Arts & Entertainment

'Walter Mitty' Opens Weeks After Patton Oswalt's Preview at The Alamo Drafthouse in Ashburn

The comedian/actor who grew up in Loudoun talks about getting his start in standup, his move to acting and bumping into Sean Penn in Iceland.

Patton Oswalt, the standup comedian and actor who grew up in Loudoun County, recently admitted to a crowd at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Ashburn that he’s never seen Danny Kaye’s version of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” his most recent movie. But he has read the James Thurber short story it’s based on.

Oswalt, who plays a key role in Ben Stiller’s modern-day remake of the movie, spent a Wednesday evening in Ashburn earlier this month for a sold-out sneak preview of “Mitty” and to answer questions from a few fans.

While the movie won’t be the same now without the post-show Q&A with Oswalt, it’s still worth checking out. In the movie, Stiller plays day-dreaming space cadet Mitty, a life magazine “assets manager” about to lose his job to a corporate cost-cutter who calls Mitty “Major Tom,” after the David Bowie song.

Find out what's happening in Ashburnwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Mitty eventually takes a break from his day dreaming to go a real adventure seeking that which represents the “quintessence” of life.

It’s not until the end of the movie that you realize what part Oswalt plays.

Find out what's happening in Ashburnwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Oswalt raved over having an Alamo in Ashburn. He grew up nearby in Sugarland Run and attended Broad Run High School at a time when Loudoun had little to offer young folks. His parents still live nearby and were at the Alamo preview.

“There was not a lot of culture out here in Loudoun County,” he said, adding that now the county’s got something his current California community lacks. “I can’t believe they have an Alamo Drafthouse in my hometown. I’m so jealous of all of you.”

WTOP’s “Man About Town” Arch Campbell joined Oswalt for the Q&A, when the comedian explained he first started doing standup while attending William & Mary College in Williamsburg.

“Standup happened when I was in college,” he said, adding with sarcasm, “in that fabulous comedy mecca that is Williamsburg.”

He joked about the conversations he would have with his parents about his comedy, while they helped put him through college: “So we just took out a second mortgage and you’re out at the Chuckle Bucket talking your penis.”

By his junior and senior years, he was traveling each weekend to perform standup. Eventually, he made the move to Los Angeles where he got a break while working at a club called Largo.

However, as he explained to audience, “There’s no such thing as a big break.” There are just lots of little opportunities.

Working in movies and television made sense for Oswalt who grew up fascinated by both. His experience, he said, has given him a greater appreciation for bad movies.

“They were working their butts off to make this awful, awful thing that did not work. I can see the actors struggling,” he said. However, “you’re still getting together with creative people and doing something.”

Oswalt said his favorite movie experience was his voiceover in “Ratatouille,” and that the movie that likely had the most impact on his acting career was “Big Fan.”

“What I had the most fun doing was Ratatouille because I got to go to Pixar all the time,” he said. “The one I’m probably happiest with is probably ‘Big Fan’ because I didn’t know I could pull it off.”

Known for his clever tweets on Twitter, Oswalt said, “It’s just been me goofing around. I never treat Twitter as work.”

And while Oswalt has not seen Danny Kaye’s version of “Mitty,” he finds the framework of the story lends itself well to modern times, particularly because of the infiltration of technology into our lives.

“All they did was took the idea of a dreamer and what does that mean,” he explained. “What does it mean to be a dreamer who spaces out in a world where you’re encouraged to space out all the time with your iPhone and with the Internet. How lost do you have to be in a world where everyone’s disconnected anyway?”

Stiller, Oswalt said, is a bit of a perfectionist. Despite Oswalt having no on-camera scenes during filming in Iceland, Stiller insisted the actor be there for production. Oswalt said he took a long walk when he got there and noticed there was no one around. In the distance, he spotted a figure and eventually their paths crossed. It was Sean Penn, also there for the shoot. They talked briefly about the now-ended television series “Breaking Bad” and parted ways.

“We literally were in a town with no vowels,” Oswalt said. “I walked into oblivion, I ran into Jeff Spicoli and I ate reindeer meat.”

Toward the end of the Q&A as Oswalt lamented the future of Star Wars and said he’d definitely do an episode of “Sons of Anarchy” if invited, Campbell asked the comedian if he was working on any secret projects.

“Yeah, ‘Kramer vs. Predator.’”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here