Justin Theroux opens up about Jennifer Aniston (sort of)

Justin Theroux sat down with New York Magazine for an in-depth interview. He’s promoting his new film, ‘Wanderlust’ which is the film where he met and fell in love with Jennifer Aniston. He doesn’t say much about her – but he does give a wee bit. Apparently they’ve been dating for about a year, and have a dog together.

On his role in ‘Wanderlust’:

“I do my own facial-hair stunts, and that beard was intense, its own being,” says Theroux, who had a double for guitar playing and capoeira but lends his own voice to a song in the film. Fueled by bong hits and bawdiness, the R-rated Wanderlust gives the actor a larger-than-usual part as Seth, the charismatic leader of a Georgia free-love commune that becomes a refuge for a couple squeezed out of Manhattan by the recession. “I was thinking of him as a David Koresh–type figure, a comic cult leader who is so sincere in his insincerity,” Theroux says, wolfing his salad. “It’s hard to play that douche-y a guy without cracking yourself up.”

On Jennifer Aniston, whom he’s been dating for about a year. The couple met on the set of ‘Wanderlust’:

“I understand the curiosity, but other than saying I am happy, I am not going to indulge it,” he says. “That’s building your own torture device.”

On being a celebrity:

Such is the cruel but usual punishment that comes with this new level of celebrity, which Theroux compares to “having shoes that are slightly too heavy—it can slow you down and make you more cautious. I have to be okay with the fact that there’s a narrative that’s going to get written regardless of what is the truth. Right now, there’s a whole other me out there walking around, and I do everything in my power to avoid that guy, because that’s not who I am.”

On his friend, Ben Stiller:

“He was the first person to read half-started screenplays I was writing as a hobby,” Theroux says. They collaborated on the 2008 comedy Tropic Thunder, which co-starred Robert Downey Jr., who recommended Theroux to write the Iron Man 2 screenplay. If the stars align, Theroux says, he’ll direct Zoolander 2 from his own script.

On writing vs. acting:

“Writing provides great cover, so I can do the acting jobs I want,” says Theroux, popping a fresh piece of Nicorette gum—Hollywood dessert—into his mouth. “It’s harder and takes so freaking long, but to me it’s more satisfying. As a writer you’re the architect; as a director you design the interior; as an actor you are nothing but the leg of a table.”