[Editor’s note: Be aware that there are some spoilers discussed.]
The Netflix original romantic comedyLove Hardfollows L.A. journalist Natalie (Nina Dobrev), a hopeless romantic that is perpetually unlucky in love, who meets someone on the East Coast on a dating app that she’s convinced is her perfect dream guy. When she decides to surprise her crush by showing up at his home for the holidays, the surprise unexpectedly leads to a catfish reveal the moment she learns that Josh (Jimmy O. Yang) has actually been using photos of his friend Tag (Darren Barnet) to woo her.
During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, which you’re able to both watch and read, Barnet talked about how easy the cast chemistry was to find, trying to live truthfully in the script, getting to do rock climbing and bobsledding scenes, how game Dobrev was for everything, what might have happened to Tag after the film ends, and his go-to rom-coms. He also talked aboutApophenia, which is a drama that he also produced, what inspired him to want to become an actor, and how grateful he is to have the success he’s having now.
Collider: This movie is so much fun. Obviously there’s some pressure on every project because you want it to turn out good, but what is the added pressure when you’re not only making a rom-com but you’re making a Christmas rom-com? Does that feel like a lot to live up to?
DARREN BARNET: No. I was really excited, to be honest. It made it easier that meshing with the cast was so easy. Jimmy [O. Yang] and Nina [Dobrev] were both so welcoming when I arrived. I came in late. We got to be around each other a little bit before we started shooting, which I think really bridged the gap, in terms of breaking the ice, and provided that warmth and welcoming spirit that Christmas movies have. I just tried to live truthfully in the script and tried to portray the importance of being yourself, which is a huge theme in the script and movie. It was very easy. Just being such a tight knit family so quickly gave us that jolly spirit we needed for providing that feeling.
We know where each of these characters fall in the debate of whetherDie Hardis really a Christmas movie, but what are your thoughts on that? IsDie Harda Christmas movie?
BARNET: I don’t know. I don’t remember that movie at all. I have not seen that movie since I was very, very young, so I can’t really be a part of that debate, as of yet. I can get back to you when I watch it, but not now.
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When you read this script, were there specific things about it and about the character that you were most excited about? Were there things that you would get to do that you were most looking forward to? What got you interested?
BARNET: Yeah, I was very excited about rock climbing. I am not the most avid nor skilled rock climber on the planet, but I love doing it, so that was a lot of fun. Also, the bobsledding scene, in my head, I was like, “Oh, great, they’re gonna have me in a real bobsled.” I won’t explain what the case really was. We can leave that for behind the scenes, but it was a lot of fun. And also, the writing just made me laugh, very early on. And being able to work with Jimmy and Nina, who are both are so talented and I was fans of their work before I even met them. I was excited for all of it.
The rock climbing scenes do seem like it could be one of those situations where it sounds really cool on paper when you read it, but once you’re hanging up there and doing multiple takes, it could turn into something you regret. Did you ever have a moment of wondering why you thought that would be fun, after hanging there for hours?
BARNET: Sure, there were times when the harness was riding up my butt so much for hours and my hands were beginning to hurt from being held up there. But at the end of the day, you’re sitting up there and you’re like, “I’m literally at work right now. It could be a lot worse. I get to hang here and have fun and be around people I love and make art, as a job.” That’s something never to be taken for granted and I need to have gratitude for that, all the time. So, no, there was never a moment where I was like, “I hate my life right now.” I was just like, “Okay, this is a little difficult, but hey, it’s part of the job.”
Yeah, I’ve never heard anybody say they love a harness.
BARNET: Yeah, I don’t love a harness. But art is pain. You’ve gotta do it.
With this movie, and even withNever Have I Ever, the tone leans toward comedy and you play the more serious character. Would you like to play a character that is more directly comedic and get to do a bit more straight comedy?
BARNET: Yeah, I’m always open to doing straight comedy. I like playing more of the dry character. However, I would also love to play a crazy, zany character. I’m also really looking forward to diving into deeper, darker, more cinematic experiences. I produced and also starred in a new movie that we have in post-production right now, where I’m playing a character with schizophrenia, as well as post traumatic stress disorder, so that has been a lot of fun. I’m very excited to show off that side of myself. The movie’s calledApophenia. There’s no release date yet. We’re in post, but I’m excited for that.
How did you come to be a producer on that? Was that something you sought out because you wanted to explore that kind of material?
BARNET: No. One of my best friends (Michael Leo DeAngelo) wrote and directed it, and he said he wrote it for me. He was like, “I saw the muscles inside of you that you wanted to flex and I really catered it to you. I knew you were one of the only people that could do this, based on conversations that we’ve had.” I think he hit the nail on the head. What’s interesting with drama and comedy is that the best comedy is when you don’t think you’re being funny. I think a lot of the best comedy is based in drama. There’s even parts of Apophenia where I’m playing this darkness, but it’s almost funny at points because there’s a reality in comedy. So, they’re, they’re both fun.
