The role of Charlie Eppes has changed me. I never imagined I would play a role like this. I lost some weight, grew my hair and now every woman in America over 40 wants to date me. It's their daughters I want to convince. The truth is all this talk makes me blush. Me, I look in the mirror and all I see is this Jewish kid from Queens.

I remember at the time, there were all these teen movies being made. It was this resurgence of John Hughes-esque teen comedies. I was sent a lot of them to audition for, and a lot of them at the time didn't really impress me. I remember I was sent one called East Grand Rapids High, which ended up becoming American Pie, and I didn't like it. Although I think I did audition for it.

[10 Things I Hate About You] is a smart and grounded film about a real, well-rounded girl. I think the only other teen film that came close to getting that right was Can't Hardly Wait.

Anyway, we had a blast, and the movie [the Ghost Team] turned out really, really funny.

The rest - all the hoopla, the acclaim - doesn't really matter a lot to Joel and Ethan [Coen]. They just want to get the chance to continue to work. And that blew my mind. To be at that level and to have that humility, it was eye-opening and inspiring.

My parents went crazy when they found out that I had gotten the part in 'Conversations With My Father!' I'd never given acting a thought. They were proud of me and very encouraging.

[Numbers] made me feel like a real person instead of a guy who shows up for two days on a movie, does some funny stuff, and then doesn't see anybody until the premiere.