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Comedian Jillian Bell Gets Dramatic

Brittany Runs a Marathon | Trailer Park | Film News, Buzz & Rumours

YOU’VE PROBABLY SEEN JILLIAN BELL IN WACKY SUPPORTING PARTS IN WORKAHOLICS, 22 JUMP STREET AND EASTBOUND & DOWN. In Brittany Runs a Marathon, however, she delivers the most intensely dramatic performance of her career.

Bell felt trepidation when she read the script. “My manager [warned] me that I will fall in love, but that it will seem a little scary,” Bell says. “I thought, ‘Oh man, I’m going to have to be very vulnerable and it feels like a very personal film.’ I related to it a lot; in the end, I didn’t want anyone else to do it.”

Brittany Runs a Marathon is about a woman who aims to get in shape after her doctor gives her some stern health warnings. Brittany is a directionless party animal who uses humour to avoid genuine human connection, and her training regime is as much about regaining control of her life as it is getting in shape; hilarious wisecracks in opening scenes give way to serious soul-searching in the second half.

With this role, Bell enters a long tradition of excellent comic actors who reveal unex

pected dramatic talents. “Robin Williams is one of my favourite actors,” she says, “and getting to see him in Dead Poets Society and Good Will Hunting — I will forever remember how I felt watching those. I thought, ‘This is a comedic genius, and then he gets to do a dramatic role and he’s blowing everyone out of the water.’ It’s part of being a comedian — you have some of that in you. You can relate to the drama of life.”

The script is based on a friend of writer-director Paul Downs Colaizzo, and the real Brittany came to set during shooting. Even though filmmakers significantly embellished the real-life story, Bell still took pains to ensure that Brittany was happy with her portrayal.

“I was very protective of her, as was Paul,” remembers Bell. “My main goal was to make sure that the real Brittany was satisfied with what we were working on.”

Bell is eager to tackle even more emotional roles in the future, and if they make her uncomfortable, that’s part of the point. “If you go outside your comfort zone, it might not feel great, but you’ll feel like you’ve achieved something,” she says. “That was my marathon.”