Andrew Barth Feldman on No Hard Feelings, Putting Harvard on Hold – The Hollywood Reporter- Armessa Movie News

For Andrew Barth Feldman, attending the premiere of his new movie No Hard Feelings means his first time watching a raunchy comedy in a theater full of people. The 21-year-old has been in lockdown for the bulk of his years as an eligible viewer of explicit movies. “I’ve never just laughed out loud with an audience,” he tells THR days before embarking on the film’s global media tour, adding that the first R-rated movie he saw was 2010’s The King’s Speech.

In Feelings — which, it should be said, is decidedly not a rom-com — Feldman plays Percy, a shy high school senior whose wealthy parents hire a struggling Uber driver (played by Jennifer Lawrence) to, er, bring him out of his shell. Co-written and directed by Gene Stupnitsky (Good Boys, Bad Teacher), it charts her attempted woo-ings through scenes full of dirty jokes, over-the-top physical comedy, and a shock-value nude scene, all reminiscent of the slightly bygone Superbad era. It’s also Feldman’s first studio film. He spent a year of his high school career playing the title character in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway, and he was on the way toward a college degree when he auditioned for Feelings. “I was on the Long Island Rail Road going back to my hometown [Woodmere, Long Island] when Jen called me and said, ‘I’m sorry Andrew, but I don’t think you’re going back to Harvard this semester,’ ” he recalls.

He still hasn’t gone back to the Ivy League, but when production started later that year, it took place down the street from his childhood home — and he’s starting to get used to these kismet moments. Long a musical theater devotee, he was discovered by a Dear Evan Hansen producer during a national high school competition and chosen to play Evan at just 16. (“It’s such a rare and impossible thing for someone’s biggest lifelong dream to come true at 16,” he added.) He was already emotionally connected to the part because of his own struggles, then was diagnosed with social anxiety and mild obsessive compulsive disorder shortly afterward. “Doing that job gave me a built-in compassion for myself,” he says. “And I learned that the best way to go after a role is to be yourself — if being yourself doesn’t work, you’re not right for the role.”

He believes that in many of the same ways that he simply was Evan, he is Percy. The creative team of No Hard Feelings (which includes Lawrence and her Excellent Cadaver producing partner, Justine Ciarrocchi) was worried about whether there was someone out there who could play Percy the right way. He needed to be nerdy, quietly self-deprecating and able to hold his own alongside an A-lister. Feldman is quick to point out he wasn’t the best actor who auditioned, just the most naturally suited: “We both have an innate fear of the world and grew up in a way that might be considered sheltered,” he says. “But I live out loud more than Percy does. I’ve had this beating heart full of anxiety, but I never let it consume me.”

Feldman’s character in No Hard Feelings has a scene-stealing moment that involves performing a stripped-down version of Maneater by Hall & Oates. It wasn’t originally in the script, but co-writer John Phillips saw a clip of Feldman singing and playing the piano on YouTube (one of many available from his Evan era) and they used it as a moment to allow Lawrence’s character, and the audience, to see Percy come into his own. It was never meant to be a showcase for Feldman’s musical skills — they didn’t want viewers to leave the scene thinking Percy should pursue a Broadway career — but he admits he did give a few takes where he went “full out.” He relays, with a laugh, that they were all cut.

Despite his strong auditions, Feldman had to pass a chemistry test with Lawrence before receiving the final offer. He speaks about her, and their friendship, with extreme fondness and familiarity but admits that their first meeting was surreal. This isn’t a film to ease its actors in gradually; the scene they worked on that day called for her to look him in the eyes and say, “let’s fuck.” Feldman’s first day on set involved spraying Lawrence in the face with mace and then dousing her with a high-speed garden hose.  Stupnitsky tried to keep the two leads from bonding at the beginning of the shoot, since they needed to play extreme opposites feeling awkward around each other, but Feldman says that their mutual desire to break the ice meant they were “telling each other our deepest, darkest secrets” almost immediately and that he found a kindred spirit and role model in Lawrence. “We were shooting this so soon after she had her baby,” he says, “so watching her prioritize that at every turn was so inspiring, to think you can be at the level she’s at and still maintain your personhood and your values.”

Feldman won’t be returning to Harvard in the near future. He intends to finish his degree eventually, but first he wants to enjoy this phase of his career, pursue further acting (and maybe even writing and directing) opportunities and take advantage of life on his own in New York. He’s got a lot to celebrate — and a lot of R-rated movie-watching to catch up on. Says the actor, “I didn’t even know what I was missing.”

This story first appeared in the June 21 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.