#hapaklee

Glass Pillows

Jonah Hill: Acting Was An ‘Amazing Derailment’ On The Path To Directing

Growing up, Jonah Hill always wanted to be a writer and director. But then he took an acting class and received such positive feedback that his career took an unexpected detour.

“You find the right compliment for the right insecure person and that could change your life,” Hill says. “It derailed me for 16 years.”

Hill’s “amazing derailment” put him in front of the camera, where he went on to co-star in Superbad, Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street, among other films. But throughout it all, his desire to make films never subsided.

Now he’s written and directed his first movie, Mid90s, which centers on a group of teenage skateboarders in ‘90s-era Los Angeles. The characters in the film display a mix of small-mindedness, prejudice and misogyny — as well as camaraderie and unexpected tenderness.

Hill says the film springs from his own experience as a teen skater: “[There’s] just a general recklessness which I related to. … Even though this isn’t my story, I wanted to show someone going through deep pain and a real sense of hope through community.”