411 Movies Interview: Nate Hartley of Drillbit Taylor Posted by Tony Farinella on 06.26.2008
411's Tony Farinella sits down with Nate Hartley for an interview about girls, Drillbit Taylor, and mustaches! Check out this very, very funny interview!
Nate Hartley is one funny fellow. Even though he plays one of the nerds in Drillbit Taylor, he's far from nerdy during our interview. In fact, he's quick, witty, and always ready to tell a joke. In my interview with Nate Hartley, we talked about Drillbit Taylor, girls, Owen Wilson, cream cheese, and a whole lot more. Oh, and Nate also gave me some advice on how to find a good girlfriend. I think you'll be amused by his advice. Drillbit Taylor hits DVD on July 1st.
Nate Hartley: Tony, what's up, man?
TONY: Happy .... today is Tuesday, right?
Nate Hartley: Is it?
TONY: I think so. It's hard to keep track of everything these days.
Nate Hartley: The 24th Tuesday of June 2008.
TONY: And my first question for you: At this stage in your career, what did this opportunity mean to you?
Nate Hartley: It meant everything. I'm so honored and blessed to have been a part of it. In my first movie I guess we could say, I got to work with so many comedy people: Judd Apatow, Steve Brill, Owen Wilson, Seth Rogen, Kris Brown, the writer. It was just insane amounts of comic juices. Oh, wait, that didn't sound right. (laughs) All these comedic people. It was so cool and such a great experience. I mean, I learned so much.
TONY: What was it like working with the other nerds in the film? I thought you guys had great chemistry on screen. How did you establish that?
Nate Hartley: We meshed. We meshed a lot. We were meshing all the time. We ended up becoming really good friends on set. We were friends, and we would laugh together, we would cry together, and we would hang out. We actually had a bet on set that we would see who could get the most numbers from the extras, girls. That was one of the things that we did when we were on set. We would have friendly little gambles of who could get the most numbers, and I ended up winning that. I don't know if that's the same story they'll tell you, but I ended up winning. And, yeah, it was a lot of fun.
TONY: How many numbers did you win by?
Nate Hartley: Oh, you're gonna make me do numbers. (laughs) This is my best guess ...I got around ten numbers. That's my guess. Troy, I think, maybe got six or seven. Oh wait, maybe David won. I think David got like twenty. No, in my mind, I'm gonna still think I win. It will make me feel good. Yup, I won.
TONY: How many of those girls did you actually call?
Nate Hartley: One, and she ended up being crazy.
TONY: Sorry to hear, sir.
Nate Hartley: It's alright. I digress.
TONY: What kind of research did you do on the high school experience? Did you find it hard to relate to certain aspects of the story?
Nate Hartley: Well, that's a great question, because when I was doing the movie, it was sort of my first ever high school experience of all time. I was in eight grade, and then I was homeschooled for the duration, and for ninth grade, I was homeschooled for the very first time. And it was strange. Yup, I was one of those homeschooled kids. Yup, one of those. And I was never really brought into a high school atmosphere. I didn't know anything about it. Everything I knew about high school came from movies. I thought I was gonna show up at high school, and I was gonna be spanked. So that was that. I mean, as far as research goes, a lot of older people told me a lot about their experiences and how bullying really is a problem. And that's what sucks about life in general is there's always gonna be those people that are just very, very rude and not nice. And what can you do? You just gotta move past it and live with it. So, that's really what I took from it. And now I'm just living the high life. I'm just so cool. I'm no longer a geek, I'm no longer a nerd ... I'm that cool guy. No, I'm definitely still a nerd.
TONY: What was it like shooting the romantic scenes in Drillbit Taylor? And how many takes did you use to kiss Valerie Tian?
Nate Hartley: (laughs) Nice! That was one of my favorite scenes, actually. As an actor, I had to get in the right moment and feel it, and I had to do it probably two-hundred times. But that's just me. We finally got it, and I felt the magic take place of movie acting. And it was one of my favorite parts. I knew all about girls, because I was just such a ladies' man growing up, so that really wasn't a mystery at all to me. Yes, it was. It was sort of my first lovey-dovey kind of relationship. Well, to my mom, it was my first kiss ever to my mom. Don't tell her otherwise. And everyone on set thought it was my first kiss ever, and it was my first kiss on screen, and it was awesome. Let's just say it was one of my first kisses. Let's say that. I like that wording better. It was one of my first kisses.
