Ken Jeong put his Lede publicity team to work not only in the promotion of the new film Fool’s Paradise but also on the research side as he prepared for his role as the publicist to Charlie Day’s main character, an overnight Hollywood star.
“I did ask for some personal experiences and they did teach me some techniques,” Jeong told THR at the movie’s May 9 Los Angeles premiere. “There was a red carpet scene in the movie where the whole cast of the movie-within-the-movie gets together and I’m in the frame, in the shot, and I was acting like a publicist” — as he checked over his shoulder for approval from rep Michelle Margolis, who confirmed.
Classic moves included denying he was in the background of celeb interviews while clearly visible and giving the often-used “wrap it up” hand gesture for interviews going long. “I learned all the pointers,” he promised. “I could be an assistant to my publicist. I’m that good.”
This story first appeared in the May 17 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
