New York ? Jeff Daniels may be reaping critical acclaim for his turn as the pompous Bernard in “The Squid and the Whale,” but the actor says his career has been “peppered with jerks.”

“I’ve been playing ‘less likable’ since ‘Terms of Endearment,’ so that’s never been an issue for me,” Daniels recently told The Associated Press.

Directed by Noah Baumbach, “The Squid and the Whale” is a largely autobiographical story of Baumbach’s parents’ divorce in 1980s New York. Baumbach’s father, Jonathan, a novelist, was the inspiration for Daniels’ character. His old clothes were even used for Daniels’ wardrobe.

Daniels was hailed by AP film critic David Germain as meriting Oscar consideration for “a career performance as one of the great big-screen jerks.”