For the most part, Wall Street has been glorified as the destination for the elite, a place where multi-million dollar deals and lunches at Masa happen before the closing bells chime. In the new film, by first time director Julio DePietro and former investment banker, The Good Guy takes a raw and honest look at life on Wall Street for young twenty-something Manhattanites.
The Good Guy examines the relationships of Beth (Alexis Bledel), her boyfriend Tommy (Scott Porter), and their new friend Daniel (Bryan Greenberg). The film goes beyond being about a torrid love triangle; it observes the life of a young adult working and living in Manhattan. Like any relationship, these characters are dealt endearingly beautiful moments that are soon forgotten by betrayal and dishonesty.
Trapped in a NYC blizzard, PopStar spoke with Bryan Greenberg over the phone about his role as Daniel, the newbie to the Wall Street world. Greenberg, who is currently starring in the hit HBO show How to Make It in America, was thrilled to talk about the role in this film. Nursing a broken wrist, the musician/actor jumps into the interview and talks about his unique character study of Daniel for this role.
For many of us, Bryan Greenberg caught our attention as Jake Jagielski, the hardworking young father on One Tree Hill. When Greenberg left the show in 2006, many fans held on hoping that Jake and Peyton reunite, but sadly that never happened. The good news for fans was that in 2007, Greenberg was starring on another primetime hit October Road alongside That 70’s Show (TV) star Laura Prepon. After a two season run, the show ended and Greenberg moved to the big screen, starring in 20th Century Fox’s Bride Wars as the onscreen brother of Kate Hudson and husband of Anne Hathaway.
Greenberg is back on the big screen, playing Daniel, a young guy who has left the army and moved to NYC to begin his life in the film The Good Guy. Upon meeting Tommy (Scott Porter), the high-powered Wall Street consultant, Daniel quickly gets sucked into the world of power and greed. Enter Beth, played by Alexis Bledel. Beth is Tommy’s girlfriend, but has a strong connection with Daniel, but the question is, how strong? Last week, PopStar spoke with Bryan about life on location in NYC, similarities between him and his introverted character and Bryan even provided very good reasons on why you should get out and go see The Good Guy!
In the upcoming film, The Good Guy, you play Daniel, the newcomer to the fast-paced, high-flying Wall Street scene. Can you tell us a little bit more about Daniel?
He is very serious in the beginning and you are not sure if he has an angle or not. He is one of those too good to be true characters; he has a strong moral compass but is very awkward socially. He is an introverted guy who would rather spend his night reading a Jane Austen novel instead of being out on the town mixing it with Wall Street characters. He is old school.
Sounds all good, something has to go wrong; can you give us a sneak peek into Daniel’s life as a Wall Street maven?
Daniel gets emerged into the Wall Street world and is taken in by his boss Tommy who is trying to groom him into being a better salesman. That entails taking out clients, picking up girls, and embracing the whole lifestyle. Daniel is having a tough time adjusting. He meets Tommy’s girlfriend Beth who is played by Alexis Bledel and they have a connection. I would say it causes some problems.
Do you see any similarities between you and your character Daniel?
Not really. I think that Daniel is much more of a character than I have played in the past. I am a lot more outgoing, I am a social guy and Daniel is very uncomfortable in his own skin.
You guys shot the film on location in New York City; can you give us a look behind the scenes of what happens while on set?
We shot this over a year and half ago. I remember how smooth it was and what a pleasure it was to be at work every day. We were always on time, and it was easy. Everyone hung out together, it is such a cool young cast, and everyone was always going out and having fun. I usually do that when filming, I like to be on location, get to know the cast and everything.
However on this one, I felt that I had to remove myself from that. I didn’t want anyone to get too comfortable and didn’t want anyone to get too comfortable with me because I didn’t think it would work for the character. So I stayed uptown on the Upper West Side and didn’t really participate socially with everyone else.
That was the first time I had done that, so it wasn’t like a blast [laugh] for me ’cause I was in character the whole time. I remember it was a pleasure to work on the movie and Julio [DePietro] was a great director. For a first time director, I think he did a great job.
The name of the film is The Good Guy; would you consider yourself a good guy?
Yeah, I consider myself a good guy. I come from a good family and I try to be honest and treat people with respect. It is not really for me to say, anyone who says that they are a good guy probably isn’t or has an angle; you have to ask other people. Everyone thinks they are a good guy, s**t, I bet Hitler thought he was a good guy.
We heard some exciting news that in 2010, you were going to have a new album coming out, tell us more!
I was supposed to be in the studio in January. I have all these new songs but I broke my wrist, and everything got delayed. I don’t know when it will happen, but I am itching to get back into the studio once my wrist heals up.
Sorry to hear that, how did you break it?
I was mountain biking in Puerto Rico.
Message to the fans.
