WWTW Interview: Actor Justin Bartha (‘Holy Rollers’)

Justin Bartha’s first movie found him working alongside Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Ben Affleck.

“This was a very sought after part with an Academy Award-nominated writer/director,“ Bartha recalls of the role. “It was the best working experience maybe I ever had.“

The public had an entirely different reaction to “Gigli.”

Bartha’s earnest performance as a mentally challenged man obsessed with “the Baywatch” didn’t go for naught. The following year he co-starred in the smash “National Treasure” and his 2009 comedy “The Hangover” kick-started a new comedy franchise.

But one gets the feeling Bartha feels closest to more intimate movies like “Holy Rollers,” just released on DVD.

The character-driven drama set in the Hasidic Jewish community stars Bartha as a fallen Jew who tempts his neighbor (Jesse Eisenberg) into smuggling “medicine” from Amsterdam to the U.S.

Bartha says the film, based on actual events, could have been told from the perspective of any religion.

“A lot of the more orthodox sects of every religion have a mystery that shrouds them,“ Bartha says. “That’s inherently interesting.‘

He initially received the script from Eisenberg, a long-time pal. Bartha responded to the Shakespearean elements at play in an otherwise modest tale. But the original script felt more like a “cops and robbers” piece. Bartha used the time it took to raise funds for the movie to help sculpt it into its current form.

The actor once lived above a Hasidic family which gave him a foundation to build on for the role. He did a little more digging to better understand his character and found plenty of people who recognized some of the character types from the movie – young people living in a tightly knit culture.  And, in many cases, the people in question had defected from their faith and went through a downward spiral just like Sam’s character in “Holy Rollers.”

Bartha’s film career, in comparison, continues to thrive. The actor is currently gearing up for “The Hangover 2,” the anticipated sequel that won’t be featuring a cameo from Mel Gibson.

But the lessons learned from “Gigli” should help him survive future career shocks.

“It wasn’t easy,” he says of the film’s fallout. “I was a kid who had high hopes and worked extremely hard on the film for a year, as everyone else did.” He pins some of the craziness on the dawn of the celebrity-obsessed media which overshadowed the film’s release.

“I learned a lot about how Hollywood works,” he says.

The actor couldn’t know the media maelstrom “Gigli” would inspire, but he had a sneaking suspicion while making “The Hangover” the cast and crew had something special on their hands.

“A few weeks into shooting we had the sense it would be special,” he says. “But no one really knew who we were … and no one thought it would be the cultural phenomena it became. It’s still hard to wrap your head around that.”

UPDATE: Bartha shared his thoughts on “The Hangover” director Todd Phillips for my latest piece at boxofficemagazine.com

(Photo: Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Bartha and Jason Fuchs star in “Holy Rollers,” a drama inspired by an actual case of Hasidic Jews smuggling Ecstasy into the country.)

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