(Cover) - EN Movies - Jesse Eisenberg says watching his own movies is a “mortifying experience”.
The actor has appeared in a host of films, most famously The Social Network in 2010. While Jesse is grateful for his Hollywood success, the modest star actively avoids having to watch his performances on the big screen.
“My experience is acting is only through the character. I don’t watch movies I’ve been in. I don’t read reviews of movies I’ve been in, so the only experience I have is playing a role and immersing myself in a role for a few months,” he told Washington City Paper. “I don’t like to celebrate myself and revel in my good achievements. If there is something funny that made it in the movie, I’m glad I guess... I don’t even know why I’m glad. I don’t care. I’m trying to do my job and set. If I have to see a movie I’m in, which I’ve had to in the past, it’s a mortifying experience.”
Jesse went on to recall having to sit through a screening of The Social Network, in which he played Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
The 29-year-old found the experience almost unbearable.
“We had to go to a public screening of The Social Network at Lincoln Center, and I hated it,” he confessed. “I mean, I know it’s a good movie because people say it, but I can’t look at my face.”
Jesse has recently been busy with a play called The Revisionist, which he wrote and starred in with Vanessa Redgrave.
He was initially worried about what Vanessa would make of his script.
“It’s about a young science-fiction novelist who goes to Poland to revise his book. While he’s there, he stays with his second cousin, who Vanessa played. It’s about their relationship, and she’s harbouring some very complicated history from her past regarding World War II,” he explained. “When we started rehearsing, I was worried because she’s the greatest actress of all time and I thought she’d find a problem with my script and we’d have to cancel the show. She did the opposite. I asked her, ‘Do you want me to change anything?’ and she goes, ‘No, darling, you are the writer.’ She didn’t change a word, and it was amazing. We ran for four months, and it was a terrific experience.”
