Not only has Gabriel Macht had a string of good luck with his latest movie roles, quickly making him one of Hollywood’s brightest actors, but he’s married to one of Tinseltown’s hottest ladies, Jacienda Barrett. A couple of years ago, he starred alongside John Travolta and Scarlett Johansson in A Love Song for Bobby, and recently he had a role in Robert De Niro’s The Good Shepherd. Now you can catch the actor in Universal Pictures’ new romantic comedy Because I Said So, in which he plays one of Mandy Moore’s two love interests.
ComingSoon.net sat down with the humble Macht for an exclusive chat about his new film, his thoughts on dating in a big city like Los Angeles and how he met his wife of two years.
“It’s been a good year. I’ve got no complaints. I’ve got to work with more than two of my heroes this year, Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton. I’m so appreciate of the opportunities I have,” he tells us.
In the film, Macht plays Johnny, a lounge type musician who has a very cool sense of style. But, the actor admitted it’s really not him at all.
“I just thought, you know what, this guy is a real bohemian crazy artistic musician and he’s just funky. He likes to go to flea markets and pick up the odd piece and if this stuff matches okay great, if it doesn’t that’s his style. That’s his sort of playful spirit. I don’t have tattoos. Sometimes I wear a vest and sometimes I wear a hat [like my character].”
But, Johnny isn’t the only guy vying for Moore’s attention. Jason (Tom Everett Scott) also wants her and neither one really knows Moore is dating them both.
“With the other fellow, he’s the conservative guy. This guy is the very liberal sort of playful single dad who just falls for Mandy’s character immediately when he sees her and I think brings her out of her shell a little bit and they compliment each other. Wouldn’t you rather hang out in the hotel bar to listen to the band play?” Macht jokingly said as he recalled his competition in the film being an architect.
Although Moore may be into Johnny, her mom Diane Keaton is not and Macht has some hilarious scenes in the film with his “hero.” Despite their on-camera friction, Macht raved about how great she really.
“She is what you see is what you get. What you see on that film, how’s she wry and clever and sort of rambunctious, she’s that. She’s very friendly and she’s very present with you. And in a moment, she’s over the top. She’s so spontaneous. Her energy is just so all over the place that I found that she was like that throughout filming with her. She challenged me every once in awhile. She was very straight and very present with me I thought I would be the perfect guy for her daughter,” he laughed.
Since the film is set in Los Angeles and Moore’s character has a hard time meeting someone and finding the right person, we had to ask Macht’s thoughts on dating and how he met Jacienda.
“I think dating in general is very hard. I think there are tons of people out there and it’s just a matter of time. I kind of believe in fate in a way and that when the right person comes along, that’s the right person. I think it’s good to go out and meet a bunch of people and see who they are and what they’re about. I think at the end of the day if you find someone you can trust and you think has the basic moral and value system that you have then things happen if you’re attracted to each other.”
“I think when you know you know and that could be within five minutes. I think just go for it. Just go out there I don’t think you have to go out there and snatch somebody up or spend all your time looking for the right person. But, I think you have to be available and open to the energies that come into your life,” he continued.
While Moore doesn’t know she’s actually being set up on blind dates by her mom in the movie, she thinks she’s meeting these guys on her own, Macht can definitely relate to the blind dating thing and that’s actually how he met his wife.
“A friend of ours actually set us up and we went on a blind date. I picked three different restaurants and I picked her up and I said, ‘these are the three restaurants we have reservations for’ and she said ‘oh let’s try this one,’ and we went and we basically closed the restaurant and I’ve been with her ever since. That’s been now almost six years ago. She’s totally the love of my life.”
Macht admitted he didn’t know who she was or what she really looked like, but reiterated, “If the opportunities arise, then you have to go for it. Who knows what they look like? Maybe you get there and they have two heads and if they do, when you get there you probably want to have one drink and say ‘hey I’ve got to go. Have something to do.'”
Because I Said So opens in theaters on Friday, February 2.