It is important now more than ever to support indie film makers because it is a dying bread and there are a lot of talented voices that need to be heard. This movie gives viewers a cool look at the Wall Street culture and the love life in New York City.
Usually every character I have played has an arch and what I found really interesting about this role was it didn’t. This one made me think a lot as a viewer because the character doesn’t change; however, as an audience member, your perspective changes. This movie is all about perception and how you feel about the characters in this world. I thought that was a really interesting journey to go on as an audience member.
Bryan Greenberg laughs ruefully at the question of who’s the better kisser: Alexis Bledel or Uma Thurman?
But he’s one of the few actors around who can answer it, so it needs to be brought up.
“Don’t make me choose,” he pleads by telephone from a Los Angeles press day for the film “The Good Guy,” the film in which his character poaches Bledel from his best friend, which opens in limited release Friday (2/19/10).
He chuckles again and says, “What a tough life I live. I guess it’s a perk of the job. No, really, it’s cool but it’s weird. It’s not as glamorous as you think it would be. It’s a job. It’s technical. People touching you up with makeup, watching: It’s awkward.”
He pauses, then adds cheerfully, “I’ve had worse jobs.”
Such as? “I was a bartender. I worked at Chik-Fil-A. I was a mortgage banker’s assistant.”
None of which prepared him for “The Good Guy,” in which he plays a straight-arrow tech guy at a Wall Street firm in training to be a stockbroker. He did research for the role with writer-director Julio DiPietro, a former stock trader, who took him to watch deals being made.
“I knew nothing about Wall Street,” says Greenberg, 31. “It was a cool look at a whole culture. I was fascinated by how they talk on the phone: They’ve got two phones, one at each ear, with mute buttons, and they’re having multiple conversations and doing deals and playing with a golf club at the same time. And they’re jacked up on Red Bull.
“What they were saying was like a foreign language; Julio had to interpret the jargon for me. It was like I was looking at another species, watching how they physically acted. I couldn’t understand what they were talking about. It’s a very convoluted industry if you don’t know what you’re doing.”
Which, he added, explains a lot about the financial crisis that shook the country in late 2008: “We shot this pre-meltdown. Just seeing the life these guys live, the value system they have, it’s no wonder why we are where we are. There are some good people, but there’s a lot of greed involved. It’s one of those things where there are too many people in the industry and not enough commodities to go around. That’s what brought us here.”
Greenberg’s character, Daniel, is the antithesis of the Wall Street hard-chargers: a guy with a moral code who is uncomfortable with the idea of getting over on anyone, whether it’s a customer on the line or a woman in a bar. It’s the first Boy Scout-type that Greenberg has played.
“My character doesn’t vibe with that culture,” he says. “He’s a socially awkward character. He’d rather read a Jane Austen novel than go out to a club. He’s old school, for sure. I’m definitely not that much of a straight arrow. That was what attracted me to the part. I haven’t played a role like this.”
Daniel is also a military veteran, an avionics engineer and pilot, something else Greenberg barely considered for himself: “I thought about the military for a quick second when I was 15. I was in Israel and participated in an Israeli boot camp and thought about joining up. That went away a month later. No way was I joining the Israeli army.”
Born in Omaha and reared in St. Louis, Greenberg moved to Manhattan to go to New York University, working odd jobs and the occasional bit part after graduation, before moving to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career.
He got his break in “The Perfect Score,” a 2004 teen comedy that led to the role opposite Thurman in “Prime” (with Meryl Streep playing his psychiatrist mother), as well as a regular role on the TV series, “One Tree Hill.” Since then he’s moved back and forth between TV (“October Road,” “Unscripted”) and films (“Nobel Son,” “Bride Wars”), working regularly enough not to have to hold a day job.
“I feel like every job is my big break,” he says. “Was it the Pizza Hut commercial I did in college? ‘Unscripted’ was a big break. Then doing ‘Prime’ with Meryl Streep – that was my first romantic leading-man role. It’s hard to pinpoint a moment but I guess I’d say ‘Perfect Score.’ I haven’t had another job outside acting since then.”
Since making “The Good Guy,” he’s launched a new TV series: “How to Make It in America,” which had its debut on HBO his past weekend and which, he hopes, has a longer run than “October Road,” which lasted a single season on ABC.
“HBO is different,” Greenberg says. “’October Road’ was an awesome project. It didn’t do well critically, but millions of people watched it. Being on ABC is a totally different beast than HBO. HBO isn’t ratings-based. This is all about word of mouth. HBO doesn’t have to answer to advertisers. If people are talking about it, it’s a success. It’s not so cutthroat as network TV. I love HBO.”
He’s already finished filming the first season of “How to Make It” episodes and so is at loose ends for the moment. But he feels no desperation to find another job.
“I’m at a place in my career where I don’t need to work all the time,” he says. “Rather than work for the sake of working, I’d rather be doing good projects.”
