ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke to Me Time stars Andrew Santino and Ilia Isorelýs Paulino about the upcoming Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg comedy. The film is now streaming on Netflix.
“When a stay-at-home dad finds himself with some ‘me time’ for the first time in years while his wife and kids are away, he reconnects with his former best friend for a wild weekend that nearly upends his life,” reads the logline.
Tyler Treese: Andrew, you’ve had so much success in both stand-up and acting, but few have found superstardom in both like Kevin Hart. So getting to work with him in this film, what were you able to take away from watching his method and how he does it?
Andrew Santino: I think I was able to take away that the best way to be a really good actor and comedian is the moment that they say, cut, you get on your phone. You’ve got to get on your phone and you’ve just got to ignore everybody. Work, work, work, work, work. And then, when they call action, you’re back in it. And when it’s cut again, you disappear into your digital pocket.
Ilia Isorelýs Paulino: That’s exactly what I took away too.
Santino: I think that’s where his process comes from. Speaking to his family and working super, super hard. But he’s great. Kevin was great to work with outside of when he would physically abuse us, which was, I think, part of the agenda, and that’s fine. We signed up for it. But other than that, great guy to work with.
Ilia, it had to be a blast getting into hijinks with Kevin and Mark Walberg. Does it even feel like work when you’re getting to get into so much fun onscreen?
Paulino: Oh my, no. That’s why I didn’t grow up to be like a barista. No shade to baristas everywhere. I love tea. It was such a pleasure to wake up and work with these people that I’ve seen on my TV, and just play and drive them around and do all kinds of really dumb, funny stuff.
Andrew, I love the dynamic you have with your wife and having this like secret party side to your character. How fun was it playing around with that dynamic in the film?
Santino: It was super fun. She was great too. She initially was not going to be in as much. They had talked about putting her in more because I was like, “I think we want to see her bully me more,” and she does, she bullies me a little bit throughout the film. So I think it was great because I’m used to that. That was kind of right at home. That’s what my wife does, so I just took what I know from the house to the screen. So getting bullied by women is just … that’s my thing. So I’m good at it.
Ilia, the director, John Hamburg, has made some real classics. What was it like getting to work with someone that knows comedy inside and out?
Paulino: Oh my God, a dream! He’s not only a comedic genius, but he trusts his actors in a way that I don’t think many directors do. To just give us license to just go out and play and find the scene with the people who are in the game, who are playing the scene and that amount of trust … as an actor, it inspires me to really go for it. So it was great, I love John.
