This is, after all, a celebrity profile.

July 17, 2012 3:25 PM

"I was a sort of serious little dude—snobby. I thought girls my age were very frustrating. They were, like, looking in their compact mirrors and shit, and I thought that was evil." MeFi darling Joseph Gordon-Levitt gets a GQ profile.
posted by eugenen (58 comments total)

love him.

he is upset about how the death of his brother was written about in that article.
posted by nadawi at 3:28 PM on July 17, 2012 [12 favorites]

No, we're all mad at him now for a silly dismissive comment he made about how pretty girls aren't ever funny.
posted by elizardbits at 3:31 PM on July 17, 2012 [6 favorites]

I have no idea who this person is and somehow misread "MeFi darling" as "MeFi's own" and then my brain glazed the name to the closest one that made sense.

I clicked through to the article and thought to myself: "I don't think The Whelk looks like that..."
posted by 256 at 3:31 PM on July 17, 2012 [3 favorites]

Man they all but out him as The Doctor on the second page, way to keep a secret GQ!
posted by The Whelk at 3:31 PM on July 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

See also.
posted by mudpuppie at 3:38 PM on July 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fairly mediocre profile, IMO. GQ occasionally does slightly weird profiles such as with Chris Evans or Channing Tatum, but in this case we got five paragraphs of driving around looking for his old high school.
posted by acidic at 3:44 PM on July 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

he is upset about how the death of his brother was written about in that article.

That is a very classy way to express his unhappiness with the article.
posted by yoink at 3:48 PM on July 17, 2012 [14 favorites]

As Intelligence Officer of course he'd see things that way.
posted by Artw at 3:50 PM on July 17, 2012

Man they all but out him as The Doctor on the second page, way to keep a secret GQ!

Joseph Gorden-Levitt is going to replace Matt Smith? This is huge news!
posted by infinitywaltz at 3:54 PM on July 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

What is a MeFi Darling, when did Joesph Gordon-Levitt become one and how many others are there?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:00 PM on July 17, 2012 [3 favorites]

Hmmm. I'm not sure I wanted to know that GQ sets the bar for "douchebaggy intellectual" at "thinks it's wrong to fawn over celebrities."
posted by yoink at 4:01 PM on July 17, 2012 [3 favorites]

What is a MeFi Darling

It's a website. And I told you to stop calling me "Darling."
posted by yoink at 4:04 PM on July 17, 2012 [37 favorites]

What exactly did three-piece suits do before Joseph Gordon-Levitt came along?
posted by villanelles at dawn at 4:06 PM on July 17, 2012 [11 favorites]

If the industry dies like he predicts, hopefully this particular style of profile writing will die with it.

I don't really think either will happen.

I'm one of the people who always complains about how often MeFites complain about writing, but this piece manages to be both patronizing/trivializing of its subject while ALSO putting him on a pedestal. I learned little I didn't already know, except for all sorts of superficial details (which "Joe" himself even thought were too trivial to be included). You can't write a big puff-paint composition book MASH note to someone and then also try to dig in there for all sorts of gravitas and social relevance. As a writer you have to decide on your perspective and then follow it through to its conclusion. Keeping up with this author's priorities was so dizzying that it got in the way of my understanding what Joe's are, and he was the only reason I read the damn thing in the first place.
posted by hermitosis at 4:08 PM on July 17, 2012 [9 favorites]

I'm guessing there's a fair bit of Ivy-league self-loathing on the staff of GQ (though I have no evidence other than the reflexive cringing).
posted by en forme de poire at 4:10 PM on July 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

Nadawi,
Joe's brother, BurningDan was a close friend, he was amazing, colourful, charismatic, enthusiastic and so much fun.
It was Dan and his girlfirend who introduced me to Metafilter.
Carpe Awesome:D
posted by Drew Glass at 4:12 PM on July 17, 2012 [22 favorites]

Considering the similarity of our names I suppose I should make it a Life Goal to get a picture with him.

I need to lurk in more R&B guitar acts apparently.
posted by The Whelk at 4:12 PM on July 17, 2012

Fairly mediocre profile, IMO. GQ occasionally does slightly weird profiles such as with Chris Evans or Channing Tatum, but in this case we got five paragraphs of driving around looking for his old high school.

Yeah, this was so slight and dashed off that I have to wonder if it wasn't an eleventh-hour thing. Like they had some marquee megastar lined up but the movie vehicle he was hawking got bad advance press or the publicist couldn't agree on a writer or the star wound up "suffering from exhaustion" or whatever, and they had to go to some post-it-note B-list on the senior editor's bulletin board. "Aw shit. Okay, let's send someone to drive around the Valley with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He's cute and the twitterverse loves him." Parachute the writer in for 24 hours, turn the story around in three days, and put that baby to bed. And/or because summer's a slow time for magazine ads, there's often much less attention paid to content.

