Justin Theroux has a new interview in TimeOut New York to promote the new season of The Leftovers. It’s the new season, but it’s also the last season, and Justin wants you to know that’s on purpose. He says in the interview that he signed up for The Leftovers knowing that it would only last a few seasons, although… I’m not sure if I believe that. Anyway, you can read the full TimeOut interview here. Some highlights:
He spent months working in Texas: “I could easily see myself spending my entire retirement there.”
His back tattoo: “It’s a big rat and a New York City pigeon.”
Living in LA with Jennifer Aniston: “I used to hate L.A., and I had a big chip on my shoulder about that. New York always felt [like] home, no matter where I was in my life, and I think it’s because you’re constantly physically in proximity to every kind of person in the world. It’s not all actors, it’s not all directors and producers: It’s dancers, journalists, painters, poets—and you’re all together. It felt very creatively alive, and I think for any creative art form, you kind of need to be around as much of that as possible. But now L.A. is this place where I feel comfortable being, and I can appreciate the things I couldn’t appreciate earlier.
His happiness that this is The Leftovers’ final season: “What makes long-running television become frustrating is that you inevitably get the sense that writers are painting themselves into corners that they can’t really get out of. Even before we shot the pilot, Damon was like, “This is not a show that’s going to go five years,” which is one of the reasons why I signed up for it.
The viral photos of his bulge: “You can’t predict when those kinds of things will happen. I don’t pretend to know what women feel like. I think they have it way worse on a much more consistent basis. I mean, every awards show has whole [segments] dedicated to the sizing up of women. But it wasn’t fun, and I never really knew quite how to react to it.
On the current state of politics: “I could never understand people who, when Obama was in office, thought that it was essentially the apocalypse. And now the shoe is clearly on the other foot. I guess we’re feeling what they were feeling? [But] there has to be some face-to-face contact with the other side; we can’t all have it on f–king Twitter. I have a wonderful stepfather who’s Republican; he’s one of the kindest guys, and we’ve had big disagreements, but it’s always been with respect and love and kindness. And I feel like [America’s] kind of lost that.
On social media: “Social media is just sort of this outrage machine where you get to shout whatever you want, and usually, you shout much louder than you would in person. It has the appearance of being democratic, [but] it’s actually not a democracy. Just because something has more likes doesn’t mean that more people believe that and vice versa. It’s more of a dictatorship on the internet than it is a democracy.
“I could never understand people who, when Obama was in office, thought that it was essentially the apocalypse. And now the shoe is clearly on the other foot. I guess we’re feeling what they were feeling?” I disagree, respectfully. I don’t blame him for trying to make sense of the current state of our country, but unhinged, ignorant people – and many of them were racists – thought Obama was the apocalypse because OMG BLACK GUY and HIS MIDDLE NAME IS HUSSEIN and HE MUST BE SECRETLY MUSLIM. The apocalyptic vibe these days is legitimate, in that our current president is a lunatic who will likely kill us all in a war with Australia.
I also disagree with him about social media too – it is what you make of it. Some people use it as a tool for democracy and as a way to organize, disrupt and challenge authority. Some people use it for sh-tty reasons, to be sh-tty people.
Justin also posted this several days ago:
Photos courtesy of Instagram, Fame/Flynet, WENN.
I NEED season 3 of Leftovers!!!!
Ok, back to politics. I understand what he’s saying. But if we have convictions, it’s hard to just understand. You have to take a stand.
I watched the Bannon segment of the CPAC yesterday and it was fucking scary. This is not about someone’s stepfather. It’s about fascism.
Agree with everything you said.
I’d also add that I somehow think he’d be willing to take a stand…but he’s also being reflective about how we’ve arrived here. You can’t put the hate-filled, fake news-screaming genie back in the bottle but I guess you can hope that discourse can somehow become more civil again.
Exactly. It has come to a very serious point where Bannon is talking about dismantling the basic rules of democracy and international engagement in the world. It’s nice to vent and to have a Twitter feud here and there but that’s not what is going to solve this. I think it actually even feeds the monster.
Oh dear god.. ‘It’s dancers, journalists, painters, poets—and you’re all together’
I think you can find other people in NY and in LA too as everywhere else in the world.
Maybe you don’t want to see them but they’re there.
Celebrities think that what really pushes their world is art.
How about plumbers, builders, carpenters, electricians, lawyers, engineers, architects, doctors and many other? They are people too.
