Episode 10: All the Colors with Brian Baumgartner

to show it. But I gotta tell you there's these like you can't see unless you're watching on YouTube. You get these plastic dots plastered on your teeth, so all day long. If I don't have my things in, I just like play with my teeth. It's like I got an issue. It's crazy. It's fine, go on, but I don't have a list. For those of you that haven't checked out our i G account, Aaron's been wearing these things, these corrective spacers, if you will, and she's been talking

with a list. It's very entertaining. Did you ever have you had to have braces? You have such a good never, never ever had braces. I had headgear I had I had the that's sexy, I had the rubber bands. I had the whole thing. And my teeth has still moved. So now wonder you're having some issues there. Well, welcome to the club. O, thank you. I always wanted to be like you, guys. I always wanted braces, so I used to put like my chewing gum up over my teeth so I could kind of be like And now

I hate it and I sound ridiculous. And the dry mouth, it ain't. It's the thing. It's a real thing. It's like you've had seven bottles of wine or a case of adderall yeah, that was my Saturday. But anyways, well you should put that on the disclaimer before you do these things. It's like adder. I don't know. It's a prescription. Okay, it's an Actually it's medical, it's medicinal. I am very excited, though, as I try to develop some saliva in my mouth,

I'm jealous of that water. Water. It's worth you lost your mind over Jonathan Knight. I am going to lose my mind over our guest today, Brian bum Gardner. He played Kevin mallow Own in the Office for all nine seasons. He is a dream come true. And he is also the number one I believe, let's check with Steven Glandis on this grossing individual on cameo. So that's reason enough to talk to him for some tips and tricks, if you will. But everyone, you know the cult classic that

is The Office. I'm so excited to have him on the show, and I know you are too. Yeah, he's great and I am late to the party with the Office. I Jared and I love watching Seinfeld by crack up over that. You've been on me, jimmy Trainer from Sports Illustrated, It's been on me. Finally started watching Love everything about It, Jim and Pam Forever. It's great and uh, I'm so excited to talk to him. I've been listening to his

podcast and just hearing the stories behind everything. And we were talking you and I last week about this show and about some of our first jobs, if they were in an office, if they weren't an office, in an office, go you tell me. Give me some of your faves first jobs have had, as you know, seven hundred jobs, just running through them. I've been a barista at Starbucks. I was a sales associated at Northstrom's. I wore all white, weighing way too much at cheesecake factory. Those were big

girl pants. I love that white is not slimming. There's a reason that the service industry wears black. Let's just say that. Okay, uh yeah, I had too much of

the brown bread. Um. But the job that I um well, aside from working in HR at Fox which I don't know if people know this, I tell the story, but like, that's how I actually started at Fox Sports was in the human resources department, which anyone that knows me, you very well knows that there's no reason I should be working in HR ever, because I'm a violation in every shape and form. But I took that job there because

it was the only job available in Fox Sports. But the job that still makes me laugh for a couple of reasons is I worked at a tanning salon. Did you ever go to a tanny? Were you ever in a tanning bed? Common dazzler crushed a tanning bad crushed it. I can smell my skin right now. I mean, God, there's nothing better. In some some days I would do triples. God, Chris, Well, look, I love my dermatologist now and we are the only marks on my skin now or tattoos, but that's not important.

I abused the privilege of working at said tanning salon Beach. It was below a Hooters. A lot of Hooters girls came through there, a lot of girls they didn't want to wear. The nights are good. But let's just say this. I soon found out, Aaron Andrews and your virgin ears, because you're not as wild as I am or was. I found out that this tanning salon was actually a little cover up for some tax money, if you know

what I mean. So I started seeing things go out the back door that let's just say, we're illegal at the time, and so I was like, oh, that's what this tanning salon is for. So um yeah, that's why they let me tann there as much as I wanted to, because I didn't wrap them out because I you know what snitches get stitches, Aaron, I didn't write them out. Did you have the little goggles on while these transactions? Sometimes? Did you take them off? So? Yeah? So that was

my shadiest job. But yeah, what about you, my dear, Well, first of all, I want to go back to the tanning bed. I used to think I was so dangerous since yes, I basically was a big square growing up. I used to think I was so dangerous when I wouldn't tan with the goggles on because they didn't want this side like tan thing. So I would close my eyes and then I would be like, do you think I'm going blind? Do you think I'm going blind? And I would open my eyes a little bit in the

bed danger blind, I'm not going blind. How about the fact that people were like, oh, or the beds clean. I'm like, yeah, they're totally clean. I would just like wipe it down. I was like, I know it's so ross, which I did a stand out, but don't worry. I'd give you like the Playboy sticker or the palm tree. Like Dan, you were getting so gross when you think about it. I actually went to a Chang song like a year ago, and I was in there for about four minutes, and I was like, I gotta get out.

