Eisenberg is promoting A Real Pain, which he wrote, directed and stars in – a comedy drama about two cousins who travel to Poland together to visit Holocaust sites to honour their late grandmother.
The grandmother is based on Eisenberg’s real-life Aunt Doris and was filmed at the home his family used to live in, in Poland.
In the movie, the cousins struggle to reconcile their own modern life problems against the backdrop of one of the 20th Century’s most devastating and horrific events.
Eisenberg’s screenplay has received an Oscar nomination, as has his co-star, Kieran Culkin.
“Grandchildren of Holocaust survivors should wake up every morning and go outside and kiss the ground that they’re alive and thank whatever god they pray to – as the world didn’t want them to be alive,” Eisenberg told Today.
He said he had “tried to connect to bigger things” since making the film.
“I live in a world that feels hedonistic, my life is maybe too easy.”
He added that it was essential the film had a comic feel.
“It would be so sanctimonious without any humour in it.”
Eisenberg was also nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Mr Zuckerberg in The Social Network.
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