Seann William “Stifler” Scott: I was addicted to watching my own movies
The original cast of American Pie reformed for the reunion movie 13 years after the first hit our screens. With a massive franchise behind the title and various spin-off projects, Seann William Scott, the actor famous for playing straight-talking Steve Stifler, discusses whether any of the team were reluctant to take part in another sequel, and how they’ve changed over the years.
Do you think people will now start calling you Stifler again?
It depends where I travel to. I live in New York, where people don’t tend to go up to actors as much. If I went to middle America I’m sure everybody would call me Stifler, which I think is pretty funny and a nice compliment as I don’t really remember character’s names in films. It is kind of weird though, as it’s not a real person!
Do you feel most of you have managed to avoid typecasting?
We’ve done four of these movies now, but even before the sequels the movie did well. Which, on one hand, was great for our careers as it really opened up opportunities, but on the other hand, people know us because of our American Pie characters. So for me personally, if I was going to be typecast, I’d rather be a fun, inappropriate guy that can get away with saying anything – not that any of the other characters are boring! I’ve definitely been typecast, but I have time to do other things and I was glad to have the chances I did.
Was anyone reluctant to appear in another American Pie film?
I bet you we all were. Once we met with the directors, who are super-fans of the movies, that got us excited. The script was really funny and had a lot of heart, and was similar to the first one.
How would you describe the theme in American Pie: Reunion?
I think it’s similar to American Pie. These guys are scared guys. Dealing with normal stuff such as wanting to lose their virginity, but also graduating school and figuring their lives out. Here the guys are at thirty, and they’re still figuring their lives out. It’s a more grown up version of what they were going through before – combined with a lot of naughty humour and nudity. We’re not trying to save lives here, we’re just trying to make people laugh!
Did you have a race to lose your viriginity with your friends?
No, no. Although I do have a friend who was a thirty-three year old virgin.
It wasn’t that important to us. My brother lost his virginity when he was in fifth grade. I remember thinking my big brother was doing something naughty but I was there.
The most famous moment from the franchise has to be the apple pie scene from the original – was this based on real-life experience?
Jason [Biggs, who plays Jim] would know. Everything’s pie for Jason. You go to a restaurant with him and you just know he’s getting a free dessert. It’s hilarious.
I think the writer went to school with somebody who tried it. I also heard that since the movie, somebody burned his penis trying it because he used a McDonalds apple pie that he’d actually heated up.
There have been many reports of vastly varying salaries for the reunion film, did this come up when filming?
I think everyone’s pretty respectful of each other’s lives. Somebody told me “Oh I heard you’re making this much money” and I said “That’s not true…”. I can’t imagine everyone made the same but it didn’t really matter, we’re all really grateful for the job. There’s no weirdness about anything. This movie was an ensemble. You take one person out and the movie’s not going to happen.
How do you think the dynamics between you all have changed since filming American Pie?
To be honest, everybody’s just more grown up but has retained their qualities. Eddie [Kaye Thomas, who plays Finch] talks about shaving his balls now. We were waiting to film a scene, and he said “How do you guys shave your balls?” This wasn’t something we would’ve talked about in 1998! He said he uses a straight razor and goes bald eagle. These are conversations that only guys in their thirties would have.
Last year there were a lot of rumours about you going into rehab, how did you deal with the pressure of media interest?
For me, it was a really bad addiction to…something I don’t like to talk about too much…but I was addicted to watching my own movies. I would watch ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’ on loop. At one point I had 30 televisions in my bedroom and I would watch it over and over. Have you ever seen ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’? Don’t, it’s fucking terrible.
American Pie: Reunion is in cinemas now
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