Jonah Hill Talks Identifying With Carrie Bradshaw and Working With Gus Van Sant
Last year saw Jonah Hill make his directorial debut, with Mid90s, which follows a band of teens bouncing from skate shop to skate shop during summer in L.A. But Hill didn’t leave acting entirely behind. He also starred alongside Joaquin Phoenix—as his AA sponsor, no less—in Gus Van Sant’s adaptation of John Callahan’s 1989 memoir, Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot. The story is a tragic one: Callahan, an alcoholic played by Phoenix, sets his sights on becoming a cartoonist after a car accident leaves him paralyzed. But there’s also a humor to the film—thanks, in part, to Callahan’s newfound profession, but mainly to the way that Phoenix and Hill portray their characters doing their best to use comedy to cope. This isn’t, of course, Hill’s first stint as a comedian, though it may be his first as one with long blond hair. Here, he reminisces on that golden mane and talks working with Van Sant (along with why he’s convinced that he’s a Carrie).
Let’s talk a little bit about the film, Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Too Far on Foot. How did the role come to you? I got a phone call from Gus Van Sant asking me to play Donnie, alongside Joaquin Phoenix.
And Donnie was a real person, right? He was, but we don’t know his real name because he was Joaquin’s character, John Callahan’s, AA sponsor, and they don’t give real names because of the anonymity of the program. I don’t know if John just made his name up, because, unfortunately, he was gone by the time we were all working on the film.
He has such a fantastic look in it. As an actor, working with the costume designer is always one of my favorite collaborations. That was especially true for The Wolf of Wall Street—Sandy Powell was such a genius in creating that character. And actually, besides Joaquin and Gus, my biggest collaborator on this film was our costume designer, Danny Glicker. He showed me a bunch of photographs when it came time to creating Donnie, whom Callahan describes in the book as rocking the Tom Petty vibe. One of the photos was of Yves Saint Laurent in Morocco in the ’70s. We looked at it and we were like, “Oh, level-10 Marrakech!” So Donnie wears a lot of caftans and Moroccan stuff in the movie—kind of our Tom Petty–and–Yves Saint Laurent level-10 Marrakech.
Was there any outfit of his that really helped you get into character? Those little booty shorts. We needed something for him to be doing for a scene when he’s just coming home and is excited to go on a trip, and I told Gus I would love to see what Donnie dances like. So Gus put on “I Need Love,” the Donna Summer song—I thought he should be dancing to disco because he’s always talking about going to these disco clubs. I think it ended up being too expensive to use in the film, but it was so great.
Joaquin Phoenix and Jonah Hill in *Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot.*
He also has a very calm, Zen outlook on life. Donnie had conquered a lot of the things that were dark and demonic about himself, and he was able to be peaceful and calm, which I aspire to be, too. I miss being Donnie—even just having his long blond hair. I was in a great place playing that character, and working with so many great people—Gus, who’s a master filmmaker, and Joaquin, who’s a master actor, and people like Kim Gordon, Udo Kier, and Beth Ditto. And then, right after I finished that, I went into preproduction on Mid90s as a writer-director, so I went from the most peaceful time in my life to the most stressful.
But you must have been ecstatic. I was ecstatic, but it was a different kind of energy. Making Mid90s was the most joyous experience in my life, but it was a stressed joy.
The performances in Mid90s are so good, too. Do you think that being an actor, and having worked with so many directors, made you a better director? I think all of your human experiences add up to the person you are now, and all your film experiences add up to the actor, writer, director, whatever else it is that you are. So, yeah: I’ve picked up so much from all these amazing people I’ve worked with, whether Gus, the Coen brothers, Martin Scorsese, Bennett Miller, Quentin Tarantino, Spike Jonze, Seth Nevin, or Judd Apatow. But, you know, in the beginning, I thought, Okay, this is going to be simple because I know how I’d like to be spoken to as an actor. So that’s what I did. But then you realize, Oh, Lucas Hedges is totally different from Katherine Waterston is totally different from Sonny Solcheck is totally different from.… You know, no two people are the same. No two actors are the same, no two directors are the same, no two writers are the same. So you can’t just do what’s best for you—you immediately have to adjust to whomever it is you’re dealing with.
