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In October 2022, Twitter gained a new CEO, a tech-forward sociopath who disrupted the social-media platform forever.
That person wasM3gan, also known as Model 3 Generative Android, also known as mother.
Youre in the movie start to finish as Allison Williamss right-hand man, and youre kind of M3gans dad.
Yeah, it was a big, awesome part.
But I was so happy with this cool roboticist role in this sci-fi horror movie.
Thats also why the scares and the laughs have so much payoff.
You have to wait a second for the movie to start going insane.
You said you were up for another role.
Everyone was fully onboard at that point.And thats the hard part.
Getting a full theater of 100 or 200 people to laugh out loud is such a huge achievement.
And its the most subtle stuff that makes it happen.
M3gan the doll was portrayed in full-body movement shots by 12-year-old dancer Amie Donald.
They used as many practical effects as possible and only used CGI to fill in the gaps.
So theyd be like, Okay, youre going to do it with Amie this time.
Now youre just going to do it to the air.
Now to the doll.
Did you have any other scenes that were cut?I dont think so.
But I do remember there was some scene when I was basically being ridiculous.
I put on some crazy pair of goggles and a hat or something.
On the days that I was there, I was glued to the monitors.
When they were shooting the doll, it was the most amazing thing to watch.
Because Amie Donald does all this amazing body work, but in close-up, thats a real robotic doll.
So Gerard would be doing this really subtle direction, like, Tilt the dolls head just slightly.
Okay, now make her blink twice, and then make her turn her head to the other side.
And then just atiiinysmile.
So he, in a way, was acting through this robot, this puppet.
All of this stuff was working at the highest levels, and on such a small budget.
So much of the movie is just a close-up on her taking a beat and blinking.
And it rules.Shes so deadpan, so subtle.
Just taking on other roles.
Have you learned anything, as an actor, from watching M3gans process?Yeah, be M3gan.
Have you learned the M3gan dance?I didnt.
I should learn it!
I need to have it ready.
What was your M3gan growing up?
What was that toy, for you?Tamagotchi!
Im a single father!Looking back, its crazy how few pixels it took to get us caring.
Thats really the power of story.
Screenwriter Akela Cooper has hypothesized thatM3ganhas resonated with queer audiences because its about a nontraditional family.
And when something is just amazing, theyre often on the frontlines of that.
I need you to settle something for me.
My friends and I think Allison Williamss character is queer-coded.
Shes single and has all those Tinder notifications, but they dont say from whom.
She wears those flannel shirts.
So I have no idea.
I had been making these videos for myself and occasionally sending them to my friends.
And they didnt respond.
So I just thought,Well, you know what, its fine.
Ill just post it.And I posted it.
Your characters are so funny in a way thats confusing to me.
Whats funny about TJ Mack to you?I dont want to ruin my own comedy by analyzing it.
Im improvising most of the time.
Its hard to describe why, but your brain reacts like somebody teleported or something.
Its that times three, because Im transforming my whole look.
And Im transforming my voice, usually in one way or another.
The other thing is that I lovepeople.And Im observant.
I mean, I dont even know who Im channeling thats coming out of me.
And I think even those are quite different.
I want to learn it and Ive never been able to.
I havent put that much focus into it, though.
Also, I need to learn a Kiwi accent.
I was trying to do it, and I would just slide into an Australian accent all the time.
M3gan is a film about the perils of AI.
So instead of a Marnie filter, its a full 360 Marnie transformation.
You and I are both, I feel, very, very familiar with the internet.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