Right? I usually find him OK in interviews, but that sounds like he is living in a bubble.
Exactly what I was thinking. I work in food service – can I still join the party, JT, or am I too unremarkable? **laughs**
Yeah, he’s generally wrong here. That said, I bloody love The Leftovers, including Justin’s patented lip wobble.
It’s such a great show. And he’s a really good actor, lip wobble and all. I’ll admit I hadn’t seen much of his work until the show and I was pleasantly surprised.
So was I. It was completely unexpected to me how good he is and how incredibly intricate the show rapidly became. A cross between Twin Peaks and a Paul Thomas Anderson movie.
And just for laughs: my 17 y o daughter, during one of the episodes just said “my goodness his eyebrows are one of his most effective acting techniques”.
So there’s the lip wobble and the emotive eyebrow.
A lot going on.
Yes! So clever and subtle and full of references.
Plus, Justin may not be the world’s best actor, but he will always have the Homeward Bound scene (complete with lip wobble). One of my favourite tellybox moments ever.
The way he phrased the sentence about the switching of sides, as a question, makes me think he doesn’t believe it either but is trying to make sense of it.
I don’t think he’s ignorant of the racist component in it. At least that’s how I took it.
As for social media, I think he’s talking about trolls and how much they played in the election and still do in today’s political climate.
I guess I see where he’s coming from. It’s just a matter of choosing your sources and where you go on social media.
Some sites or pages do tend to give you inkling as to what you’re going to find!!!
Of course, everybody wishes social media was used only to raise awareness or spread a positive message.
Alas…
I think he’s a very white elite male. He’s probably aware of the racism but not necessarily irked or bothered by it. Nothing about him or is social circle or body of work screams that diversity is a priority for him.
True.
I forgot to factor in privilege! Silly me!
Probably because he phrased it differently than all the other people who are like “make peace, give him a chance” ugh… I can’t with that.
Looking back I also appreciate what he said about being a woman a bit differently, especially coming from someone so tight with Terry Richardson…
Anyway, my mind is a jumbled mess! I got mugged a couple days ago and my thought process is still impaired lol!
Oh no!! Hope you’re ok!
@luca76
You nailed it.
This guy is a fence rider. A member of the ‘Both Sides’ Church. Making sure he says things that aren’t objectionable to anyone.
I understand. When after living your adult life in anonymity, struggling to land gigs THEN you suddenly get famous at 45 – not because of your WORK, but because you hook up with Brad Pitt’s sad meme ex. AKA the mini-van’s favorite woebegone woman scorned ‘friend,’ who plays well in the flyovers- you don’t want to upset that apple cart as they might be Trump voters.
I think he likes being out of the shadows even as he extols and romanticizes his NYC dumpster diving days.
Obama was hated by the RW loons because he was a Black Democrat who commandingly won the Presidency twice. There was no room for compromise, Obama spent his whole first term holding his hand out to the other side even after they spit in it on day one.
So this guy is safely riding the fence and his false equivalence is off the charts. Obama came in and cleaned up the crap we were all swimming in from the previous Republican admin, while Trump has been gifted with a righted ship courtesy Pres. Obama and is intent on ramming us all into an iceberg.
Not the same thing. He needs to have a seat.
Oh, and I believe him about not wanting to make the series very long.
The Leftovers is very well written, very intense and, I suppose, expensive. It was never going to be, because if it’s extreme narrative, an incredibly successful series. It has to end quickly so as to not spoil the good writing and it’s audience.
I agree. It was a prestige show that resisted selling out for cheap broadstrokes. Its clearly the type of show that would have a very clear path to concluding in a maximum of four seasons. I also agree with him regarding shows writing themselves into corners with long runs.
I like him. He’s kind of off center and not easy to categorize. There’s something nerdy yet edgy, airhead yet smart and philosophical about him. He likes diversity when it comes to lots of things it seems and he’s not easy to pin down. However, his comparisons about how people feel about Trump vs the other side weren’t well thought out imo. He could have said it better.
I live in NYC and it always makes me chuckle how elitist people describe it, soundly utterly clueless. Also, that tattoo sounds, uh, unappetizing.
