Michael Peña on ‘Tom and Jerry’ and What ‘Observe and Report’ Taught Him About Improvising

With director Tim Story’s adaptation of the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon Tom and Jerry now playing in select theaters and available on HBO Max, I recently got to speak with Michael Peña about making the live-action/animated hybrid movie. During the interview, Peña talked about why Tim Story had puppeteers on set, how much fun he had being in a movie with Tom and Jerry, what he learned about improvising while making Observe and Report and what his character is up to now, how he comes up with alt versions of dialogue before stepping on set, and a lot more. If you haven’t seen the trailers, Tom and Jerry are now in New York City and their long-time rivalry is reignited when Jerry secretly movies into one of New York City’s most luxurious hotels on the eve of a huge wedding between a very famous couple (Colin Jost and Pallavi Sharda). In an attempt to get rid of the hotel’s mouse problem, the manager (Rob Delaney) asks his event manager (Peña) and his newest employee (Chloë Grace Moret