Best Of - Pt. 2

and crew. So buckle up, strap it on, get ready to dive in. And where better to start than with the man who's been described as a teacher, a mentor, a role model, the Office Dad, and of course the world's best boss. Here is Steve Carrell on who Michael Scott is and what the Office would be like today. Bubble and Squeak. I love it, Bubble and Squeak. On Bubble and Squeaker cooking at every month lift over from the night before. Do you, as an actor do you

always search for the good and the character that you're portraying. Sure, I think you have to, because otherwise you're just demonizing or judging the people that you're playing, and if you're judging a character that you're playing, you're gonna play it differently.

You don't want to editorialize about a character plan. I think I think Michael's a decent a decent dude with a lot of heart, But he's so based on his childhood, based on all sorts of things and things that he had lacked growing up, things that he was I felt he was deprived of. He was so hungry for acceptance. But I don't think he had the strongest templates in the world to go by. But I think he also learned and evolved and um became a better person along the way. And he was just a bit a bit

myopic and became more aware. Once he sort of was able to start stepping outside of himself and his own little eccentricities, he could see a little bit more about the world around him. I think one of the things about Michael is he's actually this and in terms of my interpretation of him, I feel like he would look out at all the people who worked with him, and it's like he would put his foot in his mouth all the time. But in a lot of ways, I don't think he ever valued one person or type of

person over any other. And in that way, I think he was very pure character, because he's very dumb in terms of political correctness and being appropriate in public. But at the same time, I don't I just don't think there was hardness in his heart towards anyone. He I think a person with an enormously good mind heart who lacked a great deal of information about the world around him and was as a sleep in a woke world as you could be, but trying his best, trying his best.

And actually there's a difference between being intolerant and being ignorant, and and sometimes intolerance and ignorance go hand in hand, for sure they do. But I think he was a decent human being. Really, he just didn't get it all the time. Um, the show was happening my mom and dad, they had friends and they would say, we can't watch that show like that Michael Scott. He key makes me

too uncomfortable. I can't watch that. And I always felt that this was came from a place of deep insecurity or like misogynistic or racist or homophobic feelings within himself, Like that's why it was uncomfortable at times. And then you came out thanks a lot for saying this. I get asked about it all the time that the show could never be made now. This was not exactly what I said. Okay, well, that's great because I have always said that I thought that Steve was misquoted in this. Yeah,

I don't know. I don't know if it could be made now. Maybe it could. I I guess my point was that I think what I was trying to say was that that exact same show probably wouldn't be made today, but with the same components, the same actors, the same writers. If it were to come back, it would evolve into the version of what we did back then. I mean, I think the writing would be a bit different in today's climate, but I don't think it would be any less insightful. I don't think it would be any less

smart or any less funny. It would just be different, that's all. And I do think it would be different, and I think, I mean, Michael Scott would be much more tuned into what it is to be woke. He would not understand it necessarily, but he would be. The comedy would be coming from his struggle to understand and fit into the world as we know it today. Because the world as we knew it fifteen years ago is

different than it is today. But you know, you take that same character who is trying to speak the language of modern times. That can be very funny, but it would just be different. It would just be a different set of rules for today. But I don't know. I um, yeah, I think you know. I think it's easy to say that you can't be funny, you can't do comedy this

day and age. I think that's a bit of a cop out, because is every you know, every time you turn around, there is somebody coming up with something that is of the time and inventive and doesn't shirk away from our responsibility to look in the mirror. I think it just I think it just takes a level of intelligence to be able to do that. Now, Steve may be kind and self reflective and understanding, but Michael Scott wasn't always, at least not to one particular h R rep.

So when it was time for me to talk to Paul Lieberstein, I couldn't wait to ask him about being the man that everyone loved to hate. There's another relationship that I think was maybe my favorite in the show. Will you play that clip? Why are you the way that you are? Honestly, every time I try to do something be fun or exciting, you make it not that way. I hate so much about the things that you choose to be. I mean that when was the idea for

that born? It wasn't born in diversity. Steve wrote that speech, Yeah, he hated. And when I was watching some of those things last night, I mean his face anytime he is looking at you and angry at you in a way is completely trans He almost looks like a different person, and he's his energy. And at one point he's like, I hate your lemon head or it's just crazy. It's like I'm a Nazi and he thinks he's doing a

service to the world by hating me. Well that, well, that's the other famous one, right, Like if I had two bullets and there was Hitler, Ben Laden and Toby, I would use both bullets and kill Toby. I think it happened in Meredith's birthday and we all had to sign that card. So I just had to go in and said, oh, can I have a card and sign something really quickly and leave, and he would just watch

me do it the whole time. Take after take it, he was just standing there watching and he told me afterwards that he felt like the hate for me just just well up inside him during these takes. So it was so from that moment. Is that why you guys decided to write that story in or to continue that, you know a lot of it he would. I think the power of it came from Steve, you know, and he would always do more. Even starting with Diversity Day.

