He’s been spotted at the Seagrape, the Southport Brewing Company and even the RecPlex.
Justin Long, “the Mac guy” and son of Fairfield philosophy professor James Long, who was hesitant to speak on Justin’s behalf, may be a distinguished Hollywood actor, but he’s still a local of Fairfield.
“I go back a lot to Fairfield whenever I can,” Long told the Fairfield Citizen-News in 2005.
“It’s a slower pace, not as chaotic it’s easier for me to function as myself.”
Long likes to keep a low profile, but his recent steamy romance with actress Drew Barrymore has caught the media’s attention. The “He’s Just Not That Into You” costars spent a long holiday weekend in Fairfield for Thanksgiving last year. Long took Barrymore to one of his favorite spots, the Southport Brewing Company, where he and some friends shared some late night cocktails and laughs.
“They started out in the bar area and then moved to a booth, where they sat next to each other and kissed and hugged,” one eyewitness told People magazine.
But the media isn’t the only one spotting Long out and about in Fairfield. Students and alumni have had numerous encounters with the actor off and on campus.
Last year, sophomores Kara Ginnetty, Colleen McCartin and Caroline Conant were walking back from Penny’s II Diner on Black Rock when Long sped past them in the Angus Steakhouse parking lot.
“At first I was like ‘what the hell’ because this white BMW almost hit us,” said Ginnetty. “But then he rolled down his window and was like ‘sorry girls.’ I was just really surprised!”
Known for his role in the Mac/PC commercials, the now 29 year-old Long graduated from Fairfield Prep in 1996, where he received the “most likely not to be seen in class” superlative.
“I wasn’t a big fan of school, and I managed to miss a lot of it,” Long told Fairfield-Citizen News. “That usually included some kind of ailment that was hard to pinpoint, like a migraine.”
After graduation, Long attended Vassar College, where he was a philosophy major and a member of the recognized sketch comedy troupe “LaughingStock.”
His comedic talent earned him positive notice and he won roles in the independent films “Boygazm!” and “Time Writer,” and appeared in his first commercial film “Galaxy Quest” (1999) with Tim Allen.
Long put a halt to his career until after his graduation from Vassar in 2000. From there he landed the role as a nervous teenager, Warren Cheswick, on the hit NBC TV series “Ed.” While a regular on the show from 2000 to 2004, Long starred in the horror film “Jeepers Creepers” (2001) and played Britney Spears’ boyfriend in the teen flick “Crossroads” (2002).
“I got to spend four hours with Britney in our underwear and they paid me for it,” he told WENN Entertainment News in 2001.
Long went on to star in the 2004 box office hit “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story” and appeared as Lindsay Lohan’s love interest in Disney’s “Herbie Fully Loaded” (2005).
More recently he has been seen in hit films such as “The Break-Up” (2006) with Jennifer Aniston, “Accepted” (2006) with Jonah Hill and “Live Free or Die Hard” (2007) alongside Bruce Willis.
Long’s mother, Wendy Lesniak is a Broadway actress and a teacher at Roger Ludlowe Middle School in Fairfield. He has two brothers Damian, who is an actor and teaches at Weston High School in Connecticut, and Christian, who is also an actor.
Long currently lives in New York City with his dog, Moose.
“In Connecticut, the big thing was like a keg party,” said Long in an interview with Themovieguy.com. “You would go to Bridgeport and you didn’t even need any kind of ID; they’d sell a beer to like infants, if an infant was strong enough to carry a case of beer.”
In an interview with Bailey-Gates he talked about how Fairfield gives him a dose of reality.
“I was at the Herbie premiere and it was a big party, with a red carpet and photographers, and I’m being led around by my publicist watching Us Weekly unfurl in front of me,” he said.
“The next night, I’m in Fairfield, standing in line at the ‘Grape’, and I didn’t get in.”
On campus, a couple of students have seen Long working out at the RecPlex. Kristen Buckley ’10, who worked at the gym, didn’t even realize that it was him.
“One day he came up to me and asked me for a towel,” said Buckley. “Afterward, a friend told me it was Justin Long.
“I had no idea,” she added. “He seems like a really down-to-earth kind of guy.” Brittany Shaw ’10 was entering the RecPlex when she saw a hooded Long walk past her toward the exit.
“It’s cool to see that he’s comfortable enough to go to the University’s gym,” said Shaw.
“It shows a lot about his character.”
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