Dakota Johnson and ‘Splitsville’ Co-Stars on Playing ‘Unhappy’ Characters, Open Relationships and a Possibly Fake Penis

“Splitsville” may be a rom-com, but Dakota Johnson’s character Julie doesn’t take part in much of the movie’s comedy.

“I liked playing a really sort of unhappy woman,” Johnson told me Tuesday at the film’s premiere at AMC the Grove in Los Angeles.

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“Splitsville” follows two couples, made up of Julie and Paul (Michael Angelo Covino) and Ashley (Adria Arjona) and Carey (Kyle Marvin). Their lives begin to unravel when Ashley and Carey breakup and it’s revealed that Julie and Paul have an open relationship.

“I just love this tone of film,” Johnson said. “I love Mike and Kyle’s comedy, the way they write, the way they work together. I think the subject matter [open relationships] is really interesting and controversial, and I think people are very curious about it.”

The cast also includes Nicholas Braun, David Castañeda, Charlie Gillespie, Simon Webster, Stephen Adekolu, Tyrone Benskin and O-T Fagbenle. Marvin and Covino penned the script, and Johnson served as a producer with her TeaTime Pictures co-founder Ro Donnelly.

“Succession” star Braun makes a cameo in “Splitsville” as a mentalist performing at a children’s birthday party. He said the movie had him thinking about open relationships. “I can’t do an open marriage or open relationship,” Braun said. “I’m too sensitive for that, too jealous. I mean, it’s brutal what happens to them in this movie and they’re cool about it sort of — but also not. But I couldn’t tolerate that. It would be torture. And it feels mean…It’s complicated.”

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The Covino-directed ensemble received a six-minute standing ovation at its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Ahead of its debut in Cannes’ Premiere section, “Splitsville” was acquired by Neon.

In one much buzzed about scene, Paul and Carey get into a hilarious and what seems like never-ending fight which results in destroyed walls, furniture and more in Paul and Julie’s gorgeous modern lakefront home. The first half of the brawl, on the first floor of the house, was done in one take seven times.

“It was an actual house and we destroyed it,” Marvin told me. “Everyone was just patching up and trying to figure it [out]…and then we went right away and just beat each other up.”

Covino added, “We destroyed one house multiple times, so technically two or three houses. It was heavily choreographed and heavily rehearsed. After a long day of scouting and prepping, we would go to a bouldering gym where they had deep mats that we could fall on and just throw each other around.”

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Carey’s penis is also seen a couple of times in the movie, most notably during an incident in the opening sequence. Marvin and Covino playfully declined to say if they used a prosthetic. “No comment,” Marvin said, laughing. “I think people are going to have to go look and see for themselves and make a choice.”

Johnson’s starring role in “Splitsville” follows the recent success of “Materialists,” her Celine Song rom-com with Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans that has earned more $75 million worldwide at the box office. Johnson said, “I think rom-coms are an incredible genre, so I’m glad that we are having some success.”

“Splitsville” is in select theaters Aug. 22 and everywhere Sept. 5.

See more photos from the “Splitsville” premiere below.

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