybe not, but I do know people who do. I know people who are not a part of those things. Sam Rockwell is like my best friend, my favorite actor. He's not out there. People don't know who he's dating and he has an amazing career. I think Billy Crudup and Phil Hoffman, these guys, I don't know. Just being in those [magazines] scares me, you know. Whatever. I hate even remotely complaining, because like I said, things are good.