Though audiences recognize him from blockbusters like “Inception,” “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” and “Looper,” Joseph Gordon-Levitt got his start in commercials as a kid. Since then, he’s had a career on television on “3rd Rock From the Sun,” landed in romantic comedy hall of fame with “10 Things I Hate About You” and “(500) Days of Summer,” and forged a path as a writer and director with “Don Jon.” Now, he returns to TV with “Mr. Corman,” the Apple TV+ show he created, directed, wrote, and stars in.
How did you get your first SAG-AFTRA card?
My first job was in a peanut butter commercial, and then I had a small part in a movie of the week that was called “Stranger on My Land.” It was a really cool early job. Tommy Lee Jones played my dad; I got to learn to ride a horse. I'm not sure if I got my SAG card from that first job.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt Is a Man With a Plan What advice would you give your younger self?
Have a good system for backing up your hard drives. [Laughs] I’ve lost so much shit, things I’ve written that I can't put my hands on anymore. This is a cliché, but it's a cliché for a reason: Don’t worry about making it perfect. Just make some shit. I think there’s probably a bunch of things that I half made and could’ve finished, but they weren’t going to be perfect, so I didn’t finish them.
What’s your worst audition horror story?
The first audition I ever went on was for a commercial for Red Lobster, and I had to go in and sing a song, so I practiced “Dear Pen Pal” [“T-E-A-M (The Baseball Game”] from “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” I was ready to sing it. I went in there and it was my first time ever in a room like that, and I got scared and I asked for my mom. I was 6. My mom came in and she helped me, and I managed to make my way through singing the song. It was a bad audition, but the casting director took the time to let my mom come in and let me get through the song. When I was done, he said to me, “That was great!” and was really warm. He didn’t spend a ton of time, but he took the moment to say something positive to me. When I walked out of the audition, I felt great. I said to my mom, “Mom, I think I got a shot!” which I did not. Find those little moments where you can be kind to people, especially to young people.
Is that something you keep in mind when you’re the one casting a project?
I really do my best to make any audition process where I’m directing as pleasant as it can possibly be. Auditions aren’t that pleasant. I’ve done probably 1,000 auditions in my time. But I think they’ve been good for me, because that’s how life is. You don’t always get the thing you want.
What performance should every actor see and why?
Gena Rowlands in “A Woman Under the Influence,” a John Cassavetes movie. I remember feeling so inspired by her. “Faces” is another movie she’s in; “Minnie and Moskowitz.” They’re so real. With “Mr. Corman,” it tends to be fairly realistic. We sometimes go crazy and heightened and surreal, and that’s fun, too, but generally we’re going for a pretty realistic tone. Those Cassavetes movies are a big part of that for me. Those are dramas, but in the funny moments, they’re really funny because they feel so real.
Looking for remote work? Backstage has got you covered! Click here for auditions you can do from home!