State College native goes bohemian in 'Humpday'

By Stephanie Koons

In “Humpday,” an independent film screening at the State Theatre, Joshua Leonard plays a man who agrees to make a gay porno film with his best friend — which means they will have to have sex with each other on camera.

Leonard, 34, who grew up in State College, said he realizes the film may be a hard sell to the majority of the male population.

“I think it’s a film that many men will probably relate to, but because of the premise, would probably avoid,” he said.

“Humpday,” written and directed by Lynn Shelton, was released in July and received favorably by critics and audiences at the Sundance and Cannes film festivals. In the film, Ben (Mark Duplass) and Andrew (Leonard) are best friends from college who are reunited after a decade. While Ben has settled into domestic life in Seattle with his wife, Anna (Alycia Delmore), Andrew is still a rootless bohemian. At a wild party, Ben and Andrew “sort of back themselves in a corner trying to out-dude one another,” Leonard said, and agree to film themselves having sex.

Leonard said he originally thought the “Humpday” storyline sounded like a “dumb studio comedy” and expected the script to be filled with crude sex jokes.

His skepticism subsided, he said, as he and Duplass, an old friend, got involved in the creative process with Shelton. The film’s dialog was completely improvised, he said, and the experience was “the best time I’ve ever had making a film in my entire life.”

“Humpday” explores “our own fears, and how social armor can get in the way of us really connecting with one another,” Leonard said.

Male sexuality, he added, is much more rigidly defined by society than female sexuality.

“I think the whole John Wayne template of what a man (should be) is equally as socially toxic as the Pam Anderson model of what a woman should be,” he said.

Leonard was introduced to the world of acting at a young age by his father, Robert Leonard, a professor emeritus of theater arts at Penn State. After earning his GED, he taught school in central America for a year-and-a-half. He graduated from the New York Film Academy School of Film and Acting and worked in production for documentaries and short films in New York and London.

In 1998, Leonard landed one of the three principal roles in “The Blair Witch Project”, a low-budget narrative presented as a documentary pieced together from amateur footage. The film earned almost $250,000,000 worldwide and opened the door to numerous acting and directing opportunities for Leonard.

In addition to starring in feature films “Quid Pro Quo,” “Deuces Wild” and “Men of Honor,” he also has performed in a number of television shows, including the new HBO series “Hung.” He said he is preparing to direct and act in a movie called “The Lie” and direct a feature called “Everything’s All Right.”

While Leonard is open to making big-budget studio films, he said, he is truly passionate about independent films.

“My circle of peers and my ideology of film is far more rooted in an independent spirit,” he said.

Growing up in State College, Leonard said, he “felt pretty out of place.”

“I’m not a jock, I’m terrible at sports, I’m pretty left-leaning politically,” he said.

He found a community that he related to, he added, when he discovered punk rock and independent films.

While independent films can’t compete with big-budget studio flicks in the box office, Leonard said, innovations such as Video on Demand and Netflix have opened new avenues for independent filmmakers.

“No one’s going to become rich, but it’s a viable business plan,” he said.

“Humpday” is rated R and is showing at the State Theatre. Visit www.thestatetheatre.org or call 272-0606 for more information.