Comedy actor Jonah Hill has stated that the film in which he considers his best performance has gone under the radar. Does it matter?
In a recent interview with GQ, Jonah Hill spoke about his experience working with filmmaker Gus Van Sant (director of Good Will Hunting, My Own Private Idaho). The star expressed that he admires Van Sant and was privileged to work with him, but according to Hill, the film was almost completely overlooked upon its distribution by Amazon Studios. Unfortunately, the vast majority of audiences have missed what Hill considers the best performance of his career.
About the film, Hill stated:
“He [Van Sant] made a film with myself and Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara two years ago called [Don’t Worry] He Won’t Get Far on Foot and nobody saw it ’cause Amazon completely f*cked it up. But it’s the best acting I have done and will ever do.”
The film Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot got solid reviews despite its relatively small viewership. Based on the memoir of the same name by John Callahan, the film stars Hill alongside Academy Award-winner Joaquin Phoenix, with Jack Black in a supporting role. It tells the story of an alcoholic man who is paralysed after a drink-driving accident, and who finds solace in cartoon-drawing.
Don’t Worry was well-received when it was released at Sundance Film Festival back in 2018, and Hill was praised for his performance by the critics who actually did watch it. The film was indeed a great showcase of his dramatic talent, if rather unnoticed.
However, he’s got plenty of great performances under his belt to back him up anyway.
We All Love His Movies, Anyway
Jonah Hill started his career in comedy, and that’s what most people know and love him for anyway. The actor gained recognition for his first leading role in the hilarious Superbad, in which he played a vulgar teen alongside Michael Cera, who is determined to score alcohol for a party as a minor. The film was an instant classic and is widely regarded as one of the greatest teen comedies. As Superbad was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, Hill managed to land a number of comedic roles afterwards with Rogen and the ‘Frat Pack’.
It’s not uncommon for comedy actors to venture out of their comfort zone and ‘experiment’ with more dramatic roles. Jonah Hill is one of many, and a damn impressive one. Due in large part to Superbad, most people generally recognise Hill for his comedy chops, however, the actor has boasted a wider range of talent as well. His dramatic performances in Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street both earned him an Academy Award (aka Oscar) nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
More recently, Hill has gone on to make his directorial debut in the coming-of-age film Mid90s, which he also wrote. The film received critical praise for its emotional depth and Hill’s screenplay, and showed promise for his ‘new’ career as a writer-director.
Don’t worry Jonah, while this ‘best work’ might have gone under the radar (I’ll admit: I haven’t seen the movie myself), you’re still doing pretty well for yourself and needn’t worry.
Either way, Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot is available on Amazon Prime. And it looks like it’s worth a watch.
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