Raf Simons coat; the Row T-shirt and jeans; Paul Smith boots.
In the spirit of Mid90s, what was the first CD you ever bought? Gosh. It was 1993, so it would have been [Snoop Dogg’s] Doggystyle or [Dr. Dre’s] The Chronic. The film actually frames hip-hop in the way it was with me growing up, because I grew up on rap music—it was like the emotional backbone of my child.
What was your first e-mail address? Gordonbombay18@aol—Gordon Bombay being Emilio Estevez, his character in The Mighty Ducks. I never liked hockey in my life—I just loved The Mighty Ducks.
What was your favorite Halloween costume? Most consistently, I probably was a [Teenage Mutant] Ninja Turtle.
Which one? Michelangelo. Actually, I was doing this to my friends the other day—you know, asking, “Which Ninja Turtle are you?” We basically got into this whole argument about it, and then it turned into “Which Sex in the City character are you? Which Sopranos character are you?”
So, which Sex and the City character are you? They think I’m Samantha. Not for being promiscuous or having a lifestyle like Samantha’s, but for sort of lacking any judgment of people’s lifestyles. But I think I’m a Carrie. I mean, I’m a writer and I’m annoying, you know? And then for The Sopranos, they said I was Chris Moltisanti, but I don’t know what that meant.
He’s like the favorite son—the one who always has somebody sort of looking after him, until he doesn’t. But for a long time, he’s the favorite. I think I would have been a classic Chris Moltisantis until a couple of years ago, because I’ve always been comfortable with having someone older in charge. But I think that over time and growing up and things happening in your life and hopefully maturing, and maturing as an artist, you get to feel confident enough to just be the person and artist that you are.
KiKi Layne wears a Prada top and headband; Tiffany & Co. earrings. Jonah Hill wears the Row jacket, shirt, and tie.
What’s your secret skill? I’m very good at Pilates. And I think I’m quite a good boxer—I take boxing very seriously. And actually, I just started jujitsu today.
Why jujitsu? Because from the start, even just doing research on it, it’s felt the most like physical chess to me—even more so than boxing. And my first time today really did feel like how you can never perfect chess. You know, the person who got me into it has been doing it for 25 years and is still a brown belt, so the endless opportunity for growth and understanding of something is very attractive to me.
What was your most memorable birthday? My mom once surprised me and my friends by sending a mariachi band to play my favorite song, which is “Feliz Navidad.” We were going to a restaurant, and when I looked inside and there were, like, eight mariachi band players stuffed in by the door, I was like, “Am I hallucinating right now?”
Did they play “Happy Birthday” too? No. My favorite song is “Feliz Navidad,” so she only told them to play “Feliz Navidad.”
What’s your karaoke song? Well, I usually sing “Feliz Navidad.” Or I sing “Sk8er Boi,” by Avril Lavigne. I’m not sure I would say I’m a big fan of hers, but I like the way her songs sound coming out of my mouth.
Would you like to sing a little now? No. [Laughs.]
Best Performances: Featuring Nicole Kidman, Claire Foy, Rami Malek, and 29 of Hollywood’s Biggest Stars
Claire Foy wears a Burberry top, corset dress, socks, and shoes; Charvet scarf. Emily Blunt wears a Burberry dress, shirt, socks, and shoes; stylist’s own top.
Kiki Layne wears a Prada top and headband; Tiffany & Co. earrings. Jonah Hill wears The Row jacket, shirt, and tie.
Margot Robbie wears a Chanel cardigan and skirt; stylist’s own top. Michael B. Jordan wears a Calvin Klein 205W39NYC cardigan and vest; Brioni trousers.
Nicole Kidman wears an Armani Privé dress; Cartier earrings; Cornelia James gloves; stylist’s own veil.
