He may play dumb on the big screen, but in real life American Pie 2’s Seann William Scott is a total wise-ass.
Maxim, September 2001
Interviewed by Dave Itzkoff
Comedy has seen its share of memorable jerks, and a full 78 percent of them have been portrayed by Seann William Scott. Even if he wins a trunkload of Oscars, he’ll still be best remembered as Stifler, the thick-skulled American Pie guy with the foxy mom. After reprising the role in the Pie sequel (and playing suspiciously similar characters in this summer’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Evolution), Scott was ready to get smart with us.
You’ve gotten over the “struggling actor” phase. Was there ever a point where you thought you’d hit bottom?
Oh, yeah—I was working at Home Depot just to pay the bills, and the only audition I could get was for Baywatch. The day of the audition, I got on the wrong bus, ended up in south central L.A., and by the time I got to the audition they wouldn’t let me in. I remember thinking, Right now, this sucks ass.
Everyone knew a guy like Stifler in high school. Did you base the performance on anyone in particular?
I thought of about eight different guys I went to school with, called them up, and was, like, “Hey, I know it’s been five years but…” I put all those guys into one. I’m sure they recognized themselves when they saw the movie. They’re either really proud or really pissed.
How does your real mother feel about the American Pie films?
She’s not the kind of lady you’d think would love them, but as she’s gotten older, she has let her hair down a little and likes to party. She’ll be in the grocery store telling people, “Hey, I’m Stifler’s mom—I’m the MILF [mom I’d like to fuck].” I’m, like, “Mom, you really shouldn’t say that.”
Have you ever looked at a friend’s mother and thought, Hmm…?
Growing up, there was one guy’s mom who was a total MILF, and I think a lot of his friends screwed her. But you don’t want to fuck with married people, and besides, who wants somebody’s sloppy 18ths?
In American Pie 2 we learned Chris Penn is your father. So is Sean Penn your uncle?
I guess so. Boy, that’s going to be awkward around the holidays. But it was so awesome to work with Chris. He’s the kind of guy you want to hang out with when the movie’s over, but how do you say that to someone? It’s like asking them on a date.
So how did you muster the courage to make out with Ashton Kutcher for that disturbing scene in Dude, Where’s My Car?
At that point I’d already had fingers shoved up my ass in Road Trip and had drunk a beer filled with semen in American Pie, so I figured, Let’s just do this. After we did the scene, we’re sitting in the car and it was all quiet, so I said to Ashton, “Can you put the radio on?” This song comes on, and it’s [White Town’s] “I Could Never Be Your Woman.” I was, like, “Turn it off, dude! Turn it off!”_sq_;
The film you just wrapped, Stark Raving Mad, is a Tarantino-style crime flick. Is America ready to accept you as the brooding loner?
Hope so. I’d just hate to be the guy who’s in a movie every three months and everybody’s, like, “God, enough—go back to Home Depot already!”