POP INTERVIEW: Actor Juddy Talt and His “Broken Heart”
Juddy Talt is that rare sensitive guy whom chicks begged for tediously in their high school diaries. As an adult, he is to film what John Mayer is to soft love songs, he captures his romantic spirit in his film, Language of a Broken Heart, which he also wrote.
Not everyone acts in their own material. When you acted your own screenwriting, were you harder on yourself than you might have been had it been another actor?
I think that I definitely had a deep vision for my character and it was difficult to let go of the writing and be an actor. Acting in your own material is a lot harder than people think because you actually have to let go of the vision you had and turn it over to the director to guide you. I was fortunate to work with a director that I’ve known my entire life so I trusted what he was doing and where he was taking the story. It’s funny. We didn’t have a big budget and I was in every scene so there wasn’t a lot of down time. I always complained that I didn’t have enough time to go over my lines and people were like “you wrote it!!” Just because I wrote it doesn’t mean I remember everything. I still need time to prepare as an actor but it worked out. I was hard on myself but I think I will be hard on myself for whatever project I take on. I expect actors to be prepared and have done the work. As an actor, your job is to bring something completely unique to each scene. And sometimes you get something out of it that the writer didn’t expect. I think the hardest part for me was just trying to do that. Not playing it exactly as I wrote it, but hoping to find something different than what was on the page.
What’s more unusual? A guy writing romantic comedy! Your film describes the character as neurotic. Are you anything like the character? And why did you want to venture into a genre few men step into?
A guy writing a romantic comedy is so cool these days. You know, sensitive men is the new sexy. Yeah sure… I can build something with my own hands and break shit but add a little bit of sensitivity and you are golden! I’m not afraid to cry in front of my girlfriend and definitely not afraid to express my feelings.
I am quasi neurotic. I get that from my father. He doesn’t like to shake peoples hands which is why he really started bumping peoples fist. I’m like, “That is not cool for you to do that. You are almost sixty. And it was never cool to bump fists anyway.” But, he doesn’t like germs. I just have a lot of little fears. I’m not afraid of flying, but when I get on a plane I definitely think I have cancer.
I think that the genre of romantic comedy is so universal especially when it deals with getting over an ex. We all go through that and even the most alpha male has had his heart broken and done some crazy shit because of it. I just think it’s funny to analyze people who get their heart broken and express it on film because we can all relate. We all have done some pretty crazy things to either get the girl back or get to that realization that “this is not the person for you.” You could have it hit you in the face that the person you think you love is not right for you, but for some reason, it just takes time. Nothing but time and alcohol.
A really good friend of mine lost her husband and then years passed and she started dating again. She got into a serious relationship with a guy and the guy broke her heart. I’ll never forget this, but she told me that it was harder to get over the break-up than it was getting over the loss of her husband because he loved her and didn’t want to leave her. But in a break up it hurts knowing that person is still walking around without you. I don’t know if I agree completely, but it’s a really interesting point. I could never imagine losing a significant other, but I know that in a break up, we drive ourselves crazy about what that other person is doing without you.
In the trailer, the character says, “I write about something that doesn’t exist.” Do you agree with this statement? It’s OK if you don’t believe in true love. And if you do, why are you an optimist?
I believe that true love does exist. But if my girlfriend were to leave me tomorrow, then I would probably go into a tailspin and denounce love forever. Until I got over it. I’m a huge optimist when it comes to love because I was raised that way. My parents have a very healthy marriage and that kind of paves the way for me. When you have a role model like that, it’s hard to not believe in it. I think that we are all after love, we just need to manage our expectations. It’s not always this grandiose thing we see in the movies. Relationships take a lot of work and the work never ends.
What would you do in real life if, like your character, you caught your significant other cheating on you…in front of you?
I don’t know what I would do. It makes me sick to think about. I’d probably just vomit everywhere.
The film places a great importance on family. How much does your family mean to you? How has your family been a good influence in your life? Do you ever consult family members about love or career choices?
Like I said above, I have great parents who represent that love does exist and can endure. After a tough break up years ago, my father noticed that I was really sad and he took me out to get a beer. You know, one of those moments where you just talk about life over a few beers. He told me about all the tough things that he has overcome in his life and some relationships when he was younger that didn’t work out. Then there was a pause and he said, “You just need to go out this weekend and get laid twice.” I love my family and am blessed to have such great people who have faith in me and always pick me up when I’m down. And I know what you are wondering, but I didn’t even get laid once that weekend. I take all advice with a grain of salt. People are just trying to help they just don’t know what’s best for you all the time. You have to figure that out on your own.
As someone who loves the romance genre, you probably are a bit of a sensitive type…the most popular right after bad boys. Has this placed a different cloud of ideas over your work as opposed to someone who might be the “bad boy” type, like George Clooney, with your writing?
It definitely has. Being a writer is all about finding a unique voice. Look, I’m the sensitive guy and I bring that into all of my work. And I think a lot of producers find that refreshing. I can go dark or “bad boy” but there will still be a happy ending.
When I saw your trailer, I thought of another movie I liked, “The Art of Getting By,” and really found a similar connection between them. Is this feel what you hope represents your artistry?
You know… I hate to admit but I haven’t seen “The Art of Getting By.” But I will check it out now. Our film really doesn’t re-invent the wheel of romantic comedies but it’s a poignant little story about heartbreak. It is a lot like “500 days of summer” in that regard. But we didn’t have a very big budget and did the best we could. We are very proud of it and excited that it has a theatrical release. I think what best represents my artistry is finding that perfect blend of comedy and drama. James L. Brooks is my hero because he does this so well. And Cameron Crowe too. It’s really hard to get these type of films to land right. Tone is very critical to a film and it can easily get lost with this type of blend.
