Jesse Eisenberg Says Emma Stone 'Assaulted Me with Insults' in HerZombielandAudition — but It Got Her the Part

Mar. 15, 2025

Jesse Eisenberg and Emma Stone in 2009’s ‘Zombieland’.Photo:Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures

Emma Stonehas always been a comedic tour de force — at least according toJesse Eisenberg.Eisenberg, 41, reminisced about the first time he ever met thePoor Thingsactress during a Nov. 1 interview on SiriusXM’sThe Spotlight with Jessica Shaw,explaining that it was at Stone’s audition for 2009’sZombieland.“I was already cast in the movie, so I was auditioning like many people for her part that day,” theSocial Networkactor recalled. “The actors at that point were all amazing actresses, but they were all, like, trying to get into the movie, and so they were being really polite and everything,” he continued.Stone, 35, however, took a different approach to her audition.“And then [Stone] came in, and she just started making fun of me in the scene, like just assaulting me with insults in the scene and it was so funny. They were so quick and so funny and cutting. And she left the room and I just felt so, so small."“We were like, ‘Oh my God. That person is a genius,’ " he continued, “And maybe she was 19 even at that time of the audition. I mean, she’s a truly spectacularly, unusually brilliant person.”Zombieland, which follows a ragtag group of survivors after a zombie apocalypse, also starredWoody HarrelsonandAbigail Breslin. The movie premiered to rave reviews and helped further establish Stone as a Hollywood heavyweight.The film also marked the first of several creative collaborations between theLa La Landstar andNow You See Meactor. Stone and her husband, comedy writer Dave McCary, 39, produced Eisenberg’s 2022 directorial debutWhen You Finish Saving the World, which starredJulianne MooreandFinn Wolfhard.“He’s the most curious person I’ve ever met,” Stone said of Eisenberg during a 2022 press interview for the film,according to IndieWire. “He studies everyone and asks so many questions. He has a deep empathy to him. I knew that from acting with him, so it just felt like a no-brainer that we’d attempt to work on something with him.”Jesse Eisenberg and Emma Stone at the screening of “When You Finish Saving The World” on Jan. 12, 2023 in N.Y.C.Cindy Ord/GettyStone also co-produced Eisenberg’s latest project, 2024’sA Real Pain, which he starred in, wrote and directed. The film, released in select theaters on Nov. 1,  follows neurotic David (Eisenberg) as he travels through Poland with his free-spirited cousin, Benji (Kieran Culkin).Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Eisenberg once again sang Stone’s praises when discussing their latest collab.“She’s an incredible producer,” he told PEOPLE in an exclusive interview on Oct. 17. “It’s hard to describe because what a producer does is a little bit amorphous, but I’ll just give some examples: She read the script and gave me the best note I got on my script of a thing that I could rewrite. She’s on marketing calls with the movie studio about how to present this movie to the world. We all just kind of sit back and let her, you know, take charge.““She’s super bright, she’s passionate as hell and she’s a great friend,” he added. “I feel a bit like she’s my fairy godmother. You know, that she’s given me so many wonderful opportunities in my life.”

Emma Stonehas always been a comedic tour de force — at least according toJesse Eisenberg.

Eisenberg, 41, reminisced about the first time he ever met thePoor Thingsactress during a Nov. 1 interview on SiriusXM’sThe Spotlight with Jessica Shaw,explaining that it was at Stone’s audition for 2009’sZombieland.

“I was already cast in the movie, so I was auditioning like many people for her part that day,” theSocial Networkactor recalled. “The actors at that point were all amazing actresses, but they were all, like, trying to get into the movie, and so they were being really polite and everything,” he continued.

Stone, 35, however, took a different approach to her audition.

“And then [Stone] came in, and she just started making fun of me in the scene, like just assaulting me with insults in the scene and it was so funny. They were so quick and so funny and cutting. And she left the room and I just felt so, so small.”

“We were like, ‘Oh my God. That person is a genius,’ " he continued, “And maybe she was 19 even at that time of the audition. I mean, she’s a truly spectacularly, unusually brilliant person.”

Zombieland, which follows a ragtag group of survivors after a zombie apocalypse, also starredWoody HarrelsonandAbigail Breslin. The movie premiered to rave reviews and helped further establish Stone as a Hollywood heavyweight.

The film also marked the first of several creative collaborations between theLa La Landstar andNow You See Meactor. Stone and her husband, comedy writer Dave McCary, 39, produced Eisenberg’s 2022 directorial debutWhen You Finish Saving the World, which starredJulianne MooreandFinn Wolfhard.

“He’s the most curious person I’ve ever met,” Stone said of Eisenberg during a 2022 press interview for the film,according to IndieWire. “He studies everyone and asks so many questions. He has a deep empathy to him. I knew that from acting with him, so it just felt like a no-brainer that we’d attempt to work on something with him.”

Jesse Eisenberg and Emma Stone at the screening of “When You Finish Saving The World” on Jan. 12, 2023 in N.Y.C.Cindy Ord/Getty

Cindy Ord/Getty

Stone also co-produced Eisenberg’s latest project, 2024’sA Real Pain, which he starred in, wrote and directed. The film, released in select theaters on Nov. 1,  follows neurotic David (Eisenberg) as he travels through Poland with his free-spirited cousin, Benji (Kieran Culkin).

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Eisenberg once again sang Stone’s praises when discussing their latest collab.

“She’s an incredible producer,” he told PEOPLE in an exclusive interview on Oct. 17. “It’s hard to describe because what a producer does is a little bit amorphous, but I’ll just give some examples: She read the script and gave me the best note I got on my script of a thing that I could rewrite. She’s on marketing calls with the movie studio about how to present this movie to the world. We all just kind of sit back and let her, you know, take charge.”

“She’s super bright, she’s passionate as hell and she’s a great friend,” he added. “I feel a bit like she’s my fairy godmother. You know, that she’s given me so many wonderful opportunities in my life.”

source: people.com