Susan Sarandon and J.K. Simmons Get Real About Romance and Their New Film ‘The Meddler’

It’s never too late to start a new life. That’s what Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon proves in her latest filmThe Meddler.” Sarandon stars as a widow who moves from New Jersey to Los Angeles to be closer to her daughter (Rose Byrne). While “The Meddler” is a touching mother/daughter film, it also joins a growing number of movies that feature a romance between two people of a certain age as Sarandon’s Marnie strikes up a relationship with a dashing retired police officer named Zipper played by J.K. Simmons. Sarandon and Simmons opened up to Entertainment Voice about their characters and making this film.

Sarandon arrived at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel wearing a chic gray dress that she accessorized with a foot brace. The actress recently took a nasty fall at the bottom of a mountain while hiking in Colombia with her oldest son Jack Henry Robbins. “I paid such good attention for the first hour and a half [of the hike] when it was very tricky and then at the very bottom when it was over I, of course, didn’t pay attention and the next thing I knew I was on my knees and I fractured my ankle.”

In addition to Jack Henry, Sarandon is also mother to actress Eva Amurri and Miles Robbins. She divulged her own mom meddling philosophy. “The secret to being a meddler is just to do it from the very beginning so they think that’s normal,” she said jokingly. “And I definitely do, and they meddle back. It’s a mutual meddling thing. I do not show up with bagels constantly, but I do send things constantly, and I text . . . I send videos and music and they do the same thing. I’m a big believer in making mistakes so I encourage my kids to fail constantly so they understand that they can come back. If they ask me for advice, I give it but that doesn’t happen too often.”

J.K. Simmons added that he is thrilled about the growing trend of films featuring actors over 50 in leading roles. “It’s beautiful. It’s great. People want to tell stories about people based on something other than what’s going to be marketable. I think hopefully there’s something here that will be both . . . funny and impactful and it happens to be about a couple of people who aren’t in their 20s.”

“The Meddler” deals with not only Marnie’s relationship with her daughter Lori but also with her extended Italian-American family, a large, gregarious bunch. Sarandon had some advice about surviving in a big family. “I have a lot of siblings [who] don’t necessarily get along especially after they’ve been drinking. [During the holidays] I say, ‘Let’s all pretend we’re in a sitcom.’ If she presses your buttons, but everyone else thinks your mom’s charming and cute and funny, but you’ve just had it, well, I say, smoke a joint, have a drink, do whatever you can to get perspective.”

Simmons, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of an abusive music teacher in “Whiplash,” shows a softer side in “The Meddler.” His character Zipper keeps and tenderly cares for a coop of chickens, something Simmons, surprisingly, knew a little something about. “My chicken experience goes back to [my] grampa’s farm outside of Roseville, Ill., where we went and saw him and visited. Little did I know that would come in so handy . . . . One of my favorite things about the chicken scene, aside from just that it was the chicken scene, was that I was allowed to name the chickens after my cousins, and [writer/director] Lorene’s mother.”

Simmons went on to reveal what he is most grateful for in his post-Oscar life. “Aside from the many offers to play a terrible guy who screams at everybody, which I’ve steadfastly avoided, the opportunities from people like Lorene [Scafaria] to come along and play the antithesis of that character, to play such a solid, not perfect, obviously flawed from his daughters and his ex-wife’s point of view but to play such a wonderful guy with a big heart.”

Like Marnie, Sarandon is a native of the East Coast. She plays Marnie as seeing Los Angeles through rose-colored glasses, especially her new favorite place, infamous outdoor mall The Grove. Did Sarandon learn anything about herself playing this role? “I didn’t know much about The Grove. I’m from New York, and I honestly hadn’t spent a lot of time, or any time at The Grove. I now understand the pluses of the Apple Store. I’ve never had to eat that much pot. I had to research that,” she said of a scene in which Marnie must get rid of a bag of marijuana to save herself and her favorite Apple Store Genius from the police.

Sarandon worked with a host of hilarious and talented co-stars, which in addition to Simmons and Byrne included Jason Ritter, Cecily Strong and Casey Wilson. She explained why having a solid supporting cast is so important. “I was just so grateful to be surrounded by so many solid, funny improvisational-capable actors. This is huge, you know, and Lorene is so great at assembling all of those women. Not just the main guys but also every little part because if you’re doing a movie that’s low budget, and you fill in with these extras if something starts to happen you can often just panic or stop because something’s going on that they didn’t anticipate. But with this group, everybody was so capable. . . . We had a few moments where stuff happened that wasn’t scripted. For me, I love it when I’m surprised. That only happens when you’re with people [who] you can count on and feel safe with, and you know that anything you did they can handle. A lot of things happened with Marnie where I was surprised and that was just so much fun.”

Sarandon, who is currently single, wrapped up the interview with some thoughts about love and relationships. “Oh, yeah, unfortunately. . . ,” was her reply when asked if she still believes in romance. “That’s why Sundays are so miserable. I go out and I see everyone looks like they’re in love, and I could hate them for it. But I’m very romantic. I’m even romantic about my grandchildren. I mean, yeah, I am. I think that’s what I miss about . . . I don’t miss a person from an old relationship, but I miss what I remember. Unfortunately, my brain remembers the being in love part, and I miss that part. I don’t necessarily miss them, but I do miss that part. I’m really good at [romance], and I miss not being able to have someone to do that kind of stuff with. [A new relationship] could happen. I just have to look for my Zipper!”

The Meddleropens April 22 in Los Angeles and New York.