AVC: Do you want to talk about theater?
PR: When don't I want to talk about theater? That's the question.
AVC: You do very serious theatrical productions, and then very funny movie comedies. Does that ever make you feel schizophrenic?
PR: Well, that's why I have a mosaic print over my bed, of the drama masks. Cause I really live by the tragedy and comedy. I have it embroidered on the sweatshirt that I'm wearing now.
AVC: Which do you prefer doing? Theater or movies?
PR: You know, they're really individual. I get a lot out of both. There's a feeling of enrichment and challenge when it comes to doing a play, and especially doing, you know, like a classical play or a tragic play. In a way, it works a different set of muscles, I guess. But I do love it, and I love great writing, whatever it is, and there are so many great plays, and a lot of the writing in a lot of plays is just stellar, and no one is making movies like that––or if they are, I'm certainly not getting cast in them. But you know, working on a comedy with your friends… Like, I would say that with Anchorman and 40-Year-Old Virgin and Wet Hot American Summer, I was working with people who are completely inspiring. I love being around that company, and I try and step up to the level of their game.
AVC: Presumably some of your movies haven't been that much fun.
PR: Totally. Yeah, there have been a few that… You know, it's like you go into everything with the best intentions, and you never really know what it's gonna be. All of the elements can be lined up, and the stars are aligned and everything, and then the movie just turns out to be a clunker, or it's not fun for whatever reason.
AVC: How did you avoid going the whole romantic-comedy route?
PR: Um, career suicide seemed more interesting than that. I moved out of California. I was in my early 20s––it's the time in your life when you can afford to do what you wanna do. And I was such a snob and an elitist when it came to my taste in music and my taste in movies and everything else, I was like, "Fuck that. I wanna do cool shit." I would like to say that I actually said it more eloquently, but I don't think I did. So after being Josh in Clueless, I did a play for a year, and was not interested in doing another version of Josh. Looking back, I'm really happy with the choices I've made in my career. I know for a fact I could be wealthier. Who knows, maybe I could be more successful, maybe not. I don't know. But just about every single thing I've ever done, I've gone into with the right intentions, and that goes a long way. It may not pay my rent, but it's kind of enriching in other, possibly more important ways.
AVC: Do you have a…
PR: One-bedroom? You got it. [Laughs.]
AVC: Do you think it would've been different if you'd stayed in L.A.?
PR: I don't know. I mean, who knows. I didn't, so, you know, I don't know. There's probably more opportunities out there, just because there's more things being cast out there. But there was also the whole television world, which didn't really exist here. Though I wasn't particularly interested in that anyway, so.
AVC: Did you like doing television?
PR: You mean like on Friends? I did. You know, the experience was just surreal. I had only intended to do a couple of shows. I was only supposed to do two. If I had signed a contract to be on the show, I would've—just because I tend to do this, it's probably unhealthy, I'm sure—would've had a mild panic attack. Creatively, not the most fulfilling job. And that was a good show, too. And I think that they're great. But the conventions of sitcom television is stifling, and you just have… It seemed like there was no room for spontaneity, which is crucial in a lot of comedy. Now, that was one of the great ones, so, you know, they were all really good at it, but I always kind of figured I would blend into the background anyway. This show's about six people, not seven.
AVC: Did you get sexually harassed on the Friends set?
PR: All the time. Every day.
AVC: Did you read any of the reviews for Three Days Of Rain?
PR: I, um… You know, I didn't read them, but they were impossible to avoid. Like literally, if you get onto a computer, you know, it's just like "Three Days Of Pain" next to your email. You could piece it together. I know what they said, generally, and some of that I could've predicted, I think.
AVC: Because of Julia Roberts?
PR: Easy target. And unfair, I think.
AVC: Do you think critics just want to shoot her down because she's a movie star trying something new?
PR: I don't know. That is what everyone would say. I do think that she's pretty great. I mean, I'm totally impressed with her. And I know many people who have seen the show and have been pretty dazzled, and certainly by her. Who knows what critics are thinking? I know that you make more of a name for yourself, make more of an interesting review, if you're kind of mean-spirited. But I don't know.
You know, people are always quick to say the critics obviously didn't get it. Or the ones that gave good reviews, they obviously got it, but the ones who didn't, didn't get it. And I just think, "No, they totally got it. It's just that this is what they got from it." So I put less stock in them. Also, I think the criteria seems to have lessened as far as who's a critic and who's not. I just read reviews for things I've seen, and it seems like lately, in the last several years, I'm thinking, "God, did we see the same thing?"
But I think that you have to look at a critic's physical appearance. Sometimes on TV or something, I see these critics, and the way they wear their hair… or they'll have a mustache without any irony, and I think, "This guy's aesthetic criteria is so completely different from mine. What I think is cool is so not what he thinks is cool." You go, "What kind of music is this person listening to?" And then I go, "All right, you know what? We have different tastes." So it just puts their critical analysis in a different light.
AVC: You mean like that guy on the Today show?
PR: Yeah, it's just like, you know what? Some people should hang it up. Does anyone really think that what Gene Shalit is saying is… You had a nice run in the '70s. Or Clive Barnes. You know, he's in his 80s or something, and he's a theater critic.
AVC: A lot of theater critics are very old.
PR: Yeah, they're ancient. So I really think that anything sharp and daring and new and interesting can be a generational thing. Like Wet Hot American Summer. I can't believe I've spent this much time talking about critics. Maybe I've revealed too much.
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