Discomfort Abounds: Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell on Downhill | Interviews
WF: 100%. Yeah, a whole other level to get to play.
JLD: Its discomfort abounds.
How did you two build this very believable couple dynamic, of both awkward silences and confrontations?
JLD: I think we lucked out, to be honest with you.
WF: Because we didn't have a ton of rehearsal, necessarily.
JLD: Yeah, right. I mean we talked a lot, I would say, leading up to it. And we liked each other a lot from the get go. And I think that our point of view on the material was very similar. Actually, to tell you the truth too, I think we have a sensibility, even in terms of approaching comedy or drama, of play and trust that was similar. And that worked in our favor, for this particularly.
Did the real-life experience of marriage help at all to understand Billie and Pete?
WF: I mean, neither of us have experienced what this couple goes through.
JLD: [Not] this kind of crisis.
WF: Nor have we had, luckily, an intense altercation like this with our spouses. But I think in just having breakfast or going out to dinner, or just chatting in between, we would just trade stories of like…
JLD: Raising our children.
WF: Exactly. Or, "Have you been through this before?" "No. Yeah." And that built this little catalog. Whether you draw on it specifically or not, it was just a touchstone for us.
JLD: I think we knew how to play at being together as a married couple in a way that was believable because we've been in a relationship for a very long time. Even the shower scene, when you come in and he says, "She told us to celebrate,” and she says, "I knew you'd pick up on that." And this is a couple who have been having sex for a long time. They know each other's bodies really well. And, I don't know, I don't know how else to say it. Right?
WF: I just remember when we were doing something and you were asking about… I just remember… This won't be a good example because I can't remember exactly what it was, but you said to me, "Oh, now I really feel like I'm married to you." Because I was doing something [specific].
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