In The Good Guy Brian Greenberg literally plays the good guy. After taking a position at a financial firm on Wall Street, Daniel is forced to transition from a sweet and awkward bookworm into a curt selling powerhouse. His good guy image may not be appropriate for the financial industry, but it does catch the attention of a young woman named Beth. The problem is, she happens to be the girlfriend of Daniel’s mentor, Tommy.
It’s a good thing Greenberg has an appreciation for learning new things, because right after wrapping production on The Good Guy, he had to gear up for his brand new HBO show, How to Make It in America. Greenberg’s character isn’t very business savvy in this project either. He plays Cam, one half of an enterprise team trying to make it in the New York fashion scene.
His characters may not be at the top of their games on Wall Street or on the runway, but Greenberg is as an actor. And now, more than ever, he’s getting the chance to show us what he’s really capable of.
How’d you get involved in this project?
They approached me with the script and it was kind of an easy movie. They were shooting for five weeks in New York and I responded to the material and I really liked the producers, Belladonna, they did Transamerica and A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints. I had a conversation with Julio, the director, and I decided this is a different character than something I’ve played in the past and why not? Let’s go for it! It was actually one of the smoothest movies I’ve ever been a part of. I’ve been on some big budget movies and people take their time, you don’t make the day. This was like, you don’t have time to mess around and you’ve just got to go for it. There were no hiccups in shooting this movie at all.
Did you know anything about trading when you took the role?
No, I didn’t know anything and that’s another reason I wanted to do it. Julio [DePietro] is very well versed in that world from his past and so he took us down to Wall Street and brought us on the trading floor and showed us these guys and how they interact and how they work the phones and what these sales mean. I read the script and was like, ‘I don’t understand the dialogue at all.’ [Laughs] I don’t even know what they’re talking about! I went to art school. That’s one of the cool things about being an actor; you get to take on all of these different hats and learn these different professions and play the character. I was really excited to be immersed in this world for a summer.
You got to ring the New York Stock Exchange bell recently, right?
Yeah! I just rang it on Monday and the Dow plummeted the worst in three months.
know the film was made quite a long time ago. Do you think moviegoers will still be willing to accept these upscale young professionals in the middle of a recession?
Even though [the move] would [take place] pre-recession, I think the timing couldn’t be better because it kind of examines the Wall Street culture. Tommy is this guy who’s greedy and wants more and that’s kind of the reason why we’re in a recession right now, because of guys like that. I think we kind of lucked out with that shot of him at the end looking at the New York Stock Exchange through his window and that scene hits home a lot harder now than it would before the market crashed. So I actually think the opposite.
What was your experience working with a first time writer/director?
I had a great time working with Julio, I’ve got to say. He’s obviously very talented because he wrote the script, so he knew what he wanted, but he had amazing poise to know how much he doesn’t know. He didn’t try to overcompensate. He didn’t have any ego in the process. If he didn’t know something about a lens or whatever, he trusted his DP or he trusted his actor about a moment. He really trusted me with Daniel and I took some risks with it and he went with me and he guided me along that process. It was a true pleasure. I’m really really impressed with what he did with his first movie.
Did he let you adlib at all?
Definitely, that’s the biggest part of my work. I always find it difficult when directors restrain me from that process. It’s not like I’m tying to rewrite. Obviously I liked the script, that’s why I did it. I like to keep things fresh, change it up and I always do it the way it’s written, but then I do a couple my own way. That’s just how I work. It keeps me on my toes and the other actors on their toes. He was cool enough to go with that and a lot of writer/directors are so worried about their words and their idea of how the movie should be instead of addressing the moment that’s really happening and sometimes the words don’t always match up to that. That’s why I like to do improv and he was cool enough to go with it.
How was it working with the rest of the cast? It seems like a fun young group, so I bet it was a blast.
You know what? I love everybody working on this, but this is the first time I sort of removed myself from everybody while shooting. I didn’t want anyone to feel too comfortable around me or me feel too comfortable around them because my character is so socially awkward. I stayed at a totally different hotel. I kind of just removed myself and I wanted it to be weird when I was shooting. It’s the first time I’ve ever done that. It sucked because I really liked everybody! [Laughs] I wanted to hang out, but I just thought that I needed a distance for my character to work.
Did you ever get frustrated with the character and wish you could just shake some sense into him?
He was a lot of fun to play because even the wardrobe – wearing the New Balance sneakers with the woven belt tucked in, with the Sidekick on the belt – yeah, you want to shake that guy and I think it lends a lot of comedic moments in the movie because Scott Porter’s character, Tommy, he’s like, ‘What are you doing?’ I’m a mess. Daniel’s a mess!
Do you have better game with the girls than he does?
