David Krumholtz reflects on flubbing 2 meetings with Steven Spielberg: 'Just an absolute disaster'

"He looked at me like, ‘This is an insane person.'"

David Krumholtz has worked with some of the 21st century’s most acclaimed filmmakers, including the Coen brothers, Christopher Nolan, and Ang Lee. Now, he’s reflecting on his unfortunate memories of missing the opportunity to impress one of Hollywood’s all-time great directors.

While chatting with EW about his upcoming indie dramedy Lousy Carter, the 10 Things I Hate About You star recalled not one but two awkward encounters with Steven Spielberg. The first interaction came while auditioning for Band of Brothers, the miniseries created by the Saving Private Ryan director.

“For the audition, we had to prepare three characters,” Krumholtz tells EW. “Two of them I nailed. I knew I could do them, and I was good. But one of them, I just couldn't do it. It was a character that did impressions. I just couldn't do it. And I was praying that they weren't going to call me in for that character. And I knew Spielberg would be there and that Tom Hanks would be there. So I show up and there's 50 actors, everyone from Ricky Schroeder to D.B. Sweeney, Henry Thomas, my dear friend Kevin Corrigan, Donnie Wahlberg, and a bunch of others.”

The Oppenheimer actor went with four other young actors for his first group audition. “This character was one of the characters I could do, and I was relieved,” he remembers. “And we walked in and Spielberg's at the back of the room, and he's not saying hello to anybody, but there he is. I had never met Steven Spielberg. I know, I would know. I'm not an idiot. Halfway through the scene, Spielberg walks over, unscrews the camera from the tripod, and he comes and he just puts the camera right in my face and then moves along each actor, getting a panning closeup of each actor.”

“Now I'm praying that they do not call me in for the other character that I can't do,” Krumholtz continues. “And of course they do. So I'm told that I'm coming in next with four other guys, and that's the character. And I'm like, ‘Oh my God, I'm nervous. They think I'm nervous. This is a nightmare.’”

That’s when disaster struck. “I walk in, and this time Spielberg is at the door introducing himself to each actor as we walk in. And he says to me, ‘Good to see you.’ And I say, ‘Nice to meet you,’” Krumholtz remembers. “And he goes, ‘Well, we've met before.’ And I go, ‘We've never met before.’ And he goes, ‘Yeah, we've met before.’ And I said, ‘Nope. I would know. I would know if I've met Steven Spielberg.’ And he just looks at me and he goes, ‘We've met before.’ And then walks away. Note to self: When the guy who basically runs Hollywood tells you he's met you before, you should probably just go, ‘Oh, yeah, yeah,’ and roll with it.”

The awkward encounter sent Krumholtz into a spiral. “I'm a mess. And we do the scene and I completely blow it. I mean, I destroy it,” he says. “Not only do I destroy it for myself, I destroy it for the four other actors in the room. It's just an absolute disaster. And I leave feeling like an idiot.”

Krumholtz ultimately wasn’t cast in Band of Brothers, but he had a chance to redeem himself in 2006. “I get invited to a Golden Globes after party, and I'm chilling at the party as I do — chill at parties. That's me,” he recalls. “And there he is, Steven Spielberg, who’s nominated for Munich. And I kind of glance over to him and he and I meet eyes and he waves to me. And I'm like, ‘Oh, s---. So I wave back, and he walks over to me and we have an absolutely eloquent, meaningful conversation about Munich and about how much I love that film.”

It was all going well until the duo parted ways. “I'm thinking, ‘I'm in good shape here,’ and then it gets to sort of an awkward point in the conversation,” Krumholtz remembers. “And he goes, ‘Hey, okay, I'm going to go talk to some other people.’ And instead of saying ‘Nice to see you,’ I said, ‘Nice to meet you.’ And I stopped. I said, ‘Okay, well nice to meet y—’. And I knew it in the moment, and he looked at me like I was insane. Not that I was stupid. He looked at me like, ‘This is an insane person. We're doing this again. This is the thing he does with me. Krumholtz just pretends never to have met me. That's his thing.’”

Krumholtz hopes that seeing some of his recent work might change the filmmaker’s mind about him. “I've yet to meet up with Steven Spielberg again. He did come see me at the premiere of Leopoldstadt, the Broadway show I just did,” he explains. “And I know he had a screening of Oppenheimer. So he knows I exist. I hope someone, hopefully Chris Nolan or someone of merit has told him, ‘Oh, Krumholtz, he's not crazy. He's just a nervous, stupid person. He's not a crazy person.’ But maybe I am crazy. I don't know.”

Krumholtz’s new indie dramedy Lousy Carter hits theaters and on-demand platforms March 29. Watch the first trailer here.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Related content:

• David Krumholtz saved The Santa Clause 2 set from a fire

• David Krumholtz campaigned to play The Thing in The Fantastic Four — and now aims to play a different Marvel character

• Santa Clause star David Krumholtz sorry for ruining Hilary Duff's Disney parade while 'high as hell'

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.