Ella Rubin, Reid Scott on balancing their characters’ ‘duality’
If you’ve already seen director Michael Showalter’s May-September romance “The Idea of You” on Prime Video, you know how lead character Solene Marchand’s (Anne Hathaway) relationships with her daughter Izzy (Ella Rubin) and her womanizing ex-husband Daniel (Reid Scott) influence the heartbreaking decisions she’s forced to make.
In a nutshell, the acclaimed movie follows 40-year-old single mom Solene after she crosses paths with 24-year-old eligible bachelor Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), lead vocalist of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet.
But while meeting Hayes has given Solene a new lease on love, the repercussions of falling for an earnest younger man desired by hordes of envious, lovestruck women all over the world give her pause—especially after the “burden of celebrity” rears its ugly head on her humdrum but safe, by-the-numbers existence.
Below is our quick two-on-one Q&A with Ella Rubin and Reid Scott. Ella, 22, was last seen with Elle Fanning in “The Girl from Plainville” and the “Gossip Girl” reboot, while Reid, who’s 46, is best-remembered for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Law & Order” and his Screen Actors’ Guild-winning turn in “Veep.”
Ella, while you manage to imbue Izzy with the relatable impulsiveness of youth, viewers can also see that her heart is in the right place. In what way are you similar to her?Ella: Gosh, thank you for noticing that. They made my character a couple of years older for the film. In the book, Izzy is younger—and I thought [the decision] was such a gift because I got to see who she would have been at 13 versus who she is at 16, you know? Usually you, as an actor, have to fill in those childhood gaps yourself.
I related to her in the sense that we’re both kids that adults often describe as precocious, or someone who’s a little bit too comfortable hanging out with adults. Like me, she’s sort of growing up a little fast—but not in a bad way. It’s just like you’re rushing your maturity a little bit.
I’m different from Izzy because she’s a lot more chill than me (laughs). Honestly, I’m never chill any day in my life. And for all the stress that’s going on in her life before and after Hayes is introduced to her, I think she’s a little more easygoing. She definitely takes things intensely, feels them very deeply, carries them with her, and maybe drags them a little more.
Things feel heavy on Izzy, but at the same time, with Solene being her mom and being this wise woman, she has this calmness to her despite her teenage whims that I cannot relate to. That being said, I loved getting to experience that trait for five minutes (laughs). It was glorious!
Reid, your skillful handling of Daniel’s insensitive nature and domineering presence makes it easy for viewers to root for Solene even more. How did his issues resonate with you?Reid: I seem to be doing [roles like this] a lot—like my characters in “Veep” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and now this. I enjoy the challenge of approaching these characters and trying to find something relatable about them because, well, you don’t really want them to be just one-note or one-dimensional villains, because, in Daniel’s case particularly, that isn’t really who he is.
So this was really important. I felt there had to be something about Daniel that you made you understand why Anne’s character, Solene, fell in love with him in the first place. And there had to be something about him that you saw why Izzy loves her dad. If you just painted this guy as a jerk… that he’s entitled and self-centered … then his family and therefore the audience would just hate him—and it wouldn’t really have the same effect.
I feel a certain sense of responsibility when creating these kinds of characters because, as you said, they’re important because they have to be there to help you want to root for the [main] character and how she manages to overcome challenges.
They’re barriers as they were, and I enjoy hurdling that kind of challenge! I love finding the balance and duality that these characters have. For me, it’s a great opportunity for moments of comedy, where you see these guys who don’t know themselves very well. They end up contradicting themselves, walking into a trap and putting their foot in their mouth. For me, that’s a lot of fun to figure out—and I love it. INQ
