Patton Oswalt: Actor discusses 'Young Adult' role

The last time we talked with Patton Oswalt, it was in 2009 for his first starring role, the title character in "Big Fan" (not counting his voice work as "Ratatouille"). That edgy indie about an obsessed sports fan has led to a starring role opposite Charlize Theron in "Young Adult," the latest collaboration between director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody ("Juno").

Theron is a writer of young adult books who goes back to her hometown to steal away family man Patrick Wilson, her former high school boyfriend. Oswalt is a former high school classmate who was the victim of a hate crime in high school and was crippled by the incident.

Oswalt, who lived in San Francisco in the early 1990s when he was a struggling stand-up comic (he now lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife and young daughter), talked to The Chronicle in a hotel suite at the Ritz-Carlton.

Q: "Young Adult" is hard to classify. A dark romantic comedy?

A: It has the framework of your standard rom-com, but the materials put over the framework are so dark and real and actually what a rom-com would look like in real life, which is a little psychotic and sad.

It's a dark and a fascinating ride. It'll be interesting to see how people react to its gravity. It's got a sort of white-dwarf pull to it.

Q: Had you known Reitman or Cody before this?

A: I knew Diablo because I was in "United States of Tara." I actually saw "Rambo" with her when it came out, which was really fun, a bunch of us went. We really got along. Jason - we met at some awards ceremony and started gabbing about movies and French bulldogs. Then he started having me over for his movie night - he has these great screenings at his house every Sunday.

Q: Anything that was particularly new or challenging for you as an actor in "Young Adult"?

A: Um, appear half naked next to a half naked Charlize Theron was a bit of a challenge. (Scratches his chin, appearing to be lost in thought.) Hmmmm, wait a minute ... no, I don't think I've done that before. I'm pretty sure. (Laughs.)

Q: You've got this Bill Murray thing going - a comedian who is in a good mix of offbeat films.

A: I've been very very fortunate. This hasn't been strategic. If anything has been strategic in my career it's that I read a lot of scripts, I've written for a long time, so I know what a good script looks like.

Bill Murray is a good example. I would not put myself anywhere near his talent level, but as far as choosing stuff, I love his model. Does this intrigue me? I don't think your career should look like a swoop upward. It should have peaks and valleys and silences and activity. I hope that that is what happens to me.

Starts Fri. at Bay Area theaters.

E-mail G. Allen Johnson at ajohnson@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page G - 22 of the San Francisco Chronicle