Alexie Gilmore Interview, Worlds Greatest Dad

Alexie Gilmore has a sexy but approachable quality that has allowed her to endear audiences. She was last seen in “Surfer, Dude,” playing the love interest to Matthew McConaughey. Gilmore also starred in Erica Dunton’s “27 Club” with Joe Anderson and appeared opposite Ryan Reynolds and Rachel Weisz in “Definitely, Maybe” for director Adam Brooks.

Gilmore’s television credits include starring as the romantic lead on the Fox Drama “New Amsterdam” directed by Lasse Hallstrom. Other past credits include “Rescue Me,” “Love Monkey,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “Conviction,” and “Hope & Faith.” She recently appeared in an episode of “Nurse Jackie” and is currently working on a crossover that starts on “Private Practice” and moves over to “Grey’s Anatomy.”

We caught up with Alexie at the Los Angeles press day for her new film, “World’s Greatest Dad,” in which she stars opposite Robin Williams. Here’s what she had to tell us about the dark comedy directed by Bobcat Goldthwait:

Q: So how was it playing Robin Williams’ love interest?

ALEXIE GILMORE: Pretty cool, I’ve got to say, you work with somebody like Robin, it’s impossible to look bad, it’s like wearing diamonds, you’re going to look good. So I was really, really lucky to be playing opposite him so much and Daryl Sabara who is extremely talented as well. And Bobcat just made this amazing script. As soon as I read it I was like, ‘I’d like love to be in this, I’d love to be a part of it.’ And then I got to be in it, so it was pretty cool.

Q: Were you worried about keeping up with Robin before you actually got on set with him?

ALEXIE GILMORE: Yeah, I was definitely intimidated, but as soon as I got on set and I met Robin, he was like, ‘It is such an honor to meet you.’ It made me feel so special, so I just felt so fortunate. There was no ego on set at all, and Bobcat really made a point of making sure that I felt comfortable as well. Sometimes we’d improv some scenes and he was like, ‘I just want to make sure you’re not losing any of your lines or anything.’ I know that you’re dealing with all these comedians and everyone is all over each other, but everyone was so respectful in that way.

Q: There are a lot of comedians and this is a very dramatic film, what was the atmosphere like in between the shots?

ALEXIE GILMORE: It was pretty light. Bobcat would come to the set with a shower cap on or a kilt, every day was a new day and it was always exciting. So it was definitely light and everyone [was] having a good time in between. I think that’s the great thing about the movie, it has a good balance of that, comedy and darkness, and you see how close they are, too. I think he balanced that very well in this film.

Q: You got to make out with Robin and with Henry Simmons –

ALEXIE GILMORE: Henry and I don’t actually make out, but there’s a lot of flirting going on there.

Q: There’s quite a dichotomy there.

ALEXIE GILMORE: Yeah, it was. It was fun to be able to play someone that was not just the arm candy or just the girlfriend, that there was stuff going on underneath it all, and to be a person that people are not really sure about. Is she really aware of how mean she can be sometimes? It’s been funny to see the reaction of people. We were at the Cine Vegas Film Festival and this woman in front like hated me, everything that came out of my mouth. Every time I said something, she was like, ‘Oh my God.’ There was like no screen, and it was so funny because we’re all sitting behind her, me and Bobcat and the Donny Darko guys and we’re just laughing like, like she doesn’t know she’s outside, like she keeps talking outside. I think that’s very much Bobcat’s style too, I think he pushes people’s buttons a little bit, and he knows how to do that in such a way that it makes people really feel things.

Q: How much improv did you do in this?

ALEXIE GILMORE: We would do according to the script and then he would allow us to do an improv also, but the script was so great that most of the time we stuck with what was written, but there were definitely adlibs here and there.

Q: Do you come from that kind of background – do you have a lot of improv training?

ALEXIE GILMORE: I actually really love improv, so I love when I get to do that on set, and this was definitely very – he encouraged that, but most of the time, especially with TV and stuff, it’s like, ‘You missed b – and this was just like, it really was most of the time, the words are there, all we have to do is say them.

Q: What do you think the message of the film is?

ALEXIE GILMORE: I think it’s a lot about truth, that if something comes – it’s more about the journey of how you get there basically, and if you are dishonest in that way, it’s not going to feel good in the end. So it is how you get there, and how you deal with things, I think, is the most important thing in life. He’s the most redeeming character in the whole thing, even though he does a horrible thing, at the end, at least for me, I felt you forgive him because he comes clean and he redeems himself. All of us look pretty shitty by the end of it, I just go back to Michael and he’s the only one that’s like, ‘You know what? I did a bad thing and I’m going to fix it.’ And I think that’s a very redeeming quality and I think that’s a good message too, that even if you mess up you can always try again

Q: Was there any special preparation that you did to get ready for this role?

ALEXIE GILMORE: Yeah, I just interviewed a lot of bitches, anyone who’s hurt anyone else before. (Laughs) When I read it, I was like, ‘Oh, man, I know this girl.’ Everyone knows a girl like that. But, for me, I didn’t see her as an evil person, I saw her as someone who really thought she was always doing the best thing, so the key to playing her was really playing her with sincerity, because I think most people don’t know what they’re doing sometimes. And so, that for me was the preparation that I did, that I really tried to keep strong with.

