“I remember looking at it, and I go, ‘Oh, wait a second, that’s really hard,’” Eisenberg gushed of Moore’s method.

Jesse Eisenberg says watching Julianne Moore prepare for a scene changed his ‘negative opinion’ about acting

“I remember looking at it, and I go, ‘Oh, wait a second, that’s really hard,’” Eisenberg gushed of Moore’s method.

By Leigh Blickley

September 27, 2026 8:00 a.m. ET

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Jesse Eisenberg. Credit:

Jeff Spicer/WireImage

- Jesse Eisenberg says he used to have a “negative opinion” of actors.

- When he watched Julianne Moore prep for a scene, however, he changed his tune.

- Moore stars in Eisenberg’s new movie, *The Debut*, out Dec. 11.

Jesse Eisenberg used to have a very “negative opinion” of actors before witnessing the talents of Julianne Moore in the flesh.

The actor turned writer-director shared how Moore changed his former view on actors during a press conference at the San Sebastian Film Festival on Wednesday, Sept. 23. He is currently promoting his new movie, *The Debut*, starring Moore as a shy woman who is unexpectedly cast in a local production of an original musical but loses herself in the role under the spell of her strong-willed and enigmatic director, played by Paul Giamatti.

Eisenberg, who earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay for his 2024 comedy-drama *A Real Pain*, said his upcoming film is partially autobiographical as it pulls from his own experience joining community theater as a kid in 1990 in central New Jersey.

“I was so shy. I was depressed, and I didn’t have friends. And then I walked into this community theater when I was 7 years old, and suddenly everybody was so nice, and they hugged me,” Eisenberg shared with press at the fest, according to *The Hollywood Reporter*.

Even though he loved performing, Eisenberg was always skeptical of actors themselves, especially as a part of the Hollywood community.

“I used to have this negative opinion about acting because I was an actor and I just thought, ‘This is just such a ridiculous job. They pay us too much. We’re vain,’” Eisenberg said. “We want to look pretty in the morning, we want to stay in the nicest places, and we want to not ever lift anything on movie sets, and then we want all the credit for the movie! I was always like, ‘This is a weird job, and it’s not fair.’ And then on my first movie, I saw Julianne Moore rehearsing for a scene.”

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In his directorial feature, 2022’s *When You Finish Saving the World*, Moore and* Stranger Things* star Finn Wolfhard portrayed a mother and son who navigate their contentious relationship while trying to connect with other people.

As he watched Moore in the monitor as she prepared for a scene, Eisenberg’s mind was blown.

“She was going through a real, deep emotional process to get ready for the scene. I remember looking at it, and I go, ‘Oh, wait a second, that’s really hard.’ Like we’re all out here joking, and I’m having a donut, and she’s in there suffering. I realized, ‘Oh, maybe acting is actually a really valuable thing. Maybe difficult. Maybe it’s challenging. Maybe it takes a lot,” he recalled. “And suddenly, in [one] moment, my entire opinion on acting changed because I saw somebody else doing it, and it wasn’t just about me.”

Jesse Eisenberg and Julianne Moore on Sept. 13.

Sonia Recchia/Getty

Eisenberg is more selective about his own on-screen roles now that he’s been focused on the auteur side of it all.

When asked about why he turned down the chance to reprise his *The Social Network* character, Mark Zuckerberg, in Aaron Sorkin’s follow-up, *The Social Reckoning*, Eisenberg said it “didn’t feel like it’s something I wanted to do again.” (Jeremy Strong took on Zuckerberg in the film, out on Oct. 9.)

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“I’ve talked about it a lot, and Aaron Sorkin’s talked about it a lot. I loved his script, and he’s a genius,” Eisenberg insisted. “And the movie, I’m sure, is incredible. But for me, it just didn’t feel like something I wanted to act in again. But that has nothing to do with how great the movie is. The movie will be a great movie, and Jeremy Strong will be amazing in the movie. I’m sure.”

*The Debut* hits theaters on Dec. 11.

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Source: “EW Actors”