Jason McDonald

It's usually the more outrageous personalities that break out from Saturday Night Live, but for almost a decade in Studio 8H Jason Sudeikis has scored by playing it straight. Armed with a sly, knowing smile, he has his heart—and his enviable hair—in the right place, even during his frequent appearances as the Devil on "Weekend Update." A similar under-stated charm made him awesomely watchable in Horrible Bosses and The Campaign, and, arguably, he's used it to even greater effect offscreen. Since his 2010 divorce from actress Kay Cannon, the 37-year-old actor has become something of a tabloid swordsman, linked—rightly or wrongly—to a string of actresses, including Scarlett Johansson (not true), Eva Mendes (possibly true), Jennifer Aniston (definitely not true), and January Jones (affirmative). Earlier this year, Sudeikis proposed to Olivia Wilde, who once likened their sex life to that of "Kenyan marathon runners." Here, the star of this month's We're the Millers talks about losing his virginity, what he learned from Broadway musicals (seriously), and why he's yet to set a date.

ELLE: I heard that Ellen DeGeneres was a college crush. How serious was this?

Jason Sudeikis: It was 100 percent for real.

ELLE: Did the boyish haircut get you?

JS: It was the gorgeous blue eyes. And she's hilarious. That's all it takes for me.

ELLE: Any other crushes we should know about?

JS: Um, yeah. On a monthly basis—whoever was in my father's Playboy. He had a subscription. I joke that I grew up with an early version of the Internet. I remember, in preschool, finding them in the bathroom under the sink in my house. They might have been next to the toilet at that point. Who is going to think a five-year-old would look at that? And then cut out pictures to bring to school….

ELLE: Did you realize early on that women were attracted to funny men?

JS: I don't think I ever consciously got into comedy for any other purpose than it felt good to be around people who laughed. It wasn't like, as a kid, when I learned magic because it brought me out of my shell.

ELLE: Did magic help you with girls?

JS: No. Nothing helped me with girls until—I don't know. I still need help. I think it would be obnoxious to assume I've got it figured out. They're too wily.

ELLE: You're doing very well.

JS: I appreciate that perception, but I would disagree.

ELLE: You once wrote a funny sketch about Broadway for SNL. Is there a musical that taught you something about love?

JS: I would say La Cage aux Folles.

ELLE: How so? That's about two gay men raising a son….

JS: The idea of new love.… With a song like "With Anne on My Arm" or "Look Over There," which I will do in a drunken state in the most private of karaoke rooms, it's the desire to look across the aisle, or to look next to you while walking through the crazy, weird red-carpet situations and see someone right there for me now—and hopefully forever. I'd also probably say The Phantom of the Opera and the notion that looks don't matter. The whole beauty-and-the-beast element. People far less clever than you and I may consider me to be in that situation now.

ELLE: There does seem to be a public perception that, with Olivia Wilde, you're punching above your weight. Does that bother you?

JS: I don't get upset about it. I might have a moment of gangster flare-up. It's more like, You don't know me!

ELLE: She told David Letterman about a trip you two took to Jamaica, with the punch line being that you fell out of a kayak and had to be rescued by fishermen. Do you wish she told stories where you were the hero?

JS: Yes, of course. But she's hilarious and kind and sweet. She's always going to present it in a way with me in her heart. I was really embarrassed by falling out of the kayak, not by her telling the story.

ELLE: Do you have a masculine story you want to tell here?

JS: I mean, what better story than meeting the girl of your dreams, sweeping her off her feet, and then being strong enough to carry her out? That's my story.

ELLE: Speaking of which, you appear to have lost weight. Is that her influence?

JS: A lot of it comes from tiny things, like not eating barbecue sauce with my pizza at two in the morning. I think it's all a manifestation of being happy and wanting to treat myself well. The truth is, I'm not getting up an hour earlier and walking on a treadmill. I have the greatest workout partner in the world. And you don't need a gym membership for that kind of workout.

ELLE: Nice. She memorably said you two have "sex like Kenyan marathon runners." Was that an apt description?

JS: I would say it's accurate.

ELLE: Which was scarier: The first time you appeared on SNL or the first time you slept with a woman?

JS: Probably sex.

ELLE: Why?

JS: [Laughs] I wasn't as concerned that my parents were going to walk in in the middle of my first sketch. There are security guards there. That's a big part of it.

ELLE: Is there anything you would do differently about your first time?

JS: I would have tried missionary. [Laughs] That's my joke answer.

ELLE: What's the truth?

JS: I guess, you know, chosen to do it on a bed instead of on the floor.

ELLE: Last question: Why haven't you set a wedding date yet?

JS: Who's to say we haven't?

ELLE: Okay. Will you be getting married before this interview runs?

JS: I don't anticipate that. Maybe next spring. We have jobs lined up. Our friends work in the business. We have to find a perfect venue. It starts there. The where is first, then the when and the who. The why and what we have on lockdown.

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