I gotta get out. This is weirding me out. Why am I back here again? Consult your dermatologists if you see anything wrong with your skin. This is not an endorsement for tanning beds and for all your tanning bed salon owners. I hope you're running your business legally out there, But where did you work? I know you've had a bazilion jobs too, while speaking of sun damage. Well, first of all, I worked at and well maybe in college.

I worked at a Banana Republic growing up, just because the boy I had a crush on in high school was there, so I wanted to be there. And then, um, yeah, Banana Republic. I don't think I did JA crew. It was basically old Navy Banana Republic. I missed that shirt folding situation every single day. I mean, it was just so good. I had no business styling people because I also couldn't style myself. But I will never forget. You don't want to sell just one item. You want to

try to sell two or three. One is bad. It brings like your queue something down you want anyways, Sure, sure, but the end all be all sun damage job I had was we had a water park in town, and one of my sorority sisters at the University of Florida knew somebody who was doing the hiring for the lifeguard or ride technician at the water park, and I was recruited. Basically, I just wanted to get into a somewhile in my red hot like bay watch suit. Um, it was awful.

I never was trained properly. I couldn't. I didn't know CPR to quote unquote save anyone was the lifeguard. You didn't know CPR as a lifeguard. I mean, if someone went down, I hope to God the lifeguard next to me would know how to do it, and I my dad would just be like, I cannot believe this is happening. One of the worst experiences at this park I ever had. And Tampa Bay lightning capital of the world, and it's no joke. Those storms. You can set your clock by

at four o'clock. You are having bolts of lightning hit your house. Back in the day, we lose our VCR and my mom's like unplugged, unplug it, Like we'd be running around the house. I'm plugging like the t VS and you know the VCRs. I'm on this massive, like seven story raft ride. Okay, we're like the raft would come down and then there's this pool and I'm so cute. I'm getting my son and pushing keep your arms on

the handles, keep your legs crossed, and pushing you down. Well, a storm is coming and they have not told us we can come off this ride yet. And it's like black. It's like Wizard of Oz Dorothy and the house flying away and you can just see the bolts of lightning. And one of my girlfriends was in the pool up top and I was in the pool the second one, and she's like, are we supposed to go down? Is the ride close? I've been in like turbulence with an airplane.

I've been in crazy situations. This is where I was like, kiss, you're ask goodbye because you're about to die in this great bathing scoot, but in a wonderful tan but in a pool of water. We got down, but I just remember like bolts of lightning and I'm like, I'm going to die here at the water park. And here I thought CPR was going to be the issue. They don't call the NHL team Tampa Bay Lightning for nothing, folks. Time those springs look fabulous. Stanley cup out of the lightning.

That is a magnet right for it. Wow, I can't believe you didn't know CPR. I mean I had a drug ring going over here at Salon Beach right across from them below Hooters. You do the math, if you live in um and you didn't know CPR, we are criminals. You know, the biggest thing was like you didn't want kids making out in the lazy river, you know what I mean. You just gotta be like, hey, blow that whistle, blow the whistle. That's a different kind of song right there.

Oh my god, you probably had to imagine if you that tan was probably unfortunate though, a one piece tan, the criss cross back. That's buy no for the sorority dresses. When I went back to school, you know, like I mean, there's no cover up that's helping you. No strap list for you, sweetheart, no sweetheart line. I can't do that. I can't do that in the lazy river. Oh god. But for all you kids out there listening, try to

avoid working in jobs where you'll get arrested. But I always encourage people to have all the jobs you possibly can, especially in the service industry, because every time I'm at a restaurant now, I was also a bartender. Every time you're at you know, at these places, you remember what it was like. Look, if you're going to the water park, arin you feel for that lifeguard. You know you're asking her off that tower when it's lightning. Man, get her

off that tower. Get her down, you know, Romeo and Juliet rescue me. My biggest problem was when I would work the slides and like you'd have to give the people a push and you'd say cross your legs, cross your arms, and like the hairy backs that were you deal. I couldn't deal. I didn't like it. It's a lot of touching. That's why I didn't clean this line. A lot of sweating, a lot of sweating in the tanner. I was sweating on the tanning bed. There was like

a pool. Usually I would leave it was hot in there. Well, it's a tanning so on. That's that's where we're at. That smell though, is there anything worse? Actually, here's the has anyone invented a tanning like a sunless tand that doesn't I know? And it gets in your armpits by the way, you shave your armpits, And this was my problem. When I did Dancing with the Stars, they'd code us

head to toe with this like Brazilian stuff. Then we'd shave our armpits the morning of the show, because you know, you're showing your armpits and it looks like you had a hairy armpit because the tanning stuff was all in the follicles. Good. There's a lot of problems here. Yeah. Anyways, let's go back to when I was a bartender four on straight. They didn't have a POS system. My friends loved coming in. The best job to have in college was a bartender. Why so you could still party and

