I spoke with Sarah Dumont about her role as Sequins in Don Jon. Joseph Gordon-Levitt wrote, directed, and stars in Don Jon, which opens in theaters on Friday. The film also stars Scarlett Johansson, Tony Danza, and Julianne Moore. Sarah also stars in Tbilisi, My City with Ron Perlman and Bad Asses with Danny Trejo, Danny Glover, and the Wishmaster himself Andrew Divoff.
Lena: Don Jon has a fantastic cast. I will say that I was sold the moment I heard that Tony Danza was in the film.
Sarah Dumont: Yes, he plays Joe’s dad.
Lena: When I first saw the title I thought it was a film about Don Johnson and Tony Danza was playing him. It’s nothing like that. [Laughing.]
Sarah Dumont: I can see where that may have come from. [Laughing.]
Lena: Can you talk about working with the cast?
Sarah Dumont: I only got to work with Joe, Jeremy Luke, and Rob Brown. I only got to work with the boys. It was hysterical. I think Jeremy Luke is going to be the breakout star of the movie; he is just hilarious. You can’t be around the guy for five seconds without laughing.
Lena: How was it working with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a director?
Sarah Dumont: Joe was really great to work with. I think because he’s been an actor too, so everything moved a lot faster. It was just like working with an actor except he’s a director. I thought that was really cool. I just shot an episode of Mixology and Michael McDonald from MADtv was the director. It was kind of the same. It was really easy and we had a twelve-hour day and everything moved really smooth. It was just a lot of fun. I like comedy.
Lena: What can you say about Don Jon? What’s the premise of the film? What does Sequins contribute to the storyline?
Sarah Dumont: You just have to go and see it. I’m just a girl that he’s been seeing before he saw Barbara (Scarlett Johansson). It started out as an indie. Joe wrote and directed it. We filmed it here in L.A. even though it’s set in New Jersey. Joe’s talented.
Lena: Definitely! I’ve been watching him since 3rd Rock from the Sun.
Sarah Dumont: Yeah, I used to watch that show a lot. He got all beefed up for the role of Don Jon. I was like a little surprised. He was straight up Situation style – big tan, big muscles, cutoff vest, and slicked back hair. I was like wow you are not the kid I used to watch on TV. [Laughing.]
Lena: With a name like Sequins I’m sure your character was fun to portray?
Sarah Dumont: The main character is Jon and he’s addicted to porn, so he and his friends look at what the girls are wearing the first time that they met them. You have to earn your name, I guess.
Lena: Can you share any funny stories from the set?
Sarah Dumont: When I read the script it focused on Sequins’ butt. I have white girl syndrome. I have no butt at all, so for the audition I put in butt pads, which are like a push-up bra for your butt. I put it in for the audition and I put it in on set and I kept on catching Rob and Jeremy, and a bunch of the crew, just checking out my fake ass all day long. The last shot of the day was when they were going to zoom up on my butt, so I looked at Joe and said thank god I wore my butt pads and he was like, what? I pulled one out and showed him and I just pointed it at people saying you, and you, you were all checking it out. [Laughing.]
Lena: You have some great projects coming up. You’re doing a movie with Ron Perlman.
Sarah Dumont: We just finished filming it, Tbilisi, My City. It was really amazing. I’m pretty well traveled. I’ve been to Asia and Europe and back and forth but I’ve never even heard of Tbilisi. It’s probably one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been to. Ron was really cool to work with. He was one of the first big actors that I got to work with and I was like maybe I’m a bit more legit now.
Lena: Do you watch him on Sons of Anarchy?
Sarah Dumont: I watched the first season and I liked it a lot. I travel a lot so I don’t watch a lot of TV. I’m a basketball junkie. If anything is on at the same time as playoffs, just forget about it.
Lena: You also have Bad Asses coming out next year.
Sarah Dumont: Yes, Danny Trejo was around but I was really excited to work with Danny Glover. He’s really awesome. He’s really funny. I’ve never seen someone go from awake on set and at work to going to the most random corner taking a nap so fast in my life. That was a very impressive talent.
