Movie Sneaks: Not the ‘MANG’ you think he is: ‘Love the Coopers’ ’ Jake Lacy is more than Lena Dunham’s safety net

If you’ve ever seen Jake Lacy on screen, you’re probably under the impression that he’s the best boyfriend ever.

In last year’s film “Obvious Child,” he played a guy so thoughtful that he warmed a pat of butter between his palms to make it easily spreadable for his date. On HBO’s “Girls,” his polite history teacher serves as a beacon of stability — the kind of dude Lena Dunham’s Hannah could have if she gave up narcissist bad boys. And next month, the 30-year-old will further this too-good-to-be-real image in “Love the Coopers” as a soldier so likable and upstanding that a young lady (Olivia Wilde) asks him to pretend to be her perfect boyfriend at Christmas dinner.

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“I guess I just have the look of someone you went to high school with,” said Lacy, who, yes, has been in a committed relationship for the past six years. “I’m not, like, a seductively dangerous type who’s that smoldering pile of sex in the corner. I’m the guy who just made a fart joke.”

Sure, the nice-guy shtick has served Lacy well. But now he’s worried about being typecast. Last year, Esquire deemed him a “MANG” — a “Moderately Attractive Nice Guy,” the kind of character who is “sweet, loving and one-dimensional.” And that didn’t sit well with the actor.

“I love that there has been a rise in stories where funny, strong, independent women are leads — but a lot of times the guy character exists just to complete her character,” he said, calling from his apartment in Brooklyn. “That’s the role women have played for the last century in films — being the pretty girl at work who wishes the guy would make a move but never does. For both genders, those roles can get uninteresting not only to do but to witness as well.”

He’s eager for filmgoers to see him in a new light, beginning with his small role in the period drama “Carol” this fall, in which he plays the not-always-supportive boyfriend of a young woman questioning her sexuality. He also just wrapped a World War II romantic comedy directed by Lone Scherfig, which is why his hair is bleach blond right now. He’ll also be on the sixth season of “Girls,” which starts in January — though he doesn’t sound all that optimistic about his character’s shot with Hannah. “He’s a good guy, but so what? He’s up against a really crazy, messed-up, electric ex [in Adam] — and maybe that’s better than this ho-hum teacher at a private school.”

But first comes “Love the Coopers,” one of those feel-good, star-heavy Christmas ensembles in the vein of “Love Actually,” “The Family Stone” and “The Holiday” — which Lacy admits isn’t exactly his favorite genre. “Coopers,” which also features Ed Helms, John Goodman, Diane Keaton and Amanda Seyfried, opens Nov. 13.

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“I get a little ornery about sentimentality,” he said. “I like when there isn’t a super gooey center that makes your teeth hurt. Not that my perspective should be trusted entirely. I’ve watched ‘Love Actually’ through for two hours on TBS even while I’m muttering, ‘This is so dumb.’”

So no, he’s not a total Scrooge. When the Christmas lights start to go up in New York and he heads home to snowy Vermont for the holidays, he starts to get sucked into the holiday spirit. It’s not “like, don’t go into my basement cause there are bodies there,” he joked. He’s just not as wholesome as casting directors think — something his off-screen girlfriend is quick to remind him of.

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“She’s like, ‘How can you be so generous to these fake characters and yet come home and eat chili and burp and watch football?’” he said with a laugh. “‘How can we get you to this place you pretend to be?’”

Twitter: @AmyKinLA

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