make money. Now everybody has updated their systems, but this was cash only. Let's just say it was a lot of cash from me and not a lot of cash for everyone else. You know, Oh my god, Chris, I'm working. Hey, look, it's better to ask for forgiveness, not permission. Okay, Aaron, you don't take CPR classes. So who's the real criminal? I what if if they had offered me? Stealing money is not killing people you could have killed. Listen, everybody went down my slide with arms, cross legs cross, have

a good one, criss cross apple sauce. Well, we're gonna talk to a guy coming up next that has had a lot of years of experience in an office on the hit show The Office. Brian bum Gartner's coming up next. I can't wait to see what illegal job he had before he was on the hit show The Office, Calmed Down Podcast, Don't call the police on us jail be there. He is forget the office, teach us all the ways. On cameo, Man, my gosh, let me just are those

your certificates for being the number one grossing cameo? Guys that listen? Did you guys talk to Stephen Glannis? Hell? Yeah we did. He got me on cameo. He's like, if I can't get you on cameo, we got a problem. So I'm sorry. Who got you on cameo? Well, I've only made a couple of hundred dollars, so I need some tips. Hi, Brian. By the way, how are you? We're good. We're so excited to have you here for a myriad of reasons. I'm so excited. Are we recording

yet or no? Yeah, we're always recording. Always press record very good, very again, and I'll be quiet, very good, by the way. That's what. That's what. That's That was a little trick I learned when I started doing this. Yeah, always be recording well, because we interview athletes for a living, as you know. But the second you say you know, and I don't know if you feel the same way. But the second you say all right, we're ready to go in three two, the answers are completely different. So

we just go. Of course, you know it's so, do you guys know Eric anders Lang playing? Of course I do from the I T Department? Why would I know that? Because I always had issues with my computer? Brian? Who wait? What do you? Who are? This is totally a different person. No, I thought I know an Eric Lang. Who's the Eric Lang? You know Eric anders Lang? Oh there's a hyphen. Well, I don't know if there's a hyphen. But he's become like the golf guy like golf. I think he does.

He does like uh, he started like Adventures in Golf. He had this podcast I think scratches his now too. That may not be right, Jared. I need my husband here. He would know this. Does he have some weird thing on I G that helps you with your swing? Because that's the only thing my husband freaking watches. Who is that guy? I want to kill him? No, I'm just joking. So he's not the guy he does this. Well. Here the reason I'm bringing this up, which again because it's

always about me. No, I'm kidding, but he he shot this video with me a couple of years ago, and you know, he's done Tiger and he's done all these guys. Of course, my video with him, it's the number one watch video that he has because that's the way that I roll. Anyway, he did this podcast with me. He's all about positivity and golf inclusiveness. He started this thing.

I don't want to talk about him that long, but he started this thing called the Random Golf Club and what it is this is kind of about his temperament. It's basically like it's a golf club that you can be a part of. Just you say that you're a part of it, and you're a part of it. And he goes out with like twenty sums and it's all. It's all like the club exists like in your own

mind or whatever, but they do have gatherings. And anyway, he's all about and he is the one that taught me this trick, which was I sat down to do a podcast and we talked for like ten minutes, and I'm like my and I'm like, is this guy gonna start recalling what the hell are you doing here? And then I'm like are we going? And he's like, oh no,

We're going. And so when I started sitting down with all my old office cam padres, I actually took it a step further, and I said, because I hadn't seen like, I hadn't seen Steve Corrill in a couple of years. So I said, I'm gonna hide in the studio because we were still in person. I'm gonna hide. I'm not even gonna see them when they come in. Make sure

that that the audio is rolling. And so like the beginning of all of my interviews, now what you hear is like our genuine, non performed reaction of like just us seeming to get like tears happened, or like you know, just or just like immediate giving ship back and forth with each other or whatever. I don't know if I can say that or not, but you can say podcast Brian, you know that, So you can say whatever. F CC

forget that. UM who care? Did I say it wrong? UM? Anyway, So, yes, I I appreciate that we are thrilled to have you on UM as somebody who Thank goodness. The positive from COVID for me was that I got to watch every truth be told. I had seen a lot of episodes of the Office, but I hadn't watched the entire catalog of the office, so I did that during quarantine. Aaron soon followed after, and like every one of your adoring fans, the first question is does he really talk like that?

That's the number one question on your Wikipedia asking page. So you clearly don't talk like Kevin, did you. Did you not know the answer to that? No, I knew the answer to that, But there's a lot of listeners, Brian. We don't want to assume everyone's best friends like we are, you know, to say that's the one thing. I was blown away with your podcast, and I was telling my mom and dad because they're huge off his fans, and I was pumped to tell them that you were coming on.

