The Madison Public Library welcomed Jesse Eisenberg, an actor, playwright and author, to Madison as an extension of the Wisconsin Book Festival Wednesday.
The Wisconsin Book Festival is an annual event that brings a wide variety of authors to the Madison area. This year, the four-day festival ran from Oct. 22-25 and hosted more than 70 events. The festival boasts of exhibiting something for every type of reader to enjoy, as well as a diverse lineup of authors including prize-winners, debuts, laureates and luminaries.
Eisenberg’s first book, “Bream Gives Me Hiccups,” was released Sept. 8. Eisenberg shared excerpts from this book, a collection of short humor pieces, in his presentation at the library.
“I was always interested in coming to Madison,” Eisenberg said. “When I talked to my publisher about doing a book tour this is the only city that I requested because I’ve been told that this city would appreciate my type of humor.”
Regarding his newly launched writing career, Eisenberg said he is driven by emotions.
“As a writer, my interest is what emotionally drives a person,” he elaborated, “I’d like to think that everything I write should have the ability to be performed, I just feel like it’s more emotionally resonant that way.”
Eisenberg began his life in the spotlight with his television debut on the comedy series “Get Real” in 1999. Since this appearance, Eisenberg appeared in numerous films for which he received critical acclaim, including the Vail Film Festival Rising Star Award and British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award, as well as Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations in the Best Actor category.
In 2009, Eisenberg played Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in the movie “The Social Network.”
Eisenberg also found success in writing, contributing pieces to The New Yorker andMcSweeney's magazines. He wrote and starred in three plays, “Asuncion,” “The Revisionist” and “The Spoils.” His most recent play, “The Spoils,” won the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation Theatre Visions Fund Award.
“When I’m acting, I’m not being judged for just me, but when I write there’s only one thing to criticize and that’s me,” Eisenberg explained.