Mahershala Ali wears a Prada suit; his own top and bracelet. Amy Adams wears a Givenchy dress and belt.
Eddie Redmayne wears a Givenchy shirt and pants. Rami Malek wears a Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello shirt.
Saoirse Ronan wears a Celine by Hedi Slimane dress.
Nicole Kidman in Boy Erased and Destroyer
“In Destroyer, I play a cop who’s been through a lot—she’s very American, very angry, distressed, and disturbed. I wasn’t the first choice for that role—it went to somebody else and she didn’t want to do it. I read the script and put my hand up and said, ‘What about me?’ ” Did the wardrobe contribute to the character? We took so long to find the leather jacket that I wear in pretty much every frame of the film. I became so obsessed with that jacket, I would wear it at home. I put it on first thing in the morning. My kids visited the set and were shocked at the way I looked. You know, I’ve been working as an actor since I was 14 years old. It’s a choice, but it’s also a calling. Sometimes, I kind of try to move away, but it always pulls me back.
Comme des Garçons coat, T-shirt, skirt, tights, and boots; headpiece by hairstylist Malcolm Edwards. Inflatable latex costumes by artist Sasha Frolova (throughout).
Amy Adams in Vice
“My role in Vice is Lynne Cheney, Dick Cheney’s wife. It’s a huge responsibility to play a living person. I didn’t meet Lynne, and that’s interesting too—playing somebody who’s alive but whom you’ve never met. Plus, I age from 20 to 70 in the film, so that was another challenge.” Did her conservative politics affect your performance? I really just absorbed her point of view. Whether I agree with it or not doesn’t really matter. To get into character, I would have long debates about policy and politics as Lynne Cheney with our director, Adam McKay. I called him many names. I teased him about wearing shorts on set and how that was disrespectful. But I didn’t swear, because Lynne wouldn’t swear.
Valentino gown; Valentino Garavani earrings; Marc Jacobs boots.
Saoirse Ronan in Mary Queen of Scots and On Chesil Beach
“This is the first time I’ve played any queen or monarch. Mary had to hold herself in a certain way when she was presenting herself at court, but when she was on her own, in her intimate quarters, she was quite different. I began to feel like a bit of a boss. A boss queen!” Did you learn any royal skills? Yes, I learned to ride. My horse in the film was also Wonder Woman’s horse—his name is Prince, and he is the biggest diva I’ve ever met. Prince doesn’t do anything for anyone, especially me, and had a nervous cough that you’d hear right before we’d do a take. Everything I did was for that horse, just to get his approval.
Balenciaga dress and shoes.
Lakeith Stanfield in Sorry to Bother You
“The director of the film, Boots Riley, had been following me for quite a while before I finally met him. He handed me the script for Sorry to Bother You literally put it in my hands. I was like, Who is this strange person? When I read the script, I realized I had no idea how deeply strange he is. But his strangeness revealed itself to be another form of beauty.” Growing up, who was your cinematic crush? Jennifer Love Hewitt. I loved her. I couldn’t comprehend anything, except that she was beautiful. What’s your favorite Halloween costume? I’m always the Joker. Every year. Soon there will be a black Joker movie, and it will be me.
Maison Margiela Artisanal Men’s Designed by John Galliano suit; Tiffany & Co. earrings; John Hardy cross necklace; Chrome Hearts thick chain; Hoorsenbuhs long chain; Stanfield’s own rings.
Margot Robbie in Mary Queen of Scots
What was your first red-carpet outfit? I was 18. The Australian equivalent of the Emmys is called the Logies, and I was nominated. It was my big moment, the biggest thing that had happened to me. So I went all out on the dress: It was very short at the front, long at the back, lots of layers, bright colors, and shiny fabric. It was, like, orange, black, orange, black—with a big bow at the back. I had stipple-looking hair, and I was very tan. It was…a look. I don’t regret it, because I was 18 and having fun. I can dress boring for the rest of my life.