TONY: I think that just proves what a great actor you are, because you fooled everyone on set.
TONY: What kind of comedy tips did you pick up from Owen Wilson?
Nate Hartley: He taught me more about the opposite sex than comedy in general. He taught me how to get with the ladies. So you walk up to a lady and you lick your finger, and you just touch them on the shoulder or something and say, "Let's get you home and get you out of those wet clothes." That was brilliant. That's something that Owen Wilson taught me, and I thought it was a good lesson to be learned.
TONY: Does it work?
Nate Hartley: I haven't actually tried it. Another thing he taught me .... there's this great pick-up line that works for him. He actually walks up to ladies and goes, "Hi, I'm Owen Wilson." And that's his pick up-line. I tried that pick-up line once, and I walked up to someone and said, "Hi, I'm Owen Wilson." And they were like, "No, you're obviously not Owen Wilson because you're fifteen." I was like, "Dang it!" As far as comedy tips, improv. Improv is the golden rule, and he's just amazing at it. So never be afraid to say things, because even if they aren't funny, be funny. That didn't make sense at all. We can just edit this and make it sound good. (laughs)
TONY: You keep bringing up the ladies, so I have to ask you, was this film like a coming out party for you and the rest of your teen co-stars?
Nate Hartley: Yeah. I mean, that's really how we spent most of our days on set. Whenever the cameras weren't rolling, that's what we were doing. Instead of school work and learning our lines, we were pursuing women and being very nice to them. We're growing boys. What else are we supposed to do? (laughs)
TONY: At the moment, I'm having some issues with the opposite sex. What kind of advice can you give me? Even interviewers need help!
Nate Hartley: Let me think .... be sure you have a mustache.
TONY: OK, let me write this down. Mustache, got it.
Nate Hartley: Mustache, that's always a key when it comes to women. They like the fuzzy mustaches. It makes them think you're mature, and it's almost like you're European or something. So have a mustache and learn a second language. That's something else that I've learned. At least learn a few words in a second language, so that you can fake out that you know the second language. You can do that, and then they're like, "Oh my god, you have a mustache, and you're French." And then you're like, "Yeah, that's right." That's my advice: Grow a mustache and learn a second language.
TONY: Thanks for the help. I appreciate it.
Nate Hartley: No problem.
TONY: In your career, you have done a lot of television, so I have to ask you, how did you adjust to making a full-length movie?
Nate Hartley: There actually is kind of a difference. With TV and television, they go so fast, and you have a week to get done with forty-five pages. And that's a lot of work. You're there, and you're just shooting constantly, and you get maybe two or three takes at best. With a movie, you have like three or four months for a hundred pages, and you can take your time and go easy and slow. People are like, "How do you learn your lines?" Well, you're only doing like twenty-seven words a day at best. It's not that difficult. But don't tell the ladies that. Tell the ladies that I learn my lines at the beginning. I read the entire script, and I just learn everyone's lines. That's how I do it.
TONY: If you were being bullied in high school, how would you handle it?
Nate Hartley: Everyone's been bullied in their life, and that's sort of the problem with the world today. One of the problems. Another problem with the world today is The Ice Capades. But that's another story. That's another thing. There's so much bullying. Honestly, you just need to keep trekking on, because everyone's gone through it, and once you move past it, you really come out on top. If you just keep trekking on and keep going, you'll definitely get past it, and you'll come out the better person.
TONY: How did director Steve Brill handle all of you guys on set? When it was time to get serious and get to work, how did he motivate you guys?
Nate Hartley: He would get wacky. We had this joke where we would do fake slaps, and he would pretend to be slapping us and be like, "Do it better!" He's obviously kidding, but he would fake hit us. So that's one way he got us to get serious. He would tell us jokes and things, such as, "Fine work, fine work." And we'd be like, "Oh, thanks." And he would say, "No, no, find work." That's one thing he would do. No, he's the nicest, greatest guy and the best director I've ever worked with. He's really, really connected with his work, and he's an amazing guy.
TONY: Finally, if a lucky young lady is reading our interview, tell them what Nate Hartley is looking for in a woman.
Nate Hartley: What is Nate Hartley looking for in a woman? Nate Hartley is looking for a nice, sweet lady who likes mustaches and second languages and a lady who likes lots of money and lots of fame and lots of Nate Hartley all the time and lots of cream cheese, because everybody likes cream cheese.
TONY: Alright, Nate, thank you so much for your time. It was great talking to you. I appreciate it.