Q: There really seemed like there were some opportunistic undercurrents to it like getting ready for the TV show – how did you approach that and still keep her loveable almost to the end?

ALEXIE GILMORE: The way it’s written too, it’s like, ‘Oh, but you’re not mad at me, right?’ To say things, but then always make sure that she was lovable in whoever’s eyes she was in front of. So I think that for me was always making sure that she was still liked no matter what. It comes from that need of, ‘I really want this, but I’m going to make sure that I’m going to do it in the best way possible, because I want people to like me.’ That was for me what I tried to do, just always make it as nice as possible even though I’m saying some really shitty things.

Q What kind of feeling do you get when you’re the one that makes Robin Williams laugh?

ALEXIE GILMORE: Oh my God, it’s so awesome to crack up Robin. The first time I cracked him up was when we were in the dinner scene, and I actually adlibbed that line, ‘I’m hurting right now,’ and he totally cracked the first time we did it, and he looked at me and was like, ‘You’re one of us now.’ And I was like, ‘Yes, thank God I totally got validated by Robin Williams.’

Q: What was Bobcat like to work with as a director?

ALEXIE GILMORE: He’s just the sweetest man ever. I didn’t know him at all.  I got cast in New York on tape, and flew out and met everyone for the first time there. I’d only spoken to him on the phone. He’s just so understated, but you know he’s got everything under control, but always just has the best demeanor. I just want to work with him more and more. I hope I get to do other projects with him, because I had just a wonderful, pure experience with him.

Q: Not many of Robin’s leading ladies have a sex scene with him, what was it like to live the dream?

ALEXIE GILMORE: It was something else. The funny part is that that scene was very rough, it was supposed to be like he was going to strangle me, pull my hair. By the time we were done, I felt like I went through a war, but they were going to have that he strangles me and then he gets freaked out about the strangling thing. But they ended up just being like –

Q: Robin is known for being hairy. Did he undergo a makeover before that scene?

ALEXIE GILMORE: A little trimming? I don’t know his grooming habits, but he looked good to me, and the sex it was, we were fully clothed and everything. Bobcat was funny, he was like, ‘I don’t think the world is ready to see Robin Williams’ have this sexy sex scene,’ so he just wanted it to be funny and that’s what it was about and I was glad to do that.

Q: Is this your kind of comedy and do you gravitate towards darker material?

ALEXIE GILMORE: I always think of it as the most interesting to me. I like walking that line a little bit. It’s just interesting to me, and I think that it’s awkward and weird, all those awkward moments in it, I just think that’s so true to life. There’s no glossing over anything, he really gets in there and I like that. For an actor, that’s a great opportunity to really delve into something that so close to home.

Q: What’s next for you?

ALEXIE GILMORE: I’m doing a crossover role on Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. I start that next week, and that should be cool.

Q: What can you tell us about it?

ALEXIE GILMORE: I’m getting a kidney from my sister, so I had to get a whole prosthetic of my torso last week. I was like, ‘What is this?’ But they’re doing the whole surgery scene, so I’ve never gotten to do that.

Q: How much can you tell us of the details?

ALEXIE GILMORE: Basically I’m dying, I need a kidney transplant, my sister’s the only one who can give it to me, but there’s a complication, and you have to watch to find out.

Q: It’s a crossover?

ALEXIE GILMORE: It’s a crossover, so it starts out on Private Practice first, we come in, these sisters, and we have to perform the surgery. And actually I don’t know what happens on Grey’s Anatomy after that. They just told me, ‘You’re going to cross over to Grey’s Anatomy,’ but I don’t know what’s going to happen yet.

Q: Do you have a preference for television work over movie work?

ALEXIE GILMORE: When I see movies like last night, I was like, ‘Man, I love movies.’ When you get to be in a great movie, it’s really gratifying. But the same with TV, they’re good for different reasons. I love TV too, especially if you have a role you can keep working on, it’s a nice chance to really delve into a character and let her ride, or play different characters in different shows. I like both.

Q: Television has a much faster pace, do you like that?

ALEXIE GILMORE: I like that about it sometimes. It’s nice when you get new material. When I did New Amsterdam, it was fun to just like always be working on something new. It keeps it so fresh and alive and you don’t know what’s going to happen next. So, it’s just a different process, whereas a movie is all fleshed out and you know beginning to end how it’s going to be.

Q: What’s your all time favorite Robin Williams movie?

ALEXIE GILMORE: Good Will Hunting, I thought he was so great in that. I love that movie.

Q: Do you gravitate more towards him when he does the more serious parts as opposed to the wild comedy stuff?

ALEXIE GILMORE: You know,  I do. I like seeing him do drama, too. Obviously, he’s like one of the funniest people in the world, but I always like to see people like that do something different too, and he’s so good at it. The man’s a genius.

Q: Do you consider this a comedy? I consider it more dramatic.

ALEXIE GILMORE: Yeah, I definitely consider it a black comedy. It could be a drama with hints of comedy, or a comedy with hints of drama, but I think it definitely has both. The audiences are laughing, so that’s really a good sign.

Q: What about the title? It almost sounds like a Disney movie.

ALEXIE GILMORE: I know, that’s why I have to tell people, ‘It’s not Mrs. Doubtfire.’ I think it’s good and it fits the style of the movie. You think it’s going to be one thing and it turns out to be something else.

“World’s Greatest Dad” is now playing!