SALT LAKE CITY — It’s not surprising that a brother and sister actor duo talked about family.
Both John and Joan Cusack spoke at the Salt Lake Comic Con 2017 on the various roles they’ve performed and the movies they filmed, and oftentimes the topic came back to family.
One fan asked both Cusacks what their favorite roles ever were.
Joan said "being a mom" was her favorite role.
“I do feel like playing a mom is hard work," she sadd. "And I feel like you’re making it up as you go along,” she said. “It’s a character you have to put on and do right.”
Right now, Joan has sacrificed some roles in order to help raise her son, who is in high school. She said she's trying to be a "good mom" right now.
“She’s a good mom, too,” John joked.
“And he’s a good uncle,” Joan replied.
The two Hollywood stars spent a lot of time joking back and forth like brother and sister.
For example, when asked about what characters they're most like in real life, Joan said that she's very much like Jesse from “Toy Story,” igniting a huge applause from the crowd.
“Occasionally too loud,” John quipped.
Cusack said that a Twitter troll told him that studios should cast him in less movies and Joan in more, but he laughed at the insult.
“They should cast her all the time,” John said. He then turned to the crowd, “Don’t you think they should cast her in more TV shows and movies?”
The crowd roared.
He added, “You tell me to cast my sister more and you think that’s going to make me mad?”
John said Joan is always good in every role she takes on. He said he most appreciate her appearances in “Men Don’t Leave,” “Toys” and “In & Out.”
He also said he’s enjoyed every role when he’s worked with her. They've worked together in "Class" (1983), "Sixteen Candles" (1984), "Grandview, U.S.A." (1984), "Broadcast News" (1987), "Say Anything... (1989)," "Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)," "Cradle Will Rock" (1999), "High Fidelity" (2000), "Martian Child," (2007) and "War, Inc." (2008).
Will they ever work together again?
“We’re always trying to find a way to jerry-rig something so we can finagle it into something,” Joan said.
Joan said she and John tried to figure out a way for her brother to appear on “Shameless,” a Showtime comedy series she was on until 2015, but they never found a way to make it work.
Maybe one day we'll see them together again.
In a totally brother-sister moment, Joan made faces behind John’s back as he answered a question about his favorite superpower. John ranted on about what some sort of wizardy ability he’d like, and Joan watched on, puzzled, smiling and admiring her brother.