26
JUNE2015
AMERICANWAY
HOWARD, FROMTOP: BARRYKING/FILMMAGIC; UNIVERSALPICTURESANDAMBLINENTERTAINMENT
POV
THRILL
RIDE
BryceDallasHowardhelps
bringoneof thissummer’s
mostanticipatedfilms to life
B
rycedallashowardhasbeen
makingmoviessinceherfather,
RonHoward,castherasanextra
in his 1989 film,
Parenthood
. So you
mightthinkthestarof
TheHelp
would
bea little jadedaboutwell,everything,
includinghermajorroleinthismonth’s
JurassicWorld
(alongside this issue’s
coverstar,ChrisPratt).Howard is just
theopposite.“Thismovieisthethrillof
my life. Iprobablywon’t evenbelieve
that I’m in ituntil I’ma senior citizen
orsomething!”Afternearly15yearsof
stellarwork, her charm andwit (and
killeractingchops)haveherpoisedfor,
well,monsterstardom.
AMERICANWAY
:
Obviously,
theJurassicParkmoviesare
classics.Howdidyou feel
going into it?
BRYCEDALLASHOWARD:
Thefirstfilmwassoprofound
forme, and really,mygener-
ation. I canalways recall that
remarkable imageofLaura
DernandSamNeill lookingat
thebrachiosaurus, the idea
of “dinoDNA,” the imageof
themosquito in theamber.
Not tomention, anytime I see
somethingmagnificent, I hear
the
JurassicPark
themesong
playing inmyhead—don’tyou?
AW
:
Didyouhave toprep for
thephysicalityof this role?
BDH:
I’vegot twoveryenergetic
youngkids, agiantpuppyand
anacrobaticcat, so inshort,my
life isbasicallyahumanobsta-
clecourse.
AW
:
Howwas itacting
oppositedinosaurs?
BDH:
Mostof thedinosaursare
going tobedigitallycreated, but
therewasacrucial scenewhen
I got thechance toactopposite
ananimatronicdinosaur.
Sometimes, if Iwouldbeagonizingover the
detailswhen Iwasactingoppositea tennis
ball (inplaceofwhatwouldeventuallybe
created), Iwould realize that I’dultimately
be inascenewithanepicdinosaurand
think, “I reallydon’thave tostress.”
AW
:
You’vebeen involved in thebusiness
fora long time.Anyadvice toyoungup-
and-comers?
BDH:
I amobsessedwith thisonlineshow
called
MarieTV
, and [MarieForleo] recently
said, “Claritycomes fromengagement,
not thought.”Thispieceofadvicesumsup
everything forme. In retrospect formyself,
it is through takingactionanddoing that I
have learnedmostaboutmyself.
–
ALLISONWINNSCOTCH
Laughing
Stock
JuddApatowand
aworthycastof
comediansexplore
their trade
I
t’seasy to recognize the teen-
ageversionofwriter/director/
producerJuddApatow that’s
captured inhisengagingnew
book,
Sick in theHead:Conver-
sationsAboutLifeandComedy
(RandomHouse, $27). The
samedaringanddoggedspirit
behind
The40-Year-OldVirgin
and theupcoming
Trainwreck
propelled theself-described
“comedy freak” tosnag inter-
viewswithmore than threedoz-
enofhishigh-school heroes.
Those interviewsserved
asApatow’smasterclasses in
comedy. The40 interviews in
thebook includenotonlyeight
ofhisoriginal sessionswithhis
influences—suchasSteve
AllenandJerrySeinfeld—but
alsochatswith “Contempo-
raries,”suchasChrisRockand
JonStewart, and “OnesWho
WillOutliveMe,” includingLena
DunhamandMichaelChe.
ThebanterbetweenApatow
andhis friends revealsmuch
about themechanicsof
comedy. Themostcompelling
passages focuson the inspi-
rationsandaspirationsdriving
theseperformers to thepage,
thestageor thescreen—or in
Apatow’scase, all three.
–
KRISTINBAIRDRATTINI
Howard in
JurassicWorld
