As soon as I stepped off the elevator into the penthouse of the Phoenix Ritz-Carlton Hotel and saw the tall, lanky man with long hair and sunglasses racing toward me with a plate of food in his hands, I knew he was not your stereotypical movie star.
"Hey, I'm John," he said as he walked by. "Give me a few minutes to scarf down this food and we'll be right with you."
The "we" is John Corbett and Nia Vardalos, the stars of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," a fun ethnic comedy that opened in the Valley on Friday. Vardalos also wrote the screenplay.
After waiting for Corbett (who plays Ian Miller) and Vardalos (Toula Portokalos) to eat things such as avocados stuffed with shrimp and fresh strawberries, I was escorted into a hotel room where the two were eating at a large table.
As soon as I walked in, Corbett asked me if I wanted a drink. He cracked open a bottle of water and handed it to me. Apparently not all movie stars are snobs.
After asking me what paper I'm with, the three of us were about to get down to business when Vardalos' cell phone rang. She answered it and I started asking Corbett questions.
"As we were filming the wedding scene and I was standing up there, I tried to project myself into the future," said Corbett, the 40-year-old of "Northern Exposure" and "Sex & the City" fame. "I'm not sure I'd have that big of a wedding."
After philosophizing that getting married and having kids are the biggest things you can do, he offered a never-been-married man's view on marriage.
"So much emphasis is put on that one day, but it's after that the real work begins," he said. "I've never even asked anyone to marry me."
Corbett then gave a funny and somewhat fatherly look to Vardalos, who decided to move her conversation into the next room.
"We've been like brother and sister going all over and promoting this movie," Corbett said.
Most of Corbett's work has been in TV, and the character he plays in "Wedding" is similar to those he's played on television. In fact, the laid-back, cool but conversational personality is not an act. He's a lot like the characters he plays.
"I just play the scenes as naturally as I can," he said. "I don't want to make choices that are out of character."
"There's nothing fake about John, he's not actory," said Vardalos, who had just re-entered the room.
Vardalos is a veteran of Chicago's Second City comedy troupe and did "Wedding" as a one-woman stage act before Greek-born actress/producer Rita Wilson and her husband Tom Hanks saw the stage show. Soon thereafter, Wilson and Hanks were producing the film.
"Sometimes I can't believe this is actually happening," she said. "I worry that I've made it all up."
The two broke into a hilarious imitation of what a strange Vardalos would be like telling random people on the street she was a movie star. Vardalos making fun of herself is one of the things that made "Wedding" so entertaining.
"I was a complete geek when I was 12," she said as her shoe fell off and under the table. "Every writer writes what they know, and this story is pretty darn true."
It's been a fast assent for Vardalos, who's never had this amount of critical or popular attention before.
But neither Corbett nor Vardalos project any of the snobby Hollywood stereotypes you so often hear of, and it shows with honest performances in the film.
At this point, Vardalos couldn't be happier. "I don't think I'd change anything," she said. "I like the movie, and I like that people like it."
Reach Adam Kress at jtreered@aol.com.