Your voice on your podcast is so smooth and so sensuous. I mean, we need tips about all these things because I sound like I'm on crack. Someone said to me, now, you're not gonna think it. You're not gonna think it, but there is some truth to it. It's about I guess my rhythm or whatever. Someone joked that I sound like Tom Hanks, well someone that I know Tom Hanks mixed with smoke and whiskey or something. So there's sensual, A little more buttery, Yes, yeah, like a Sauvignon blanc

or a shardon. A what's your drink of choice? Brian? Uh, mine would be either really red or really brown. I like those rules. Yes, not a shardon but I'm not but that is my boy. It's the same voice I'm using now, right, I don't. I gotta be honest. I've listened to quite a few. I just got done with the Phillis one, and no, you are just Phyllis. Had you had any training before? I mean, no, you are very buttery? You are you lay it on. I'm less buttery.

Now listen, I'll take you. However, I can get you about more tricks. Because when we just told you we were recording on the podcast, what else have you learned about, you know, doing this the podcast or the pod as they like to call them, the pods, you know? I

so truth be told this this idea. Ben Silverman and Propagate approached me about basically producing this idea, and it sort of came out of some other people writing books or or so forth about the show, and it sort of started with the idea of why is someone else telling our story? Like why why is why is someone else doing it? I'm about to get to your answers gonna circular way at times. Um. And so when we started the idea of telling the story, there was a

lot of conversation like, there's a great, great journalist. I bring his name up all the time. I haven't talked him like fifteen years, but Bill Carter with the New York Times. Who's he wrote like that? Uh? I think it was called late Night or something about like the David Letterman Leno thing like he's a he's a known guys. It was like, should we get Bill Carter? Should we get some journalists from Rolling Stones or something to you know,

to interview everybody? And basically what what I flash we decided was, you know, I may not be a great journalist like the two of you. I may not be like an investigative. I may not know what questions to ask. But what I do know is is that the conversations that I'm gonna get are going to be conversations that

nobody else can have with them. That that the shared experience that we have together, coupled with me doing a lot of thinking about it, uh, is gonna get us closer to at least where I want to be than anybody else doing it. And truly that's sort of where we started with it. And so you know, I think that we were attempting to have real conversations, you know, I mean that's so obvious, but I mean, like really not an interview, but but really a shared conversation that

was a give and take back and forth. And as soon as we sort of found that, I think that's where we we really had something. I mean, Phyllis, I mean you said you just listened to the Phillis one. I mean that she cried three times, I know, and I mean and and I mean and she doesn't talk, she doesn't do a lot of press, she doesn't talk to a lot of people. Um. And it was really

about just going back in time. And I think that the the other thing was we we looked at it as a history told by individuals who remember things differently, and so like that's such like a nerdy school ants are like they're no right or wrong answers, because sure there are there are definitely wrong answers, But in terms of the conversation, it really was about just well, what do you what do you remember? Like, what were you you know how, and stories came out from people that

I had no no clue about. I'll give you what. You'll love this because you guys are journalists. Settle in. I'm talking to I know I'm talking so much. That's why you're on Are you kidding me? This is like I've been waiting to talk to you for a long time, So have at it. Okay, Well I'm talking to Her name is Laverne Caracusi Milano. I hope I'm saying that right. She was the head makeup artist by the end. And

we're talking. We're having a conversation about the look of the show and people are you know, what came out of friends and this was different in a way because we weren't all sexy looking, you know. We were sort of talking about all that stuff. And then we start talking about the writer strike that happened and what happened with the crew that the writers went on strike for a hundred days in the middle of when we were

shooting this, and she gets this little hitch. She starts to say something, she gets this little hitch in her voice and she goes, am, I am I allowed to talk about that? And I'm sure you like everything everything in my brain was firing, Yes, what are you gonna say? And I didn't know what I did. I had no idea what she was gonna And I was like, oh, yeah, no, I mean you can, I mean, whatever you the And she tells me that Greg Daniels the exact and we we talked a lot about the family that we became

on the show, which was really true. She said, well, you know, we were into the writers strike and it was the holidays and it was Christmas and we got something in the mail and she said, I know it was from him personally. Um, Greg Daniels wrote every member of the crew a check and said it the mail. She was like, I know it was from him because it was his personal like his personal check with his personal information on it. I had no idea that this

had happened. And she goes into it and like what that meant and what that meant after that, Like I would go to battle for this guy. This is what you know he did for us. So anyways, stories like that that came out that that truly I was there, but I had no idea. That's it's so true, and I know Aaron can attest to this, and you know being with the same crew. How long have you been with Troy and Joe Aaron now going on? How many years? Six? Seven,

eight eight? Family College Game Day for like eight years to Yeah. Crazy. I got off the phone earlier today talking to Terry Bradshaw and we were just kept like you know that these people become your family. And so when you spend so much time together for you guys on set, uh, you know when you were there from

the beginning, which is just so incredible. I mean it's like if there's a lottery ticket to be had, right, it's that it's that Golden Willy Wonka, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ticket that as an actor, you can only hope that not only are you on a show that is this successful, but with this many great people. I'm sure that you know now having a little distance between when you guys were last all together, at least you know in terms of filming the show, how much do

