Around the time of The Prince of Tides, the tabloids said that you married a male model.
It was a ridiculous story. It was funny in a way.
Where do you think they came up with that?
Oh, I dont know. These people are ingenious with their imaginations.
Your dad, Elliott Gould, appears as your father in Inside Out. Did you ask him to be in it?
I originally asked another actor to be in the part, but he didnt want to do it.
Was it weird to ask your dad to be in it, because it was autobiographical?
No, my father was happy to do it. I wasnt even sure I was going to act in it. But I thought that playing the part would be provocative, and I liked that.
How did the film come to be?
Well, I actually began writing it as a feature-length script several years ago. A friend of mine produced a short film, and that inspired me to retool my own movie as a short since I couldnt find enough feature-length material. It was still a very ambitious short. We shot it in a week, and there were so many actors and so many locations. It was creatively satisfying, but we were filming three to five scenes a day in totally different locations. So it was crazy. Wed have two hours to set up, shoot a scene, and get out.
You could have gone into a number of careers, but you decided to follow in your parents footsteps in the entertainment business.
I wouldnt define myself as an actor or director, because I also write, and not just screenplays but little personal things. They havent been published yet, and they may never be, but I do other things too that are not about being in the public eye. I mean, of course, thats all I know from both sides of my family, and like a lot of people, Ive tended to follow what I know.
Its also a seductive industry.
It may be to some people, but to me, its not. Its not seductive at all. I dont find adulation and fame appealing. Ive paid a big cost for my parents fame. Do you think that your being gay makes it more complicated?
You know, the more I understand my own sexuality the more I I mean I dont mind being called gay, because Im certainly attracted to men. But I also think that its limiting. I think that within the gay communityand as a member of the gay communityits limiting for us to stereotype ourselves. Attraction is more complex than the terms gay, straight, and bisexual. And I hope that eventually people will evolve into accepting a broader understanding of attraction. (like kids?)
Your mom must have been around gay people her whole life, right?
She certainly worked with gay people. But there were very few gay people around while I was a child.
How did your mom respond to your coming out to her?
I think she would love to have a grandchild, and I think that is probably the greatest disappointment to her. But you know, she may still get one. But I want to get a dog first. [Laughs]