He sounds so stupid here ‘It’s dancers, journalists, painters, poets—and you’re all together’
I can’t stop rolling my eyes
Right? In my old building I lived on a floor with an accountant, a graphic artist who did work for a law firm (their promo materials), a social worker, guy who managed a moving company and a middle school teacher. And a lot of people who were in bands but also had a day job. I’m not sure I ever met a professional painter, poet, journalist (not including bloggers) or dancer (except for the exotic kind). Wait, I take that back, I did know a back-up dancer who was frequently on tour and ended up moving to LA. Yes, there’s a lot of really interesting people in NYC, but it’s also a lot of run of the mill folks you find anywhere. If there’s any one field that you’ll find in abundance it’s banking/financial (in my experience anyway).
LOL Pao & Sunny, I know right? I don’t know what you guys do, but I totally agree, there is this idealized, romantic view of NY that is so divorced from reality for the majority of ppl who live here. It’s kind of comical. I’m thinking of the pigeons in Washington Square Park and the subway rats and chuckling that someone would actually put that on their bodies, gross, so New York! HA.
@hoya
+1
Lol, more like so stupid hipster.
Good grief, when is The Leftovers back??!!!!?????!!!!
April, I think.
I don’t like it when people try to equivocate people’s reaction to Obama with people’s reaction to Trump. First of all, it normalizes him.
Second of all, very different things drive the reactions, duh. Small minded haters being scared of the black dude with the funny name, being afraid that he was anti-white just because he is black and slandering him in the process is very different than people being offended and concerned about Trump’s anti-woman, anti-POC, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, anti-LGBTQ, anti-immigrant, anti-environmentalist, anti-free press, pro Russia rhetoric and actions. Like, big difference here. Trust, people weren’t terrified of Obama’s policies. They were terrified of him just for existing.
Not the same, Justin.
It wasn’t just because he was black, although there are many of those. But many Republicans go off the deep end about a Democrat as POTUS What will happen to our country, blah, blah.. Tons were carrying on worrying about the state of the country if Hillary won, how she would destroy it. One woman thanked Trump for winning because she couldn’t sleep at night because she was so terrified about what HIllary would do to her country.
So they vote for a man who hasn’t a clue how to govern a country and lead and who incites bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, on and on, and is thin-skinned, immature. But, hey, he’s going to make this country great again.
It’s like living in Bizarro World.
I agree with Jayna. Many people just can’t handle a Democrat in the WH. The slander by the Republicans and the Christian Right over the years about the democratic party has swayed many. My family and some of my friends, who are not racists despised Obama and they are backing Trump.
I’m really concerned about the Republican Party right now. They are pretty silent. Which again, I interpret as preferring an administration overtly destroying US democracy to a democrat. My mind keeps harping over it. Are they working with Bannon? Are they scheming behind the scenes for when they can take over? It’s keeping me up at night.
This is true. There was alot of hysteria about Obama being some kind of socialist and we would (egads) TURN INTO FRANCE! The social conservative types were freaking out about abortion and Obama “taking away our guns!” The national security types feared he could allow the UN to dictate US foreign policy. The same charges were levied against Hillary.
Our country is extremely polarized.
And Obama didn’t spew a mountain of filth on his way to the White House. He had his gaffes, of course, but he didn’t mock disabled reporters, Gold Star families, female moderators he didn’t like, his opponent’s spouses … I could go on, but I know I don’t need to.
I’ve been unhappy when Republicans have won elections before, but I’ve never been downright afraid until this year. This time is very different. Sorry, Justin, it’s not the same.
Agree!
@ Jayna and Rocknrust
He specifically mentioned Obama in the interview excerpt. Soooo…that’s what I addressed.
Twitter isn’t a democracy? Tell that to DT, who is still tweeting nonsense about Chicago and outrage at the leakers exposing his ties to Russia.
One thing about social media: It shows who people are.
I live in Chicago…it’s a beautiful city. Yes, there are problems, but Trump needs to STFU about it.
I do agree with him that people are much louder and braver, especially with negative bigotry, online than they would be in real life if they had to sign their real name and publish it in their local paper. This ability to spew hatred anonymously is not helping anything.
That’s very true. And often we don’t know who the people are and if there are hidden agendas. Talking to people face to face … humanizing people is what the world need more of that’s for sure. That’s what Trump does so well … dehumanizing and demeaning people and causing divides.