He was just supposed to say he would, you know, get out or something like that, but he did more. He relished the moment and played with it. And I think he continues to do that. And really, you know, when we had these thirty six minute cuts and had to decide what would stay, when Steve loved something, he the performance would be amazing. And I think that's what helped so much of the Toby Michael stuff stay right. Just his pure power and just the pure power of

his like, yeah, being being there, corral genius. Oh yes, the power of hatred. Never thought I'd say that on this podcast. But Toby wasn't the only thing that brought out the best in Steve. He was so consistently, so amazing to work with every scene every day. Here's what Craig Robinson had to say Darryll's relationship with Michael in the show, it was a very like he kept coming to you for advice, particularly on black culture. It was a very very funny dynamic. What was your experience working

with Steve? He's the greatest. The way he could turn it comedy button off and on like a falsett. It was just genius to me. Whenever I had a scene with him on and I was like titilation, you know, very exciting, and I learned from him, stole from him all of that. Yeah, it's funny that you said you said that because I thought you were going to say

something else, which I think is also true. Is part of his genius is how he turns so quick, even within a scene, you know what I mean, Like he is he is fighting down one path and something may happen and he just turns it like that and he's like, you know, ultimate scene partner two. He listens and reacts two, you know what's going on? Like we had a scene I didn't even really notice until it aired. It was

a negotiation. It might be my favorite episode just because of the work I did with Steve and being able to play with him like that. It was the scene where he's like, I'm not going to speak first, like decline to speak first. So we did a couple of takes and it was fine, uh, and then he did his next take and he's making these faces and if you look closely, you could see Meet started crack a smile on that. But it was just like, without even speaking, he could, you know, pull this out of you. The

laughter is like, oh, he's to get me. But also in that episode when I was saying, uh, where he listens and you know, like the perfect improvisation partner, you're listening to take it to the next level. So we're talking about, you know, getting raised from jan and I said, make it happen, Captain, he said, I will, Sergeant God amazing. Do you think that your relationship with him evolved throughout the show? Yeah, but I think everybody's everybody evolved in

this show. Everybody I went through character development. Um, you know that's one of the things that makes it what it is. You people got to know these people, right. But yeah, I think every every situation evolved to something. I mean, you started out and your episodes were mainly about like the office versus the warehouse, whether directly in basketball or like a weird class thing where you have

like the white collar and the blue collar. Talk to me about the transition for you character wise or as an actor of you finally coming up and being a regular part of like the bullpen. Character wise, Um, it felt like like it did in real life, like oh many and making you a regular you know what I'm saying. So definitely a move on up for Craig Infidaryl, you know.

And it was like more responsibility. And Rain used to say I had the sweetest schedule in Hollywood because I would come in for like an episode here, and then four weeks later come in do the Christmas episode. But uh yeah, character whiz. It was it was like step up and Okay, they're starting to see, you know, starting to feeling Look, I know I've said it a million times, so it should go without saying that. We all loved working with Steve, but there was a time when we

didn't get to do that anymore. That was a bit of a shock for us. We were excited and we trusted the process, but we were all scared too, and we all dealt with it differently. Kate Flannery talked to me about her, how do I say her particular process of handling the news the day she heard it. What do you remember about finding out that Steve was leaving?

I literally was with Creed. We were on the side of the office doing like a satellite press junket um and we and they had announced it that morning, so every venue wanted to talk about it, and I was like wow, because of course it was emotional. I mean, who are we We're not I mean Michael Scott. You know, Michael Scott is thundermevient, he is the office. Um. Yeah,

I was so freaked out. And really I told Creed him like, Okay, anytime they talk about this, just just pretend like we can't hear the feeld, like I think the feed's going. I'm sorry, I'm getting some interference. What was the question? Wishing him all the best? Like I we had this little thing where we would figure out how to get out of the conversation. So but I

was I was definitely freaked out. And I mean, the great thing, the great thing about our show is that I feel like Greg Daniels is so trustworthy, and I feel like he's picked so many great writers, and I feel like if anything could have survived a couple more years without step Garrow, it was because of Greg Daniels. But I was nervous. I was, and I was nervous about Spader um just because he's not a comedy guy.

