So you like pancakes?
I love pancakes. Always have. When I was growing up back in Iowa, we used to have breakfast for dinner. It was the one thing my dad was good at doing, so if Mom was busy he’d make us pancakes.
How do you take them?
With butter and syrup, but I used a lot more syrup when I was younger. Pancakes are actually challenging for me these days because I’ve developed an egg and dairy allergy. In most pancake recipes, those are vital parts.
You’re like a tragic Greek hero!
Well, yes. I’ve actually gotten a taste for vegan pancakes. I think the vegan ones I make are as good or better than the ones with eggs, butter, and milk.
Interesting, given your Scott Pilgrim character’s superpowers come from being vegan.
Yeah—because his body is free of meat and animal derivatives, he has gained the power of telekinesis. He’s a ninth-level vegan, I believe.
Robert De Niro says he ate pancakes to gain weight for Raging Bull. Would you do that for a role?
If I were ever blessed to play a heavy character, absolutely. I would eat pancakes and drink vanilla malts.
What would you say to folks who think pancakes are just an excuse to eat dessert as a meal?
Why is that a bad thing? As long as you have some protein with them, you can have a fairly good meal. Or if you don’t give a shit, you could just eat pancakes.
Have you ever had pancakes in other countries?
Yeah, and I’m always a little disappointed by international pancakes. Not the International House of Pancakes, but international pancakes.
So pancakes for you are an all-American kind of thing?
There is something lacking in places around the world that try to make them. I can’t say I’ve tasted a great pancake outside of North America.
Well, this was great. We talked a lot about pancakes.
This is the most in-depth conversation I’ve ever had about pancakes. I can check that off my bucket list.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World opens August 13.