Josh Robert Thompson – Nowhere Girl

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) Please tell us the premise for the film Nowhere Girl.

A) I play a guy named Tyler who is down and out. He can’t seem to quite shake his previous relationship. Tyler lives with his two best friends and is trying to piece his life back together. He’s sort of stuck, which happens often in our lives. He’s kind of given up on everything. He’s kind of a little blob sitting on the couch in his friend’s house and the world is passing him by. There is a scene in the movie where over and over it shows my friend and his son get ready for the day and I’m sitting on the couch still in my robe, growing this horrible beard. One day, he meets a woman at a little cafe and she turns out to be the girl of his dreams. But then we discover this girl doesn’t exist…She’s not a real human being. That begins the second half of the movie where Tyler’s friends are trying to figure out what is going on with him and Tyler is upset that no one believes him. He comes to realize though that it is time to move on and is okay with that.

Q) Where did you draw from for your portrayal?

A) I was fresh off of a breakup of a rather long relationship so it wasn’t too difficult for me to jump into that pain (at least the first half of the movie). It’s an interesting character because Jed Rigney (the screenwriter and director) had written it essentially with himself in mind. Not that he was going to play the role, but one of the funny things about the character is that he constantly is eating food. I kept saying, “This doesn’t seem right for me because I’m a pretty thin guy.” It seemed funny to me. So, there was this other idea that Tyler wanted to be a chef and so maybe he just enjoys different kinds of foods. Originally, he ate quite a bit more so we had to cut down some of the instances when Tyler was eating all the time. We had a good laugh about that! I just played it very real, which was hard for me because I come from an improv, comedy and standup comedy background. It was a challenge for me not to be the funny guy because there are other silly characters in the movie. It was very hard for me to not be that guy and a good challenge, too. I just happened to add my own experiences though because we have all had our hearts broken. There has at least been that one really big relationship that nearly “destroyed us.” We’ve all been through us and that’s why the character is relatable to the audience.

Q) Is there a blurred line in the relationship between Michelle and Tyler?

A) I think that is an interesting observation. I kind of felt that way, too. In some ways (and I don’t mean this as a mark against the script) I felt that Michelle (Jennifer Aspen) and Tyler had a more interesting relationship. Sometimes I wanted to see what those two might be like together because she has so much energy and is grounded in the real world. I think the appeal of that relationship was that Tyler is mopey and feeling sorry for himself and she was very pragmatic, logical and had a good head on her shoulders. So, she wouldn’t take any of Tyler’s nonsense. Of the two in the movie, she is the most level headed and more emotional. I think she really does care about Tyler. There is a lovely scene where she is in bed with her husband and cries thinking about how hurt Tyler is. I’ve been drinking all night with my buddies and there is something really revealing in that scene about her. She really does care underneath that tough love exterior. For me, it was more about long term friends who can openly mock each other lovingly. To me, that was the one character in the entire film who is trying to make sense of it and genuinely cares. Not that the other characters don’t care, but I feel she is the one person trying to make sense of it all and bring me back down to Earth.

Q) How hands on was Jed on the film and what was the guidance he provided?

A) He and I have known each other for a while and he and I did a project prior to making this movie. He and I met one-on-one to talk about the script. He had written a script years ago where he and I played five or six different characters and it was more of a comedy short film. I enjoyed doing that because I do like to play multiple characters in many of the projects that I do. This time around, he met with me. We had lunch and he said, “How about we try something different? This is a film I wrote that is a romantic comedy, but you are going to play essentially the romantic male lead.” I am not a huge fan of romantic comedies. There are some very good ones like Annie Hall. That is probably the best there ever was because it is so real. There is often the best friend character who is over the top and other silly characters. Then, in the end, everything is okay. So, there were two things against it for me: one was that I wasn’t allowed to be funny and do a bunch of voices and two was that I could only play one person. I like to play multiple people, which sounds funny, but is a good challenge. Actually, the third thing was that it was a romantic comedy, but when I read it I enjoyed my character because it was exactly what I had been going to at that time. Jed definitely knew that, but he also saw something in me that I hadn’t seen in myself, which was that I could be a dramatic actor in a film and still be somewhat appealing (those are his words). I wasn’t sure about it because I usually think I’m more interesting when I’m telling jokes. He was correct about that though. As a director, I don’t know that he was completely hands on and I mean that in a very positive way. He really let you, as a performer, create your own idea of what the character is supposed to be. You write a screenplay and have an idea of what these characters are supposed to be and how they act, but it is a different thing when you then cast someone and they give their own interpretation. It’s a delicate thing to maybe step in and tell them that it’s wrong. Not necessarily and he didn’t really do that. There were times he would take us as performers off the set, outside, for a moment to give us a different note – almost something we would do to surprise the other performer. I always appreciated the one-on-one conversations. He just really let me do my thing. I think there was a lot of trust there, too. I think there was a purpose these people were cast for this film because they were able to tap into these characters quickly and I appreciated that.

Q) What was the most challenging scene for you to film?

A) I would say the most challenging scene was the first time that I kissed Ilana [Guralnik.] This was my first feature film and I had done a lot of television and voice acting. But I had never done something that was this significant on camera. Certainly I had never kissed anyone on screen! So, I think my first on screen kiss was nerve wracking for me. It’s actually the scene where Tyler is waiting for Katie to come over to his place. He just has the conversation at dinner where his two friends have confronted him that Katie doesn’t exist. Of course, there is a big blow up and an argument. Tyler leaves their house very angrily so in a fright he is trying to get a hold of Katie hoping and praying that she is real and that his friends are wrong. It’s the moment when she knocks on the door and he runs to the door. It’s the big romantic movie moment when he opens the door, pull her to him and passionately kisses her. If you know anything about movie making and the reality of romance, it is anything but romantic. What was funny about that scene was that location because we needed to get out of there in five minutes so what was happening moments before we shot that scene very quickly was that the crew was packing up and there was a lot of hustle and bustle. Crew members were shouting orders and it was very hot. It was like a hundred degrees in that room! It was stifling. Nothing was conducive to romance or comfort, but it works. That was the big hurdle for me. I was very, very nervous about kissing someone on screen. Would it look right? What people buy it? Would there be chemistry? Is my breath bad? These are all technical issues, but it worked fine. Obviously, when you are watching the movie you aren’t aware that any of that stuff is happening off camera. It means we have done our job.

Q) What do you hope viewers take away from watching the show?

A) Well, for me, I hope the take away is (because it is such a personal movie for me [certainly the heartbreak part of the movie is very real to me]) is that it doesn’t last forever. Things always turn around. I’d love for people to watch this movie and be comforted by the fact that you are going to get your heart broken or your heart may be broken now, but it won’t last forever. It feels like it will go on forever, like your life is over and you’ll never get things together again, but it’s not true. Eventually, someone even better comes along. I think the idea of Katie is interesting because he materializes this person in his own head to help comfort him, a coping mechanism really. Because he thought about her so much and focused all his attention on who his ideal woman would be, ultimately, (in a sense) she materializes. I think that is another example of the guy deciding to focus on the positive rather than dwell in darkness. The moment that the guy decides to take the garbage cans out to the curb is such a tiny thing, but it is the first step towards changing his life. Really the movie is about taking out the trash. [laughs] Really, the emotional trash in a strange way is that scene with Tyler taking out his trash and thus begins his recovery. People should watch it and feel good about it because it is possible. We all heal eventually and the pain doesn’t last forever. Maybe you meet someone super hot? That’s the case with Tyler.