Speedman:
You know, there were times when I was doing Jack that I actually felt retarded, like really retarded. I mean, I brushed my teeth retarded, I rode the bus retarded.
Lazarus:
Damn.
Speedman:
In a weird way, I had to sort of just free myself up to believe that it was okay to be stupid or dumb.
Lazarus:
To be a moron.
Speedman:
Yeah.
Lazarus:
To be moronical.
Speedman:
Exactly, to be a moron.
Lazarus:
An imbecile.
Speedman:
Yeah.
Lazarus:
Like the dumbest motherfucker that ever lived.
Speedman:
When I was playing the character.
Lazarus:
When you was the character.
Speedman:
Yeah, as Jack, definitely.
Lazarus:
Jack, stupid ass Jack. Trying to come back from that.
Speedman:
In a weird way it was almost like I had to sort of fool my mind into believing that it wasn't retarded, and by the end of the whole thing, I was like, "Wait a minute, I flushed so much out, how am I gonna jumpstart it up again?" It's just like... Right?
Lazarus:
You was farting in bathtubs and laughing your ass off. Yeah. But Simple Jack thought he was smart, or rather, didn't think he was retarded, so you can't afford to play retarded, being a smart actor. Playing a guy who ain't smart but thinks he is, that's tricky.
Speedman:
Hm. Tricky.
Lazarus:
It's like working with mercury. It's high science, man. It's an art form.
Speedman:
Yeah.
Lazarus:
You an artist.
Speedman:
Hm. That's what we do, right? Yeah.
Lazarus:
Hats off for going there, especially knowing how the Academy is about that shit.
Speedman:
About what?
Lazarus:
You're serious? You don't know? Everybody knows you never go full retard.
Speedman:
What do you mean?
Lazarus:
Check it out. Dustin Hoffman, Rain Man, looked retarded, act retarded, not retarded. Count toothpicks, cheat at cards. Autistic, sure. Not retarded. Then you got Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump. Slow, yes, retarded, maybe, braces on his legs, But he charmed the pants off Nixon, and he won a Ping-Pong competition. That ain't retarded. And he was a goddamn war hero. You know any retarded war heroes? [silence] You went full retard, man. Never go full retard.
