If you don’t know the name Zoe Kazan, then you probably aren’t a fan of romantic-comedies. The 30-year-old actress has taken over where Meg Ryan left off back in the day. Her latest movie, What If with Daniel Radcliffe, focuses in on an animator who is in a relationship. She befriends Radcliffe’s character and that’s when things get a bit complicated.
She explained to Vulture why she took on another romantic-comedy role.
Kazan said, “Well, they asked me to do it, and that’s a nice thing. [Laughs.] I liked [What If director Michael Dowse’s last movie] Goon a lot, and I had met Daniel Radcliffe, and thought it would be fun to go make a movie with him. Also, I was kind of burned out [from her role on the upcoming HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge]. I was like, Oh, it would be really fun to go to Toronto where they’re filming it and not have to break down and cry at rape and stuff. I had a surprisingly good time making it. I think artists have an idealistic way of looking at things: We hope for a job to be fun, to pay you, to do well at the box office, and like, do good things for your life, you know what I mean?”
The Ruby Sparks star also talked about working with Radcliffe and how their kissing scene actually had some real electricity.
“I’ve been in my relationship for so f—ing long. I’ve been in my relationship for a million years, so there’s something a little strange and wonderful about the fact that I get to make out with other people and it’s totally fine. It’s also really weird. Sometimes when I go to do a movie kiss, I’m like Do I even remember how to kiss someone who isn’t my boyfriend? Where do you put your hands? What is it like? Someone else’s mouth, when it’s new, is so strange. I do think Dan’s right,” she said.
Kazan appreciated how the director scheduled the romantic scene because she had developed a strong working relationship with the Harry Potter actor by the end of filming.
She continued, “Mike Dowse, our director, made a really smart decision putting that at the end of the shoot, because you spend a lot of time with a person and you know that this moment is coming and it means so much to the movie. It does feel like you’ve got to get it right. There’s some strange excitement. It’s a very weird job that I have. You just go in and you pretend to love someone else and sort of do love them because you are playing tricks on your brain all the time. It’s weird.”
What If opens nationwide on Aug. 8.
