Q&A with Hot Tub Time Machine's ROB CORDDRY: "Yes, I was African American as a teenager."

Rob Corddry in Hot Tub Time Machine Former Daily Show correspondent Rob Corddry takes on one of his first starring roles in the oh-so-amazingly titled Hot Tub Time Machine, playing lovable jackass Lou who sets the back track in motion to 1986. Corddry called us to talk about getting tanked with Martha Stewart, his '80s butt cut and how John Cusack grounded a movie called Hot Tub Time Machine in reality. City Paper: So I heard you were on Martha Stewart recently? Rob Corddry: (laughts) I was, yeah. CP: You don't really seem like the craftiest of guys. Do you have a secret knitting fetish or something? RC: My obsession with knitting is no secret. My mother is actually a huge knitter and she told me and Nate, my brother, that if we ever have a TV show, we should mention knitting on the TV show because of its rabid fanbase and it will guarantee you show-saving numbers. See, her perspective means a lot. I was given the choice to either cook or craft and I chose to cook. CP: Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the episode. What did you cook? RC: I cooked Mexican tortas, chicken tortas and beer margaritas. CP: Beer margaritas? That sounds really gross. RC: Yeah, I enjoyed a beer magarita with Martha Stewart. CP: Is she a big drinker? I bet she can throw it back. RC: She looks like she's been around the block, the way she tucked into that margarita. CP: To get into the movie: I think everyone has the same reaction when they hear the title Hot Tub Time Machine, which is amazing title. So you see the script for the first time, see the title and, before you even read it, what's your first reaction? RC: I was right on board immediately. You either get it or you don't. The title page said, "Hot Tub Time Machine: Based on the Incredible True Story." I think we really missed the boat. CP: I don't think you can lie that much on movie posters. Just a little bit. RC: I guess (sounds disappointed). CP: Because this is such a buddy comedy, did you know who you were going to be up against when you initially read it? RC: They had gave the script to me and Craig [Robinson] first. I didn't know Craig but we shared the same publicist. We were kind of circling around it a little bit before we knew what the other was going to do because we both liked each other and we're fans of the other. We just waited it out. Clark [Duke] came on and they were looking for someone big. Then Cusack came on and it became a completely different movie. CP: I think it's funny you mention Craig's involvement first. In the movie, I think you play off of him the best. Your comedic styles play off each other very well. But he's so different from you — you're so energetic while he's more of a laid back deadpan. RC: We both have similar sensibilities. We're the same age, we have the same influences. He's from Second City, I'm from the Upright Citizens Brigade. We're related in our way. We both did improv. And, Clark, the refreshing thing about Clark, is that he's only 25-years-old. But he may as well have come up with us. He's very smart and very down-to-earth and really shared sensibilities. Cusack just brings a completely different vitamin to the whole thing. CP: Yeah, you say he changed the movie when he came on board. RC: I don't mean change the movie, although he did. He just made it more real. He brought some heart to it, some — dare I say it — reality that the movie was missing. Before he came onboard, it was a complete ... my character excised a lot of the ... oh boy, it's all unbelievable stuff because we go back in time in a hot tub... Like, my character is ridiculous, but in a pre-Cusack version of the script, while back in time he rents a DeLorean thinking it's going to contain a Flux Capaciter. That's just stupid. Who would do that? Even the biggest imbecile wouldn't do that. So we definitely got rid of that element. Suddenly my character was a catalyst for the journey and there was reason to take the journey, which there wasn't before. CP: It's weird, because John Cusack ends up like a cynical Lloyd Dobbler. RC: What's funny about Cusack is he's played a lot of cynical characters as of late. A lot of the characters he plays now are sort of what I imagine Lloyd Dobbler became. Lloyd Dobbler was way too wide-eyed and optimistic, way too good to ever stay intact. I've got to believe that Ione Skye moved on and Lloyd Dobbler was ruined and became the guys Cusack plays in some the other movies. CP: Going back to how completely ludicrous your character Lou is. I have this theory about Daily Show correspondents: You all take your characters and translate to bigger things when you leave the next. Stephen Colbert, clearly, Ed Helms and Steve Carrell on The Office are all versions of their Daily Show persona. I see Lou like that too. He's an asshole but he's lovable and you're just glad that he makes it through the movie alive. RC: Well, Helms and I started the same day. And we just imitated Colbert for about a year until we founnd our own way. We sort of just became our own guys. Playing a character named Rob Corddry, you're going to have a little of yourself in there. That's not to say I'm an asshole. It's very comfortable for me to play assholes. My manager is very fond of saying that I make creepy accessible. CP: Why are you so good at playing the asshole? RC: That's something I don't want to think about. I feel like if I think too much about it, I'll break it. And I enjoy playing the asshole (laughs). CP: Do you feel the need to overcompensate when you're not being a douchebag in real life? RC: (laughs) Well ... yes and no. Not because of who I tend to play in movies and TV. I was told once by one of my best friends, Seth, whose from Northern California. You know, grew up with hippie parents, really laid back and I grew up in Boston where everyone is sarcastic and thinks they're the class clown. I used sarcasm as a defense most of the time and he called me out on it one day and said, "You know, you're not being very nice." And I was like, "Nice? What means this word nice?!" I just learned that sarcasm is a fear-based defense and I don't like to go there anymore, though I can exercise it in my characters. Because it's a lot of fun. And I'm really good at it. But it's not very nice. CP: You went back to your youth a bit. In 1986 [when the bulk of Hot Tub Time Machine takes place] you're 15-years-old. Explain 15-year-old Rob Corddry to us. RC: I had a full head of hair. It was really something, by the way. CP: Oh, I bet. Did you go for some Farrah wings, maybe a jheri curl? RC: Yeah, I had a jheri curl. Yes, I was an African American as a teenager. No, I had your typical early '80s butt cut. Parted down the middle, feathered. Although, like everything about myself in the '80s it wasn't quite right. I just couldn't get the bangs right. I was really trying to be cool and fashionable and always just missing a little bit. CP: Awww. RC: There was something a little bit off. Like your shoes aren't tied just right. Or I'm wearing Tough Skins, not Levi's. My shirt's from Marshall's and it fits awkwardly. That was basically my teenage years. CP: So you don't want to go back in time and 15 again? RC: Nope, I'm good. Josh Posted 2010-03-26 09:17:12

