Actress eager to return for more fun
Alison Pill enjoyed her time with her ‘friends’ on the set of Goon: Last of the Enforcers
Alison Pill confirmed her credentials as an engrossing co-star with dramatic roles in acclaimed series The Newsroom and The Family.
Yet when the Toronto-born, Los Angeles-based actress got the call to reprise her Eva portrayal in the hockey farce, Goon: Last of the Enforcers, she didn’t hesitate to say yes.
Her former fiance Jay Baruchel, directed and co-wrote the second Goon in which Pill’s Eva is now married to Doug ‘The Thug’ Glatt (Seann William Scott), the bouncer-turned-brawler on a team of semi-pro misfits.
The Goon 2 action and the jokes are just as raunchy as the 2011 Goon, but life on and off the ice gets more complicated for Eva and Doug.
Also returning to the fold are Liev Schreiber, Marc-Andre Grondin, Kim Coates and Baruchel. New is Elisha Cuthbert, who teamed with Baruchel as child hosts on the series Popular Mechanics for Kids.
Pill, who also started in show business young at 12, talks about being a Canadian, a sleep-deprived new mom to four-month-old daughter Wilder (with actor husband Joshua Leonard) and working on the Goon sequel. Q: Did you collaborate on refining Eva for the sequel?
A: Jay (Baruchel) and I got to talk a lot about what she’s been up to. And it was fun. I’ve never been able to re-visit a character before. So it was exciting to develop Eva with Jay. Q: What were the specifics?
A: We worked on what she looked
like at 30 and what’s she like now that she’s married. Q: Was the cast able to re-connect quickly?
A Yes. I already had a great relationship with the lovely Seann (William Scott), so knowing almost everybody, and having a history with them made it much easier, especially with the pregnancy scenes. Q: Is it a coincidence that you are a mother now?
A: I think so. I had a baby a year after filming. (She gave birth to baby girl Wilder last November). But I am thinking now my labour scenes in the movie are all nonsense.
Q: Can you compare the sequel to the first film?
A: Both are crazy. But this one’s a little more grown up and a little darker than the first one. And like Goon, I think this feels like Canada, and of course Jay (Baruchel) is Canada’s biggest advocate. Q: Isn’t Scott an American?
A: Seann’s from Minnesota so I feel he’s an honorary Canadian.
Q: Goon 2 deals with the impact of players’ concussions? Is it meant to be timely?
A: It’s been in the news a lot. The sequel celebrates toughness, but it does bring attention to hockey players’ brain injuries and the whole issue of life after hockey.
Q: Do you like hockey?
A: You really have to see it live. It’s so amazing that those giants move with such grace. My dad’s a Habs’ fan because he grew up in Montreal but I like the (Los Angeles) Kings.
Q: You, Baruchel and Cuthbert started as kids in the industry. Did you ever talk about it off camera during the Goon 2 shoot?
A: We did. And it’s funny that I weirdly had never met Elisha before, let alone act with her, which seems absurd. She is such a blast.
Q: How did you avoid the former-young-performer dysfunction syndrome?
A: Well, we all thought it was crazy all these years later that we are playing adults. And we agreed we survived and thrived as a testament to our parents and good luck. Q: Are you enjoying motherhood?
A: Yes. But you get back home with the baby, and you think, ‘Now we have a roommate. What’s next?’ ” Q: How is the sleep deprivation affecting you?
A: It’s really wild. I’ve always considered myself somebody who needs a ton (of sleep) but I am functioning pretty well without it.”