Interview With RJ Mitte, Star Of STANDING UP FOR SUNNY

There’s a fascinating irony that films about stand-up comedians never tend to be actually funny. This is no slight on the comedies that have tried – and often failed – to translate the live experience into a cinematic affair, but moreso on the art-form itself; every form of stand-up comedy, no matter how or what jokes/monologues are delivered, are inherently infused with an autobiographical aspect that are as therapeutic as they are stressful to convey, an exercise that favours dramatic fictionalisation rather than comedic candid snapshots.

Steve Vidler’s old-fashioned feel-good romantic comedy Standing Up for Sunny is the rare example of the opposite, a film that aims to translate the joyful and remedial ability of stand-up comedy – for both the audience and performer – inside an adorably sweet package that provides a terrific leading role for actor RJ Mitte. 

Infused with a candour that often approaches truthful sincerity, Mitte’s portrayal of an aspiring comedian is another winning achievement in the Breaking Bad actor’s post-show streak, whose appearances in Gregg Araki’s insanely ambitious streaming series Now Apocalypse and the equally bonkers Netflix original Time Share have illuminated his accelerating Hollywood career.

Ahead of Standing Up for Sunny’s limited theatrical release, I had the chance to talk with RJ Mitte about his starring role in the film, his relationship with stand-up comedy, working on an Australian set and what he’s currently gaming.

How did you initially get involved with Standing Up For Sunny?

RJ Mitte: Steve Vidler reached out to me because he had me in mind, so he called me and was like, I have this vision and I’d love for you to be a part of it so I read it. It was then that I saw that I had the same vision that he saw and I immediately said yes. And you know, this isn’t just your average film, this is a real local Aussie film that really embodies Sydney. I was very nervous about being the token American in it, but I think we really captured Sydney and all its facets, I loved it, I loved what they did with it. Italia Hunt brought so much comedy relief to this character who was so angry about life, and I was really honored to be able to play by his side, as well as Philippa Northeast.

And it was just fun. It was so much fun. You make a movie and you hope that it comes out great and you hope it comes out of the way that you imagined it and you know, it did. It’s funny, it’s quirky, its unique in so many ways and it’s real you know, so many people feel like Travis, people feel isolated, people feel like there’s these labels that are placed upon us and in Standing Up for Sunny, all of these characters go on a journey and to found out who they truly were and really develop their family dynamic. It’s such a testament to our society, that of the untraditional family and that’s what we had in Standing Up For Sunny.

What was it about Steve Vidler’s script that spoke to you when you first read it?

RJ Mitte: I think the heart of it, of the journey, because I’ve gone through the same thing to a degree as a child, because when people place labels on you, you put those labels on yourself and eventually you go, you know what, if you want that, I will be that just for you. I’m going to be this heartless, cold, isolated person and screw you all. And you have to either go like, no, that’s not who I am, that’s not where I come from. It’s not all that that cut and dry, but it is, and that’s where this character is, he’s accepted himself to be this Grinch, with the idea that if you think I’m a monster, then I’ll show you a monster.

I think we all go through that, and sometimes we just never snap out of it. We never revert to who we truly are and we just keep putting up this facade, because you think that’s what people want you to be. I think, for this character, it’s a great reflection of society and it’s a great reflection of what we all go through. Not just for Travis, but for Philippa and Italia because we all know these characters in real life.

We’ve all seen these characters, we have friends like these characters and it’s the thinking of, if they didn’t have you in their life or if they didn’t have that outlet, who they would be or how would that isolation affect them or what would become of them or even if they never had someone stand up for what they are, who they are, tell them like, don’t take that, that’s not who you are. I think that’s what really struck me, is it had that and people sometimes forget that they’ve gone through that too. People forget that they didn’t always have the identity that they do now and I think we really embodied that.

What would you say your relationship to stand up comedy is like? Was there ever an aspiration to do it and who would you cite as some of your favourites?

RJ Mitte: When I was younger, I watched a lot of standup and it was a lot people like Joe Rogan and Dane Cook and Carlos Mencia and everyone down from that, like one of my good buddies, Jay Davis, who books for the Comedy Store and the Laugh Factory, he’s a very good friend of mine. I go to comedy shows all the time, I love stand up and I think it’s something that I like to do as well.

I kinda got into it and then I got deterred by it after I had an incident where someone just deterred me away from stand-up and I was like, you know what, I don’t want to be a part of this. After Standing Up For Sunny, I re-found my love for stand up and I re-found the passion for that. I’ve wanted to do it more, but I just haven’t had time to. I hope my standup came across funny and authentic.

Like with any artist, every standup comedian has a specific style and rhythm to how they deliver jokes. When you were performing your material in Sunny, how did you come up with your particular style?

RJ Mitte: Well we actually worked with a local comedian that Steven knew and I worked with him on really delivering these lines because you have to realize that Standing Up For Sunny was written in an Australian accent. I’m not an Aussie, I don’t have an Australian accent, so I had to cater the words to my own diction. It was also trying to get used to the slang and the topics that were written as the jokes.

I think really for me it was just to embody that character’s timing. As an actor, it’s my job to be not myself. It’s my job to create this character and go on that journey in a different light. I use some of my own timing for him, but really I used the words that were given to me to really make it work and I hope that came across well.

Speaking to that, how’d you dig having the shoot extensive sequences with a bag on your head?

