I saw Dan in Real Life as a story of how well-intended people can do far more harm than people setting out to do evil. Dan Burns (Steve Carell) goes to a family reunion and falls for his brother's girlfriend, but tries to just stay away and keep to himself. Those do-gooders just keep thrusting them together though.
Peter Hedges Talks Dan In Real Life
"Well intended people I think are really interesting because you're trying so hard to do the right thing and you're just making a mess of things," said Hedges. "That was true in Pieces of April. They're just doing everything they can to do the right thing and it's killing them. They're way out of their range. Dan as a character is a guy who just is trying really hard to do it right and it's just going wrong. I love people who are well intended. The reason The Godfather is such a great movie is because there's this strange humanity in it."
Hedges credited cowriter Pierce Gardner with the dynamic of the family. "What I thought I brought to it was the not falling in love part of the story and tried to make it more of an adult love story. These are two people trying not to be together. Some people say, 'You seem to be saying you should chase your brother's girlfriend.' I say he didn't chase her. In fact, he went to the room and said, 'I don't want to like you. Don't like me. Stop doing that move. Don’t exist. Go away. Anything.' He can't help it but if he didn't do that, you'd think he's a jerk, an opportunistic fool. But if any of us think that we would be widowers, if any of us were truly honest and we're widowers and we show up at a house and Juliette Binoche is there? Come on. You'd be lucky if you'd have the integrity Steve Carell has in this film."
The writer/director originally became interested with the well intended during his days as an actor. "Sanford Meisner was my acting teacher. He said, 'Peter, I'm going to cast you as a villain. You're going to play a villain.' I was like, 'Yes! Yes! A villain, a villain!' He asked me what parts I'd played in college. I said, 'Oh, a 55-year-old Jewish college professor, 65-year-old Russian peasant slave.' I played 81-year-old Russian manservants, all these parts. He said, 'I wish your teachers were here right now.' Why? 'Because I would kill them.' Why would you kill them? 'Because they killed you.' I burst into tears and he was right. I wasn't a bad actor but I was always put in the wrong role. What Meisner told me was, 'I'm never going to cast you as a villain because it's not in your nature. If I asked you to play something that was not in your nature, I would be killing you.' That's why he said he wanted to kill my teachers, because they didn't respect my nature. I have a particular nature. I love stories that are very funny and break your heart."
Now, Hedges has good intentions. "The thing that my acting training gave me was this incredible love of actors. What I want more than anything is when we cross the room and pass Steve Carell or Juiliette Binoche and know that they are so proud of the work they did."
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