Since his quirky turn in 1998's Rushmore, we haven't seen much of Jason Schwartzman. Where's he gone? "I've been to Hawaii and all over the world, and finished high school," the 22-year-old actor tells TV Guide Online. "It's funny that people think because you don't have a movie or record out, you disappear into a frozen chamber someplace. They think you're dead when you're not in the public eye."

Well, at least Schwartzman — last seen in Al Pacino's forgettable Simone — completed his education. "When we shot Rushmore, I was 17, and when it came out, I was 18," he recalls. "I was trying to finish high school when we were making the f---ing movie, but it was hard! I'd do a scene with Bill Murray, and then they'd pull me from him and send me off to school. I hated that."

Now all grown up, he currently co-stars with John Leguizamo, Brittany Murphy and Mickey Rourke in Spun, a frenetic film about speed addicts, helmed by music video director Jonas Akerlund. "I wish people could take a Xanax before they came in," he jokes. "You know, like, 'You and a Xanax are cordially invited to see Spun.' It's jarring and uncomfortable to watch, physically and emotionally. Jonas uses techniques to kind of make the audience feel like s---, which is like how the people in the film feel."

Oy vey. Truer words never were spoken. It sure ain't cheery when Ross — the strung-out twentysomething played by Schwartzman — leaves a naked stripper tied to his bed for four days, with her eyes and mouth duct taped shut. "It was hard to shoot," he says. "I felt responsible for Chloe Hunter, the actress, to make her feel comfortable. I felt embarrassed for her. She's really naked and I'm naked...