Everyone likes a happy ending, right? Apparently, no. At least, not comedian Mike Birbiglia. The writer, director, and star of Sleepwalk With Me has already shown that he can handle drama just as well as comedy, but with his role as Patrick in The Fault In Our Stars , that was even further solidified. Though not truly a main character, Patrick is very important to TFIOS, as the leader of cancer patients' support group where Hazel (Shailene Woodley) and Gus (Ansel Elgort) first meet. Bustle caught up with Birbiglia at the New York premiere of Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd's comedy They Came Together, and after learning what he thinks about romantic comedies, we can see why he would want to be a part of TFIOS.
When asked what his least favorite rom-com trope is, Birbiglia gives an unexpected answer. "I just think happy endings. I don’t like happy endings," he says. "Sleepwalk With Me has a breakup at the end, Annie Hall has a breakup at the end, I like breakups. I feel like it’s easier to go the other way."
Of course that lead us to bring up TFIOS, since it's one romantic story that has a decidedly unhappy ending. When we say that he must've really loved TFIOS, Birbiglia jokingly responds, "Loved it, loved it! The ultimate breakup." So don't let his recent affinity for more dramatic roles fool you, Birbigilia is definitely still a comedian.
Birbiglia's upcoming projects seem to be a combination of the two. He'll appear in the comedy Brother's Keeper alongside Nick Kroll, Rose Byrne, and Bobby Cannavale this year, as well as Digging for Fire, of which little details are known, except for additions to the cast that include Anna Kendrick, Brie Larson, Orlando Bloom, Jenny Slate, Sam Rockwell, and many more. Birbiglia also has a role in Trainwreck, the highly anticipated comedy directed by Judd Apatow and starring Amy Schumer, due out in July 2015.
Of course, you can currently see Birbiglia in TFIOS, the perfect movie for anyone who hates happy endings.