RJ Mitte: Oh, that was a bitch, but I was okay with it. I didn’t mind it, I thought it just made everything eerier. Like when I walk on stage with this bag, people are just like, what is happening? For some of the other shows that we did, what you see are real audiences. They’re not paid actors – well they’re not, some of them would probably got paid – but a lot of them were volunteers. When we were at Luna Park, we did a real show and we got real applauses, that’s where we recorded real reactions for the first time. But by the sixth or seventh time we were redoing it, people were kind of over it.

We really got nothing but love and it’s so hard to get that to convey across the board when it comes to making a movie from the cast to crew to the extras, to everyone who was a part of it. We felt love for this story. We felt passionate for these things, for this journey. It shows and I will forever remember my time creating this film in Sydney, with all of it having such a special place in my heart. I loved going to the country, I love my friends that are there and the family that I am made there. It’s the bond that you build when you care about the same thing, when you care about the story, it was a wild ride.

As someone who’s worked on a number of international projects, how did you find working on an Australian set?

RJ Mitte: One of the most professional sets I’ve ever been on. The work ethic in Australia I find is much  greater than any other place I’ve ever worked. It’s not just the ethic or the work ethic, but the knowledge that all the universities and schools in Australia teach. They teach acting performing which really provides so many amazing tools to these individuals that, by the time they get to work on your set like this, they’re years beyond anyone’s level.

These aren’t like independent filmmakers – even when they are independent filmmakers – these are big budget filmmakers. These are people that are going to do amazing things in their future. And it’s not just the people at the top. It’s the people all the way from the top to the bottom. And I’ve seen a big group of them on this film that are next level when it comes to the work ethic and it comes to the craft itself.

As an Australian, I’m always glad to hear that.

RJ Mitte: I mean, you’ve worked for it. Y’all do it, y’all go to the school, y’all do the classes, y’all have the passion and the habits that means y’all have a good habits.

I think a part of Standing Up for Sunny’s appeal is that there’s this consistent audience craving for old-school, feel-good rom-coms, which is a fading film genre thats only really being invested by Netflix now. Did this aspect appeal to you at all?

RJ Mitte: I like rom-coms, I like romantic comedies. I’m bit of a romantic guy myself, so I’m all about that. I like these – remember Ryan Reynolds back in the day? Those types of comedies man. I love the genuineness and sincerity that that come with it and I think it’s been overdue that we have a movie like this.

And to shift gears a little bit, I need to ask, as a fellow gamer, what have you been playing lately?

RJ Mitte: The gaming industry is unbelievable now, but I’ve kinda been stuck with Fortnite/Apex Legends. I’ve been wanting to buy the new Doom, but I’ve always been a Call of Duty guy too. But yeah, I’m an Apex guy, I like first person shooters. I’m not so much big into third person stuff, but I do like Grand Theft Auto and Fortnite.

What’s your console of choice?

RJ Mitte: I rotate pretty often, I’ve been playing a lot of PlayStation 4. but I just acquired an Omen. I’m actually working on, you know, streaming is a big thing, it’s massive. My sister is a singer and I’m a gamer, so I’ve created a Twitch account and have grabbed a mixer and all that and I’m actually, in the next couple of months, am gonna start streaming and have my sister take requests and sing while I waste time playing video games.

This is like one of the things that I have to deal with, which is that I work every day. There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t have some responsibility of work. So I am always accountable for my time and what I’m doing. There’s always someone going like, Oh, you’re playing video games again, huh? So if I’m saying like, yeah, and like 20,000 people are watching! I could play all I want [laughs].

Can you tell us about some of the upcoming projects you’ve got coming next year?

RJ Mitte: Yeah, at the moment I’m really supporting Standing Up For Sunny, but also I actually just did a Christmas movie called Carol the Bells. We actually shot that one with a 75% disabled crew to make a really amazing story. I think it’s a great take on Christmas when it comes to your “untraditional family”, which is one of those very rare things.

I have about three movies in production for next year. A couple of those I’m actually a producer of and I work with a music video production company as well. I’ve been doing a lot of work over this past couple of years for my community foundation, so that’s all been keeping me very busy. I’ve also been trying to get on a new TV show, because I’ve been wanting to get back to that type of job where it’s recurring and you keep getting a paycheck, where you can’t complain.

Oh definitely, because you just came off Now Apocalypse?

RJ Mitte: I did, and I love that show. Did you see it?

I watched the first half, it’s so hard to keep up with TV nowadays.

RJ Mitte: It’s hard. But you know, Gregg Araki did an amazing job, as well as Kelly and Ivan and that entire group. You know, I’m very lucky as an actor to work on the projects that I get to work with because I’ve only worked on only a couple of projects in my 15 years in the industry of working that I’ve hated. There’s very few projects that I’m like, I will not work with them again and then have it other than reasons of my own accord.

For the most part, I’ve been very blessed to work with groups that care, that are passionate, that truly embody what we’re doing and the impact that we can make. I was very lucky to be a part of Standing Up for Sunny but also Now Apocalypse because that had such a family dynamic, I was sad to see it not getting another pickup, but we had such a blast doing it.

Was there any news about any upcoming release for Standing Up For Sunny in the US?

RJ Mitte: I am not aware as of this time. I know we were really wanting, because this is an Australian project, this is one of those projects that we really wanted the citizens of Australia to get to first. After that we’ll grow from there and hopefully that carries over to to the US and everywhere else in the world.

I think right now our target is Australia, we want the Australian people to see it first and be a part of it and enjoy it – then everywhere else can get our sloppy seconds.

Film Inquiry thanks RJ Mitte for taking the time to talk with us. 

Standing Up for Sunny’s limited Australian theatrical release begins on December 5th, with information  on session times and dates being found here. Australian audiences can also fan-force their own screenings here.