you appreciate it as time goes on? What you really had? Oh, I mean it's crazy it um you know my uh, in some ways, like my life is like there. It's like not like the BC and a D, but it really it's like before the office because I I when I started about that time, I'm like, oh my god,

that was a lifetime ago. And like for me, it was it was essentially my thirties, like my entire thirties because nine years, right, yeah, yeah, you're nine years right, yeah, I mean ten years, nine nine seasons, So I mean yeah, I mean it was that that whole decade, and you know, we The thing that I talk about is is the it we really people forget, Like Steve Correll became a megas, like the biggest comedy star in movies, but that was

we've started. And when we started that he really had not done very much and and nobody really had and a lot of people had worked for a long time and had you know, some successes, most successes, and a lot of failures and and so there was we started with a place. We were all sort of at net zero, and the show struggled so much the first couple of years, and you know, it was like going to our first Emmy East to get which was like we were, I mean,

we really were the Beverly Hill buildings. I mean, I told this story Oscar nowon y has reminded me. I had this little little bungalow house up in the Beverly what do they call it, Beverly Hills PO which which is the post office box that says one, but you're really not in Beverly Hills. Like I don't, it doesn't mean anything. And that was the I was the closest

house to the Beverly Hilton for the Golden Globes. It was he was reminding me, was like, you know, we showed up at the Golden Globes the first time when Steve actually won in a Honda Civic. We should hold up to the front door. Me David Denman who played Roy, and Oscar nun Yez and maybe one more. And it was like we were like, where do we park? You ken't park? What are you talking about? There's no parking here.

We were oh, like David Demmon like went in Valet, at Trader Vics or something about at the Starbucks and like yeah, off, I guess, I mean, but like we like that really was us. I can't I know. It was like I um and all of those experiences of us going to you know, being together for such a long time and starting that net and then you know, when the six Deaths started happening definitely made it that much more rewarding. The Globes is where everybody gets hammered, right,

that's that. Yes, So you show up in a Honda Civic. I mean, come on, what do you remember? Where did you? Guys? Just say, let's go for it. This is like our night out. Well and this, this tells you even more. Was that that year and this was all sort of sort of the turning plant of the show. Actually, in a lot of ways, this was um midway, so it would like January end of December, which would have been

our second season. We were like struggling, struggling to stay on the air, and really we were dead like four times before that. We weren't going to go. And then four year old Virgin came out and suddenly right before that we had the first Christmas episode we did, which was the first time we went above ten million viewers on a Thursday. That's kind of a big number. And and Steve was nominated for a Golden Globe. The show wasn't nominated, and we watched this is part of it. It.

We watched the ceremony. We weren't allowed inside. They wouldn't. They were like, no, you're not, you're not coming inside. The NBC had set up a there's all the parties that are going on in different areas of the gild and their party was on the roof of the parking garage. This is not a joke. On the outdoor roof for the parking garage. They had set up a tent and there was a party and we were there and we we all drank a lot, like a lot lot, brown, red, purple, blue.

It was all the colors, all of the colors. And then and he wasn't supposed to win. We thought, this is our one party ever, let's go come um and then Steve One and that that night, I will truly I like that. That's just one of those nights. Like I didn't even win any none of us want anything Steve One. But he showed up afterward and we like tackled him and maybe it was it was a crazy, crazy night. One of my favorite pictures of us, and you could look it up. There was and I noticed

recently because I told this story to someone. I was reminding someone I think it was Jenni Fisher on on the podcast, and I went and looked at the picture and I was like, oh, you can't see it, but they had um like the gigantic like chocolate fondue, you know, found and I of course tried something dripped it right down the shirt just I mean just all the way right down the shirt, and and anyway, there was like I think it's a TV guy like photo boothing that

they have, and Steve came up, he had he had won, and it was like I will never forget that night, and we all crammed. There was like twenty of us crammed into the little photo booth and with the chocolate on my thing. But I realized that in the photo at least I kind of turned, so yeah, I'm like a side view, so you can't actually see what an idiot I was. That's amazing. You mentioned that that was a turning point for you guys, and prior to that now hard to believe that you were struggling to even

stay on air for you. Was there a moment, Brian, where all of a sudden you realize I can't go to the coffee shop to the restaurant to like, oh this thing is is big. Now I'm here in the Honda Civic is no longer I can't drink all the colors back in the Honda Civic. Of course I never would have done that. Um. I you know, it was gradual, I think for us because you know, early on, um we were struggling and truly believed that that we would be canceled. There was something that was happening even early

on that kind of gave us pause. We didn't talk about it so much, but you know, this was back, you know, fifteen years ago whatever, and Nielsen ratings that was the big thing, right, They're little boxes. Have you ever met anyone with a Nielsen box? This always plagues me. Who's got the box that they're that is where I yes, that's right. So people say the ratings and this many people watching, Well, it's really based on some complicated formula

of Wilson boxes. And your point is exactly right that we sort of started having some anecdotal evidence like college, and we sort of went No one in college and a dorm has a deal box, like no, no one is sort of calculating that. I think in space actually it works very similarly in a way, like there's sometimes something becomes kind of uh, culty or everyone's talking about it, but it's not reflected in that way, I think that was kind of starting to happen a little bit. This

is actually a True Crimes podcast. We've exposed the Nielsen box ratings. Mystery has been solved. There is no Nielsen box. That's cereal. That's right, um, But I'll tell you so it was definitely a gradual and let's be honest, um, at the very least, I have a distinctive head. Let's just put it that way. And so there were times.

