Let’s Love star Malin Akerman spoke with News’s Tyler Treese about the unique comedy drama. Akerman discussed the unique shooting for the improv-heavy movie, working with co-stars Josh Hutcherson and Dermot Mulroney, and much more. Let’s Love is now available on VOD from Cineverse.
“Ten years after a romance film shaped their careers, the film stars and creative team reunite in Wales for a fan convention. Complicated personal histories resurface as they gather, including former relationships, unresolved tensions, and creative disagreements. When the convention is abruptly canceled, the group uses the unexpected time to revisit the film’s original locations while considering a possible sequel. As the trip unfolds, professional ambitions intersect with lingering personal dynamics, bringing their shared past back into focus,” says the official synopsis.
Tyler Treese: Malin, it’s such a pleasure to speak with you, especially about a film as interesting as Let’s Love. I read that you’re dyslexic, so you naturally enjoy improv as a result. Doing a film with Jamie Adams, who is a true collaborator and gives these characters over to the cast, had to be the most natural fit for you. How was it having so much freedom and making this film where the cast is improvising so much?
Malin Akerman: I loved it. Listen, there’s two elements to this. One is, yes, I am mildly dyslexic, so learning lines for me takes a little longer than most. But I also am so afraid of improv. It is something that scares me.
I had my first experience with Joe Swanberg. We did a show called Easy. It was an anthology, so it was one episode, and it was all improv. That was the first time I’d ever done all improv. My heart was up in my throat every single day because I was so nervous. But I loved that feeling. I loved being afraid and feeling alive and being on your toes at all times and tapping into this weird mix of reality and fantasy and what’s character and what’s you.
Anyway, I just enjoyed that experience so much. So when this came along, I was really excited because Jamie’s been doing this for a while. He’s got, what, like 20 films under his belt doing this kind of stuff. With the cast that he had put together, I was really excited to step into something like this with this talented cast of people. Then you feel kind of protected because you’re going, “All right. I’m with some people who I feel could pull this off.” But I loved every minute of it. Yes, I loved at the end of the day that we didn’t have to learn lines, that we could all just go out for dinner and enjoy each other’s company.
So yeah, I wouldn’t call myself an improv actor. I love comedy. I love doing comedy, but I have to say, being on Children’s Hospital with some of the best comedians in the world was me running a race with some of the best runners, just trying to keep up and learning from them. So I just love being in that space.
What’s the biggest challenge of doing a film that’s so improv-based? I feel like if you’re a bit off or just not all there for a day, you’d be like, “Can’t we just have lines?” It seems like everybody has to be on for this to work.
Yeah, definitely. But I think the thing about improv is that it’s never repetitive, so you don’t get tired of your lines over and over again from every single angle. You do it once, and that’s the only time you’re going to do it that way. Then you do it again, and it’s something completely different. Jamie wanted that anyway.
We would do a scene, like the breakup scene between my character and Josh Hutcherson’s character. You could probably do three or four different scenes with that one scene because we got to do it over and over again. Then Jamie would come in and say, “Hey, all right, back it up to this point, and now Malin, say this to him.” Then I would say that, and it would create a brand-new reaction and a whole new scene. So I really enjoyed that part of it.
All the relationships in the film are in a strange, fractured place. The characters all feel very real and flawed, which I think is why Jamie can allow you guys to improvise because you have so much to go off of. Usually in a film, we’re lucky if the protagonist has that many layers. How rich is it working from a story template where every single character has those layers and depth? That has to help everybody.
Of course. That’s all you want. You don’t want one-dimensional characters. That’s boring for us and for the audience. It was kind of a meta movie, a movie within a movie trying to figure out a script for the sequel while we’re in a movie trying to figure out the script for this film.
It was really fun to play all those layers and comment on my character, Andrea, and her romance with Jackson, the young star of her film 10 years ago. That’s something we see in our industry over and over again, where it’s on-set romances just because everything is so heightened. You’re in your passion when you’re doing a film or a TV show. You’re doing what you’re most passionate about, and you’re in scenes with people or directing, or you’re in this environment away from home and reality. All of a sudden, there’s a blurred line and you don’t know what’s what.
That was really fun to explore as well and see her awakening of, “Oh, this isn’t right for me.” Actually, Martin Freeman’s character, Nigel, is much more her speed, and discovering that. So yeah, there were lots of layers to play with, and I think we all just tried to keep it as grounded as possible. Even though there were some absurd moments, it was fun to play around.
Tyler Treese: I loved all your scenes with Josh Hutcherson. He plays your husband in the film, and it’s such a fun performance from him. I love when he’s like, “Oh, I’m a writer,” and then he’s like, “Well, I don’t have my ideas.” What stood out about him as a scene partner?
