Zoey Deutch is back with a new rom-com this week, marking her third entry in the genre with “The Threesome” alongside Jonah Hauer-King and Ruby Cruz. If you could have sworn Deutch has been in more than just three rom-coms, don’t worry, the actress and producer is well aware of that perception.
“It’s interesting, I think people think I’ve been in a lot more rom-coms than I have. I mean, technically the only rom-coms I’ve been in are ‘Set It Up’ and ‘Something from Tiffany’s,’” she told TheWrap.
“It’s like I’ve done 40 of them, but I’ve only done two!” she added with a laugh, noting that she doesn’t even really consider “The Threesome” a romantic comedy.
The truth is, despite loving the genre, Deutch has actually avoided starring in rom-coms for fear of experiencing what plenty of talented actresses before her have faced: typecasting.
“It’s a conscious choice to not do them, because I don’t want to get pigeonholed,” she explained. “And I feel like people think I’ve done a lot more of them than I have, and when I hear that, I go, ‘Oh no, I shouldn’t do them ever again.’”
“The Threesome” sees Deutch star as Olivia Capitano, the long-held crush of Connor Blake (Hauer-King). When Olivia and Connor decide to have a threesome with Jenny Brooks (Ruby Cruz), a night of fun suddenly turns into a dilemma, as both women get pregnant from the encounter.
It’s certainly not your average premise for a rom-com, and that’s part of what excited Deutch about the project. According to the actress, it felt tonally different than most films in the genre, and “like a totally possible story.”
But really, Deutch looks at “The Threesome” as more of a rom-dram, as the story gets into the emotional complications and ramifications that arise from the situation, rather than just focusing on a quirky love story.
One particularly serious subject is Olivia’s consideration of an abortion, after she finds out Jenny is pregnant too.
Deutch herself has worked with Planned Parenthood for over a decade now and, also since she also serves as an executive producer on “The Threesome,” she invited the organization to consult on this part of the story. She wanted to ensure that not only were her character’s feelings handled correctly, but also that a clinic was properly depicted.
“I mean, especially in a time when Trump has ‘defunded’ Planned Parenthood, which puts a million people’s reproductive care and healthcare at risk, over 200 clinics. It’s a massively important subject to me, something near and dear to my heart, and was handled with extreme care.”
Deutch was also already a pretty massive fan of Chad Hartigan, who directs “The Threesome.” She slid into the “Morris From America” filmmaker’s DMs about the movie, which led to a coffee meeting where she pitched herself “pretty hard” for the role. The script previously had Logan Lerman and Phoebe Dynevor attached, and Deutch knew the opening would go quickly if she didn’t push. She secured the job.
It’s a move Deutch would like to make more often, as she noted that many actresses have the careers they have had in part because they went after the people they wanted to work with.
“I’m always moved and inspired by these stories, like when I read that Margot Robbie reached out to Quentin Tarantino, or I know that there are a couple of people I’ve met who have received emails from Emma Stone saying she loved their work,” Deutch recalled.
“And I think there are these great actresses that you see that have amazing careers, it’s not luck and happenstance,” she continued. “They’ve taken responsibility for their life, and they make conscious efforts and put their energy into and towards things that they want, and are really brilliant at that. And I want to be better about that.”
Deutch has long been conscious about her choices in projects, but it’s been a journey figuring out her groove, and one that was full of moves meant to keep her from only getting one kind of role.
“The beginning of my career was in comedy, and I had the experience of feeling like the only jobs that I was able to get were these one-dimensional female characters in male-driven comedies, which are very difficult to be good in, to feel fulfilled, and satisfied in,” she said. “And I did a little bit of an overcorrection.”
That overcorrection led to films including “Flower,” “Buffaloed,” and “Not Okay,” in which Deutch played “unlikable” characters that she refers to as her “scammer girls.”
“I think that was a result of just wanting not to be put in a box,” she explained.
And yet, a box may have been created anyway, as Deutch’s name is often floated in online chatter about rom-coms.
It’s possible that that happened thanks to Netflix’s “Set It Up,” in which she starred alongside Glen Powell. The movie was largely considered an inflection point for the genre, starting what fans hoped was a resurgence. Many still hope to see Deutch and Powell become the new Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan (don’t worry, Deutch feels “really, really confident” that they will make more films together).
Still, she doesn’t want to be confined.
“With the rom-com thing, I get afraid that I’m being put in a box. But the truth is, I love romantic comedies,” she said. “I think there’s nothing more fun than watching and hearing about, in life, two people fall in love, and so I love the genre. If I wouldn’t be put in a box and in the category, I would make a million of them.”
“The Threesome” hits theaters on Sept. 5.
