Will Arnett: ‘I’m not officially dating. It all seems very scary to me’

Will Arnett

I hope Kaiser doesn’t get too upset with me over this post (because she’s the resident “Arrested Development”-loonie) and generally covers all things “AD” related, but I just had to talk about Will Arnett because I inexplicably find him to be devastatingly handsome. Although he does annoys me by consistently appearing within really terrible movies with flying gerbils and jokes that don’t even pass as humor; but over the weekend, I gave in and watched a few episodes the grand “AD” return (even though I wrote on Pajiba that I was the only person not excited about the reunion), and Will is the best part of the new season so far. Also, it’s pretty harsh that so many critics are taking issue with Portia De Rossi’s “new” face when nobody has pointed out that Michael Cera has transformed into a human dart. Seriously.

To promote “AD” on Netflix, Will sat down for a little inteview with Details. He swiftly covers several topics including his chicken-dance norotiety, his love for his children, and how he finally made it as an actor after over a decade of struggle. He also talks a little bit about getting his mojo back after his divorce from Amy Poehler. Here are some excerpts:

Do people ask him to do the chicken dance? “Nonstop. I’ve been asked on the subway in New York, I’ve been asked in England. I did it once publicly–at an auction benefiting a hospital. It was for a good cause. But I don’t do it. If you’re reading this, don’t ask me on the street to do it.”

As a late bloomer, was he jealous of young actors who made it big? “I never really spent time being jealous. Maybe I should have. I’d handicapped myself. Back then I was partying. Maybe I would have gotten more jobs if I didn’t look so hungover all the time. I lived in a string of sh-tty apartments in New York. I had a futon on the floor–not even a frame–that I’d roll up during the day. I had a lot of dreams–I wanted to be taken seriously, and I had something important to say. I said, ‘I’ll never read for TV!’ Those are the trappings of youth. As you get older, you take yourself less seriously. That, I think, is actually the freedom of age.

He quit smoking on New Year’s Day “It’s been brutally hard. That’s my one true love affair–cigarettes. The day they tell me they a) cured cancer or b) figured out a way cigarettes won’t kill you . . . I’ll have one between every finger. If they could figure out a way I could sleep and smoke at the same time, I’d do it.”

Does he worry his kids won’t be funny too? “Not at all. It couldn’t be further from my mind. I think any parent is happy when their kid makes a funny joke. But I never think about it that way. I don’t want them to feel obligated.”

He coped with divorce by buffing up: “If going to the gym obsessively for eight, nine months was my way of dealing, then let that be my worst problem. Life is challenging, and I’d say that there’s no guidebook–but there’s about a million guidebooks out there. [Laughs] All people have been doing since the dawn of time is trying to figure out how to live this life and be happy. I’m no different. I’m 43, and I’ve found my happiness–which is my kids.”

Is it difficult to get back out there? “Well, I’m not officially dating. I don’t know what you do. Do you put out an announcement in the trades? I’M DATING! It all seems very scary to me, to be honest. So I’m kind of keeping pretty close counsel right now. Until I . . . yeah.”

[From Details]

Poor guy. He’s been divorced twice now, so I can see why it would be difficult to jump back into the pool. He seems to be dealing with it quite constructively though, and there are certainly worse afflictions than becoming addicted to the gym.

Here are some images of Will with Megan Fox on the set of the ill-fated “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie. I’ll just pretend that Will isn’t really making this movie and is merely hanging out while looking incredibly good in this pair of jeans. Yum.

Will Arnett

Will Arnett

Will Arnett

Photos courtesy of WENN

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57 Responses to “Will Arnett: ‘I’m not officially dating. It all seems very scary to me’”

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  1. SmokeyBlues says:

    Oh yeah he’s handsome fo’ sho’. I have been a little worried about him because he got so thin after the divorce, too thin! But he looks a bit healthier now.
    Lol on Michael Cera the human dart. He really does look awful, even my husband noticed. I love Portia and think she looks great, her face is also changing due to the natural process of aging.
    Does anyone else think the new AD format is just too frenetic?

  2. T.Fanty says:

    I’d date him.

    • j.eyre says:

      I’d totally date him. And as soon as Agent MOL invents a cancer-less cigarette, we’d smoke all the time together too.

      • T.Fanty says:

        Sadly, I wouldn’t even fake the smoking thing for Cumby. Have him steam-cleaned and sent to me when he’s fragrant.

      • j.eyre says:

        I’m not faking (funny – I think I said those exact words last night), I feel exactly as he does – I adore smoking and miss it every minute there is not a cigarette in my mouth – this after 10 years having quit.

        If Cumby smells of smoke, send him my way – I will lick the stench from him.

      • Miss M says:

        @J.eyre: Did you find me extra work? How am I supposed to finish my PhD with so many side projects?! 🙂

    • TheOriginalKitten says:

      I would def. date him. He’s pretty tall too which I love.