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Q&A with Hot Tub Time Machine's ROB CORDDRY: "Yes, I was African American as a teenager."

POSTED: Friday, March 26, 2010, 2:15 PM

Filed Under: Interview | Movies

Rob Corddry in Hot Tub Time Machine

Former Daily Show correspondent Rob Corddry takes on one of his first starring roles in the oh-so-amazingly titled Hot Tub Time Machine, playing lovable jackass Lou who sets the back track in motion to 1986. Corddry called us to talk about getting tanked with Martha Stewart, his '80s butt cut and how John Cusack grounded a movie called Hot Tub Time Machine in reality. City Paper: So I heard you were on Martha Stewart recently? Rob Corddry: (laughts) I was, yeah. CP: You don't really seem like the craftiest of guys. Do you have a secret knitting fetish or something? RC: My obsession with knitting is no secret. My mother is actually a huge knitter and she told me and Nate, my brother, that if we ever have a TV show, we should mention knitting on the TV show because of its rabid fanbase and it will guarantee you show-saving numbers. See, her perspective means a lot. I was given the choice to either cook or craft and I chose to cook. CP: Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the episode. What did you cook? RC: I cooked Mexican tortas, chicken tortas and beer margaritas. CP: Beer margaritas? That sounds really gross. RC: Yeah, I enjoyed a beer magarita with Martha Stewart. CP: Is she a big drinker? I bet she can throw it back. RC: She looks like she's been around the block, the way she tucked into that margarita. CP: To get into the movie: I think everyone has the same reaction when they hear the title Hot Tub Time Machine, which is amazing title. So you see the script for the first time, see the title and, before you even read it, what's your first reaction? RC: I was right on board immediately. You either get it or you don't. The title page said, "Hot Tub Time Machine: Based on the Incredible True Story." I think we really missed the boat. CP: I don't think you can lie that much on movie posters. Just a little bit. RC: I guess (sounds disappointed). CP: Because this is such a buddy comedy, did you know who you were going to be up against when you initially read it? RC: They had gave the script to me and Craig [Robinson] first. I didn't know Craig but we shared the same publicist. We were kind of circling around it a little bit before we knew what the other was going to do because we both liked each other and we're fans of the other. We just waited it out. Clark [Duke] came on and they were looking for someone big. Then Cusack came on and it became a completely different movie. CP: I think it's funny you mention Craig's involvement first. In the movie, I think you play off of him the best. Your comedic styles play off each other very well. But he's so different from you — you're so energetic while he's more of a laid back deadpan. RC: We both have similar sensibilities. We're the same age, we have the same influences. He's from Second City, I'm from the Upright Citizens Brigade. We're related in our way. We both did improv. And, Clark, the refreshing thing about Clark, is that he's only 25-years-old. But he may as well have come up with us. He's very smart and very down-to-earth and really shared sensibilities. Cusack just brings a completely different vitamin to the whole thing. CP: Yeah, you say he changed the movie when he came on board. RC: I don't mean change the movie, although he did. He just made it more real. He brought some heart to it, some — dare I say it — reality that the movie was missing. Before he came onboard, it was a complete ... my character excised a lot of the ... oh boy, it's all unbelievable stuff because we go back in time in a hot tub... Like, my