And he's brilliant, but he's not a comedy guy. And I kind of had this little thing like, oh, no, he's holding the baby. He's gonna drop the baby. Don't drop the baby. And also I was intimidated because he's he's like a movie star and I had seen so many all of his movies, and you know, and there was so much sexual tension between the two of us, so much, but I felt like there was sexual tension between me Spader. They're they're probably even more even more. No, seriously, Spader,

he liked anyone, right, there is sexual things Um. The season eight Christmas episode, there was one take where he's sort of like Meredith thinks she's actually made me gonna go to dinner with em or something like that, she's got a chance with him, and he sort of touches her cheeks like no, no, no, and she goes to hug me, and I literally one take, I grabbed his ass and then I was like immediately when we stoped, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry,

I'm sorry. I just felt like, oh my god, he goes, No, he goes. That was the right thing to do. Didn't end up using it, but I was like, don't grab James Spader's ask Kate what the wing. I was so nervous. I was like, oh no, oh no, oh no, Hey, listen, Navigating onset relationships can be weird for anyone, and I'm sure it doesn't help when you're playing Meredith Palmer. But hey,

sounds like he was a okay with your decisions, Kate. Now, when Jenna sat down with me, we talked a lot about her own relationships with the cast, in particular Pam's relationship with Dwight and her personal relationship with Rain. Okay, so I talked again about sort of that emotional core. Dwight talk to me a little bit about the relationship between the two of you and how that changed and evolved.

I mean, you were with Jim adversaries and made you crazy forever, and then ultimately by the end he says that you're his best friend. Dwight does Dwight, does you know. I think it's that first episode the Injury, when Pam has that line Dwight is kind of my friend. But I think there's other things. You know, Jim and Pam spends so much time teasing Dwight, and I think even

go too far a few times. In my rewatching of the show, I think there's a few times when we're like, actually a little cruel to him that makes me cringe and I feel like, oh, that wasn't our best moment. But I appreciate because we allow our characters too. We don't all every day have perfect moments, right. But it's so hard for me to think about Pam's relationship with Dwight without thinking about my relationship to Rain. Rain is a deeply soulful person. He's also like a curmudgeon lee

old man. He's really cranky sometimes and on set he would be hilarious. Do you remember the time Do you remember the time he declared, oh my god, it was so funny. We're getting ready to shoot and he said, hold on, weight, just hold on, everybody, hold on for a second. I have an announcement. Everyone on Monday's you do not need to ask me how my weekend was any more. All right, every single person asked me how my weekend was. Just assume it was fine. We were like,

where is this comming from? Right? And I talked to him about this and he goes, Jenna, that is not true. I said that on a Tuesday. I said, only asked me how my weekend was on Mondays. No more of this bleeding into Tuesday Mondays. And he went crazy because you and I know what he was talking about, because it's five o'clock in the morning and every single person that you passed is like, hello, good morning, how was your weekend? And he what he was saying was like,

you don't have to talk to me. We just saw each other on Friday night. We're good, We're good. Yes, it's so true. So he would be like that guy on this set. It was like so funny. But then at the same time, in moments of deep crisis, I have phoned him. I had a job offer that was going to take me out of town and would uproot my family for a period of time. I really wrestled with the decision. I called him and he counseled me. He is he has that in him, a type of counselor,

and I value him so deeply in my life. But then like like he'll call me up and he'll be like, do you want to go to lunch? And I'm like, yeah, I mean because you sound like you want to go so bad, like is it a chore or do you want to go? Just like no, I want to lunch with you, Like, all right, let's go to lunch. And then you go to lunch, and I was just sort of like, are you liking our lunch? Are we having a good lunch? How are you tell me about you? And all so funny, But then like if I were

to do you know what I mean? So it's like very much like the Pam Dwight where Pam will like be like, oh I love Dwight. I'm gonna go say something nice to him, and then he'll just be like, Pam something about knives, something about snakes or bears, and she's like yeah, okay, right, okay, But so I guess um, I feel deeply loved by Rain, and I think Pam fell deeply loved by Dwight as well, like they had a real bond, they really cared for one another eventually

