Adam Brody Visits 'The Land of Women'

We knew him as Seth Cohen on "The O.C." He was held captive by Brad Pitt in Mr. and Mrs. Smith and was in The Ring and the satirical Thank You For Smoking. We first interviewed cute Adam Brody on location for a skateboarding picture called Grind a few years ago. Now, Adam braves being the only guy in a nest of disturbed gals in the dramady In The Land of Women co-starring with Meg Ryan, Kristen Stewart and Olympia Dukakis.

Adam plays Carter Webb, a young California writer who, after his famous girlfriend dumps him, heads for his hometown back east with the goal of writing about his high school experience. We caught up with the tall, curly-haired actor in Beverly Hills near Rodeo Drive recently to quiz him on what he's doing since his long stint on "O.C.", what it was like to work with a herd of women, his most embarrassing moment...with a parent and what his own high school days were like. Adam is another actor who isn't dressed by stylists. He greeted us wearing a blue stripe, long-sleeved shirt over a dark blue tee and jeans.

Adam: I'm ready. I'm pumped.

TeenHollywood: Ooookay! How did you come to be in this film?

Adam: The old-fashioned way. I hadn't read the script yet and my agent called me and said 'the script's really good' and I went to The Coffee Bean to get coffee and Jon [Jonathan Kasdan, the director], who I did not know yet, was meeting an actress there who I knew so we said hello and she introduced me to Jon. I went home and I read the script and it was fantastic. I was in from the first page. I knew I would do it if he would have me. We met in the same spot a couple of days later in the evening and he's like 'let's just go to a bar'. I said 'all right'. So we went and got a drink and he gave me the part right away. It was the easiest job I've ever gotten in terms of I didn't have to do anything. I just had to read it. I really lucked out.

TeenHollywood: Have you ever had a family member embarrass you like the grandma does in this film?

Adam: Yeah, I had my dad embarrass me horribly. This was five years ago or maybe more. My dad was in town and I had an audition and I said 'why don't you just come with me? I've got to do this thing and then we'll get a bite to eat.' I was in an audition where there was a mix and match with girls so you read with them. I was reading with this really cute girl. My dad thinks he's funny. I think he's funny in the sense of how not funny he is. His jokes are bad. We did the audition and we were leaving and I said, 'I think I want to ask for her number so could you go get the car and I'll meet you there in a minute'. She came out and I started talking to her and my dad pulls up in the car and like honks the horn and rolls down the window and gives me the thumbs up. I was truly pissed. I was actually like 'it's not even funny'. In hindsight it's funny but at the time, he said 'give me a break. She thought it was funny. Come on'. I'm like 'it wasn't, man. You really blew it for me. It's not funny'.

TeenHollywood: Boy, that's embarrassing. So did you get her number?

Adam: I did but I don't think she called me back.

TeenHollywood: Bummer! Do you miss the long hours of doing the TV show?

Adam: No. I certainly don't. Not when I'm sitting in the backyard on Monday morning thinking, 'wow, I could be in the Cohen kitchen for six hours right now'. No, I don't.

TeenHollywood: So what are you doing with the free time?

Adam: I'm sort of figuring that out. It's the small things. I'm getting adjusted to my old sort of unemployed life where the coffee shop is like eleven, twelve, one, whenever I may get up, that's a big part of my day, the first appointment of the day. The matinee I see is on the schedule too. It's the little things and it's really fun actually. I enjoy making your Sunday routine [work] Monday through Friday.

TeenHollywood: Are you reading lots of scripts?

Adam: Yeah, of course. I read them too quick. My agent will call me about a script and it won't get to me for like two days. I call him like, 'just send it to me. I'll read it. I'll get right back to you but, I'm excited. Come on!' I wish I could say I was reading tons but I just read what comes my way.

TeenHollywood: What do you think you will miss about 'The O.C.'?

Adam: Money. Also, the steady job is nice. Even if it can be a drag or doesn't feel artistically satisfying, there's something nice about stability. As much as you bitch about your job, there's some security knowing it's there. When you do take it away, it's definitely a different feeling. And, I'd say the people, but I still keep in contact. Everyone I really want to see from there, I do, on a pretty regular basis.

TeenHollywood: Would you ever do an ensemble TV show again?

Adam: Sure, I would. Although, next time around, I will be thinking a little more about schedule and how it's going to work and what it means for my days. When you're going to do something for 1-10 years, it's something to think about. We'll see if I'm in a position, when that happens, to factor that in.

TeenHollywood: Did anyone come to you to be in a new TV pilot yet?

Adam: A little bit. I was flattered, actually. I really wasn't interested this year, and I don't know how quickly that will change. I definitely was not ready to jump right back in. I read one thing that I thought, 'If it wasn't this year, and given a slightly different position, I would love to do this.'

TeenHollywood: Any thought to doing a 30 minute show vs. an hour show?

Adam: Yeah. In fact, if I had my pick of anything and I was doing TV, I probably would do a 30 minute, only because of the schedule. The shows I tend to like on TV are 30 minutes. I like '30 Rock.' I enjoy that a lot. I think being on something like that would be a blast.

