Esquire interview
Novak discusses his role in the movie Inglorious Basterds:
Private First Class Smithson Utivitch. He probably came from a family that was trying to assimilate into the Waspy mainstream by naming their kid Smithson, and the war was his chance to reclaim being Jewish. I don’t know if you’ll see that onscreen, but that’s where I’m coming from when I’m paying really close attention to Brad Pitt.