Jake Johnson loves playing the Hollywood game, especially when it changes
If you’re bored enough—a frustrating job, living with your mom after a bad breakup—you too might take a ride in a mysterious limousine carrying Andy Samberg. You might also consider the offer: Beat Killers for 30 Days and Win $1 Million.
It’s a risk that Tommy, played by Jake Johnson, would be willing to accept “Self Reliance,” the black comedy on Hulu that he also wrote and directed.
Johnson, 45, was feeling antsy during the pandemic when he decided the time for this project was now.
“When you ride this roller coaster, you don’t know how long you’re going to be allowed to play while you’re here,” he said in a video interview from the studio he set up for the podcast and Zoom calls on his phone. Pasadena, California, home. “You have to take chances and experiment. If you have a relationship with the audience, you have to offer new options.
Johnson is best known as an actor in films and television, particularly the comedy series “New Girl,” which ran for seven seasons and was one of the reasons Anna Kendrick and Samberg agreed to join “Self Reliance.”
“Having someone as funny as him start the movie, that sets the tone for how I want this movie to be seen,” Johnson said before talking about losing at chess, carpentry mishaps, and out-of-this-world restaurants. “That means: sit down and have a glass of wine or smoke a joint or whatever you like to do and enjoy. It’s a journey.”
These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
1
My twin girls
When I had children, they became a dominant part of my life. They transform every day, every thought. So the idea of living without them – I don’t even know what life is.
2
New projects
I get a lot of self-worth from staying busy. Now is the podcast I’m most excited about. Our program is called We’re Here to Help, and Gareth Reynolds and I try to help callers. We just had one where an adult woman’s mother and stepfather kissed her on the lips when they said goodbye.
3
Learn carpentry
This studio was a master closet. I said to my wife, “What if I took out that bookcase and built up the walls and turned it into a closet and turned it into an office?” I found this great carpenter who is better than I can watch him work. It all gets really exciting, and I spend all my time thinking about it. I did some drywall work, sanded everything, and the plaster got everywhere. I was like, “I have to learn a new technique.”
4
chess
I played with my uncle Eddie when I was younger, and Eddie was an old con man who used to scam me. Then Mike Serra challenged me on Chess.com and embarrassed me. I have an 8 year old nephew who is a bit of a prodigy, and in the comments section he talks trash while writing bad words. This is about as insulting as it gets – for someone to say, “You’re disgusting, Uncle Jake,” misspelled during my examination.
5
Walking and talking
I have a bunch of different friends that I’ll go on random trips with. We arrive at Griffith Park or walk around Pasadena, two hours just to sweat and chat – to hear where they are and their perspective. I’d rather walk up the hill than sit down to eat a sandwich with someone.
6
Change Hollywood
Modernity I find really exciting. When there’s a new phase and everyone’s panicking and going, “It’s all Marvel movies” or whatever, I say, “Now there’s a big change in the game and a lot of us are going to fall off the cliff and die. But there are movies that need to be made if you want to keep playing.”
7
Giant leaps
Right now, my daughters are learning division and multiplication, and we do that a lot at home. There are tears, there are fights, and then there is growth. They jump forward, and suddenly they crush something and I don’t know how they got there. These things get me through a lot of days.
8
Late night screen time
When everyone goes to sleep, there are a few hours when everything is quiet and you can just turn over and watch whatever you want to watch. And that part of time — what my friend Steve Berg always called “the time that gets weird” — I love.
9
Coffee with my wife
We have coffee at the same time in the morning. We get into some really wild discussions and we’ll be like, what’s going on? And I’d be like, “We’re drinking concentrate straight. We’re dope now, baby.”
10
Hidden gems
We’ll drive into the deep Alhambra or somewhere in the San Gabriel Valley, and find a crazy little store where the menu isn’t even available in English. Then you get a dish, and every once in a while you’ll take the first bite and say, “Oh my (expletive), what galaxy…?”
