The King of Staten Island is the latest VOD film from Universal, who is currently reigning over the kingdom of on demand movies. It follows the story of Scott (Pete Davidson in a semi-autobiographical role), a young man who has yet to move past his firefighter father’s death.
Marisa Tomei plays his mother Margie, and she shared her thoughts on the character’s dynamic with her son in a recent interview with Screen Rant. She also expressed her hopes for May’s arc in the eventually upcoming Spider-Man 3.Can you talk to me a little bit about the collaboration process with Pete and Judd, just creating the character of Margie?
Marisa Tomei: Yeah, generally, they had written the script so it was already there on the page. They already got into her head. They already, obviously, know her very well.
But, for me, I didn't really want to do like a method thing. Really, I respect her and I actually adore her. She's one of the most patient, kind, has a great laugh. She's just a great person, but I didn't really want to get into her [head or] try to be her.
It's established that she has a type. We'll say she has a type. Do you think she truly loves Ray, or is she just tired of being alone?
Marisa Tomei: Timing is everything, right? So, I think probably a lot of it had to do with timing.
Margie is a nearly flawless individual, except for the one big secret she keeps. She hid her husband's flawed characteristics from her kids to give them an ideal sense of who he was. Do you think that was a detriment to Scott's development ultimately?
Marisa Tomei: Oh, that's pretty deep. Well, are we talking about Scott, or are we talking about Pete? Because either way, he came out okay, actually. I think her faith in him defied logic, and it was really obviously purely from the heart. But there was also something in it; there was good medicine in that, actually. Counterintuitive to most parenting classes or theories.
Another interesting scene that Margie has is when she's drinking at home with their friends, and she's a little bit more assertive and a little less sensitive towards Scott. Is that her true feeling towards him, or was she showing off for her friend? Was that simply just tough love kicking in?
Marisa Tomei: Yeah, I think it was mostly tough love, and I think it was a little bit of an unconscious FU.
This is a fantastic role, and another fantastic role is May from Spider Man. I love that movie. I just got my girlfriend into Spider Man as well; she loves you in the role. I know that Spider-Man 3 is kind of in the works. Do you know much about anything May might be doing, or what you want May to be doing in that film?
Marisa Tomei: Well, I've had her - Jon Watts and I always talked about her being a community organizer. And hopefully that track will expand and be part of this one, as well.
