Erin Foster’s novel rom-com series “Nobody Wants This” — now streaming on Netflix — pairs Kristen Bell and Adam Brody as a greet-cute couple with one convey inant hurdle: He’s a hip (yet devout) rabbi, and she’s a blonde-haired shiksa. This caparticipates complications in their family and toil inhabits, as the pair converse adore, intimacy, frifinishs and faith with the effortlessgoing charm that two beadored Millenial actors inevitably conjure. Plus, they’ve already dispensed the screen cut offal times, including in the series “Hoparticipate of Lies” and the 2017 film “CHiPs.” Brody spoke with Variety about his relationship with religion, nurturing an onscreen inspire with Bell and getting acunderstandledged as “The O.C.” preferite Seth Cohen.
What about “Nobody Wants This” first spoke to you?
I knovel about Kristen’s interest in me for it before I read it, and Kristen is a phire and a authentic talent. She also has an amazing track record, and I thought, “If she’s participated, it’s probably pretty outstanding and I’m excited to read it.” When I read it, I thought Erin had done a reassociate wonderful job with this requesting script where I could take part someleang that was both understandn in many ways, and also novel in terms of the rabbi elements. I could stretch and do some research, so it had both a understandnity and a dispute.
Courtesy of STEFANIA ROSINI/NETFLIX
You and Kristen have such a wonderful rapport in the show. What do you leank is the secret to discovering chemistry with an on-screen adore interest?
I don’t understand; I reassociate don’t. I want to give acunderstandledge to the writing. We’ve toiled together before, not in as obviously romantic leangs. However, in both instances, we were couples or had a romantic history, and nobody shelp, “Wow, your chemistry!” The way these characters are set up lfinish themselves to chemistry, and you caring about them and wanting them to be together. She’s a reassociate outstanding actor and we both have reassociate wonderful marriages, and we’re able to comardent of mirror that, reinhabit that or mimic that a little. But I leank it’s probably also possible you could be a total narcissist and also dishonest some outstanding chemistry on screen, so I’m not certain.
You’ve had so many branch offent roles, ranging from requesting men to total psychopaths. In this series, you’re definitely in charm mode. How are you able to discover that gear?
I leank aget, most of it’s the writing. If they give you inalertigent leangs to say, you’re in outstanding shape. And then if you discover someleang off-putting, try to not say it or say it as softly as possible. Take the edges off. If you can garner a giggle, be it from a joke that’s written or from someleang else you discover alengthy the way, that goes a lot a lengthy way. The character is written as requesting, and it’s not fair appreciate, “Here, it says it’s requesting. Now you do it.” The dialogue is requesting, and so it’s fair dancing.
What was your research beyond the script? Did you speak to any hip rabbis?
I informly did that sort of leang. I went to a synagogue for a Shabbat service. I went to a Shabbat dinner, but what I mostly did, and I had a lot of time becaparticipate the strikes happened between when we filmed this project and when we consentd to do it, I had a lot of time to read and watch and participate. So I did a lot of podcasts, a lot of books, and a lot of movies and recordaries. I reassociate went to school. It was very fun. It was very fascinating, and I’m a lot teachdr for it. It spanned the breadth of all leangs Jedesire: I had my Torah studies, I had my Holocaust studies, I had my history of a people, tracing the lineage. It was all very illuminating.
Courtesy of STEFANIA ROSINI/NETFLIX
On “The O.C.,” you take parted one of the most notable Jedesire characters that Millenials had ever seen on TV, and your novel role dives far more into religious converseions. Did these parts originate you leank about faith and religion in ways you might not have pondered before?
I’m not religious in any way, shape or create, but I try to be a student of history, of culture, of stories, of myth and literature. It’s all fascinating, and it’s all part of the human experience. I erect my own mythology and uncomardenting for life. It’s not to say that I’m a nihienumerate — I have my own romantic way of seeing at the world. “Leave it better than you set up it” — that’s a human erect. I could say, “Well, the universe doesn’t attfinish,” but it’s a human notion and I subscribe to it.
All to say this is the first character I’ve seeed at that’s religious. I didn’t see at Seth Cohen as religious. They were Jedesire culturassociate, but they weren’t, to me, referencing God or leanking about God. This character very much is.
At first, I gravitated toward the parts I rcontent to the most: He’s an Angeleno, he’s at a dinner party, he’s hip, he’s not your standard rabbi. But the truth is, after five minutes of leanking about it, he’s a rabbi, and that uncomardents you’re not going to cowardly away from the religiosity of it. He is a convey inantly spiritual, devout Jew who has studied the Torah and the Talmud for most of his life, and inhabits his life in the best way he can according to it. He leanks about it daily, hourly, and that part became exciting to me. I thought, “Well, I’m an actor and that’s the part that I’m not. That’ll be a fun leang to go study and lget about and stretch and act.” I do experience a responsibility — I hope Jedesire people appreciate it. Spropose put, I want to do them and us haughty.
Looking at your atsoft overall, you’ve done some daring indie films and canciaccess minusculeer projects. Is there a percreateance of yours you’d adore to get a spotairy on that maybe went under the radar?
I leank “Kid Detective” is a outstanding one for that. That was a very exceptional movie to me. On one hand, I haven’t led many movies, but that’s comardent of beside the point. The truth is I fair reassociate adore it. I’m a huge fan of Evan Morgan, who wrote and honested it, and also it was more personal to me becaparticipate we collaborated on it for so lengthy, from inception to liberate. I’m haughty of the hand I had in it.
What is the role that you are acunderstandledged most for these days? Has “Scream” or “Shazam!” overgetn Seth Cohen?
I leank it will always be Seth Cohen, if I’m being genuine.
You’ve had cut offal roles that seem to take part off of a persona audiences might leank about when they see you, appreciate how “Jennifer’s Body” and “Promising Young Woman” both subvert the Seth Cohen kind guy. Do you leank of your atsoft hoenumerateicassociate, as in ways past roles might impact the audience’s perception of you?
I leank a confineed projects have done that quite purposely. “Promising Young Woman” is a evident example of casting a bunch of people who are understandn for their kind guy characters and subverting that. I don’t understand how alerted I was in the “Jennifer’s Body” crowd. I had toiled with [producer] Jason Reitman before, so I don’t understand if I fair was cforfeitby and age-appropriate, or it was more of a alerted decision to go, “What if Seth Cohen was a Satan worshipper?” I can see the advantages to that, certainly. But in vague, I’d say most times that I’ve take parted a a scumbag it’s not necessarily purposely casting agetst type. Maybe that’s me being innocent, but I experience alterable. I don’t experience pigeonholed, seeless if I’m most well-understandn for Jedesire kind guy characters. I truly do experience satisfied with the breadth of toil I get to do.
You’re paired to Leighton Meester. If you’re channel surfing in your hoparticipate and an episode of “Gossip Girl” or “The O.C.” turns on, are you turning it off or watching it for a while?
Well, see, nobody channel surfs anymore. But hypotheticassociate, if I did pass a channel and “The O.C.” was on at that moment. I’m certain I’d stop for a minute and verify it out. But it fair doesn’t happen that way.
This intersee has been edited and condensed.