Actually my favorite story that I have not to hold it a really long time, but I was shooting a movie someone afterward in John Krasinski, my co star was in the movie, and Mandy Moore was in the movie, and we were we were in Canada and we were shooting at a sushi place. I mean there's a long time ago, but still they were John Krasinski and that was Mandy Moore. And we had like three people come up to the table to ask me to take a picture and they're sitting right now there, They're sitting right

no and no, it's like no one sees them. So that happens um for me. But the crazy thing is, which wasn't your question? Is that now the show and and really the reason the idea about doing the podcast now it was based on and it's funny. We talked about it in like a true crime way. I said, I want to do the podcast like it's a true crime. And the question is this, why is this show now that we haven't shot in seven years? Why is it bigger now? Yeah? Why why on the air? And why

is it? Why is it now? Not just bigger than that, it's the it's the most watch show in television right now, like new shows, the Stranger Things, all that, like hot new stuff. More people are consuming and watching the show now. And so it's like why and what the answer is?

I don't really you know, but I think that the at least the smartest thing that I figured out is that when we were on set, this was early on, when we were struggling, struggling struggle, there was a there was some stat that kept going around and I don't remember what the number was, but it was something like two hundred million people in America work in an office. So if we can get ten of those people to watch, or five of those people to watch, like we've got them,

we're good, Like we're great. And I think that what we didn't realize was at the time and through today

that we were building a show. Sure that that was about that, But the parallel between an unreasonable boss who makes you do unreasonable things with a group of people that you're not choosing to be with, how well that translates to an unreasonable teacher who makes you do unreasonable assignments sitting next to people you may not choose to sit next to for year after year after year after year.

And how the archetypes of the characters are so universal that that sort of shared experience of being a group of people against an unreasonable authority figure, how well that translates. And I think, really, that's that's the smartest answer for I think because now it's like twelve year olds, thirteen year olds you brought up Campa. I mean, I'm talking to twelve year olds now and it's like, why are you watching sexual harassment episode? That's definitely not when the

blow up doll comes in, you should not. Where are your parents? I'm gonna tell you why I think it's so successful as a viewer and uh incredible supporter is could you guys say what we're now not allowed to say in any situation? And having I used to work in human resources, which I had zero business working in human research. I would get drunk on my lunch break.

But it's this idea that you can't do those things, but you guys would do them, and so and also like breaking that still I'm in TV and I don't is it the fourth wall? I don't know what wall it is, any wall that you broke, and being able to look into the camera and have those testimonial moments and say all the things like that's just the hilarity for me is doing and saying things that we're not

supposed to be saying or doing. Yeah, well, Chris, that really I mean this, this boggles to talk exactly about what you're talking about, like how crazy society and the world has become. And even then, you know there was and by the way, this is all positive. I'm not. Don't cancel me here. But we eventually had to do sexual harassment seminars, right like at NBC Universal, we were required to do sexual harassment seminars as a cast at the whole cast. Oh my god, were you guys in

character as a group as a whole? No everyone to do And it was like, you know, ninety minutes two hours and it was once a year we had to do that. They sit there and sign in and all the stuff and no joke. The HR reps, which maybe it was you who came in and they showed the videos. They were showing videos from our show with the red haired girl, the red haired girl. They're showing us videos what we can't do, and it's like, what the and no one, no one would say like, Okay, this is ridiculous. Yeah,

I think you're right. I mean, I think you're right. I think that Steve and I had kind of a long conversation about this, and you know, there's been a lot of talk about could this show happen today? Could

it not happen today? You know, I think that at its core, what I think what made me incredibly proud of the show was that we were saying things that were inappropriate, but we were making by the looks to the camera, by we're making fun of those things by saying nothing literally saying nothing, just the look just look, how many times did you guys wet your pants looking at the camera, Because when you guys do that, I p my hants, like it is fucking hilarious. When you

guys just do the the glant die for it. Well, now the problem is me not doing it on other things that I'm working on. Perfect It is like it is the stop that seeing joke like it. Um, yeah, I mean we had we just we had so much fun. I mean we we we we truly had so much fun. It just dawned on me that that's while you're saying that, is that look to the the audience, the viewer at home is like, you're in on this joke, and that's what makes you feel like you're part of the jokes.

