Jesse Eisenberg knows that ‘a real pain’ gets recognition. His father put it in perspective: npr

A note from Wild Card Host Rachel Martin: I appreciate Jesse Eisenberg not only because he is really good at shopping, but because he helps me raise my children. It may sound unnecessarily provocative, but here’s what I mean: Eisenberg tends to play male characters with deep interior life. Signs that spend a lot of time feeling things like anxiety, fear, insecurity. They are also big heart and friendly. And on screen, we see Eisenberg’s characters trying to find their place in a world where men are expected to flatten their vulnerabilities and all their feelings to fit into an outdated definition of masculinity.

What does this have to do with my children? Well, I have two boys, they are 10 and 12, and I would very much like them to become young men who are comfortable living through all their feelings. And maybe I give Hollywood too much power in my life, but it feels affirmative as a parent to see these kinds of male characters on screen.

Case: Octopus and the whaleAt The art of self -defenseThe show Fleishman is in trouble. And of course the movie that gets lots of accolades right now – including a best original manuscript and supportive actor nomination on Oscars – A true painAs Eisenberg wrote and instructed. He also co -stars in the film with Kieran Culkin.

This Wild Card interview is edited for length and clarity. Host Rachel Martin asks guests randomly chosen questions from a card tire. Tap Play above to listen to the full podcast, or read an excerpt below.

Question 1: What is a moment when you remember to be brave as a teenager?

Jesse Eisenberg: Well, so in my senior year in high school I got into my own. I grew up in New Jersey and in my senior year in high school I transferred to a performing arts high school in New York City. And it was like I was just becoming an adult overnight to go there. But the brave thing I did was probably to cut school one day to see a Broadway -Matinee of Judgment in Nuremberg – Who might tell you enough about me to understand my full personality.

My friends and I – We planned it as a heist on math class in the morning, like “Yes, cool I meet you for lunch and I think we can get students tickets for the last row of mezzanine.” So our big violation in high school should see a Broadway Matinee.

I’m sure it would have been the kind of thing if our teachers caught us, they would be like, “Oh mystell, your sweet nerves. Of course. Go. It’s great. I give you an a.”

Question 2: Has ambition ever led you astray?

Eisenberg: I mean, yes, I think about it all the time. In an attempt for me to keep me busy and active, I sometimes want to press my stuff being done sometimes, even if they are too early. But I would say, I’m not naturally an ambitious person for myself, but I’m really a pretty worried person to fail. And then it creates an ambition in me of necessity to just try to stay busy at all times.

Rachel Martin: How have you managed the fear of failure? Because it is inevitable. I mean, you’ve had them, right?

Eisenberg: Yes. I’ve had far more failures than successes. And my dad is a sweet person. He is a teacher and has such sweet perspectives on my life. So like with this movie, A true painIt’s doing well and all of all, and you know there’s a feeling inside me that this should be the norm and like “I am a failure if this is not the norm.”

And my dad has a kind of view of 60,000 feet or 30,000 foot-dependent of your airline-of what that means. And he tells me things like “If you have two of these in your career it’s a cool thing.” A really successful career to have in the art is to have like, let’s say two movies that you make that are considered this nicely.

And it puts things into perspective, because what it tells me is that this should not be expected to be the norm. And then my friend Jim tells me all the time that if you want a career in the arts, success remains basically active and busy. The successes are not the one or two things that spider.

Question 3: What is your best defense against despair?

Eisenberg: I married a woman who has the same values ​​as me. I mean, she is a much better person – she teaches social justice and attention to public schools. And her mother ran a shelter in the home for 35 years. So she comes from this kind of world.

And I am preoccupied with privilege versus battle and meaning versus emptiness, etc. But the interesting thing that arises for me is that my wife – she just does something about it. She always just says, “Ok, so what are you going to do about it?”

So if I, as I feel miserable, is she like “OK, so what are you going to do about it?” Or I’m like “I feel so bad with what happened to my friend.” She is always like, “Oh, let’s call him now and try to get him a job. Oh, you know what? I can call my friend. She actually knows someone who has just lost their jobs here. Maybe they can Talk.

I manage it about myself. “Oh God, I feel so guilty.” She is not even aware that she is doing something other than me. That’s just the way she’s wired. And then I look at her all the time and we’ve been together forever.

Martin: I think it’s so nice that you found each other.

Eisenberg: Oh, I’m lucky. I’m lucky. Because I’m not wired for something good. She is wired to do all these good things.

Martin: That’s not true. I’ve known you for an hour and Jesse Eisenberg, I don’t think you’re wired to do anything good.

Eisenberg: No, no, no. I am a thoughtful person, but it does not lead to, as you know, benevolent action. She’s just like she’s less contemplative than me. She is just very active and has a good heart.