‘This Is Us’ Alum Griffin Dunne Opens Up About His New ‘Complex Role’ in ‘Ex-Husbands’ Movie

Griffin Dunne never planned on acting. Born into a Hollywood family, he was set on something else — journalism, inspired by his aunt and uncle, writers Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne. “I thought I’d be a New Age journalist, like Hunter S. Thompson,” Griffin, 69, exclusively tells Closer. But appearing in a high school play changed everything. The thrill of performing hooked him, launching a career that included starring roles in 1981’s An American Werewolf in London, the cult classic After Hours and the role of lovable but troubled Nicky Pearson in This Is Us. Today, Griffin is busier than ever. He has a new dramatic comedy in theaters now, Ex-Husbands. “It’s a complex role for a man my age,” he says. “I hope it opens doors for more stories like this — funny, honest and relatable.” He’s also developing an Amazon series based on his father Dominick Dunne’s Vanity Fair articles and starring in Caught Stealing, out next August.

Your father, Dominick Dunne, was a producer and studio executive. Was it assumed you’d do something in Hollywood?

No. In fact, I was sort of resistant to it as a teenager. I was going to have nothing to do with movie-making and star-making. Then I got talked into auditioning for a play in high school and changed my mind completely.

What do you consider your big break?

It was the unexpected opportunity to be cast in [1981’s] An American Werewolf in London. I was quite inexperienced. I’d done some theater, maybe a small part in a movie. It was bewildering. Suddenly I went from very tiny parts to co-star and shooting in London and flying over on the Concorde. Directors that I admired were introduced to me. It was quite a break.

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What roles are you most often recognized for in public today?

After Hours — I think that will always be—and This Is Us. So, I’ve got one from a long time ago and one from recently. The black comedy After Hours became a cult classic and a reflection of New York City in the 1980s.

Did you know that it was going to be special when you filmed it?

I assumed it would be hugely received, but you can’t tell if it will become a cult classic — that’s thinking too far ahead. I did think it would be very popular and a financial success — and I was surprised when it wasn’t in America! Then, I was doubly surprised when decades later, it was embraced and got the love that it didn’t get the first time around. It just took a while for audiences to catch up to it.

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In the 1980s, you also costarred with Madonna in Who’s That Girl. What was she like to work with?

It was really fun. She was hilarious and we had a lot of laughs. She was at the height of her stardom. Although I grew up in Hollywood, I’d never seen anything like that. There were helicopters. Whenever we shot outside, they were hovering over us like we were O.J. Simpson in the Bronco. She just took it all in stride. Most people, myself included, would have had a nervous breakdown.

What did you enjoy most about playing Nicky Pearson on This Is Us?

I love the arc of being a diabetic, alcoholic, suicidal man living in a trailer who transforms into a sober, loving member of this family that he’d longed for. Starting off from such a dark place and ending in such a joyful one was really a treat to play. That journey was so beautifully written.

Who have been some of your other favorite costars?

In this new movie, Ex-Husbands, I am acting with not only my favorite, but my longest-running co-star Rosanna Arquette. We met in Poland when we were playing brother and sister in [the 1982 TV film The Wall]. Then they cast us in [1983’s] Baby It’s You. And we’ve done many other movies. For us now to play a divorcing husband and wife with grown children felt like we actually lived a long life together. It’s been quite a ride.

You have a daughter, Hannah Dunne, who is also an actress. Have you offered her any career advice?

I told her to be open to all sorts of life and work experiences before she establishes herself and her choices become more limited. Be open to opportunities and say yes more often than no.

You come from a family of great writers. What did you learn from them about writing?

I noticed they all had something in common which was a sort of brutal honesty about themselves and the people around them. They were very tough writers. They would take down others when they saw hypocrisy or injustice. They would also write from a very personal point of view. Joan [Didion] wrote about thinking of divorcing her husband. My father would write about his struggle with alcohol. I thought of them often when I was writing. They were a big influence on me.

What did you hope readers would take away from your story, which also included the 1982 murder of your sister?

Even though I ended at a point in my life that is now decades ago, I wanted the reader to feel like they lived in the shoes I was in. I was hoping they’d appreciate that although many really terrible, sad things happened, there was always humor too. We didn’t wallow in self-pity, we moved on. It was actually a really great experience getting it all down.

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Does that mean there will be a sequel?

I don’t think it’s going to be a sequel. I’d like to write something rooted in the personal but fictionalize it.

How do you spend your time when you’re not working or on a film set?

I play a lot of tennis. I’ve also got a house in upstate New York and that’s where I really relax. I’ve got a bunch of animals — goats, chickens and ostriches. People find that surprising, because I’m thought of as Mr. Urban, but that’s where I bicycle, play tennis, cook and just relax.