Justin Bartha: from an NYU dorm to the middle of a gossip storm

Interview, August, 2003 by Susan Johnston

Please don't ask Justin Bartha about Ben and J. Lo. Though he is making his big-screen debut in the new Gigli--on the set of which the famous couple first, well ... coupled--he says he 'wasn't sitting around, watching them date."

In the movie, the wry, cheeky 24-year-old plays a prosecutor's mentally disabled brother who's kidnapped by Affieck's incompetent gangster; Lopez's thug is brought in to clean up the mess. As part of his research for the role, Bartha spent a couple of months at a program for the mentally disabled in New York City, where he developed his character's unusual physicality. "I'm basically unrecognizable in the movie," he says. "And now I'm dealing with a lot of back pain."

Though this is the sort of break that most young actors would kill for, the recent NYU film-school grad is more interested in a career behind the camera as a writer and director. And he's on his way, having worked in recent years in various capacities on all kinds of movies, from studio productions (Analyze That) to student shorts. He began directing even earlier: "As a kid I was in charge of the family videos, and I'd do voiceovers that would get me in trouble. My cousins didn't like what I had to say about their weddings." Lately, Bartha's work has found a more appreciative audience. His short, Highs & Lows, screened at the South by Southwest festival this spring, and an NYU project called The Dustin and Justin Show led to a development deal at MTV.

Instead of reveling in his success, Bartha seems anxious. "I feel like a show monkey," he laments, explaining that little has changed in his daily routine. "The wildest I've gotten is [going out for] sushi. I guess I could walk up to someone and say, 'Hi. I'm in Gigli. Make out with me."' This writer's heard worse pickup lines.

Susan Johnston is a frequent Interview contributor.