(I work in magazines some - though not the Hollywood profiles end - so this is educated half-assed guessing. Also this is not at all a dig at Gordon-Levitt, just a half-assed guess at the way he'd be appraised by the sort of people who pick GQ cover subjects.)
posted by gompa at 4:16 PM on July 17, 2012

It feels completely profile-by-numbers. Anecdotes about the interview itself; bio; quotes from former colleagues; plug the projects; back to the start. I want to read a perceptive interview with JGL but this is far from it.
posted by Hogshead at 4:27 PM on July 17, 2012

The Whelk: "Man they all but out him as The Doctor on the second page, way to keep a secret GQ!"

Don't you even tease me with that -- not for even the coupld of seconds untill I have to look back at the page what you mean and even if I agree. Don't do that to an man's heart.

Other than that, between Gordon-Levitt in suits and Aaron Paul in motocross jackets, there's apparently not a comment I can make about the August 2012 GQ Fall Fashion Preview issue that doesn't sound creepy -- even to me.

I guess what I'm saying is celebrity profiles are a lot less annoying if you just look at the pictures.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 4:39 PM on July 17, 2012 [5 favorites]

I agree it's not much of an interview, but those three-piece suits! So dashing.
posted by two or three cars parked under the stars at 4:41 PM on July 17, 2012

Drew Glass, i didn't know of him until his passing, but i've never read a negative word about him (and this includes in comments on dodgy LJ gossip blogs). anyone who met him says he was kind and caring and eager to bring joy. i'm sorry for your loss, but i'm happy for you that you knew him.
posted by nadawi at 4:41 PM on July 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wow, that article was horrible. Made me very stabby. It felt like I know more about the writer than the subject, which is a big pail o' fail.
posted by vibrotronica at 4:46 PM on July 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh, that guy.
posted by jonmc at 4:57 PM on July 17, 2012

"Joe, then 19, had just decided to quit acting and was headed to Columbia University to read Nabokov. "

And this guy makes how much more than most of us will ever even dare to dream of?
posted by pla at 5:11 PM on July 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Compact mirrors"? He looks pretty good for being in his 60's.
posted by humboldt32 at 5:13 PM on July 17, 2012 [3 favorites]

I had to search for his name, so this is about the guy from 3rd Rock? I didn’t even know that was the same guy in Inception. I’m old and terrible at recognizing actors.
posted by bongo_x at 5:53 PM on July 17, 2012

I had to search for his name, so this is about the guy from 3rd Rock?

This is the guy from Brick. Which is awesome.
posted by juv3nal at 6:10 PM on July 17, 2012 [8 favorites]

Brick made me a fan of his.
posted by kamikazegopher at 6:18 PM on July 17, 2012

Brick made me a fan of his.

Same here.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 6:35 PM on July 17, 2012

Brick is kind of amazing.
posted by The Whelk at 6:39 PM on July 17, 2012

... yea I was all like WTF the Whelk got a GQ article!! and then I clicked thru and was like... uh, no, that's not him OH WAIT isn't that the natty dude from Inception?

...

clearly I need to get out more.
posted by lonefrontranger at 6:48 PM on July 17, 2012

That could have been so much better. I wish she would have talked to him about something more interesting or substantial...like how much doing DMT changed his perception of reality.
posted by PantherModerns at 6:55 PM on July 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

Someday, JGL and NPH will work together on a project by Joss Whedon, and the universe will explode into a giant orgasm.

Maybe Dr. Horrible 2. That would be awesome. (the first one is easily my favorite JW project)
posted by hippybear at 7:07 PM on July 17, 2012 [4 favorites]

This is the guy from Brick. Which is awesome.

And Hesher. Which is... interesting.
posted by homunculus at 7:24 PM on July 17, 2012 [3 favorites]

He's also the guy from The Lookout, which was about 100 times better than it had any right to be, certainly because of JGL's contributions.
posted by hippybear at 7:40 PM on July 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'll see any movie with him in it, because he's been excellent in everything I've seen him in. I don't know if there's another currently working actor I'd say that about.
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 7:43 PM on July 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

What was with the writer opening the piece by telling us what JGL is driving, and then four paragraphs later making a point about how he doesn't want her to mention his car? Who gives a shit if his car is *gasp* seven years old?
posted by donajo at 7:58 PM on July 17, 2012

Not only is he an awesomely skilled actor, but his support of other artists is amazing as well. He does a ton of stuff through his website hitRECord and his Tiny Book of Tiny Stories is probably one of the best books I've seen this year.

And he was nice enough to respond to a tweet about the book asking questions about cataloging it for our library.