eventually yeah. Well, and it's similar to your relationship with Michael, right, I mean from where that relationship started and him fake firing you to him leaving and you you having sort of that final moment with him. Um, what did he say to you? Well, it wasn't so much what he said to me. Um. Paul Fie directed that episode Goodbye Michael, and Uh. We were at the airport and Paul Fiq said, Jenna, I want you to just run up and just say goodbye to Steve. Your friends Steve, this is your last

scene with him, so say goodbye. We're not going to use the sound, We're just going to have a spy shot on you. I thought, okay, So I ran up to Steve and I just told him all the ways I was going to miss him and how grateful I was for his friendship and the privilege of working with him. And I'm sobbing and he's sobbing, and we're hugging and and I didn't want to let him go and I didn't want the scene to end. And then finally paulfy you know, says cut and he was like, Jenna, that

was that was brilliant. Can you do it again? But just a little faster because it had been like five minutes. He was like, we just need to tighten it up a little because they wanted him to actually walk away and they had one camera. There was only one shot that they couldn't edit. Is so great. I was like, just tighten it up a little. But sweetie, great job.

I guess he could tell. I was like, sobbing. Well, if that's not an indication of how much we all meant to each other, well then maybe this next clip will be. Claire Scanlon wasn't part of the cast, but she was an essential part of our crew, starting out as an editor and moving on to directing episodes of the show, and she certainly felt the love we had for each other. So you learned to edit scripted shows on the office, but really coming from you know, documentary,

specifically comedy documentaries, this felt comfortable. Yeah. And also, by the way, like that same camaraderie that led to such a strong ensemble, it extended through I remember talking to John about this one time and we were just sitting I think he directed an episode. You know, I was ahead, so I would come to set pick John. I think you need to get this shot, you know, like you need to get this because otherwise how do we it

was the bulldozer. Rain was taking a bulldozer in the warehouse and smashing it all and you needed the reverse and and I was like, I think you need that reverse and we were in there and he's like, oh yeah, no ego, Like it was fine for me to tell John and he needed this shot. Like I would come to set a lot, Dave would come to set a lot, and there was like, that's not normal, like that you always are inviting that. By the way, I always asked

the editor to come to set. Why wouldn't I want an extra pair of eyes that might be catching something because I'm in the thick of it with five other questions like why wouldn't I want someone having my back. It's just a lovely thing to have. It's not about ego or power being a no tour, there's no such thing. First of all. But with John, we were cutting his episode and I remember just being like this is such a cool place to work, like being just truly grateful.

And I was like, I am happy to come in here every day. And I was like he's like, yeah, he's like there's not one person like that. You want to like put your head down when you see them walking down the hall. He's like, there's not one person that I'm like avoid, like where you're like in high school or your first job or something, or like that person sucks. He's like, there's not one. There were over

a hundred people there and he couldn't come. And we, by the way, we were totally gossiping, Like he could have told me that there was no reason. There's no I mean, I wouldn't tell this story if he actually named somebody, like but like we were like, come on, there's got to be somebody. Like everyone had their charm, you know, like everyone had the quirks, their piccadillos. Greg could drive me crazy and I would talk to him

about it. But like that's crazy right there, Like the show runner could drive me crazy, and then I could say, Greg, you're driving me crazy. Like I remember on the finale, there was this whole tangent and I'm sure you'll remember this about planting a tree. Andy sees the tree in the office and says that tree planty, Yes, exactly, Planty has been in here all its life. We've got to

set Planty free. And you guys go out to the parking lot, you plant planty and then you go all the way back up to the office, and then the ending and you hug, and then you go to the parking lot and you go to your respective cars, and that's truly the end of leaving dunder Mifflin and UM.

I was writing notes down and we were over time for the finale and we were all Greg was incredibly emotional, but doing that guy thing where you don't let on that you're emotional, so you're just kind of weird, you know, like where you're just like heretic and sometimes irrational, but like what you really want to say is I'm really sad, but you're not going to say those words because you're

a guy. So I was just taking out notes. We were too long, and I had already pitched to cut Planty, and I truly believed he said okay, while we tried cutting Planty, and I wrote it down and I did it and it was better because not because that whole storyline wasn't interesting, but it was just almost just the physicality of being in the office, having Creed play the song and then taking Planting down to the parking lotning. It was like a hiccup to something wonderful. You didn't

need that hiccup. It just it was just an unnecessary extra beat. As sweet and poignant as it was, there were already like ten sweet and poignant moments that were happening with Creed Song, and too much poignancy diluted what was there. So I cut planting and Howard happened to be walking by, and I showed it to Howard, and Greg's assistant Alyssa was also walking by, and I showed it to her and they both separately went to Gregg and said, oh my god, it's so much better without planting.