TeenHollywood: Are you apprehensive between projects, while you're looking for the next thing?

Adam: Yeah. I think everyone is. I can't even believe how fast it moves now. Film is so unbelievably trendy. There's so many good actors, but it's so much about who was in the last successful independent film. Of course, there's anxiety about the next job, but, man, it is so out of your hands that I really am trying to zen out a little and go, 'Look, I can just work with what I've got and it's not up to me, exactly.' It isn't. There's a lot of good people that can do what I do. Hopefully, the cards fall in a nice way.

TeenHollywood: Is there a particular kind of movie you're dying to do?

Adam: I love all sorts of genres, and I would love to be a part of any kind of quality movie but I would love to figure out a way that I could be in a movie that's kind of big. When I say big, I mean explosions! And, I don't have to be 'the guy'. I can be the funny guy. It's so funny that Jon wrote this movie because all we talk about is comic book movies and action stuff. We'll be forever disappointed that this movie doesn't really necessitate a teaser poster and teaser trailer. I can speak for him too. We're just huge fans of that. Even more than the summer movies, I like the poster and the whole event film idea. I would love to be involved in something someday that has a big poster, a big teaser and feels big -- a big event film.

TeenHollywood: Big poster and big explosions! Got it. Let's re-enter The Land Of Women. Are there women in your life who have inspired you?

Adam: Yeah, I think every relationship I've ever been in has been ultimately a good thing and was really a learning experience. I don't have any horror stories there. I think my mom is fantastic. She's a really great person and she instilled in us, if nothing else, compassion.

TeenHollywood: You're a California boy, so would you want to write a story about your high school experience? Would it be anything like the mid-West experience?

Adam: No, I think that's what Jon's fascination is with that [Midwest] high school experience, and mine, growing up out here. I grew up in a typical high school, but I spent most of my high school actually at the beach, which the majority of my high school didn't.

TeenHollywood: Were you ditching?

Adam: No, but I sort of checked out, socially, around high school. I was reminiscing with a friend the other day. Everyone had their local beach and a bunch of the surfers from different high schools would go there. As a result, a lot of my high school friends were completely different ages and went to different high schools. And then, I'm friends with a few random bums, who are really crazy people. We still talk about the local bum.

TeenHollywood: Did you have a Big Kahuna on your beach?

Adam: Sort of, yeah. His name was Emmett and, I don't want to be rude, but he had an arm problem. He was a really sweet guy, and he never wore a wet suit. It was mind-blowing in the winter. But, if I did write a true movie about my youth, it would heavily involve the beach. I have this fascination with the east coast, this idyllic suburb that I've never exactly been to, but I'm pretty sure maybe exists.

TeenHollywood: There is a lot of music in the movie. Did you have any influence on the music in the film?

Adam: Just barely. We had a great music supervisor on this movie. I weighed in as heavily as I could and I think I got a few songs in there, but I'm really happy with the soundtrack, actually. I think it's cool. I think it's also underrated, in the sense that no one's talking about it. It doesn't feel like a studio soundtrack. It's very much a personal reflection of everyone's tastes that made the movie.

TeenHollywood: The location shoot sounds really friendly. You took your dog to the set and it became friendly with the neighbor's dog?

Adam: [laughs] Yeah. We spent a lot of time on that block and that street. They don't have things film there [usually]. It was on Vancouver Island We got to know all of them and they would watch. It was really cool. It was a neighborhood thing. At night, everyone would gather around and all the neighbors would be walking their dogs, and they'd chat outside the set. It was really fun. And, yeah, my dog befriended a Boxer up the street. They were fast friends. It was actually great because it was that or my trailer, and she got to go in this backyard and play all day, and then I'd grab her, so it couldn't have worked out better.

TeenHollywood: How was working with Meg Ryan?

Adam: It was great. She's really good in the movie, I think. And, it was nice to do a classic romantic comedy walk-and-talk with Meg Ryan, which is sort of her staple. I felt like I was doing a piece of classic cinema. I don't mean the thing will live on, but the Meg Ryan walk-and-talk is a big deal for me.

TeenHollywood: Was it fun to work with Kristen Stewart?

Adam: Yeah, she's great. It absolutely was. She's a fantastic actress.

TeenHollywood: What did you do when you weren't on set?

Adam: The one thing I didn't do was have that active a social life there. It was Vancouver Island, so it kind of closes early. And, Jon was my only peer there, and he was so pre-occupied. The director is so much busier than the actors. So, it was me and my dog. There was a dog park right next to the hotel, so I did that and I saw movies. It was kinda lonely, but in a good way. I had a lot of alone time.

TeenHollywood: Are you the kind of guy that female friends would come to for advice?

Adam: I think I'm good at that stuff. Absolutely. I think I'm a fairly good communicator, and I can offer some good relationship advice, when asked, I believe. I don't have a lot of high drama friends, so no one's ever running to me. If you keep needing to ask for advice a lot, then something's probably not working.

TeenHollywood: Were you comfortable with this role then?

Adam: Yeah, very much so. I was completely. It was sort of a natural fit. I felt like I got the voice very easy.

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.