PODCAST: Ashton Kutcher talks celebrity, acting, comedy and his most serious role yet

Brace yourselves, ladies and gentlemen, for I have some unexpected news to report: It appears we've all been Punk'd. By whom, you ask? Well, wouldn't you know, by none other than the original Punk'd-artist himself, Ashton Kutcher.

You see, while we were all busy chuckling at him in reruns of the goofy TV program "That '70s Show," and being charmed by him in Netflix favorites such as "What Happens in Vegas," and laughing with him at pranked celebrities on "Punk'd," and reading about him and his older wife Demi Moore in the tabloids we pass every time we visit the supermarket or gas station, Kutcher was keeping a little secret from us: The guy can actually act!

I don't blame you for laughing at that notion -- in fact, neither does Kutcher, as I discovered during a wide-ranging, 50-minute interview that I conducted with him Wednesday (scroll down to listen) in advance of the first public screenings of "Personal Effects," the film that opened my eyes to his potential. There's a screening tonight at the Aero Theatre at 7:30 in Santa Monica and on Monday, March 16 at the IFC Center in New York City at 9:15 p.m.

After I asked Kutcher a series of questions about his path to acting, how he approaches a part and whether or not he can ever feel as comfortable with drama as comedy, he abruptly stopped the interview for a moment to ask me a question:

"Do you think it's weird-- Do you think it's-- I just think for anyone who hasn't seen this movie, I think hearing me talk about acting," he trails off. "To anybody who's an aspiring actor, they're gonna be like, 'Yeah, I'm gonna take acting advice from Ashton Kutcher.' "

Well, I don't think acting schools are going to start teaching the Ashton Kutcher Technique alongside the Method anytime soon, but I also don't think we should be as quick to form judgments about actors such as Kutcher, who has been widely and unfairly dismissed as a lightweight largely because of his looks, celebrity and previous roles. I feel that I am in a position to say this because, to be honest with you, I was among those who dismissed him -- until now.

"Personal Effects" -- the feature debut of writer/director David Hollander, whose script was inspired by a Rick Moody novella and the murder of a young woman from his own community -- is a small, low-budget indie drama about a young man (Kutcher) and an older woman (Academy Award nominee Michelle Pfeiffer) who have both had loved ones murdered, whose lives become intertwined as they await verdicts in the trials of the alleged killers and who consequently find some measure of peace -- if not closure -- in each other's company. (Academy Award winner Kathy Bates plays a supporting role.)

I suspect there are people out there -- the same sorts of people who enjoy the movies that populate the awards season -- who might appreciate a weightier alternative to "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience." This film is not a feel-good story. In fact, it's a pretty sad one. But, like its thematically similar but more polished relatives "Ordinary People" (1980), "21 Grams" (2003), "Mystic River" (2003), "The Upside of Anger" (2005) and "Things We Lost in the Fire" (2007), it provides a heap-load of meat for its hungry actors and reveals that one of them has a much bigger appetite than most of us ever suspected.

Click below to hear excerpts of my conversation with Kutcher...

• Kutcher articulates how he would introduce himself to a stranger
• "I pretty much assume that everyone who I meet doesn't know who I am or what I do."

• Kutcher recounts his rise from college student to model to star of screens small and big
• "I don't think I've had anything happen all of a sudden. I've had things happen very quickly -- my life has been a pretty accelerated existence. But I don't think anything happened all of a sudden."

• Kutcher on stepping away from comedy to do drama
• "I would say I'm more comfortable without the burden of having to be funny."

• Kutcher explains why he opted to make a $4-million indie over another big-budget studio film
• "I loved the idea of trying to communicate all of that emotion without really saying much -- I mean, it was the easiest movie I've ever had to do as far as memorizing lines, cuz I think I only had like 100 in the whole movie."

• Kutcher on similarities between his character and himself -- wrestling, University of Iowa, oh, and being involved in a relationship with an older woman
• "Probably the reason that I responded to the material is that it was so close to an experience that I've had -- but, at the same time, when I tried to approach the character, I didn't want to play myself."

• Kutcher describes his efforts to become a better actor
• "People would be shocked with what they can teach themselves to do with a little bit of focus."

• Kutcher reveals a bit of insecurity about how people see him
• "Do you think it's weird? Do you think it's -- I just think for anyone who hasn't seen this movie, I think hearing me talk about acting -- To anybody who's an aspiring actor, they're gonna be like, 'Yeah, I'm gonna take acting advice from Ashton Kutcher.' "

• Kutcher acknowledges that making back-to-back movies in which he's romantically paired with older women might invite certain comparisons
• "Yeah, certainly, without a question. And I guess I didn't intentionally pick two movies in a row that had some relation to that, you know? However, it just so happened that way... I hope that if one or both of these films finds success, it will create more opportunities for this breadth of unbelievable women that are 40 or older -- that have this banquet of skills -- so that they can display their talents."

• Kutcher responds to my suggestion that he is a victim (along with Demi Moore) and an enabler (through "Punk'd") of our society's obsession with celebrity
• "I would say that the biggest difference between 'Punk'd' and tabloid media, in general, is that every single person that I aired an episode of on 'Punk'd' actually signed a release saying 'Yes, it's OK for you to air that.' So, in some sense, it was a part of their outgoing publicity, as opposed to unwanted attention and/or news media that actually creates commerce out of stealing images and stories and headlines off of people's lives."

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Photo: Ashton Kutcher in "Personal Effects."

Comments

[Matt Mazur]

This is one of the worst movies I have seen in a long time...and that is coming from one of the biggest Pfeiffer supporters on the planet.

[SCREENWRITERS - Eve St.Charles -]

Very Glad to see these films come out! I've always thought Ashton, was a Great Actor!!! Anyone see him in ''The Guardian?? This business, & the media, WAY too quick to Judge,,, EVERYTHING! Judge what you see & hear!!! Don't assume! Facts,,,matter.

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-guardian/25192/video/the-guardian-trailer-2/1705701

[SCREENWRITERS - Eve St.Charles -]

FYI- Not just great Actors! Demi & Ashton, are nice folks too! Bite that, Hollywood. This Industry could use more REAL people, and less fake ones! The quality of the work, would be much better.

[SCREENWRITERS - Eve St.Charles -]

Facts, Matter!!! Watch the movie, FIRST!!!

[Robert Hamer]

So...are you on vacation or something, Scott? You haven't updated in a while.