And he came storming into my bay and he said, you put that back in? How dare you? I never you're sabotaging me. You're trying to get And I was like what he was at a hundred? I was like, bring it down. I said, first of all, I would never intentionally do something to sabotage you that. I was like, if you don't know that about me by now, I am just I am not that person. I'm just I don't even think I could sabotage someone if I tried, Like if that was my goal, I said, you created

this show. I am here to service what you created and help you realize what you want. And he calmed down, like he was like, so first let's get this paranoia outs that they happened to be walking by, which was true on both counts. They have maybe and that would happen all the time. By the way, we would just be wide by whether doors open, because it would get in sufferably hot and interesting things that I would walk by a people's bays and poke my head. And it

was just a very inclusive environment. When people are waiting for their next scene and they were born of being in their trailer, they'd come and show me something and it wasn't show me myself. It was like, hey, what you got that's funny, show me a funny scene, Like I just want to see what's going on in the show, Like actors would come in all the time. So he said, okay, we'll show me, and then I showed it to him and he's like, okay, leave it out. But like it

was like I had to talk him off, alledge. I think that's what makes him so interesting is he does clearly have and I think it was for the better ultimately for the show. This I don't want to say inferiority complex, but this like someone's always going to try to get one over on me kind of thing going on, Like and you're just you almost have to, Like like with every coworker and or boss, I think you kind of have to just to really get to know their psychology.

And you're working with this, you know, pound really Greg Daniels, who's so so so smart and so funny that like to stand up to him require some hotspun your own, and it's kind of empowering. And I always did it. I didn't always, you know, I had confidence in what he had created, so I wanted to make sure it was the best version of what was written and acted. And I'd make good arguments and then he'd make great counter argument. We have a really good discourse to get

to lock. And I think that was also very unique and special. You know, I always have Greg in my head when I'm directing, because I heard his opinion on everybody else's, you know, as an editor, I heard what he thought of every director, and he thought the world of many and then like sometimes he'd be like, how could they not have gotten that? Like, and I always in my mind, like let's just do one more, like thinking like what didn't I get what would Greg be like,

how can they have gotten that? You know, I always want to have that showrunner in the back of my head saying and that showrunner's voice, because Greg was my first is always Greg. You know, I don't think that there's a single person who worked on the Office that hasn't been forever changed by it. When we started, we were all just trying to find our footing right and then we created this beautiful thing together that we were all so proud of. Here's Phillis on what it was

like when the day we were dreading finally came. You know, when you you talked about when the show ended in after the ninth season, that was a tough tough night, especially when Creeds started singing. But for me, it was really tough like months later after the show had ended and we generally would go back to work around July or August, that's when it set in that, oh, this is life's different now, you know, we're not going back. Yeah.

When I sat down with Greg before that last season or moving into the finale and we started talking about, you know, my life's journey at that point through the Office and Kevin and my experience was um people feeling like they knew me and specifically feeling like I was the guy that they wanted to get a drink with, and I would I said something to him like Greg, I can't go into a bar without getting bought multiple drinks. Like they just come to the point I say no,

I'm good, No, thank you, no, I'm good. Now, I gotta I gotta stop now. Guys, at least people that call you Kevin you know that they know you from this show. You me When people say Phyllis, I have to think for a moment, Okay, do I have our

paths crossed for a moment, do I know you? Or But in reality I do know them or they know me because I've been in their bedroom, in their living room, in their kitchen, and before they go to work and as they go to sleep, and so we are a part of our fans lives, you know, absolutely, But at least you can decipher yours a little better with Kevin

and Brian, That's true. I've never thought about that before Phyllis or Creed or Oscar or Angela yea, and especially if they say, oh I saw you, and I'm thinking, okay, now, did I you know did I go to school with them or what? Right? That's actually the most difficult. Well, I have two difficult fan interactions. One is I'll be at a at a serious place of business, like like

