A real Mann among boys
In the three movies Judd Apatow has directed, his wife, Leslie Mann, has taken on progressively larger roles.
In “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” she’s a hot-to-trot drunken driver terrifying Steve Carell in the passenger seat. In “Knocked Up,” she plays Paul Rudd’s wife.
And in Apatow’s latest, “Funny People,” he’s written Mann an even bigger role: the one-who-got-away from Adam Sandler’s character.
“He’s growing up and learning more about women so he’s able to write better female parts,” Mann jokes about her husband.
There’s some sensitivity to the issue. “Knocked Up” co-star Katherine Heigl criticized the movie for being “a little sexist” and painting women as “shrews.”
“I kind of don’t know what she was talking about,” said Mann, who praises Heigl’s performance.
“I’m an actress reading scripts and I’ve seen what’s out there and it’s slim pickings. Judd does write great female parts.”
In movies predominantly populated by immature men, Mann’s characters hold their own, whether berating a superficial nightclub bouncer or dressing down a cheating husband.
After several years concentrating on her family – she and Apatow have two young children – Mann, 37, is taking on more work.
Earlier this year she starred alongside Zac Efron and Matthew Perry in “17 Again.” She has a part in Robert Rodriguez’s new family film “Shorts,” and co-stars in “I Love You Phillip Morris,” a Jim Carrey film due in February.
“I have more time now. Nap times are over and my kids are bigger,” says Mann, whose daughters Maude, 11, and Iris, 6, play small roles in “Knocked Up” and “Funny People.”
Mann and Apatow met when she auditioned for 1996’s “The Cable Guy,” which he produced. They married in 1998.
“She’s just beginning to show people what she’s capable of,” says Apatow. “She’s viciously funny, and funny in a very strange way. She’s just a total original.”
He just has one issue.
“I don’t appreciate her kissing Zac Efron – I can live without that,” he says, adding: “See, Leslie is such a good actress, she can even look like she’s in love with an incredibly handsome 21-year-old man.”
The birthday bunch
Actor Peter O’Toole is 77. Director Wes Craven is 70. Actress Joanna Cassidy is 64. Actor Butch Patrick (“The Munsters”) is 56. Actress Cynthia Stevenson is 47. Actress Mary-Louise Parker is 45. Director-actor Kevin Smith is 39. Actor Sam Worthington (“Terminator Salvation”) is 33. Actor Edward Furlong is 32. Actress Hallie Eisenberg is 17.