[Laughs] I don’t know! I mean, he does alright in the movie, but I don’t know. I’m not very good at breaking the ice but once someone introduces me I’m off and running. I think, Daniel, he had to meet the perfect girl in this film for it to work.
Any plans for Valentine’s Day?
My show comes out that night on HBO so I don’t know. Maybe I’ll still go out with some of the cast in LA and hang out.
How’s everything going with How To Make It In America? Are you getting good vibes?
Yeah! It’s crazy. Everyone’s so excited about it. I’ve never been a part of a project that’s got such good buzz. It’s really exciting to be around and it’s such a cool show to work on. We just had the premiere in New York, it was a lot of fun and just doing a lot of press and getting it out there. And people seem to be really connecting to it and it’s awesome to be a part of something like that.
And it’s an HBO show too, which is pretty prestigious in itself.
Yeah, they’re excited about it as well.
You’ve been on HBO before, right?
I did a show called Unscripted about five years ago, so it’s just great to be back on a network that I really really respect and it’s kind of the only network I really watch. I just love their programming, they take risks and it feels like a family. It feels like a home so it’s nice to come back home. And it provides you time to shoot cool indies like The Good Guy and other movies and to work on music, so it’s really a great situation.
Do you have anything on The Good Guy soundtrack?
I do not believe I do. I did play some shows while I was out there and the cast and director they all came down and supported, which was really cool.
You shoot the show in New York, right?
Well, we wrapped in December. The show is definitely all about New York City, so we shot it all on location. The last four or five jobs I’ve done have been in the city. I live in LA, but it’s great to keep working in New York. The Good Guy is a totally differently looking New York than How To Make It portrays. The Good Guy is all about Wall Street and that culture, which How To Make It touches on but How To Make It also is downtown, lower east side loft parties, cool clubs, Brooklyn and that world.
What do you have coming up other than the show? Any films?
Isn’t that enough? [Laughs] Isn’t this enough for one week? Actually after this I’m chilling. I don’t know. I’m going to hopefully get back in the studio and work on my second record and I’m looking at film projects and we’ll see what happens with a possible second season for How To Make It.
So when are you going to be in the midst of a superhero movie rumor?
Bryan Greenberg in a cape? Who knows? Anything’s possible.
You’re always the nice guy. Try going for a villain part.
I’d love to! That would be fun. It seems like that’s the only movie they’re making now. I’m excited that The Good Guy is getting distribution because indie movies they’re not – people ran out of money and they’re not making these movies anymore. It’s all superhero movies or real obvious tent pole studio films. I really hope people go out and support the indie filmmakers because it’s a dying breed and there’s a lot of cool voices out there that need to be heard.
(Source)
The official trailer for Bryan’s latest movie The Good Guy has been released. I can’t wait to see this movie and to see Bryan and Alexis Bledel work together!
Roadside Attractions has acquired worldwide rights to Julio DePietro’s “The Good Guy,” which premiered earlier this year at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film stars Alexis Bledel, Scott Porter, Anna Chlumsky and Bryan Greenberg, and will be released the theatrically in March 2010, with Mandate International handling foreign sales. The film was produced by Linda Moran and Rene Bastian of Belladonna Productions as well as DePietro.
The film follows Beth (Bledel), who falls hard for Tommy (Porter), a “young Wall Street hot-shot.” But just as everything seems to be falling into place, complications arise in the form of Tommy’s sensitive and handsome co-worker Daniel (Greenberg).
“This is an entertaining, provocative film about three great subjects – love, money, and New York City,” said Roadside’s Howard Cohen in a statement. “We think the stellar cast will attract a lot of young fans, but anyone who’s ever dreamt of making it in the big apple will relate to this story.”
“We really wanted to make a fun date movie that men would actually like as much as women, and I think Alexis’ fans will be happy to finally see her playing a much more grown-up role,” added writer/director DePietro in a statement.
The deal was brokered by Greg S. Bernstein and Cohen for Roadside and Andrew Herwitz of The Film Sales Company on behalf of the filmmakers.
First off I have updated the side bar wit the Dates & Towns that Bryan will be at for his June tour dates. If you are interested in times and venues please check Bryan’s myspace for that information.
I have also added the link to Bryan’s Store to the sidebar. Be sure to stop by there and check out what he is offering!
Welcome to Bryan Greenberg Fan @ Bryan-Greenberg.com. Bryan Greenberg is a talented actor and musican. Bryan maybe best known for his role on the hit dramas One Tree Hill or October Road
or from the movies The Perfect Score & PRIME. Bryan's music has been featured on both OTH and Ocotober Road. He will be featured in the new HBO original show How to Make it in America.
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We are in no way affiliated with Bryan Greenberg, How to Make it in America, HBO or anyone that knows/works with him. This site is run solely for entertainment purposes, and is completely unofficial. We make no profit from the website & are just fans of the actor.
