411 Movies Interview: TJ Miller of Cloverfield

Posted by Tony Farinella on 04.24.2008

411's Tony Farinella sits down with Hud for an exclusive interview!

Every monster movie needs a little comedy and a little humor, and TJ Miller provided plenty of that in Cloverfield. What's even more amazing about his comedy in the film is the fact that he's not on camera for almost 90 percent of the film. In my interview with TJ Miller, we talked about his stand-up comedy, Cloverfield, and a whole lot more. I want to go on record and say that TJ Miller rules!


TONY: In addition to being an actor, you're also a stand-up comedian. How does that work out for you? Do you actively seek out film work, or do you sort of fall into certain roles?

TJ Miller: It just comes to me. In fact, Cloverfield, I was just walking along and I just walked on set, and they were like, "We need another cameraman." And it was pretty funny, because they just incorporated me into the film. Either I walk into it, or they're casting something, so it works out.

TONY: I really enjoyed your love/hate relationship with Marlena in the film. How did you guys work on that relationship? Did you talk about it a lot off screen?

TJ Miller: Well, we have a bit of a love/hate relationship in general. That's definitely true, off screen and on. It was sort of something that we did on our own a little bit, and it worked. It worked on screen and off, and we've actually done a short film since then, because we enjoyed working together so much. But she's incredibly funny and a great actress. There was this sort of "A" love story going on, but we kind of wanted to be this other love story that was a little less Hollywood and a little more real and a little more like the way, I think, a lot of stuff goes down. They found out almost too late how much they cared about each other, and in her last scene, she starts screaming for me, and they kind of have a connection throughout the movie. And halfway through the movie, everybody sort of realizes what's important to them, and I think Marlena became one of the most important things to him.

TONY: Were you ever concerned that your comedy might take away from the monster and the serious nature of the film?

TJ Miller: No, not really. There was a lot of funny stuff that had to be cut out, because it was about the monster and a lot of it is about the action and all that. And I think what we kind of wanted to present was a real cross section of people and their reactions to this event, and I feel like Hud is an interesting part of that. There's a lot of people that aren't going to react bravely or in a sort of alpha male way. There's a lot of people that are just gonna react to it the way I think people really would react to it. And my feeling is there's comedy in everything. There's always a way to look at every event with a little bit more of a comic perspective. Sometimes it takes a while and sometimes it happens right away, but, no matter what, everything can sort of have funniness to it. So that was really important to me, and I told Matt in the beginning, "I think if I was in the disaster, my reaction would be funny." And it's not even that Hud is trying to be funny, because he's not at all. It's just funny how he reacts to this stuff, and that's what I think happens. And I really like that part of the movie. I like that there's comedy to this, and it's real comedy ...not one-liners and bad puns like there are in a lot of horror films. It's real comedy based on the character.

TONY: It's really interesting, because it seems like so many people really fell in love with your character. Did you think that would happen? How did you think people were going to respond to him?

TJ Miller: Well, I figure anything that I do, it's really gonna catch on. I'm just kidding. (laughs) In the beginning, to be honest with you, I thought quite the opposite. I really felt like no one was gonna remember who this character was, because I'm not on screen. I was very concerned that people wouldn't really take notice of Hud, because you didn't see him. There's never been a movie where one of the main characters is off screen the entire time. So that's how I felt in the beginning. And then what I quickly found out was that it's the opposite. Everybody sort of relates to Hud the most, because he's there all the time, you're seeing everything through his perspective, and he's also the funny and affable and easy-to-get-along-with part of the whole thing. And I'm there throughout the movie, so I think people really did attach themselves to the character, because of him being behind the camera and also because he provided the laughs and kind of took away a lot of the tension at certain points. And that was the character, too, because he's basically trying to laugh and get people's minds off of things in the midst of this terrible catastrophe.

TONY: When you're not on camera for a good portion of the movie and when you can't use your face to get across different emotions, how important is to pick and choose your words wisely?

TJ Miller: Well, that was the challenge. That was the ultimate challenge in this thing. And that's actually a great question that no one has really asked, and I want you to put that in your writing. In the article, I want you to say that I said that that was one of the best questions ever.

TONY: So what you're saying is this job is unbelievably tough to do and very few have the gifts to do it? (laughs)

TJ Miller: (laughs) It's hard. When I do comedy in any medium, you can always see me, and my physicality is a huge part of it. It's a huge part of any performance and not just a comedy. So that was what I had to do. Every take, I had to think, "OK, how do we get across everything I want to get across?" Because it's strictly verbal. It's like doing radio in that way. That was definitely the challenge and a big part of the whole thing. And that's why I'm even more pleased that people liked it, because they didn't even get to see me.