Staud coat; Giu Giu turtleneck; Vex Clothing tights; Urstadt Swan gloves; Manolo Blahnik shoes; stylist’s own veil.
Timothée Chalamet in Beautiful Boy
“Beautiful Boy [which is about a father and his son, who is addicted to drugs] was a script they’d been trying to get made for 10 years. Every guy actor my age had gone up for it. I’ve been lucky, but a lot of the bigger Hollywood movies like Spider-Man, things like that, I didn’t get. So, for Beautiful Boy, I did a lot of research and read about drugs, and I brought the books to my first meeting with the director. I could see in his eyes that he was thinking, This kid is nuts. But I felt this movie—the subject of drug addiction—was so important. I wanted to make an anti-glorification-of-drugs movie. And I think we did.” Did you meet Nic Sheff, whom you play in the film? Yes. I met him a week before we started shooting. And there was nothing about Nic that fit my stereotype of an addict. That was the learning grace of this movie: Nic is alive and well, but the reality is, it’s a day at a time. You never really beat it. You lost so much weight. Was your mom worried about you? My mom was worried! I lost 18 pounds. First, I’m in a movie where I was having sex with a peach, and then it was like, “I got another movie!” She said, “Great!” And then I had to tell her what it was about.
Charvet shirt.
Claire Foy in First Man
Growing up, what was your favorite toy? I had a disgusting pillow until I was about 21. Shamefully, I took it to university. Do you get nervous before filming? Oh, yes, I get nervous. It’s a gradual process of trying to work yourself up to being brave enough to be on set. You always worry that everyone’s going to say, “Ooh, we’ve made a terrible, terrible mistake.” What was the name of your first pet? Thumper. And the first street that you lived on? I don’t know. So you’re a one-name sensation: Thumper is your porno name. Thumper it is.
Burberry cape; Falconiere bonnet.
Eddie Redmayne in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
What was the first record you bought? Bon Jovi. “Livin’ on a Prayer” is such a good song. I love a good emotional ballad. The greatest YouTube hole to go down is Leona Lewis when she was on The X Factor. Every week, she just came and delivered. Occasionally she’d take her shoes off. Do you watch other reality shows? I’m quite excited because The Hills, which is my original reality-TV guilty pleasure, is coming back. I had a bit of a love-hate relationship with Heidi Montag. Do you have a secret skill? Yes. I’m incredibly good at being early. I’m always the person who gets to the airport four hours early. I drive everyone crazy.
Dior Men jacket and pants; Urstadt Swan gloves; Givenchy boots.
Michael B. Jordan in Black Panther
Do you have a favorite movie villain? For me, it’s a tie between Heath Ledger as the Joker and Michael Fassbender as Magneto. Villains, like Erik Killmonger in Black Panther, are the most interesting characters. They are the ones you can empathize with—they want you to not like them, but you can still understand their motivation.Even though you’re the villain in Black Panther, do people on the street still say “Wakanda forever” to you? They don’t immediately realize that my character is not exactly pro-Wakanda. Midway through saying something, it registers: Oh, he wasn’t really with Wakanda. But by then they’ve already committed.
Is it difficult to act when you’re basically naked? I’m always naked. So, no.
Hermès sweater.
Joanna Kulig in Cold War
“The director, Pawel Pawlikowski, wrote the part of Zula for me. I knew that the inspiration for the character came from his mother. Zula is her real name, and, like me, she was blonde. I saw her photo.” Was that the hardest part about portraying the character? No. The hardest part was the dancing. In general, I have a problem with coordination. I spent six months in a Polish folk ensemble learning how to dance. We partied together, we drank together, and we’d dance for six hours during a concert. It was like a family, and I started to build the character of Zula. Soon, I had her thoughts and personality. And I finally learned how to dance!
Chloé dress; Louis Vuitton hat.