Well, it’s definitely good to have a friend who is looking out for you, in that way.
BARNET: Yeah, thank God.
From everything that I’ve read about you, it seems as though you had thoughts of being an actor as a kid, but it took you awhile to actually pursue it. What inspired the initial dream and what led you to actually finally get serious about it?
BARNET: Jim Carey’s outtakes from all of his movies, as well as Jim Carrey, in general. As a kid, I was like, “No one looks like they’re having more fun than this guy. I just fell in love with it.” I’d go around the house impersonating him tirelessly, for hours on end. I said I wanted to be Albert Einstein and Michael Jordan, at the same time, when I was five and my parents were like, “Yeah, you may do whatever you want. You can do anything.” And then, I was like, “I wanna be an actor.” And they were like, “Ah, well, I don’t know about that. That’s a pretty tough road.” I was like, “Okay, I can be the most ingenious scientist and the most amazing athlete of all time, at the same time, but acting is the unrealistic one?” So, I put it on the back-burner. My parents were never like, “You can’t do it.” They were just like, “You’ve gotta be prepared to have a Plan B.”
So, I went to college at a place called Berry College in Rome, Georgia, of all places. I got involved in the theater company and started doing plays. I got involved in a student run media organization and started making my own content, and I got bit by it, all over again. So, I graduated and I moved back to L.A. and started from scratch. I was doing odd jobs. I was looking for acting work on Craigslist. That’s a dark rabbit hole. Don’t do that. I realized that there was nothing else I really wanted to do, and I also wanted to do everything. I couldn’t decide, and acting was the one place where I don’t have to decide. I can be a sports fanatic in a movie. I can play a lawyer. I can play a doctor. I can play someone struggling with a mental illness, and it forces me to really dive in and do research. I’m able to live at least a little bit of every single life, and it’s limitless. That’s why I just could not stop.
It seems like you went from doing guest spots, to recurring, to series regular, and now to movies pretty quickly. How has that journey felt for you? Did you have any kind of plan? Did you have a goal for yourself, or are you surprised how at your career has taken you down these paths?
BARNET: I’m grateful, more than anything. When I was at my lowest, at my brokest, at my most broken spiritedness during this journey, because it obviously comes with a lot of rejection and a lot of nos, I realized I was not going to be able to give it up. There were times where I did get a full-time job and I let it go, and I was like, “I am 20 times more miserable here, thinking about going back to doing what I really love doing.” I’m just grateful that I had the strength and I had the support system around me to convince me not to stop. Sometimes it is surreal to look at it and be like, “I’ve made this a full-time thing.” All I hope for, every day, is that it keeps going that direction. The way to do that is to stay focused on the moment at hand, operate with gratitude, and really appreciate everyone around you. That’s what I’m focused on doing.
Tag is a character who’s in a very interesting position in this movie because he finds himself in this relationship with someone who he just wants to share things in common with and he doesn’t know that his friend is using his picture on a dating app or that this girl knows that all of this happened. Who do you think he feels more betrayed by, the guy pretending to be him or the woman who knows what happened, but doesn’t tell him about it?
BARNET: That’s a good question. I think he probably is a little bit more hurt by his supposed childhood best friend because not only did he use my photos without my permission and tried to pose as me, he also was in on it with Natalie. Basically, he was willing to put my heart on the line for a fake person. In my personal opinion, I would be a lot more hurt by my friend.
What did you enjoy about working with Nina Dobrev? You’re in some different situations together, between the rock climbing and the bobsledding, where you get to do some fun stuff. Was she just game for everything? What was it like to share scenes with her?
BARNET: Yeah, Nina was really game for everything. We had a lot of scenes where (director) Hernan [Jimenez] let us go off the rails and improv and do our thing. Nina was always a very worthy opponent, when it came to, if I gave an ad-lib and sometimes tried to stump her, she came right back and it made for some great scenes. Some of those ad-libs made the cut, so our director and everyone else thought it worked out. She was really great. She was a great dance partner in scenes.
What do you think happened for Tag, after we leave him in the film? Do you think he went off to find the right woman for him, or do you think he’s just off having more adventures with his friends?
BARNET: I think he’s just off having more adventures. I think Tag got called to some other country to go on some crazy excursion and was like, “All right.” I think he’s gonna be just fine.
What makes an enjoyable and entertaining romantic comedy for you? Do you have a go-to romantic comedy?
BARNET: I loveHitch. I loveCrazy Stupid Love. Those are both films where, if they’re on, I’m game to watch them . . . If I just need to be put in a good mood or find hope again for love, regardless of how sometimes unrealistic it can be, I don’t think it hurts to fill your heart up with a little bit of hope when you need it.
