Are you talking to me?

I didn't come on board Meet The Parents because the part interested me from the beginning.

I was pulled into it by my business partner, Jane Rosenthal. She had read the original script - I think it was written for Jim Carrey - and told me it was overwritten, a little broad, but that it was worth taking a look at. All it needed was a little work.

She was right, of course. There was enough in it for me to want to meet the director, Jay Roach. I met him and liked him very much. He wasn't an asshole - he was smart, sensitive, receptive to new ideas, and keen to make the film more real, more believable. But it was a long process and not easy. I never really knew how it was gonna turn out.

With acting, you need to have a basic sense of truth, no matter how stylised the picture is. I look for that in everything I do. It's more interesting to me and probably for the audience too. Who is this guy I'm playing? What's his history? I need to know, even with comedies, which is something I just sort of fell into lately - these things are never really planned...

I mean, there are so many misconceptions about me, but that's all right too. Like, people always think I'm an intimidating person. Maybe, I don't know. But it works both ways. I mean, I can be intimidated by a little kid, you know, in some situations.