I get what he’s saying about politics (the incredible divisiveness right now) and social media (the loud echo chamber thing vs. having real, difficult, more polite dialogue). I have relatives who voted for Trump. They are kind, generous people who believe very deeply in principles of fiscal conservatism and other elements of the Republican platform. They don’t like or admire Trump, but believe his policies better align with their political beliefs, so held their noses and voted for him. Just as many Dems held their noses and voted for HRC (many having bought into the long smear campaign against her). Of course there is cognitive dissonance; these Repubs simply overlook all the hate promoted by the evil cabal and pretend it’s not there. They will applaud Richard Spencer being kicked out of CPAC and Milo’s fall too, but choose not to look too hard at Bannon’s more subtle, insidious hate. Otherwise, they’d have to acknowledge their complicity. The Alt-Righters can go straight to hell, but there is a large Repub/Indep. constituency that occupies more moderate territory based on legitimate policy differences. If we are ever going to get anything done in this country, there has to be more bipartisan dialogue and efforts. Though I’m far from completely sold on her, a politician like Tulsi Gabbard is interesting in this respect.
I have relatives and acquaintances who voted for trump too. 🙁
I don’t know what republicans stand for anymore, and haven’t been republicans since before Bush II – who expanded and established the department of homeland security, sanctioned torture, got us involved in wars, put federal government oversight over education and testing, and generally increased government costs tremendously.
Oh yeah and bush II lowered taxes. That is basically why people I know voted for Trump – because he would lower their taxes. How is that kind and generous? I feel that I really don’t understand people anymore… Not yelling or judging you, just venting.
I feel like there are no heroes left in this world. Obama was not perfect but words matter, discourse matters. he tried to encourage us to be compassionate, help our fellow people with setting up health insurance, pointing out issues with race in the US (even as white ppl feel that creates division, um what?) and it feels like some men-boys with a dumb frog set the discourse for this election and trump voters were like, “sure!” Rather than take a stand on some milo/trump words until one came out as a possible sexual abuse victim/perpetrator.
I think what he failed to see and/or express here is that DT is much more than a them vs us, republican vs democrat. I get this scary sense that Trump is trying to destroy the government from within. It kind of like a coup and no one is seeming to notice.
Or Bannon is, Robyn.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/02/23/bannon-trump-administration-is-in-unending-battle-for-deconstruction-of-the-administrative-state/?postshare=161487879490400&tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.abe64c098602
I think he’s trying to say that social media can trap us all in a cycle of echo chamber ‘thinking’ if we’re not cautious in how we engage with it (our timelines, our feeds, our follows, and followers). We need to be constantly curating our interactions and sufficiently guard against the pitfalls which do exist in forming and framing our political discourse increasingly moreso through social media.
I spend a lot of time on Twitter and find much that is good and mobilises people however I find much that is bad about the easy one-click proliferation of alternative facts and unreasoned Cult-like responses to material posted.
I engage with politics in real life, both at a personal and professional level, but for many their sole engagement is increasingly a retreat to online only; for these people who are more validated by a like or a retweet rather than discussing and debating in real life there can be a tendency to undermine their capacity for reasoned interaction and a disincentivisation to address thoughts which do not conform to their own, perhaps increasingly narrowed, world view.
Also social media can encourage some to merely block an opposing view with one click. Begone the naysayers. I think that, apart from on the grounds of threats and abuse, the tendency to merely block can engender an unhealthy mindset then often taken into real life ‘blocking’, sometimes with extreme consequences.
Anyhow, all that said, at least JT is thinking about these things.
Completely agree with you.
I agree too, and I know I’m guilty of this as well. I turned off the feed of several people who post pro-Trump things. I’m trying to save my sanity, but I know it contributes to my own bubble.
I kind of get what he’s saying about the shoe being on the other foot now, in most basic terms that’s true, though IMO the reactions are not equal, and not rooted in the same type of fear.
“The apocalyptic vibe these days is legitimate, in that our current president is a lunatic who will likely kill us all in a war with Australia.”
You know it. Australia is a country that was founded by criminals thus making it the most streetwise country on the planet. So don’t mess with Australia. They’ll f-ck you up.
Word.
I can understand that JT is trying to be super careful in what he says so as not to cause an upset to fans of his show or anything his wife is doing. If you don’t want to face the ugly Tweets and Blogs you keep your yap shut. I disagree that there is any comparison in what we are feeling now as to what the alt right felt under Obama. How on earth can any American support this regime that wants to openly dismantle our democracy? That is not the same as being angry that you have to help support healthcare for everyone. Ugh it just makes me so depressed, disappointed disgusted!