Elizabeth Debicki in Widows
“I was a dancer for many, many years, and I thought I was going to be a ballerina. When I was about 12, I went to a summer school for the Australian ballet and I was already taller than my teacher. So I remember saying to myself, I’m going to have to rethink this plan.” Did you audition for Widows? Yes, I put myself on tape in my friend’s garage. How glamorous! I remember wearing a lot of eyeliner. I picked out some hoop earrings. And, funnily enough, in the finished film, she ended up looking a lot like she did in my test.
Marc Jacobs coat; Noel Stewart headpiece; Cornelia James gloves; Falke tights; Vivienne Westwood shoes.
Regina King in If Beale Street Could Talk
“I took a break from making films. My son, Ian, was getting to the age, around sixth grade, when kids are starting to spread their wings, and everything that was being offered to me was outside of Los Angeles, except for TV. I didn’t want to travel to make films. So I like to say I was one of the first movie actors who made the leap into television.” Do they call Beale Street your comeback film? I like to use the LL Cool J song: “Don’t call it comeback. I been here for years.”
Givenchy dress; Graham Tyler hat; Linda Farrow sunglasses.
Willem Dafoe in At Eternity’s Gate
“I painted in a movie called To Live and Die in L.A., but it wasn’t about painting—it was more about counterfeiting and killing people. In playing Vincent van Gogh, painting was the key to the character. I had to know what I was doing. The director, Julian Schnabel, would say, ‘Hold the brush like a sword’ and ‘There’s no such thing as a bad mark.’ I began to think that painting is about making an accumulation of marks. Acting is the same: You create a character scene by scene. It’s a series of marks that start a rhythm, and that rhythm sends you where you need to go.” Who is your cinematic crush? Warren Oates. When I saw him perform, I thought, That’s not an actor, that’s a man. It kind of broke my heart to find out he was actually a trained actor.
Balenciaga coat.
Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie in Leave No Trace
“I play a girl who is with her father in the wild, far away from civilization. Since I live in New Zealand and couldn’t fly to America, I auditioned on tape. We had a lot of props: a bucket, a toothbrush, a sleeping bag, and a rabbit named Coco. I also ran through the New Zealand bush with a GoPro in my mouth and sent that off as well. I didn’t meet the director in person. Six months later, on Christmas, I found out that I had gotten the part.”
Moschino Couture dress; Capezio tights; Sergio Rossi shoes.
Steven Yeun in Burning
“I like filming death scenes. When I was on The Walking Dead, I had known for some time about my character’s death. I was really excited for that day—I was looking forward to getting my skull bashed in. In Burning, my death scene was really fun. That was the only time it snowed, which was unexpected, and it added some magic to the moment. Everybody fantasizes about what it would be like to die. If I could make a career out of being killed, it would be okay.” Do you have a secret skill? Yes. I’m really good at getting parking spots. I’m so confident that the spot is going to be there, that it’s always there. Right in front.
Gucci jacket, shirt, pants, hat, and shoes; Charvet tie.
Elsie Fisher in Eighth Grade
“I have been acting since I was 5. My first job was doing the voice of Agnes, the youngest daughter, with the big ponytail on top of her head, in Despicable Me. I was in the sequel, but I was too old for Despicable Me 3, because I can’t do my 5-year-old voice anymore.” In Eighth Grade, there is a pool-party scene that is nerve-wracking. You wear a very awkward green bathing suit. Yes, it is anxiety inducing. I did not pick the bathing suit. They wanted a lime green one so my character would stick out. I still have it. I mean, I don’t go to the pool that much, but that’s my bathing suit now. I love it.
Gucci dress; Eugenia Kim hat; Sophie Buhai necklace.
Jonah Hill in Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot
In the film, your character, Donny, has a fantastic fashion sense. One of the things that inspired me was a photograph of Yves Saint Laurent in Morocco in the ’70s. I looked at it and was like, Oh, level-10 Marrakech! So Donny wears a lot of caftans and Moroccan stuff in the movie—kind of our Tom Petty and Yves Saint Laurent level-10 Marrakech. He also has a very calm, Zen outlook on life. Donny had conquered a lot of the things that were dark and demonic about himself, and he was able to be peaceful and calm. That was a joy to play. I miss being Donny— even his long blond hair. What was your most memorable birthday? My mom once sent a mariachi band to play my favorite song, “Feliz Navidad.” It was winter in New York and eight mariachis played my song. I was like, “Am I hallucinating right now?”