Malin Akerman: Oh gosh, what you just said. There were some really great zingers and one-liners, and you’re just like, “Oh my God, how am I going to keep a straight face right now? Stay in it, stay in character.” He’s just so cute and so sweet, and he delivers it so honestly.
I know those people, too. I’ve met those people in the industry where you’re like, “You’re a writer? What have you written?” “Well, nothing yet.” “Oh, okay, cool.” “But I have some ideas.” “You’re thinking about it?” “Oh, okay.” Maybe you don’t call yourself a writer just yet, but those people exist. He really did a great spoof on that and nailed it. It was exactly the characters that we’ve met along the way.
You play a director in this film. Did you draw inspiration from any of the directors you’ve worked with?
Not really, no. The only thing that I can say is the understanding of why she was with Josh’s character, which is what I was touching on earlier. I have seen those on-set romances between directors and actors before because of all that passion that’s going on. Then a few years later, you run into them, and you’re like, “So what happened?” They’re like, “I think I was in a daze.”
It’s kind of drawing from that stuff. But no one in particular. We just tried to bring an essence of the how and the why, and then bring a part of myself into it. What would I be like if I had been a director on that set? Who am I? What would Malin bring to this? So it’s a little mix of a character and myself, I guess.
There’s an exciting cameo at the end of this film with Dermot Mulroney. Was he actually on a Zoom with you guys, or how was that filmed?
He was on a Zoom with us. We had to film it that way because he wasn’t going to come to Wales for one day. He’s a busy guy. But I was so excited. I gave him a call and asked if he’d be interested because Jamie said, “We’re looking for somebody who’d be a fun little cameo.” I said, “I think I have the guy.” Dermot is always up for anything. He’s so sweet.
We love working together. So when I gave him a call and said, “Would you mind? It’ll just be an hour of your time,” he was game. He did so great. He also had some really great zingers in there. I think he says to Nigel, “Oh, so you wrote it. Are you still writing?” The stuff that came out of him was great. He did a great job. So that was really fun, having him be a part of it.
I love the beginning of this film and all the convention drama. I know smaller conventions can be very sketchy. You’ve done conventions and things like that. Have you ever had much drama from those sorts of bookings?
No, I haven’t. So far, so good. Knock on wood. It’s always been well received. Nothing’s been canceled once we got there, so that’s nice. Usually a lot of people come to say hi, and you get to meet some of your superfans, which is really enjoyable because they really care. I love people with passion, so it’s really fun to hear their stories and their connections to whatever characters they love. I’ve always enjoyed the time, but no, we haven’t had any big faux pas like that one.
This film places its focus on a 10-year reunion for this hit film, and it’s interesting seeing the lifespans of movies. We were talking about conventions. I’m sure Watchmen gets brought up a lot to you because it’s so big in that circle. How has it been living with that movie? It doesn’t go away. If anything, it gets discovered by more people and keeps being a touchstone. How has it been watching the lives of these movies continue?
It’s awesome. You can never predict anything like that. You can’t predict the longevity of any art piece that you do. So it’s really fun that there are people who have been fans since it came out, and people just discovering it. As an audience member myself, there are films that I would watch over and over again for the rest of my life. There’s this nostalgia that comes with it, or whatever it makes you feel, or the art on the screen, or whatever attracts you to it. I understand it myself, so I just think it’s great and it’s fun, and I love it.
I think about singers who have to sing the same hit songs over and over again for years and years. I was thinking of the Rolling Stones, so forgive me. But you go, I can’t imagine you ever really get sick of it when you’re meeting the fans in real life or on stage singing to the fans who are singing the lyrics back to you. It’s got to be a beautiful thing. That’s how I feel, too. I’m just really happy that it continues to have life.
It was so unique that The Comeback had yet another comeback. How special was it returning to that role, which was one of your early breakouts, and getting to play it every 10 years? That has to be such a strange experience for you.
Malin Akerman: It was less strange and more just being so grateful and genuinely happy. I’m so glad that it got to continue because, for me, it was the beginning of my career. Lisa Kudrow and Michael Patrick King gave me the beginning of my career. So to get to come back to this and kind of check in every decade and be like, “Oh, hey guys, how are you doing now? What’s happening in your life?” It’s been such a fun journey.
I’m definitely sad that it’s over on that front, but I have some incredible friends in Lisa and Michael, and I am so grateful to them. I’m also so happy that audiences loved it as much as I did and as much as we did making it. I just love these characters. I think they did a great job. I think Valerie Cherish is a brilliant piece of work on Lisa’s part. I believe she kind of created this character when she was at The Groundlings, so Valerie Cherish has been around for a long time. I just love that the world loves her. It’s been a great journey.
Thanks to Malin Akerman for taking the time to talk about Let’s Love.
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