in a thing, and I'm meeting someone. Or I have a good friend who's introducing me to a good friend who says like, oh, we've met before, right, And I immediately go, no, I know we haven't, And I know why you think that we've met before. But then to say that, you become like, I don't know, You're like, you know, I was on a television show, you know, like, so this is an actual thing, you guys. I don't

know if it's fiction blurring with reality or what. But a lot of people confuse us for their real life friends. And I'm not saying we should we shouldn't be friends, or we wouldn't be friends. I'm just saying that I have never met you before. When I talked to John, he had some really great insight as to why this phenomenon continues to take place. You obviously wildly successful. When people approach you, Now, what percentage of it is about

the office? Oh? Large majority. Again, I think it's the difference between fans who feel like they're a part of something and fans who have watched something. I think there's very few things that I watched when I was a kid that I felt so connected to. It was more like, oh, I like the movie ET, But there were very few things that I felt like, if I ever saw that person,

we shared a life moment together. Had I ever met Chris Farley, I would have said that because I watched Tommy Boy so many times that he didn't know he was my best friend, but he was my best friend. So I think that thing is like I shared so much in my life with that show. That's why I think that people, you know, people have seen other things, which is great. Certainly recently, like I think quiet place in Jack Ryan, people are coming up a lot more.

But I think our fans see me and instead of going up to an actor to get a picture or something, they're actually seeing a friend of theirs. Is my point, My long meandering point is no one looks at Jack Ryan. I was like, oh my god, my buddy, Jack Ryan, Oh my god, you're an actor. I didn't realize they do think that with Jim and I've had. My favorite experiences with fans is when they think we've gone to

school together or something that's my favorite. Like I had one where a woman said we know each other and I said do we? And she goes, we went to school together and I was like, I don't. I don't think we did, and she went, yes, we did. And it was like that thing of like why am I being awkward about it? And where did you go to school?

And she said some school and I went, I did not go to that school and she went, yes, you did, and like I was like okay, and then I left and I could see that either someone else has been like you don't know that person, You just thought that it was at the Airport bookshop, and then through the window you saw them being like silence, being like, oh no, god it was. But I think that that's such a credit to the show that you don't just like the show,

you actually think you know those people. Yes, because I I By the way, I'm not necessarily comparing you to Ted dancing in exactly the same way, No, but I just mean like Ted Danson was doing a lot of stuff and immediately after Cheers, but there was something about Cheers Sam alone that everything else not even that other things wouldn't have been as good or better. But Cheers was what I shared because there was a purity to that experience that you had watched the same with me.

I mean I was. I grew up in Boston, like Cheers was a form of like television, religion or something. Yeah, I will take a comparison to ted dancing anytime. Then I won't do that again. God damn it. Here, put on these airphones. I want you to hear something. I'm playing something for everybody. Boy. Um, we should have had these on the whole time. I would have. I would have changed my voice. Um, don't ever ever when I have a earphones on and I have your tone right

in my ear, don't talk low like that. My voice slips and nope, I just would have slips around. I don't like that in my heard. I don't like your voice slipping around in my ear. Um, we play clip six for me, Clip six. I thought it was weird when you picked us to make a documentary, But all in all, I think an ordinary paper company like dunder Mifflin was a great subject for a documentary. There's a lot of beauty and ordinary things. Isn't that kind of

the point. So Gregg wrote that clearly for him that was the point. What did you think the point was the point of what shooting the show? The show? Yeah? Sorry, my brain just exploded again. Um. I think that that is so beautiful, that writing, and I would only suspect that it came from someone who created the show, because someone who creates the show and doesn't just act on the show would have to have in their head a beginning, middle, and end. And you're shooting for something, and I love

that that's what he was shooting for. What are you most thankful for? Oh my god, everything? I mean, are you asking me as a person? Well, I mean, without sounding hyperball, it's it is my everything. I mean, that show changed my entire life. Was twenty three when it started, so I hadn't even really formed an identity of who

I was. And so that show, not only from a career perspective, where I've had more opportunity than I ever would have dreamt of having for one day, I have for an entire lifetime, is all due to that show. I never would be doing any other or thing that you've seen me do, writing, directing, acting, and something else if it wasn't for that show. But as a person, I think it sort of gave me this very quintessential building block that I got to stand on to build

the rest of my life. Yeah, you're you're about to say, that's all crack of ship. Know what? What? What? What would you say? I think it's very similar. I think I was processing what you were saying that because of the people who were working on it, not just the actors, but the writers who are like all showrunners now from the early season, you know, shore extremely successful, fun good shows.

