From his star-making turn as a pastry humper in American Pie to roles in Saving Silverman and Loser, Jason Biggs has playing an affable doofus down pat. He maintains the persona with his latest flick, My Best Friend’s Girl. How does Jason navigate the thin line between sympathetic funnyman and unbearable schmuck?

Be Naturally Likable
“An actor needs to have likability, a quality that keeps people rooting for you. My character in My Best Friend’s Girl is aggressive—I mean, he’s not a rapist—but I play him as a good guy.”

Channel Cusack
“John Cusack in Say Anything is the best example of a hopeless romantic. You know, a nice, clean-cut fellow you can’t help but like.”

Push the Envelope
“For a character to be relatable, you need to go for it 1,000 percent. In this movie I shave my eyebrows. You can’t worry about how you look.”

Know When to Say When
“Did I really shave off my brows? No. I was like, ‘Fuck this. They can CGI a shaved eyebrow!’”