  3. Chrissy says:

    I used to think GOB was terribly annoying but gosh, do I love him or what! Will Arnett too. Hope he’s happy despite everything.

    p.s. YES! MICHAEL CERA! HUMAN DART! It’s really hard watching him on the screen without cringing…

    • MistyNinja says:

      I am glad I am not alone in being creeped out by Cera. Portia’s face startled me then I got used to it-her new face and hair look great. Jason Bateman and Arnett are both in their 40’s and they looked better than Dart face boy.

    • amurph says:

      I saw Cera in person during San Diego Comic-Con a few years ago for Scott Pilgrim (maybe 20 feet away from him) and my god, he is very thin with very puffy hair and relatively long looking, though he’s relatively below average – average in height. His nose was definitely prominent. Very weird. I might have stared, though not for any other reason beyond the fact his entire look is baffling.

  4. Olivia J. says:

    This TMNT movie is killing me. I am morally opposed to Michael Bay, but I think the Megan Fox / Will Arnett combination might be kryptonite for me. Will and Megan both look great.

    • TheOriginalKitten says:

      Megan looks really great for having just had a kid. She’s has a tendency to overdo it with the thinness but this is the perfect size her IMO.

  5. smee says:

    Interesting to read about the constant work-outs during the dee-vorse. Honestly, when I saw how buff (and tan) he was looking, I thought he was having a mid-life crisis and blamed him (secretly, in my mind) for divorcing the incredible Amy Poehler (how could you?!)

    He’s absolutely hilarious and super handsome. I hope they both find happiness to go with their success.

  6. judyjudyjudy says:

    so many critics are taking issue with Portia De Rossi’s “new” face ”

    I am so bored with the hounding of women and their faces. Woman cant get a job if they look old, but if they try to look young they get bashed. Vile.

    • ahoyhoy says:

      Especially when her character would be just the type to have had a surgery a week in the last 7 years.
      So-called ‘fans’ think a Bluth woman would look the same year-to-year? Then they’re not really fans at all.

      • lucy2 says:

        Gangy’s new neck was a good investment…

      • Oh says:

        I’m not a fan – I’m a stan, I’m cuckoo for ‘Arrested Development’ – and I don’t buy that, personally. I like Portia so much but she looked sick to me, both in terms of her body and her face, in the episodes I’ve watched so far (1-4).

      • Ag says:

        Her?

  7. Wif says:

    I find him sooooooo hot!

  8. MsAubra says:

    I would…really hard…I’d regret NOTHING!!!

  9. Bored suburbanhousewife says:

    I still feel bewildered by why they got a divorce. Does anyone have any information? Theories? He does not seem to have left for another woman based on this story.

    • poppy says:

      i’d like to know!
      i got the feeling he hooked up with kristen wiig but have zero proof.

    • ahoyhoy says:

      I do think he cheated, there was a BIG rumor that he had an affair w/ Christina Applegate when they were on “Up All Night”.
      After Amy dumped Will, Christina A then married her fiance in what seemed like a rushed kind of way, and made some public statement of her devotion to him. It was weird and just made your head tilt involuntarily, like a confused dog…..just, ‘This feels weird.’

      I think Amy would have stuck by Will unless he cheated or a bad drug problem. Since he looks so healthy and is working steadily, I’m guessing substance abuse was not the issue. That’s JMO.

  10. lisa says:

    i’d hit that so hard

  11. Londongal says:

    I even fancied him in ‘Blades Of Glory’. That’s crush dedication. :-}

  12. lucy2 says:

    I had a crush on him back in the early AD days, mostly because he is so hilarious, but he’s gotten better looking over the years too. I’m still bummed about him and Amy, but I like them both so much, I hope they are both happy and good co-parents to their little ones.
    Portia – I don’t think she looks bad or anything, but she does look noticeably different. I love the shorter haircut.

    I felt mean for thinking it, but when he first came on screen, my thought was wow, Michael Cera is not growing into a handsome adult. Though I think a haircut would do wonders.

  13. kiddo says:

    I like him and think he is hilarious, but didn’t rumor have it that he was cheating on Amy and that’s why they got divorced?

    If so, playing the “vulnerable guy” after a divorce seems, well, a bit disingenuous.

  14. dcypher1 says:

    I’d hit that he’s hot.

  15. Ann says:

    Too smarmy. And a cheater.

    • mwow says:

      I’m with you. I am creeped out by men who care that much about their appearance to be botoxed, fake tanned and whatever else.

      • Nerd Alert says:

        Agreed. Can’t be more high maintenance than me (and I am low-maintenance), that’s a deal breaker. I just can’t waste all that time getting ready.

        BUT I love Arrested Development and he’s great in it. Is the cheating thing true or hearsay?

      • Jo 'Mama' Besser says:

        I hope it’s not true, I don’t want to hear that he took the ‘Love Each Other’ theme and carried it to its logical conclusion.

  16. NM9005 says:

    I find him very attractive. Then there’s also the fact that is voice is like melting butter on toast. And he’s funny. Gah, perfect!