You're like, I get it. I'm with you, even if no one else in this room where this office gets it. I get you. Kevin. You know I need you to say something how you would say Kevin. So let's pretend we're at HR seven class. Okay, I'm the HR representative. I'm gonna ask you, Brian, but you can say it in Kevin's voice. Um, Brian, have you showed up to work today drinking any alcohol? What do you mean by alcohol? It was reported by someone on the staff, one of

your coworkers, that your breath smelled of alcohol. Have you had anything to drink today? Brian? That was something else Okay, well you're fired. Shoot stuff. I don't know. That was an improv. We just did an improv crap. We You know, I used to go to Second City and pretend that I was a stand up comedian. Uh no, but that I just needed the voice, you know. It's funny and now that I can say whatever, you know, I go to colleges now and people say like, what, you're going

to college, what are are you teaching? What are you doing? And honestly, don't tell anyone. I don't know exactly what I'm doing. Like it's partly I think, supposed to be educational, but you're but I'm sitting in a room with college kids and all they want to hear me say is like, I'm totally gonna bang hollish like that. So it's like I can talk like I'm talking to you and try to be very erudite, and I'm as I'm sitting there,

I'm thinking they just want me to say that other thing. Well, that's interesting though, because do you some some actors would say that, Okay, that was a character. I've moved on. I'm not like, do you is that something you take offense to or is it something that you are proud of that that character that you you created, uh, has left such an indelible mark that people make that association. That is a great question. I would never say that. Um that I have that, I take a fence to it.

I will say this. You were discussing I don't know if listeners were here at that point, but you were discussing Cameo, and um, I I I feel like that even well not even television. That's a stupid thing to say. I feel like it's a collaborative art form. And so oftentimes I get a request that someone wants for Kevin Malone to send someone a message, and I don't do that because I don't think that's like, am I gonna put on a suit? Am I gonna wear a tie? Am I gonna? By the way, I straight my hair

was longer. I straight ironed my hair, called it the poof. So I had the poof. Shout out to the hair girl for not burning you, because I can't get underneath here without burning my neck. I that lovingly brought awkward, awkward things. Um. So the answer to that is I won't do that, like because I don't think that. I think that's weird. Like, wait, what do you mean, Like, why is Kevin why is he appearing? I'm here in my office, this is my house, like or I'm outside

or I'm like, to me, that's weird. But I feel like by the same token that people want to hear a little bit from him. So I call it a flavor. And that's why would you know I'm not gonna do a Q and A at a college as Kevin Malone. I don't know that what doesn't doesn't even make sense. Plus, like, I don't own that's a character. But but you know, if he happens to slip out of me a little bit, that sounds weird. Um, um, well, thank you for the flavor that you just gave us. I love it all.

So that's how I that's how I view it. I don't know if that makes sense or not. I don't know if I'm right either, it totally makes it is a character. Yeah, and and and by the way, also, I think that it's a little bit difficult for me, And I think partly this is why you ask, and a lot of people ask, is that. Um And I don't mean like John Krasinski, for example, is not that dissimilar to Jim Halpert, right. I mean the characters are different,

their wants are different. They John Karski doesn't work in a paper company. But in terms of the characterization of the two, there's not a whole lot of change or Paul Lieberstein or Oscar Noon Yet or Jenni Fisher in a lot of ways. To um, it's not very different. I just am very different. So I view it like I'm going into a character that that isn't really me, and I think there are other things that that go into that that doesn't feel right to me. I don't know,

I think that perfect. I'm bummed out because we don't have you for much more. And I had seventy five I wrote them down as you were talking, seventy questions for you. But the one thing, So this is called Calm Down our podcast. That's what we named it, basically because our husbands are like, once we get in a rant or if we're at work, everybody's like, calm down.

Is there something or someone? And we've asked Kevin Hart this, you know, is there is there a calm Down Award you would like to give to someone or somebody in society or Kevin just had kind of said to us what Chris said that people just he just wished people would take a step back and take them so serious. Right, Well, I do, I do. My dog needs to calm down. Wow, is who I was going to say. Actually, um no, I so um, I don't know if this award is from me. It might it might should be for me,

But I'm gonna give it to air travelers. Now, you've got travel a lot, you guys travel a lot, and people who are traveling on an airplane, right, the entire experience behave in a way that they don't behave in any other place in society. The behavior just atrocious. And now again maybe I'm telling them to calm down. Okay, maybe it's me who has to calm down because it does make me just it makes me christy. But like I'll give you, well, here's one example. Sit in your

chair until your group is called the airplane. Just sit down, Just sit down. The like crowding, the multiple bags that you're bringing. What don't if you're if you're going on a trip, check your bags, check your bags, don't crowd the thing. And then my most my most insanely crazy making thing is the the air line stops and people stand up and shove their ass in your face. I cannot. I do not understand it. Sit down, You're not getting off here any faster than if you. Everybody just calms down.

