ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke to Poolman stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and DeWanda Wise about acting in Chris Pine’s directorial debut. Out in theaters today, the comedy movie also stars Pine, Danny DeVito, Annette Bening, Stephen Tobolowsky, Clancy Brown, John Ortiz, and Ray Wise.
“Poolman tells the story of Darren Barrenman (Chris Pine), a native Los Angeleno who spends his days looking after the pool of the Tahitian Tiki apartment block and fighting to make his hometown a better place to live,” says the synopsis for the Vertical release. “When he is tasked by a femme fatale to uncover the truth behind a shady business deal, Darren enlists the help of his friends to take on a corrupt politician and a greedy land developer. His investigation reveals a hidden truth about his beloved city and himself.”
Tyler Treese: Chris Pine is very much known for these big blockbuster thrillers and action movies. So what was your reaction when he reached out to you about doing this very quirky, offbeat comedy movie?
Jennifer Jason Leigh: It is. It’s a very quirky, offbeat comedy movie, and it feels very personal to him, and it’s very original. I’d never read anything like it. It just seemed very funny and specific and odd, and it also seemed like a genuine love letter to LA, and I’ve always really liked him. I really like his work. It just seemed like a fun, like a wonderful project to be a part of.
DeWanda, one thing I loved about Poolman was your looks throughout. You are in these beautiful outfits every single time you pop in. Just a whole different fashion style. How is it just putting on all these great dresses and seeing these different looks your characters had?
DeWanda Wise: I think it’s one of those roles, and I’ve played a couple, actually, where the wardrobe really gets you into character. There’s something about… Every dress, every outfit in this film was vintage. It was like all from the forties through the seventies. There’s something about being in a cinched waist, you know what I mean? Like wearing the pushup bra and doing the whole thing and like really being gathered that tells you like, “Oh, this is how my character stands. This is the posture. This is how she walks. This is how she moves through the world.” So yeah, it’s super character-informed by wardrobe.
Jennifer, I loved your scenes with John Ortiz in this movie. Every single one was so charming. What stood out about him as a scene partner? Because you had such great chemistry in the movie.
Jason Leigh: Oh, thank you. Yeah, I loved working with him. He’s so easy. You trust him immediately. You just wanna like cuddle in there because he’s just so… you feel like you could trust him with anything. He’s one of those people you feel like you could tell him your life story in two seconds, and you wanna know everything about him. We never had these conversations, of course, but…
Wise: He’s a very loving person too.
Jason Leigh: He feels incredibly warm, open, loving. We improvised a lot. I would love to work with him again. He’s the best.
DeWanda, since Poolman was Chris’ directorial debut, what kind of stood out about him behind the camera as a director?
Wise: I just think he’s very specific. I’ve worked on a show with Spike Lee, and Spike is the kind of director where he’s like, casting is the job. He just lets you play. You know what I mean? There is not a lot of telling you what to do. You just get to kind of do your thing.
This was honestly the first time in a long time where I worked with a director who was very incisive, where his vision for the story and this character was so specific that the satisfaction of an actor, you kind of lean into that, is when you hit it. Even though the target is very, very small and very hard to hit. So it’s very satisfying. He’s a very satisfying director to work with. I was really, actually, in that moment, really craving that experience of working and having someone who was gonna really challenge me in a way, and he did.
Jennifer, you have this great scene in Poolman with Annette Bening where she has your back. You’re talking about relationship issues. How fun was it just working with her?
Jason Leigh: She’s incredible to work with and to just hang out with, she has the best stories. She tells them with such detail and specificity, and she’s so funny. She’s a marvel. You don’t even have to like open your mouth at all almost because she just fills the space in such a beautiful way. She’s also really welcoming and she’s very warm. Because it might be intimidating meeting Annette Bening, and she just calls you right over and starts chatting with you. I love her.
