A different drummer now

THOUGH music remains one of Jason Schwartzman’s main passions -- for a decade he was the drummer and a composer for the group Phantom Planet, whose song “California” is the theme for the Fox hit “The O.C.” -- he considers himself purely an actor these days.

“It was just a gut reaction,” he said of his decision to leave the group. “It was natural and organic. I think it was time. They are still my really great friends, and those 10 years of my life were the most special years I could ever ask for. I never thought that any of that could come true -- that we could make records and play music for people.

“I can’t live without music and movies,” he added, “and to have been involved with two things that are a necessity for me to survive has been my dream.”

Schwartzman’s decision to focus on acting led him to the film “Shopgirl,” which opens Friday in limited release.

Based on Steve Martin’s bestselling novella, “Shopgirl” examines the intertwined lives of three lonely people in Los Angeles striving to make a connection. Schwartzman plays Jeremy, a young font maker who is clueless in the ways of life and love; Claire Danes is Mirabelle, an aspiring artist who works in the glove department at Saks Fifth Avenue and who meets Jeremy at the laundermat; and Martin, who also wrote the screenplay, is Ray Porter, a rich older man who tries to woo Mirabelle.

“I never thought I would get to be in a Steve Martin movie,” said Schwartzman, the 25-year-old son of actress Talia Shire and the late producer Jack Schwartzman. He is also the nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola.

Schwartzman has fond childhood memories of going to the movies on Sundays with his family. And among some of their favorite films were Steve Martin comedies.

“When I grew up, I found his recordings and his writing. The ways he expresses himself are just mind-blowing,” Schwartzman said over the phone from his New York hotel room.

Ironically, though, Schwartzman has no scenes with Martin.

“I know him more actor to writer,” Schwartzman explained. “He would come on the set on the days I was working. He watches the scene and is constantly searching.

“He was so helpful. I asked a lot of questions about the character and what he’s thinking, and he had a lot of great answers. He was right there. I need the writer [on set]. I like to know maybe too much about a character.”

One of the first things one notices about Schwartzman -- even over the phone -- is that he exudes a sweetness rare in celebrities. He comes across as someone who isn’t jaded about the business, and he expresses an unbridled passion for making movies.

He compares acting to running through an airport to catch a flight and making it to the plane at the last minute. “I feel like right now [in my career], I just got into my seat. I am still breathing heavily and I haven’t put anything away. So movies for me are breathlessness. I love them.”

It was Schwartzman’s personality that led to him being cast in “Shopgirl.”

“He is one of the loveliest people I have met for a very long time,” said director Anand Tucker, who previously directed “Hilary and Jackie.” “On meeting him it was that sweetness that led me to think he was perfect for the role.”

Initially, though, Tucker recalled the difficult time he had trying to cast the role of Jeremy, a goofy guy who doesn’t have a clue about how to treat a woman.

“The Jeremy character is actually just awful,” Tucker said. “He doesn’t know how to deal with Mirabelle, but he has a good heart. The journey of that character in the movie is a huge journey. That is very hard for someone to pull off.”

While thinking of actors for the part, Tucker added, the image of Schwartzman as the eccentric high school student in 1998’s “Rushmore” flashed in his mind. (Schwartzman has also played comedic roles in “Slackers,” “Bewitched” and “I (heart) Huckabees.”)

“Then we met him,” Tucker said, and “it was sort of ‘There you go. There’s the guy. There is the one who can do that and still have the essential sweetness and intelligence behind it to go through the transformation.’ ”

Added Schwartzman: “One of the great things that Steve and Anand said that was important to them is at the end of the film my character not be totally changed, because that would have felt too neat and contrived.

“His facade has changed [by the end] because he looks different, but inside he’s still the same guy. But something is different. I think the thing we tried to do by the end was show he’s motivated to change.”

ONE of the aspects of Jeremy that Schwartzman loved is that the character doesn’t over-think things.

“He is not immobilized by worry,” he said. “He is almost like a kid. He doesn’t have censorship yet. I feel like he has that amazing ability to speak from his heart. His mouth is connected to his gut. He just says what he thinks. That’s dangerous and inspiring.”

Next up for Schwartzman? He recently completed the role of Louis XVI in “Marie-Antoinette” for his cousin, writer-director Sofia Coppola.

“That movie was one of the great, great moments of my life,” he said. “Her focus and calmness and sincerity is so inspiring. When I went to the set it was so calm and peaceful.”