MOVING FORWARD
Jason Biggs wants to broaden his
horizons beyond American Pie
THERE ARE TWO WORDS YOU DON’T WANT TO SAY TO JASON
Biggs, and they don’t include “pie.” Zinc pills.They still haunt him to this day.“My
most embarrassing moment by far was filming the first American Pie, said Biggs,
now on a publicity tour for the franchise’s third incarnation, American Wedding.
“There was a day when I was feeling a little bit under the weather, but I ended
up getting called in to reshoot a scene. I decided to take these zinc pills. I had
never taken them before, and I just wanted to feel better, so I took what were a
few too many on an empty stomach and proceeded to get violently ill on the way
to work. I had to pull over a couple of times and I got sick.Then I got to the set,
passed out in my trailer, and had to be shot out of the scene. It was pretty embarrassing.
I still get teased about it.”
 Being able to laugh off embarrassing incidents was an important
lesson for Biggs, who became solidly identified with his
character, Jim. Jim probably has more embarrassing moments
happen to him in three American Pie films than most people have
in a lifetime. And Biggs has to admit, too, that he can feel a little
funny about that.
“Sometimes it takes a little of my going and
reading for things and proving to people that I
am more than [Jim]. I like to think that once I get
in a room and read for a different character, I can
separate myself from that role, at least in terms of
people’s perceptions of me,” says Biggs.
It sounds like Biggs might have a chance to
alter such perceptions with characters like
Jerry Falk, the aspiring writer he portrays in
the upcoming Woody Allen film Anything Else.
Falk, who lives in New York, falls in love at first
sight with a free spirit named Amanda
(Christina Ricci). He then finds that love isn’t
like “anything else” with this unpredictable
girl. The film was written and directed by
Woody Allen, and also stars Danny DeVito,
Stockard Channing, and Jimmy Fallon. Roles
like this keep Biggsto different things
happening in his career, but the thing he
would like the most would just be to “work
with great people.”
“Great directors, great actors, who can
teach me and help me to improve as an actor.
I’m not going to sit here and say ‘yeah, I want
to be taken seriously, I’m not going to do
comedy anymore.’ I want to do comedy forever.
Comedy’s the best, and hopefully I’ll be able
to do other things as well.”
Not that all his acting times have been
happy and fun. Biggs has had it tough, too,
with at least one long break between films.
How did he survive the shark pool in the
industry and stick with it?
“Patience, patience. My toughest times
were when I was a kid, with a career hiatus I
had when I was in school. Then, after the first
American Pie film, it was a little over a year
when I wasn’t working. I learned a lesson not
to get ahead of myself, and take each job as it
comes. I learned not to plan my life around
things that may or may not happen, especially
in terms of finance, like not getting stupid and
spending accordingly,” says Biggs.
Looking forward to the future seems to be
Biggs’ motto, except when it comes to more
American Pie films. Biggs firmly believes the
franchise is at an end, as the screenwriter has
said he will do no more. But that’s okay, as Anything Else will be
in theaters September 19. Then there’s Jersey Girl, with Jennifer
Lopez and Ben Affleck, coming out in February.
And hopefully, no more embarrassing offscreen moments
in his future.
— Lisa D. Carroll
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