FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES Presents In ... - Central-Kino

Giamatti came to the role knowing next to nothing about Mike’s greatest passion, wrestling, but
quickly did his homework, heading to local wrestling matches as an awed observer. “It’s a strange
sport,” he admits, “and as physically tough as it gets. There’s something obsessive about it, with all
this focus around ‘making weight.’ And it is rough. I went to a lot of real matches where I saw kids
getting their noses broken and throwing up on the mat – it gets really intense.”
He goes on, “I found the wrestling stuff really interesting in the context of the story because
wrestling is filled with all this pressure for achievement and to be as aggressive as you can possibly be -
- which is also so much a part of the modern culture that surrounds these characters. But what Mike
begins to see is that this kind of all-out, aggressive achievement doesn’t actually matter to him. All that
matters to him is how much he’s loved and how much he loves other people around him. He finally
sees that he was trying to be something that he’s not.”
McCarthy says that Giamatti makes that discovery palpable because he manages to meld both
the charm of comedy and the ache of tragedy into the character, to makes his choices seem at once
relatable and full of human frailty. “He’s such an immensely talented actor,” says the writer-director.
“I’ve actually known him since we went to school together at Yale but this is the first time we had the
chance to work together. As tricky as the character is, Paul makes playing Mike Flaherty look
effortless. Watching him turn out this performance was very exciting.”
Adds Michael London, who previously worked with Giamatti on SIDEWAYS, “This role is
something quite different for Paul. You get to see him be incredibly funny and yet still very touching.
I think Paul can truly do anything and from the minute he stepped on the set, it was impossible to
imagine anyone else in the role.”
Jackie Flaherty
“We have kids, Mike. I’m not taking any chances with Eminem down there.”
-- Jackie
Mike Flaherty’s wife Jackie, who is aghast to find herself suddenly playing surrogate mother to
a 16 year-old runaway when Kyle shows up in town, is played by Amy Ryan, an Oscar® and Golden
Globe® nominee for her role in Ben Affleck’s GONE BABY GONE. Though known for her role as
Holly Flax, soul-mate to Steve Carell on the hit television series “The Office,” WIN WIN marks Ryan’s
first foray into film comedy.
Much like Giamatti, Ryan had to plunge below the surface of a seemingly typical suburban
wife and mother to get to the rich vein of comedy in Jackie’s plight. To Ryan, Jackie is the one person
who knows something is weighing on Mike’s conscience, if only he would just confide in her.
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