TONY: How has your life changed since Cloverfield? Are girls actually giving you working numbers now?

TJ Miller: Oh, no way. (laughs) Not even a little bit. I have to tell people that I was in the movie. Instead of being in this huge film where everybody recognizes me, it's this thing where I have to tell people that I was in it, and they still don't believe me, really. My life has gone on pretty much the same way. My girlfriend and I are in Pittsburgh right now, and I think sometimes she has to endure some interrogations from fans at times. What was it? Is there gonna be a second one? Where did the monster come from? There's so many questions left unanswered, and she's heard me do my best to explain stuff over and over again. That's pretty much it.

TONY: From watching you in previous interviews and on different TV shows, you seem like you're always in that comedic mode. You're always sharp, witty, and ready to have some fun. Can you ever turn that off? Or is it something that's just always with you?

TJ Miller: I appreciate that. I really enjoy this interview right now. I think that I'm a comedian, first and foremost, so I try to bring that to everything that I do. It's really important to me, and I think that's what I do and what I wanna do. And it's not a question of turning it off ...it's just a question of kind of my perspective and how I see everything. And that's what I could bring to Cloverfield and what I intend to bring to any film project that isn't really a straight-up comedy. I'm doing a comedy right now for Dreamworks, but I'm auditioning for all kinds of other types of projects, because I think that there should be .... hopefully in everything, there's some organic, true, real comedy present in every film or every project. That's what's important to me, to do that in everything that I do.

TONY: What I really enjoy about a lot of your characters is the fact that they have this down-on-their-luck positivity. Even though things are going poorly, they're still laughing and they're still having a good time. Even though he might not get the girl, he's going to keep trying. And when he gets rejected, he's still smiling about it. Where does that come?

TJ Miller: That's a good way to describe it. I haven't heard anybody say that before. You are batting like 700 average right now.

TONY: (laughs) That's pretty good so far.

TJ Miller: It's amazing, it's amazing. I like characters that are either not aware of how things are going for them, so they just can be positive about anything, or I like characters that have this strange confidence. I mean, Marmaduke was actually very, very smart and a brilliant guy and kind of was happy with how weird he was and who he was, and there's a lot comedy to be gained from that, because I think there's plenty of bitter comedy out there and there's plenty of people that are sort of self-deprecating. But I think self-deprecation, while still sort of enjoying your flaws or drawbacks, is really funny and really a good way to look at the world. And Hud, he's happy with who he was. Of all the people in that film, everybody else was kind of .... Beth is trying to date somebody else because she got hurt by Rob, Rob didn't know if he wanted to go to Japan or not, Marlena didn't even want to be with these people, and Jason and Lily, she was waiting to get married, and Hud just kind of is. Those were his friends, those were people that he loved, and he had known them for a long time, and he was just happy with what was going on. He liked to party, he liked to hang out, and he liked being surrounded by people and things that were important to him. And that was enough for him. And I think that's one of the things that I really liked about that character. And it's the same with my stand-up too. I did a show Saturday night where there was a woman who was very, very drunk, and she was heckling me, and everybody expected me to get down on her, and I kept repeating, "She's having a good time." And I was making fun of her, but I still understand that she didn't mean to hurt the show. She thinks she's helping, but she isn't, and there's no reason to go crazy on people.

TONY: How do you think the film will hold up on DVD?

TJ Miller: I'm excited about that. I've had a couple people see it for the second time, and they really, really said that enjoyed it, and I think it's actually gonna play quite well. Obviously, it's a movie that's very fun on the big screen, but there's a lot to the film. J.J. is sort of the master of hiding things, small references, and all that kind of stuff that you know from Lost. If you watch the movie a second time, you're gonna see a lot you didn't see the first time.

TONY: Finally, what are your plans for the future?

TJ Miller: I'm doing this Dreamworks movie right now called She's Out of My League. Or as I like to call it, She's Not All That Into a League of Their Own. I'm doing a lot of stand-up and I'm touring as a stand-up, and I'd love it if you'd throw my website into the article.

http://www.tjmillerdoesnothaveawebsite.com/

TONY: You got it, my friend. No problem.

TJ Miller: I'll be working on my MySpace. That takes about 12 hours a day. I'm gonna keep doing films. Carpoolers, I think, is on the way out, which is a shame, because I loved that show, but I'll just continue doing film and TV projects. I have a DVD possibly on the horizon, but my biggest thing is I really would love for people who enjoyed the movie to come and see me do stand-up, because I've been doing that for a while, and it's a lot of fun. And I would really like more and more people to come and see that.

TONY: Thank you so much for your time, TJ. I had a lot of fun talking to you.

TJ Miller: Great talking to you! You're the best interviewer of all time. I'll talk to you soon.