Raf Simons coat; the Row T-shirt and jeans; Paul Smith boots.
Kiki Layne in If Beale Street Could Talk
How did you find out you had the part in Beale Street? It was nine in the morning and Barry Jenkins, the director, called and woke me up. He just got to talking and didn’t introduce himself. Finally, he said, “Girl, do you even know who you’re talking to?” He went on to tell me that they were giving me the role! I was trying to rush him off the phone so I could really go crazy and cry and call my mama. What is your go-to karaoke song? “Drunk in Love,” by Beyoncé. Especially if you’ve got somebody that’ll hold down Jay Z’s part. That’s definitely the move. I feel like you have mood hair: Sometimes it’s long, sometimes it’s short—up, down. Oh, yeah, we gotta switch it up. You never really know how it’s gonna be: Will it be curly? Straight? And watch out when those colors start coming in!
Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello dress and boots; Prada headband; Tiffany & Co. earrings.
Carey Mulligan in Wildlife
“Paul Dano, who cowrote and directed Wildlife, called me and said he was going to send me the script. I was kind of flattered that he thought I could play Jeanette.” She’s a tormented character. Did you have trouble shaking her off at the end of the day? No. When you’ve got kids, they expect you to come home and be Mom, not some weird drunk woman. At the end of the day, I take off that hat, leave that person at work, and come home and watch the Food Network. I love Chopped. They make disgusting things, but I do like Bobby Flay. Chopped and Bobby Flay are the perfect antidote to films like Wildlife.
Michael Kors Collection dress; vintage hat from New York Vintage, New York; Tiffany & Co. earrings; Carolina Amato gloves; Capezio tights; Jimmy Choo shoes.
Yalitza Aparicio (far left) in Roma
“The shoot for Roma lasted six months. We shot in chronological order. It was a very long process for me. I had not seen any of Alfonso Cuarón’s films. I actually didn’t know who he was. Alfonso asked me not to watch any of his films until we were done with the filming. He didn’t want me poisoning my mind with any images or ideas.”
Marina de Tavira in Roma
“I was the only actor in Roma with any previous experience. It was really challenging. First-time actors—and many of them were children—have a completely different way of working. Alfonso Cuarón would play tricks on us—make things happen that we were not expecting. That way, he made real life appear on set.”
From left: Valentino gown. The Row gown; Tiffany & Co. earrings.
Emily Blunt in Mary Poppins Returns
“The hardest thing about playing Mary Poppins was learning how to dance. One day, you’re handed a hat and a cane, and I was like, Oh, my God. And, also, the initial idea of taking on a character that iconic was daunting. But once I got over my fears, it was deliciously fun.” What was your first red-carpet outfit? It was for My Summer of Love, and I was far too tanned. I was wearing a very bright yellow dress. I always laugh at how sweaty I looked. Horrible. Who is your girl crush? Rihanna. I mean, come on. She’s smoking.
Louis Vuitton coat; Eugenia Kim hat; Manokhi gloves.
Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody
“The first thing I auditioned for I almost wasn’t allowed to audition for. I got a call from a casting director, and she asked to speak to the agent representing Rami Malek. I said, ‘Uh, speaking.’ She kind of laughed and said, ‘Call me when you have an agent.’ I go, ‘You’re already laughing—give me a shot.’ It was three lines in Gilmore Girls. I convinced her to let me read, and I got the part.” Besides in the film, have you ever sung any Queen songs in public? In Japan, with our version of the band, we dressed up in animal onesies and did “Bohemian Rhapsody,” like the original video. It was filmed, and I’m sure someone will get drunk and throw it out there into the ether.
Officine Générale pants; Atsuko Kudo Couture Latex Design gloves.
