Classic mom line when kids complain they're bored: "Sorry, I sent my clown suit to the cleaners."
In Jesse Eisenberg's case, his parent wasn't pulling any punchlines. The young Oscar nominee ("Social Network") is the son of a retired clown. Amy Eisenberg was a regular on the birthday-party circuit in Queens, N.Y., in the 1980s and 1990s. For the curly-haired actor, as intense as his characters -- Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, a bitter teen in "The Squid and the Whale," a gun-toting geek in "Zombieland" -- his mother's sensitivity made an indelible impression.
Mom shunned loud jokes, "big noses and big shoes" because she and husband Barry felt they would scare tots, their son recalled. Her character, "Bonabini," wore bright red overalls, a beanie "with a twirly thing," and warbled comic songs. "She was really good. She has a really good command of how to entertain kids. She had a sweet quality when she was performing and it made the kids like her," said Eisenberg, 27, during a stop in Chicago to plug his new film "30 Minutes or Less.""I don't try to affect a quality like that," he confessed. "But it was nice to see someone enjoying their performing, and by extension, the audience enjoying it."
When Eisenberg, who had trouble fitting in at school, decided to try acting at age 10, he swiftly found his niche. His parents had his back, "because that's how my mother made her living, in the arts, in a silly version of the arts -- birthday party clowning," he said.
Many kids can play cute, but the pensive Eisenberg's dry, cerebral delivery -- a trait inherited from his sociology professor pop -- led to his Broadway debut at age 13 in a revival of "Summer and Smoke" (1996)." A starring role in the short-lived Fox drama "Get Real" (featuring newcomer Anne Hathaway) followed three years later.
His breakout role came in 2009 when he played a shy dweeb forced to battle the undead in the sleeper comedy "Zombieland." Recent projects include the animated film "Rio," starring Eisenberg as the title blue macaw who falls for a pretty parrot (voiced by old pal Hathaway).
No surprise, the fun-loving Amy Eisenberg prefers her son's comedies to high dramas. He's hopeful Mom give a thumbs up to "30 Minutes or Less," a buddy-action comedy that reteams him with "Zombieland" director Ruben Fleischer.
Eisenberg stars as a pizza delivery guy forced to rob a bank by two lowlifes. Problem is, the goons wire him to a bomb, and his best ex-friend (Aziz Ansari of "Parks and Recreation") balks at serving as accomplice.
The pair's fistfight borders on "Three Stooges" slapstick, with an emphasis on slapping. But the underlying threat -- that time and the bomb are ticking away -- appealed to Eisenberg. The born introvert likes "to be involved in projects -- if you can find them -- with substance beyond the entertainment,'" he said. Fleischer shot the Columbia Pictures comedy in Grand Rapids, Mich. The R-rated comedy opens Aug. 12 nationwide. Like many of his films, this one isn't for kiddies, said Eisenberg, dividing his time these days between films and tweaking his first play "Asuncion" for off-Broadway. Though Mom's G-rated act set him on the path to stardom, "my audience isn't preschool," he deadpanned.