It's but also our crew. Like you said, like you know again in a very probably lame, cliche hallmark way, like I don't know that as a person I would be able to have the luxury forget you know, success or finance or anything. It's the luxury of being who I wanted to be. I didn't know who I wanted

to be. And because of such a warm environment where if everyone had a color, people were splashing their experience and their colors all over me, I got exposed to everything I wanted to be and then got to choose to move forward with my life in a way that I not only didn't know existed, but that I could sustain. Like that you could you could do fantastic, fun stuff every day for ten years of your life. And genuinely I've been asked. I'm sure you get asked all the time,

what year were you guys all over it? Like? When were you guys like we're over it? And I genuinely am trying not to look back with revisionist history. I don't remember one moment where I was like, such a job, that's just such a yeah, as far as jobs go, John,

You're right, you can't beat it. And maybe that's obvious by now as I've spent the last couple of years putting together this love story to the office, but thinking back on the very end, our last moments working together as one big, happy family, there's no better way to bring me right back to that place the moment the show was ending. Then to listen to Creed Bratton sing All the Faces before the finale? Did you have a conversation with Greg? Yes? Yes, he he called me and

you know he'd asked everybody. He said, I want to know what your your feedback is, how do you think the character Creed should leave? And I told him I thought it well, and I said, I think this is this song of mine, All the faces I could be at poor Richards playing my guitar. You guys, the cast all walks in and I'm singing all the faces and the camera comes in on each of you, and he said, I like that idea. That's the last I heard of

it until the table read. And then I saw at that time and I almost cried, I literally and Brian, I went, oh my god. Looked around. There was my guitar. I didn't know I was going to sing that song until the table read. That was the first time I heard about it. They kept they kept it, They kept it just as a surprise. It was emotional. Wait they they had your guitar. Yeah, now, the the p A

went and got my guitar and had it there. And I looked around like this, and I went and I see reading the scripting, but oh my god, I'm gonna sing this song. And what there is gregs letting me sing my song. And look around they're they're all they're standing bick they're smiling, and they got my guitar. They planned this, you know, we play. Will you play a little bit for me? All right? Okay, I gotta tear my phone on just for second, guys to uh tune up this acts this is the guitar I used actually

on the on the show. This this old Martin and John. It's a good story. John. We couldn't get the microphone on the think and then the shot so Krazinski said, he hold this the shotgun. He had it under his arm when we were recording. You couldn't hide him, mind, I couldn't hide the mic for the guitar itself. And then John said, well, I'll just hold the shotgun mic under my arm because he was the closest. He was the closest to me, and and he was sitting there

talking to looking over Pampit all the time. He's holding him right there on the sound hole. He's a team player, right boy? We know that all right for you. I saw a friend to day. It had been a while and we forgot each other's name, but it didn't matter, because deep inside feelings do of re means. We talked of knowing one before you've met, how you feel more than you see, and other worlds that lie spaces in between angels. We can see all the faces that I

know have that same familiar glue. I think I must have known them somewhere once. Beefful. All the faces that I know, and all the faces were seeking chen airvery day. When we get home at night, there's one face, sweety. And when my mind's absorbed on my private little screen and I'm walking, climbing through a sea of unknown men, I hear a voice reminded they're across the street, walks an old forgotten friends. We don't have to say a word.

It's really better left unsaid, just light through as that recognize all the faces, all the faces I know, And while the faces we see each in air day, when we get home at night, there's one face we knee all the faces I see eachin every day when I get home at night, face I need when I get home at night, You're the only face I need. So great, there we go, so great, dude, Yeah it um, Yeah, it gets me every time. Wow, it gets me every single time. Thank you Creed, Thank you everyone for being

a part of this beautiful podcast. It is meant more to be than you will ever know. Thanks for tuning in once again, and come back next week to hear from perhaps my most special guest of all you. I'll see you that the office. Deep Dive is hosted and executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner alongside our executive producer Langley. Our senior producer is Tessa Kramer. Our producers are Liz Hayes and Diego Tapia. My main man in the booth

is Alec More. Our theme song Bubble and Squeak, performed by my great friend Creed Bratton, and the episode was mixed by Seth O'landscape