character is ridiculous, but in a pre-Cusack version of the script, while back in time he rents a DeLorean thinking it's going to contain a Flux Capaciter. That's just stupid. Who would do that? Even the biggest imbecile wouldn't do that. So we definitely got rid of that element. Suddenly my character was a catalyst for the journey and there was reason to take the journey, which there wasn't before. CP: It's weird, because John Cusack ends up like a cynical Lloyd Dobbler. RC: What's funny about Cusack is he's played a lot of cynical characters as of late. A lot of the characters he plays now are sort of what I imagine Lloyd Dobbler became. Lloyd Dobbler was way too wide-eyed and optimistic, way too good to ever stay intact. I've got to believe that Ione Skye moved on and Lloyd Dobbler was ruined and became the guys Cusack plays in some the other movies. CP: Going back to how completely ludicrous your character Lou is. I have this theory about Daily Show correspondents: You all take your characters and translate to bigger things when you leave the next. Stephen Colbert, clearly, Ed Helms and Steve Carrell on The Office are all versions of their Daily Show persona. I see Lou like that too. He's an asshole but he's lovable and you're just glad that he makes it through the movie alive. RC: Well, Helms and I started the same day. And we just imitated Colbert for about a year until we founnd our own way. We sort of just became our own guys. Playing a character named Rob Corddry, you're going to have a little of yourself in there. That's not to say I'm an asshole. It's very comfortable for me to play assholes. My manager is very fond of saying that I make creepy accessible. CP: Why are you so good at playing the asshole? RC: That's something I don't want to think about. I feel like if I think too much about it, I'll break it. And I enjoy playing the asshole (laughs). CP: Do you feel the need to overcompensate when you're not being a douchebag in real life? RC: (laughs) Well ... yes and no. Not because of who I tend to play in movies and TV. I was told once by one of my best friends, Seth, whose from Northern California. You know, grew up with hippie parents, really laid back and I grew up in Boston where everyone is sarcastic and thinks they're the class clown. I used sarcasm as a defense most of the time and he called me out on it one day and said, "You know, you're not being very nice." And I was like, "Nice? What means this word nice?!" I just learned that sarcasm is a fear-based defense and I don't like to go there anymore, though I can exercise it in my characters. Because it's a lot of fun. And I'm really good at it. But it's not very nice. CP: You went back to your youth a bit. In 1986 [when the bulk of Hot Tub Time Machine takes place] you're 15-years-old. Explain 15-year-old Rob Corddry to us. RC: I had a full head of hair. It was really something, by the way. CP: Oh, I bet. Did you go for some Farrah wings, maybe a jheri curl? RC: Yeah, I had a jheri curl. Yes, I was an African American as a teenager. No, I had your typical early '80s butt cut. Parted down the middle, feathered. Although, like everything about myself in the '80s it wasn't quite right. I just couldn't get the bangs right. I was really trying to be cool and fashionable and always just missing a little bit. CP: Awww. RC: There was something a little bit off. Like your shoes aren't tied just right. Or I'm wearing Tough Skins, not Levi's. My shirt's from Marshall's and it fits awkwardly. That was basically my teenage years. CP: So you don't want to go back in time and 15 again? RC: Nope, I'm good.

Josh

Posted 2010-03-26 09:17:12

Good stuff!

Posted by Molly Eichel @ 2:15 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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