From KCRW Santa Monica and KCRW.com, this is The Treatment.

Welcome to The Treatment. I'm Elvis Mitchell. I am at Hit Record somewhere in Los Angeles

with a man who's made, what, 40 movies since

1992, basically a movie every two years, Joseph Gordon Levitt.

He's here to talk about his new film's first feature as writer-director star.

Don John, thanks so much for doing this, first of all.

Thanks for being here, man.

It's funny because I think about so many things you've done that some of your directors have been here.

We've had Kimberly Pierce, Scott Franks been here, Chris Nolan's been here a few times, certainly Ryan Johnson.

And some of these things you've done, you play characters who are kind of obsessed with something.

These guys who are obsessed with trying to find a way into like a normal or what they feel to be a normal society seems to be kind of a sweet spot for you as an actor that's funny man i i haven't put that

together before but i see what you're saying and maybe that is something that i personally share i i do

feel very strongly towards in particular you know the work that i do and i get you use the word

obsessed i i mean i maybe I do get obsessed

or incredibly focused. I don't do much else. I mean, I think any great character is going to have

a really specific drive or desire. I mean, the cliche is an actor saying, what's my motivation?

If you don't have

something really specific going on like that, then it's not so, it's not going to make an

interesting scene or story. But it's even a way to use it in comedy. And these guys he played

in comedies, I mean, I think about 500 days of summer, and that's sort of to me like every breath you take, this guy, if you go the wrong way, he's a horrible guy. I mean, I think about 500 days of summer, and that's sort of to me like every breath you take,

this guy, if you go the wrong way, he's a horrible guy.

I mean, but this is the same kind of obsession to make this girl love him.

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