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You and Tea have a pretty wild love scene. Did she beat you up?
I was hurting! My chest. That was a lot of takes. The camera kept rolling and Tea kept whacking [my chest] (laughing). It did hurt my chest. At the end, it was like take six. Put it this way, my make-up girl would have to run in between takes and put flesh color back on my chest.

Is there a great dramatic actor inside every comedian?
I enjoyed when Cloris tackled Tea.

I?m just thinking about the physical comedy in the movie. But I don't know.

Do you make a distinction?
As a comedian in this movie, I just tried to play the role. I didn?t think about, ?I?m a comedian being an actor.? I just thought about I?m a guy getting to say lines in a movie that are pretty incredible.

Do you ever think about winning an Oscar?
No. I don?t think about that. That wasn?t the reason I? I wasn?t a kid growing up thinking, ?One day I?ll get an Oscar and make a speech.? That wasn?t on my mind. I want to just do the best work I can do and that?s what I try to do.

Is this a particularly creative period for you?
I?m not sure, but I did learn on this movie the most I?ve ever learned about making a movie from Jim. I always thought I worked hard and my friends worked hard, but I?ve never seen anybody like Jim go from start to finish. Before we started shooting, it was the most amount of work I ever did in pre-production and just establishing relationships and rehearsing and just becoming comfortable with each other.

Jim?s process is start to finish the most concentrated experience I?ve ever seen. He never stops. He never gives up or gave up. I?ve never seen anybody with that much discipline, so I learned that I?m not a hard-working as I thought I was.

In heavy drama scenes do you stick totally to the script? Like when Tea admits she?s had an affair in this film.
This was the first time, well one time in ?Punch-Drunk Love? I did this also, but this was the first time as an actor I went into, before we started rolling and shooting, I was in another part of the house getting ready for it for hours at a time, trying to just be in that scene as much as I could. When I read this scene for the first time I said, ?That?s the most original take I?ve ever seen on a confession scene, on an infidelity scene, and the fact that my character is not enraged.? I?m sure if I was writing the movie, my guy would have snapped. When I read it, I said it was incredibly real and that?s how, as an actor, I tried to play it.

What was it about Paz?s character, the family?s nanny/housekeeper, that made your character fall for her?
I think ultimately it?s the fact that she?s so dedicated to her child, just a good person. Just her dedication to her child and her love for her child. That?s a lot of what the movie is saying, is just how we feel about our children and the sacrifices we make for our children, and how attractive that can be.

Will you ever direct a movie?
I don?t think so. Maybe when I finally reach 300-320, because my family tends to eat. Maybe when that day comes, maybe I?ll just sit in a chair and direct. But until then, I don?t have the discipline. I can?t concentrate that long. My mind wanders and that?s why I need a Jim Brooks in my life.

Did you learn anything from working with Jim Brooks that you?ll apply to your own movies?
In this movie, it was written so well and directed so well that I just hate to say it, but I did what the man told me to do. I learned from it and how I?m going to apply it to my own movies, I guess I?ll try even harder. That?s what I?ll take from it.

Will you ever go back and host ?SNL?? What do you think of Jimmy Fallon?s impersonation of you?
Pretty good. He does it great. I?ve known Jimmy since he was a young kid and he used to hang out with us. When I would go on tour, Jimmy would hang around with us. He?s a great kid. He definitely gets the nuance of the dummy. But I?m not hosting any time soon, but maybe down the line though.

What?s next for you?
I don't know. I might do a movie called ?Click.? It?s a comedy, but I?m not sure yet.

Do you have any more Hannukah songs in you?
I don't know. You never know what?s going to happen. Maybe down the line [there will be] something.