So there you go. Calm down. It's so good. I get an amen. Seriously, thank you. So you know what the next show we're gonna write together collectively. You heard it here first the airplane, the office was done. The airplane is next because there's a lot of comedy that ensues in an airplane and an airport. We appreciate the time, to your wildly successful cameo account, to your incredible tenure

on the Office and the podcast that has followed. We appreciate you taking time away from your family and everybody to spend a little time with us. Thank you. You're amazing. Thank you guys so much. I appreciate it. I get what your publicists put a timer on you, because we would just be going like the energizer buddies, So we get it. She's doing her job. Thank you guys so much. I appreciate it. And we'll see you, I don't know, down the road at a game. Yeah, who do you

root for? By the way, who's your team? The Green Bay Packers. Well, yeah, I figured that, but I knew you were from Atlanta, so I didn't know if you were worried about I know I am, Um, No, I am, and a lot of those guys. I mean, that's my that's my sports thing is that I have found it very odd as I have, through golf and other experience, has gotten to know guys personally. It feels really weird to like hold on to the hometown thing. Now that my friends from Atlanta give me shit about this all

They're like, what are you doing? Like this is where you're from. I'm like yeah, but like I like, I don't know. It's so I'm weird the Dodgers are. I moved to l A. I'm a huge baseball fan. I moved to l A and I lived all around the country before then, and I just was like, I want to go see baseball and what I'm going to get back to it and see two games a year. So one of the first things I did, and I started way high and I started being lower, was I got

Dodger season ticket. Yeah you did. Yeah. Last night my husband was piste off about that game last night. That was so aggravated. It happened. I'll see what happened. Scott Boris was there at the wrong time. You're the best game. Come to a Packers game when we're not freezing her asses off at Lambeau. I will Although I love it. I love going there when it's cold. Oh yeah, it's great. Let me tell you. And then you get to go to your heated sweet and I'm still down there freezing

my ass off. It's awesome. No, I just it's Aaron Sweet is so great. Meanwhile, Aaron Andrews is freezing her ass off. Let me just say, I know, I like the like the yeah it's awesome, you're making me laugh, but the you know, the environment around it, and yeah it's the best. It's the best out there. But yeah, I'll make your ass come beat down there for all four quarters plus warm ups too. Not go up to his booth and have like the game. I'm standing there.

Yeah that's awesome. Oh I can't wait. Are you guys? Thank you so much. You're awesome that guy. I mean this we need a Part two, Part three, Part four, Part five, Part six. I'm going to tell you to go to our calm Down podcast. I g I'm probably going to hit it right after we're done recording this and talk about what a fan I am of his. Was always a fan when I watched the show, but now I love him even more. He better come to

a Green Bay Packers game. I'm gonna give him a lot of ship too if he sits in a sweet the whole time. I love it. He was trying to intimate that the frozen tundra of lambeau Field as fun as long as he's not freezing. Is the situation there super fun? So good to your point, we could have went on and on and nine seasons was still not enough as him as Kevin Malone on the Office, But what a what a great guy. I can also see why cameo is uh incredible for him as a platform

because he's so personalble and lovely. In fact, fun fact, I was actually watching some of his cameos as creepy as that, yeah, because I was thinking about, you know, as I'm new to the space, how I could get better, how I could like give the audience what they really want. I mean, I'm clearly not the actor and the personality that he is, but he's lovely all the way around. We were very lucky to talk to him, and I

can definitely see why that show. Um, you know he mentioned being a family and just when you start with with being in that Honda Civic and you end up what will go down as one of the greatest shows in the history of television. To go on that ride with that crew, can you imagine how many outtakes that that, you know that would last another twenty five seasons of

all the things they couldn't put on air. So he says in his podcast, what made them work is that they were just normal people having fun and and just there was nothing, you know, like he mentioned the Friends cast being so glamorous, and when he just told us, yeah, that story of the Globes and just going after it and the chocolate fond do and all the colors they drank, that's something we all can relate to and we all want to do if we ever got invited to the

Golden Globes. You've been there. I haven't. What I have done, though, is be on a plane four times a week want to absolutely cuss out every single person on it for acting like animals. Um. That's a podcast for another time. But I appreciate his Calm Down Award because sit down, sit down, like just we're not like, have you lost your god, damn mine? Sit down? Also, who are the people that are crowding? If you're in zone one, you get to go first. If you're in zone four, don't

crowd the zone one. So I gotta be like, are you going? Are you not going? And now we're in the whole thing, and just go when your zone is called. It's fine. Why didn't Yeah, flight attendants, if you're out there and you're listening, they're my favorite people in the world. They don't get enough credit, they don't get enough love. I always talk to them. Listen. They're not paid to be your waitress or your concierge. Shut up, shut up, and sit down and put your seatbelt on. That's who

we need to have on as a flight attendant. I can't wait. We'll call it research for our show coming out. The current show that we have is Calm Down Podcast. Thank you guys for listening. We will be back next week. Have a good week. Everyone, put your seat belt on. Exits are here, here, here, and here, put your mask on before your child in the event of emergency. Calm Down with Aaron and Carissa is a production of i

heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.