Interviews: Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, & more 'IF' movie cast

Kid reporter Chase spoke with Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Fiona Shaw, Bobby Moynihan, and more stars at the “IF” movie premiere.

Ryan Reynolds at If movie premiere — _{Photos by On the Scene Adventures}

There’s nothing imaginary about this. Our friends at Paramount Pictures invited us out to the purple carpet at the world premiere of the new movie “IF” in New York City. Chase Landell from On the Scene Adventures served as our kid reporter, checking in with all the stars and asking the tough questions.

John Krasinski, Cailey Fleming at If movie premiere

Directed by John Krasinski and starring Ryan Reynolds and Cailey Fleming, “IF” is about a young girl, Bea, who goes on a magical adventure to reconnect imaginary friends (otherwise known as IFs) with the kids who have forgotten them.

On the Purple Carpet at the “IF” Movie Premiere

Chase: I’m here with Ryan!

Ryan Reynolds, Calvin in “IF”: Chase, it’s your birthday?

Chase: Yeah, it’s my 10th birthday.

Reynolds: I couldn’t tell. You know what you need to get? You need to get a huge button that you put on your jacket that says, “It’s my birthday.” If you could— oh, my god! What is happening?! I had no idea. It’s like I spoke it into existence, I guess.

It's my birthday button — *_{Ryan Reynolds, Calvin in “IF.”}*

Did you have imaginary friends growing up?

Cailey Fleming, Bea in “IF”: I didn’t have one, but [John] did.

John Krasinski, director/writer/producer and Marshmallow in “IF”: I sure did. I had an imaginary friend named Sam Brace because when I was eight years old, I wanted to have braces. I thought braces would be super cool. Turns out, they weren’t as comfortable as I thought they’d be. [Sam Brace and I] walked to a video store to go see movies. On the way there and back, we used to pretend we were in movies. We were in action movies, comedy movies, horror movies. We ran away from werewolves.

Fiona Shaw, Margaret in “IF”: My brother had an IF, and I had a friend, a neighbor, he had an IF, which was a crocodile that used to jump up and bite the moon.

Fiona Shaw at If movie premiere — *Fiona Shaw, Margaret in “IF.”*

Catharine Daddario, Bea’s mom in “IF”: I had a bunch of little dinosaurs. Sometimes they were bigger, so I could play with them in different places, but sometimes they could just fit in my pocket or they’d ride underneath the car, hanging onto the bottom of the car.

Chase: Wow, that’s really amazing, honestly.

Catharine Daddario at If movie premiere — *Catharine Daddario, Bea’s mom in “IF.”*

Audrey Hoffman, Young Bea in “IF”: It’s a tiny monster. We do dance together.

Audrey Hoffman at If movie premiere — *Audrey Hoffman, Young Bea in “IF.”*

What was playing in the movie like?

Matt Damon, Sunny in “IF”: It was really fun. John, who directed the movie, is a really good friend of mine. I watched how hard he worked, and for how long. It was four years for him to get this movie made. How old are you? How old do you turn today?

Chase: 10.

Damon: Ok, so when you were six, he started working on this movie. Can you imagine that? He’s been working on it all those years, and I watched how much love and care and heart and soul and energy he put into it. I’m just proud to have a little part in it and to support him because the movie is beautiful.

Matt Damon at If movie premiere — *Matt Damon, Sunny in “IF.”*

Christopher Meloni, Cosmo in “IF”: It was magical and it was one of the best times I’ve had working.

Christopher Meloni at If movie premiere — *Christopher Meloni, Cosmo in “IF.”*

David Weissman, Young Jeremy in “IF”: It was a great experience. Everyone was nice. I loved it. I love everyone who I got to work with.

David Weissman at If movie premiere — *David Weissman, Young Jeremy in “IF.”*

Do you think adults could have imaginary friends?

Daddario: Yeah, I don’t see why not. I don’t think they need to come in the workplace, but I think, yeah!

Shaw: I think adults need to be put in touch with their imaginations. When you get so bogged down with your mortgage and your taxes, it’s very nice to know that there’s another garden in the back of your head which belongs only to you.

Do you think nowadays kids don’t have imaginary friends because of electronic devices?

Alan Kim, Benjamin in “IF”: I’m not sure! I’ve seen a mix between it. I’d say it’s pretty even, like 50/50.

Alan Kim at If movie premiere — *Alan Kim, Benjamin in “IF.”*

Who was more difficult to work with: The imaginary friends or the big-name actors?

Reynolds: The big-name actors are the worst! Oh, the attitude! The pomp, the circumstance. The attention to makeup.

Chase: I thought you were gonna say Keith [an invisible imaginary friend in the movie].

Reynolds: No, it’s disgusting. Keith is disgusting, as well, by the way. I appreciate his restraint — never showing himself and never speaking — but he tripped me many times and I did not like that.

Krasinski: That’s a really good question. I gotta say, [Cailey Fleming] made it so easy. She’s not only one of the best actresses I’ve worked with, but she’s a magician. When you watch this movie, if you’re a kid, you think, “Wow, I’d really like to be her.” If you’re an adult, you go, “Oh my god, she’s my invite to going back to being a kid.” This person is a super hero. The IFs were harder to work with.

Chase: Which IF? Keith?

Krasinki: Keith. So difficult.

Fleming: Keith’s the worst.

What message from “IF” should kids and adults take away?

Shaw: For me, it’s about the fact that children should be reminded that they have the power of the imagination in their mind to do anything, to see anything, and to redeem the adult world.

Liza Colón-Zayas, Janet in “IF”: Keep your imagination going. Dream big.

Liza Colón Zayas at If movie premiere — *Liza Colón-Zayas, Janet in “If.”*

Bobby Moynihan, Jeremy in “IF”: The message is even if you’re an adult, you can still remember what it was like being a kid.

Bobby Moynihan at If movie premiere — *Bobby Moynihan, Jeremy in “IF.”*

Reynolds: Kids are often in a real hurry to no longer be kids, right? Like, do you sometimes think, “I can’t wait to be a grown-up” or “I can’t wait to be” this or that? Sometimes, grown-ups are like, “I wish I was still a kid.” I think just getting a little piece of each in both sides is something very important. John Krasinski, who is the director— I think you met him, right?

Chase: Yeah.

Reynolds: Yeah, he’s great. He did a beautiful job of showing us the magic in between, of being a grown-up and being a kid, and that’s what this movie does, I think, and it’s really wonderful.

Chase: The movie’s amazing, by the way.

Reynolds: Thank you, bud. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Blue walk-around character at If movie premiere

“IF” starring Ryan Reynolds is now playing in theaters. See video of Chase’s interviews below on the Attractions Magazine YouTube channel. Happy birthday, Chase!