If you doubt his acting skills try watching Brick and Hesher back to back. 50/50 is not to be missed either.
posted by teleri025 at 8:01 PM on July 17, 2012

As someone who's also gotten lost while trying to find her San Fernando Valley high school: Stars! They're just like us.
posted by town of cats at 8:27 PM on July 17, 2012

Don't forget about 10 Things I Hate About You, which was also MUCH better than it should have been.
I wonder if Nolan liked it, actually. Since Heath Ledger is in it as well. We'll only know if he casts Julia Stiles as the Catwoman.
posted by mfu at 8:53 PM on July 17, 2012

I just saw 50/50 like yesterday and it is indeed touching and sweet.
posted by The Whelk at 8:54 PM on July 17, 2012

Uncertainty is also pretty great. He had really small parts in Women in Trouble and Elektra Luxx but those are good flicks.
posted by Rocket Surgeon at 9:03 PM on July 17, 2012

I wonder if Nolan liked it, actually. Since Heath Ledger is in it as well. We'll only know if he casts Julia Stiles as the Catwoman.

Obviously he hated it, since Anne Hathaway is playing Catwoman.
posted by hippybear at 9:07 PM on July 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Joe (as he likes to be called)

I always think it's funny when writers of profiles like these slip in these little details as if they are well known about someone, but actually they're just the result of an offhanded comment by the subject during the interview. This is actually a really common thing, so I'm not singling this person out. But, like, did the writer call people who know JGL and ask them what he likes to be called? Is it a known fact around town? No, I'm pretty sure he just said, "Call me Joe," when they met. It's not really a pertinent fact, even though the writer includes it here to add color. In this case, it sounds like it was just geniality. Now, if he had said when they met, "Call me Joseph Gordon-Levitt every time you address me, and make sure to pronounce the hyphen," that might have been noteworthy.
posted by malapropist at 9:12 PM on July 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh, and though I didn't really care for the movie that much, the car dealership scenes in Hesher were all shot at my dad's car dealership in Long Beach, so I suppose it will always hold a special place in my heart for cementing the family business's place in Hollywood history, heh.
posted by malapropist at 9:15 PM on July 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

But, like, did the writer call people who know JGL and ask them what he likes to be called? Is it a known fact around town?

Right at the top of Joe's extremely popular personal website:

Hello again, Joe again. My professional name is Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
posted by acidic at 10:05 PM on July 17, 2012

This has nothing to do with the original post or the article in GQ, but with all these references to Joe's movies I thought surely someone would have mentioned 500 Days of Summer? Sigh.
posted by kbar1 at 10:40 PM on July 17, 2012

Joe (as he likes to be called)

Yeah, this writer is positively breathless over details which strike me as incredibly normal. But, guys -- it's the very NORMALCY of those details that make "JOE" seem like an EVERYDAY PERSON! Even though he really isn't!! (But sort of wants to be!!!)
posted by hermitosis at 10:43 PM on July 17, 2012

I think he probably is an everyday person who happens to be in a specific line of work which by its nature is wrapped with celebrity, which he has struggled to keep from being an alienating factor in his existence.

He doesn't seem to pull any punches about being famous and such, but he doesn't seem to feel it's a defining factor in his life. He's worked hard to make sure that non-famous creative people who haven't had his stokes of fortune can find a window into collaboration with him and other creative people; he is as willing to work in small independent films as he is in giant Hollywood blockbusters; he seems to thrive on the idea of creation instead of being a "personality".

I found his interview with Jimmy Fallon [Part 1, 2, 3] (apologies to non-US MeFites if this is not available in your country) entirely charming and full of the JGL goodness I have come to expect from him.
posted by hippybear at 10:53 PM on July 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Mysterious Skin justifies the whole of the rest of his career.
posted by sonascope at 4:42 AM on July 18, 2012 [1 favorite]

I thought surely someone would have mentioned 500 Days of Summer?

The funniest part of that movie was when his relationship woes started to affect his work as a writer at a greeting cards company.
posted by infinitywaltz at 7:05 AM on July 18, 2012

Apparently Mr. MCMikeNamara and I have very similar tastes in eye candy. Hooray for motocross jackets!
posted by jillithd at 7:20 AM on July 18, 2012 [3 favorites]

Yeah. I spent a distressing amount of time yesterday shopping for waxed cotton retro motorcycle jackets after following MCMikeNamara's link.
posted by 256 at 10:42 AM on July 18, 2012 [1 favorite]

villanelles at dawn: What exactly did three-piece suits do before Joseph Gordon-Levitt came along?

Bond's women.
posted by IAmBroom at 1:57 PM on July 18, 2012

Anyway, I hear he's supposed to be old, like 31.
posted by Artw at 2:03 PM on July 18, 2012

Bond's women.

I'm sorry but the answer we were looking for was Fred Astaire. Everyone knows Daniel Craig looks best in tiny blue swim trunks.
posted by villanelles at dawn at 2:20 PM on July 18, 2012 [1 favorite]

JGL apologizes for pretty girls aren't funny.
auto play video
posted by nadawi at 11:06 AM on July 19, 2012