The longtime comedian and talk show host gives a rare dramatic performance in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. Still, O’Brien has made it clear that drama is not a new career direction for him.
Speaking on his podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, O’Brien said the role was never part of a long-term plan. He explained that the character he plays — a therapist — is very different from his real-life personality.
“This is not a career I had any plans for or something I intend to repeat,” O’Brien said. He added that he agreed to the role because he loved the script, admired director Mary Bronstein, and greatly respects his co-star Rose Byrne.
O’Brien joked that as pilot season approaches, he does not see himself actively chasing more acting jobs. “I don’t see me saying, ‘Get me out there!’” he said.
In the film, Byrne stars as Linda, a therapist whose life begins to unravel after her apartment ceiling collapses. She and her seriously ill daughter are forced to move into a motel, all while she struggles with a distant husband, a hostile therapist, and a patient who has gone missing.
O’Brien plays Linda’s unnamed therapist, a character he described as detached and uninterested in caring for others. “He’s not a caretaker,” O’Brien said, explaining that the character simply wants his patients out of the room. He compared the role to being “Superman without his cape,” adding, “This guy’s no fun.”
Outside of the film, O’Brien remains busy with familiar projects. He is set to return as host of the 97th Academy Awards, and he will also lend his voice to the character Smarty Pants in Toy Story 5, which is scheduled to arrive in theaters on June 19.
While If I Had Legs I’d Kick You shows a different side of O’Brien, he seems happy to keep dramatic acting as a brief detour rather than a new chapter.
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