Justin Long: The Multi-Faceted "Mac Guy"

With roles in "Galaxy Quest," "Live Free or Die Hard," and "He's Just Not That Into You," Justin Long has been a rising star in Hollywood for the past decade. This Friday he is back in theaters, co-starring in the new thriller "Drag Me To Hell."

Long, who has also been known as "the Mac guy" from the Mac/PC ads and has appeared in over 25 movies in the last decade, sat down with Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith to chat about his new film.

"When people see you on the street, especially on the corner of 59th and 5th, (where the Apple Store is located in New York City) what do they say?" Smith asked.

"That's a little obvious, that's a little shameless," Long said. "I hang out there as much as I can in front of the store, just begging to get recognized. It's so sad. I am just kidding."

"Drag Me To Hell" is based on Christine Brown (played by Alison Lohman), an ambitious L.A. loan officer with a charming boyfriend, professor Clay Dalton (Justin Long). When Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) asks Brown for an extension on her home loan, she denies her in order to impress her boss. In retaliation, Mrs. Ganush puts a curse on Brown.

Long's new thriller is so scary that he admits he has seen it three times.

"I hope this doesn't sound narcissistic because I have a supporting part in the movie, but I can't wait to see it again," he said. "I've never been a part of a movie I've so thoroughly enjoyed."

Smith adds that the film makes you laugh and scream and has the best of both worlds.

"Sam Raimi is the director and he bombards you with this great suspense and horror and I think every once in a while he lobs you a funny curveball just to give you permission to breathe," Long said.

"You get some of that relief because in this movie it's your girlfriend, (played by Alison Lohman) who is really the one who's having a tough time, shall we say," Smith said.

"It's a little more than just hormonal and pre-menopausal," Long replied.

A clip was shown from the film where the couple visits a psychic for some guidance.

"It kind of betrays what the movie is about; it's very scary," Long said.

With a lot of computer-generation in films, it can be difficult to pull off being really scared, but Raimi has the right approach, Long says.

"And a lot of that Sam has to do off-camera and he had to do with Alison for the most part because it's her journey," he said. "Sam's a great actor. He used to act in movies and he gets very worked up and passionate about the off-camera stuff."

Long says that Raimi tries to re-create the scene by saying "now, you hear the floorboards creaking and it's getting closer."

"He gets into it and he's so dramatic. Alison is such a natural actress," Long said. "She's amazing."

Smith asked Long about his recent "break-up" with comedic actor Jonah Hill, who was his longtime roommate.

"Yes, we had. It was a civil union and it was -- look at us there in better times (a picture was shown of the two actors). No, we're still very close," Long said.

"This was not about Proposition 8?" Smith joked, referring to the California Supreme Court's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.

"No, although that did really chafe me," Long said. "Honest to God, no pun intended, I did not mean any pun intended by that, but that is something that's -- yeah, we're both very upset about, not for the reasons that we had to split as roommates, but he's the best. We're still close. He's very funny. He's one of the funniest human beings I know."

"Drag Me To Hell" hits theaters on May 29.