Harry Connick Jr. Says His ‘Find Me Falling’ Skinny-Dipping Scene Was a Blast: “All I Had to Do Was Float Around For Six Hours!”

No, Harry Connick Jr. wasn’t really naked in the Mediterranean Sea in the scene where his character skinny-dips in Find Me Falling , the new Netflix romantic comedy that began streaming today.

“I had some kind of like, flesh-colored boxers on,” Connick said with a laugh, in a Zoom interview with Decider. “That’s the kind of day that you’re floating around the water saying, ‘What do I do for a living? This is the coolest thing ever!'”

In fact, what the Grammy-winning musician and Emmy-winning actor does for a living is quite similar to his character in this new Netflix movie, which was written and directed by Stelana Kliris. Find Me Falling s tars Connick as a cranky, aging rock star named John Allman who, after a failed attempt at a comeback, absconds to the island nation of Cyprus. At first, we think he’s just there to get away from life as a famous rock star. But it’s soon revealed that John once had a passionate love affair with a Cypriot woman named Sia (played by Agni Scott). All these years later, the spark between these ex-lovers is still very much alive… as long as John’s willing to grow up.

Connick—who shot to success as a singer, songwriter, and pianist following his Grammy-winning soundtrack album for 1989’s When Harry Met Sally , and went on to pursue a successful acting career—told Decider that while he found it easy to relate to his character’s musician backstory, his emotional journey was a tougher nut to crack.

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“I feel very happy in my life. I’m happily married. Jill [Goodacre, Connick’s wife of 30 years] and I have three daughters that we love very much,” Connick, who is 56, explained.”This guy had a little bit of a more challenging road. He made some bad decisions with substance abuse and promiscuity.”

The actor and musician spoke to Decider about writing Find Me Falling ‘s eponymous song, swimming not-quite-naked in the sea, and the possibility of reuniting with Sandra Bullock for a Hope Floats sequel.

DECIDER: Tell me about filming in this beautiful location, Cyprus. Was that your first time there?

HARRY CONNICK JR.: I had never been there before. I actually didn’t really know exactly where it was. When I read the script, I had to look on a map and see precisely where it was. But I read about it and watched some documentaries on it. I wanted to learn. And then, getting there, it was just much more than I expected. The history is palpable. The food, the people, the two cultures sort of coexisting on the island—it’s a complex place, and it was incredible. I feel so lucky to have a job that allows me to visit places like that. It was amazing.

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I read that you originally wrote a more somber song before you wrote “Find Me Falling.” Can you say more about that first song, and how it evolved into the song we hear in the film ?

Here’s the funny part about that. Somebody mentioned to me yesterday that “Find Me Falling” was the second version of the song. The first version was sadder. I’m like, “What?” I write a lot of stuff, and it’s been like two years! I forgot that I wrote a [different] song first. I think I wrote it, I sent it to Stelana [Kliris, the director] and she said, “This works!” And I was like, “Okay, good.” Then I started thinking about it like, “Wait, wait, wait, wait. I think I could write something better.” Then I wrote “Find Me Falling,” and she says, “Oh, I like this one better.”

This is nuts, but I can’t remember [the first song]. You ever go to a party, and there are a ton of people there, and somebody comes up to you a week later, and they say, “Hi, remember me?” And you’re like, “I don’t!” I don’t remember that song. I couldn’t tell you the title of it, because I write all the time. When I get home, I’m going to try to dig that song up, because I’m really curious to hear what it sounds like.

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You and your character, John Allman, both famous musicians, songwriters, with long careers. How much did you relate to John’s emotional journey, especially his relationship to fame, success, and music?

That part of it was pretty easy to relate to, only because I was fortunate enough to achieve some success at an early age. The fact that he’s a performer, he’s a musician, he’s a songwriter—those things were comfortable. But where it got interesting was, you know, I feel very happy in my life. I’m happily married. Jill and I have three daughters that we love very much. This guy had a little bit of a more challenging road. He made some bad decisions with substance abuse and promiscuity, and just things that didn’t work out well for him. That was the interesting part of taking the role. He’s this complex guy who lost something along the way, and he’s desperately trying to find it. But he doesn’t really know what he’s looking for and if he did, how to find it. And circumstantially, he was able to start to heal. I thought that was really well written by Stelana.

It’s a very emotional movie, but it’s also a very funny— including a scene where your character goes skinny-dipping, and then a family comes onto the beach. Tell me about filming that scene in the water—were you really skinny-dipping?

That was really fun. I got to hang out in this ridiculously beautiful part of the ocean. I wasn’t skinny-dipping. I think I had some kind of like, flesh-colored boxers, on, or something. But that’s the kind of day that you’re floating around the water saying, “What do I do for a living? This is the coolest thing ever!” It was really fun, and everybody was just thrilled to be there, and it was a funny scene. It was very difficult for the crew, but all I had to do was float around for six hours! I was happy to do that.

You recently said in an interview that you still keep in touch with your Hope Floats co-star Sandra Bullock . Is there any chance of a Hope Floats sequel? Have you guys talked about that?

I have never talked about it with Sandy. I love her very much. She’s a really dear friend and we’ve known her for a long time now. She’s an extraordinary woman and, I haven’t really thought about it, but if she ever said, “Hey, would you like to do something like that?” I’ll go wherever she calls, because she’s that great. You ever wonder what people are like in person? I met Glen Powell today, right? Never met the guy before—sweetest guy you’ve ever met. Just the nicest guy. Which is such a nice feeling, because I’m a fan. Sandra Bullock is that. She’s exactly what you would hope. She’s kind and generous, and she’s an incredible mother and just a wonderful human being. So if I ever had a chance to work with her, on a sequel to Hope Floats or otherwise, I would jump at it.

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