Great Scott

After playing opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett in The Aviator, Adam Scott takes on his third gay role in this months eagerly awaited Monster-in-Law, starring Jennifer Lopez as a young woman antagonized by her fiancs (Michael Vartans) mother, played by Jane Fonda in her long-awaited return to the screen. So whats up with playing so many gay characters? So many? Its such a non-issue I didnt realize I have done so many [Monster-in-Law, Seven and a Match, and as one of Davids lovers on Six Feet Under]. They are all interesting characters. I dont look at them being gay as anything different from any other character. They were interesting characters and their being gay was beside the point for me. Hilary Swank took boxing lessons; Jamie Foxx hung out with Ray Charles. How did you prepare for your role as a gay man? Gay Camp. I mean, havent we all spent a little time in Gay Camp? Remember that movie Space Camp? Its like that, only its not in space. Do you think that growing up in Santa Cruz has helped with your ability to be so open-minded with these roles? Yeah, absolutely. I grew up in a very liberal town and a liberal environment. I grew up without a lot of prejudice. Not that I was exposed to much. Its a fairly white middle-class town, but I think the values that I grew up with were conducive to being open-minded about stuff like that. Do you have a fear, as many straight actors do, of being typecast? No. I mean I am still at the stage where I have a fear of not being cast at all. So being typecast is not something I really worry about. Why do you think it is OK for a straight actor to play gay, but audiences wont allow an out actor to play straight? It also seems like you see straight actors playing gay more than gay actors playing gay. Its almost like people are afraid to cast someone who the audience can imagine kissing a member of the same sex in their spare time. Like its safer to cast a straight guy that you know wont be kissing a man after the camera is off. But I feel like it is getting better. What does your mother think when she sees you kissing another man on TV? You know, shes never said anything about it. She probably thinks its fine. Shes a Santa Cruz former recovering hippie. Do you ever really recover? [Laughing] Never. But really, its a non-issue in my life and in my family. No one really cares. There is a scene in The Aviator where you are sitting at a table with Leo, Cate, and Jude Law while Martin Scorsese is behind the camera. How did you function? Well, I shit my pants. [Laughs] It was cool. I think it was a real ingenious piece of casting because he had three icons sitting at a table playing three icons and one unknown person playing an unknown. I thought it was a very intelligent way to put the scene together. It was easy to be that guy and feel how that guy mustve felt at the time being at the table with these people and being envied by everyone in the room. It was crazy. I still cant believe I was there. Do you have any onscreen romance in the new movie Monster-in-Law or are you playing the gay sidekick? No, I play a character that is just coming out. So its more about the character learning about himself. That is kind of the comedy of it, me finding out. So I cant look forward to a nice gratuitous makeout scene with you and Michael Vartan? [Laughing] No. You do not get that. Sorry to disappoint. Do you have a favorite experience on-set with Jane Fonda? Jane was really cool. She has so many great stories. She can say she is the only person that has skinny-dipped with Greta Garbo and Michael Jackson. Shes had a hell of a life, and I think her memoirs are coming out, so finally everyone will be able to hear her great stories. Also, I was doing a scene with her once and I looked at her and for the briefest second, I saw her father. And just knowing she was a Fonda It was a crazy realization that I was working with one. What about with Jennifer? There was a scene where we were dancing and it was very spur of the moment. And it should be known that I am the whitest guy in America; just terrible! And she just starts doing all of these expert hip-hop moves. She was a Fly Girl and I was No Fly Boy. It was pretty embarrassing, but I am one of the few that can say I danced with J. Lo. What is the biggest misconception people have about Jennifer Lopez? Probably that she is high maintenance, the whole diva thing. I never saw any of that and she was always as cool as can be. Jennifer is a real sweetheart. She was always a pleasure on set. Well, thats not what anyone wants to hear! Did you help J. Lo choose songs for her new album? I did. [Sarcastically] Well, I like wrote half of them. Whether she liked it or not, I helped her pick them. [Laughs]