Of the five different attempts to remake this scene from The Big Lebowski (1998), I was summoned for two of them— to play both “Blonde Thug” and “Woo,” therefore instigating both slights against The Dude: nearly drowning him in his own toilet, and then most atrocious of all, peeing on his rug. This meant doing some deep soul-searching, in order to find the most thoughtless disregard I might hypothetically have for another person and bring it to the forefront. Because believe it or not… I try to be a far nicer guy than this in real life.

Let’s face it, nobody wants to be interrupted when they’re having a pleasant afternoon on the beach with their significant other, especially not by an intoxicated man. I don’t care if he’s the main character or not. So in this case it was my job, as one half of “The Couple,” to diminish that sense of casual contentment and replace it with sheer outrage at the suggestion that my partner could be unfaithful. No lie, though: Punching that guy in the face was fun.

The role of “Lance” was deliberately crafted to be the annoyingly overbearing foil to Kate & Andrew. Hoping that there was no double meaning to my being cast as such, I stepped into the part figuring that this guy likely had no idea just how officious he was, believing that he was in the right by all accounts. So when plans failed to go his way, sarcasm & irritation on my end became inevitable, to accompany the sheer astonishment at being told “no.”

Pent up frustration is no good for anybody. Clearly these two had a lot of venting to take care of— though as it happens, not necessarily directed toward or even about one another. My character, “Ron,” was particularly reticent about what was troubling him, which I interpreted as unaccustomed to being allowed to speak his mind. So in a sense, Anne provided him the opportunity to find his voice… and as a result, the slow build-up and eventual outpouring of emotion became quite the turning point for Ron.