Ken Jeong not only put his Lede advertising team to work for the promotion of the new film The fool’s paradise but also on the investigative side as he prepared for his role as the publicist of the protagonist of Charlie Day, a Hollywood star overnight.
“I asked for some personal experiences and they taught me some techniques,” Jeong said THR at the film’s Los Angeles premiere on May 9. “There was a scene on the red carpet in the movie where the whole movie-within-the-movie cast comes together and I’m in the picture, in the shot, and I was acting like a publicist” — checking his shoulder for approval from Representative Michelle Margolis, who confirmed.
Classic moves included denying that he was in the background of celebrity interviews when he was in plain sight and giving the oft-used “wrap up” hand gesture for long interviews. “I learned all the tips,” he promised. “I could be an assistant to my publicist. I am so good.”
This story first appeared in the May 17 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
