What's Up, Michael Stuhlbarg? Stage Star Goes Hollywood with A Serious Man

It’s fun to cheer on a Broadway star who manages to land a few featured minutes in a popular TV show or movie. But a stage star in the lead of a Hollywood release? Unheard of. It’s time, then, to root for Michael Stuhlbarg, who headlines A Serious Man, the new black comedy by Ethan & Joel Coen, opening in theaters on Friday, October 2. The New York talent, who was sooo good in The Pillowman on Broadway a few years back, chatted with Broadway.com about his onscreen alter ego, the tortured Larry Gopnik.

How'd you get the lead in a Coen brothers movie? Had they seen you onstage?
I work a lot with the 52 Street Project, where the kids write the plays, and Frances [McDormand] and Joel had come to see the shows. We became friends, and she invited him to see me in The Voysey Inheritance at the Atlantic. They saw The Pillowman as well.

You went in for a smaller role initially.
Yes, I went in for the role of the man in the Yiddish parable at the beginning of the film.

Do you speak Yiddish?
No way! I went to a Yiddish tutor, who helped me phonetically get through it. They laughed a lot at my audition, but then went with someone who could speak it fluently. Then I was called in for two roles: Larry and Uncle Arthur [played by Richard Kind]. I learned three scenes for each role and auditioned again. And then I just waited. Finally I got a call from Joel saying, "We'll put you out of your misery."

So tell us about Larry Gopnik.
He's a physics professor in 1967 Minneapolis. He's quite content at the beginning with his lot in life. He enjoys his work. He loves his family. And then one by one things start to go wrong for him and he is forced to question things he never questioned before.

He does everything "right" and fails. He’s the polar opposite of you, who seems to be doing everything right career-wise and succeeding.
Not all the time! Everyone is a Larry Gopnik. Things never go the way you expect them to. That's both the joy and frustration in life. I'm finding as I get older that I don't mind, though. It's the surprises that tickle me the most, the things you don't see coming.

You're also featured in Boardwalk Empire, the upcoming HBO series about Atlantic City. What’s it been like shooting that?
Thick. Thick with research and detail, and with excitement and passion.

How was Martin Scorsese, who directed the pilot episode?
A gas. He's like a walking encyclopedia. One time he was talking on the set about some Sicilian films and he asked me if I had ever see any of them. I hadn’t, so he said, "I'll send them to you." The next day, I got the DVDs in the mail. He just loves to share stuff.

You're playing Arnold Rothstein, the famed Jewish mobster. Did you read up on him?
Yeah. There's a lot of material. I found out there was this rare movie that was written by his widow called Now I'll Tell starring Spencer Tracy. I told Marty about it and he found a copy for me. It's a wild movie.

Rothstein was also the basis for the character of Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls. I assume your characterization will be a bit darker than Nathan Lane's?
[Laughs.] Just a touch. Wait and see.

Any thoughts of turning The Pillowman into a movie? That show was unforgettable.
That would be cool. Talk to Martin McDonagh about it! I know there has been some speculation, but initially he was turned off by the idea of it. But that would be fun.

Or maybe we just need to get you back on Broadway. Interested?
I would absolutely love it. I miss it. Hopefully soon.