    I refuse to believe he cheated and especially considering this rumour started by a blind item of CDAN. If people think Lainey’s blinds are lies than CDAN definitely shouldn’t be believed! Enty was outed a long time ago, in 2012, by the New York Post and Gawker etc as a LIAR. He admitted it’s a ‘hobby’ and makes things up. He’s obsessed with his privacy and his blinds are impossible to prove they’re truthful.

    The official break-up report said they drifted apart and there was nu fun in their relationship anymore. More friends than partners. Boring but more believable than cheating rumours coming from CDAN. It happens to a lot of marriages, Poehler and Arnett were never tabloid fixtures and I believe they would be the kind of people who break up for normal everyday life reasons.

    • Nerd Alert says:

      +1

      I got addicted to CDAN blinds for like a week before I realized how dumb and unprovable they are. I found a few “reveals” that could have been about anybody. I never read the outing stuff, but the whole thread is just a guessing game, and his commenters are morons.

  17. Tiffany says:

    What struggle. Isn’t he an heir to the Molten beer fortune.

    • Jo 'Mama' Besser says:

      Molson. I don’t know if an heir but yes, his family is affiliated with it in some major capacity.

      You’d better believe he has money and if memory serves he attended Upper Canada College. I pray that he escaped the snot rag training camp that clutched so many of the other students. That’s a private boy’s school that requires attendees to be richer than God to gain access to its hallowed and scandalized halls (some years back it was revealed that there was a decades longs code of silence surrounding sexual abuse endured by students). Conrad Black was expelled from it for selling exams, so it’s nice to know that the institution aids its student in finding their true calling so early in life.

      I know that everyone says expensive private schools are snobby but the heads in that place swell past the outer reaches of the Milky Way. Everyone in southern Ontario seems to have stories about encounters with students and the eye-rolling that ensued. Mine are pretty tame but here’s one:

      I didn’t go University Of Toronto, but when I was an undergraduate I went to one of their libraries a few times. If you aren’t a student there, you can’t sign anything out and there are whole swathes of the places where non-students are simply not permitted to enter. Since we were university students, my friend and me were able to pre-order some academic journal articles and could ask the librarian to retrieve a journal that held some specific article we wanted from the archives. So, my friend and me were talking to the librarian about this and behind us were Upper Canada College students. They were in high school, so nothing doing.

      Were they ever angry. Now, this is a policy that is just known by everyone and that includes people who have never set a foot on that campus. U of T is a huge school and as such, doesn’t bother dealing with any more than the absolute minimum of people. They knew this. But oh no:

      But we’re from Upper Canada College. We understand that you don’t let other people use the libraries, but we’re in a special position. Upper Canada College is one of the prestigious schools in the country, surely you don’t have the same rules for us as you do the ‘public’. These kids were around fifteen sixteen years old. I don’t know what they possibly could have needed that couldn’t come from a public library (surely they would be able to pay the stupidly high membership rates), but it was pressing. They look at my friend and me, just a couple of crazy fourth year students who were too much sludge even for the gutter. Why were we here? We only went to University Of Such And Such (I have two undergrad degrees so bounced between two not-podunk campuses) what could we possibly need that necessitated the resources of that library? Upper Canada College is a school with a long history and a reputation that preceded it and produced graduates destined for taxing seats of power through legacy and a far more rigorous education through the very high standards required to be successful there (patently false). They went on to inform the librarian that while they were sure that these ‘girls’ (never mind the fact that we were 21 and 22 years old and their faces were still in that pitting stage), it was NOT like we were going to Upper Canada College so what pressing need could we have had?

      Quoth the librarian, ‘Go home’.

  18. s_s says:

    Not sure why it’s ok to bash Michael Cera’s looks in the same breath as defending Portia’s.

    • Nikole says:

      I have to agree. It’s not his fault he’s goofy-looking. Portia, on the other hand…

      • Oh says:

        I totally agree. One can’t help how he looks; the other has voluntarily changed her appearance in a jarring way.

    • Yolanda says:

      Same! I like Michael Cera and he didn’t deserve that insult.It was just cruel.And yeah Will Arnett is crazy hot now.His abs were so distracting on Arrested last night I kept rewatching Job’s scene in the church.

    • Nerd Alert says:

      Agreed. It’s not like he had plastic surgery to look like that. Rude.

  19. Jayna says:

    He was looking too thin in that TV show with Christing Applegate, which made his face look to gaunt and lined and too tanned. He was getting that lined, too-tanned golfer’s look Dennis Quaid always has, which ages him. I remember thinking he would be more attractive with weight on him. And he defintely had a smoker’s look. He looks in the photos like he has a few pounds back on.

  20. Lisa says:

    so annoying.

    • buckley says:

      I don’t dislike him but I find his schtick annoying. A bit of a one trick pony.

  21. Helvetica says:

    Nothing wrong with not jumping in to date after ending a major relationship. In fact, I think it’s healthy.

  22. Crackberry says:

    Gobbbbbb!!!!!!