A Fern-Free Interview with Zach Galifiankis

Theres a scene in the film in which your character has a total breakdown. How did you prepare for that scene?

Zach Galifianakis: Well, I talked to the directors about it, you know, I wanted to know what the gravity of it was, and how explosive they needed it, and from my kind of self taught acting school in my head, which is hard to get into, you develop a coordination of past thought and past emotions. They probably teach that in some acting class and acting schools. I am able to do that for some reason, and that is probably based on some sort of rage that I've had, and I don't think much of it really, its just kind of "push a button" and it happens. You kind of zen out. I don't like to over-think this too much in life, in general, because I find that it can get in the way, but I did draw on something in the past because I've been that angry before. Not often, not often, but when I get mad, I get that mad.

You just riff on past experience?

Zach Galifianakis:  Yeah, I think I was tempted to look at One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest but then I decided not to do it because just subconciously you might take something you dont want to. Anna and Ryan never said to me that they [were looking for a] "John Hughes" anything, I dont remember them telling me that.