Ed Helms - Pt. 2

for the holidays. Who could have guessed that? So head on over to Amazon or Barnes and Noble or Books a Million, wherever it is that you get your books and grab your very own copy of Welcome to dunder Mifflin. And while you're at it, grab a copy for your mother, your sister, all your friends, anyone in your contacts list.

You will not regret it all right now, I also have another big announcement to tell you about at the end of this episode, so make sure you stay tuned after the interview and and find out what in the world that could be. Trust me, it is good. And lastly, what you all came here for, my very special guest, that is returning for part two of our conversation the

Nord Dog himself, Ed Helms. Now, if you haven't already, make sure you go and listen to part one, but then come right back here, because I've been saving the best for last. Yes, that's right, the last. I'm starting to wrap up the interviews, which I know is very bitter sweet. But the good news is, over the next few weeks you're going to hear a few of my very favorite episodes with some of my favorite guests, and you also may hear some of yourself. But that being said,

today's interview truly is it is. It's one of my favorites because you get to see Ed in a different way. Right Ed is known for playing these kind of loud, bumbling, I mean hilarious but maybe slightly obnoxious characters. Right but Ed himself, he's just he is so not that. I mean, he is hilarious and and he's a comedy nerd. We talk about that. But today what you're going to get to see is a very sweet, thoughtful side of Ed because that's who he is, and I'm not gonna lie.

Things get a little emotional. So here he is the incomparable Mr Ed helms Bubble and Squeak. I love it Bubble and squeak on Bubble and Squeaker cookie, every moment left over from the NAB before you said you were a comedy nerd. What what was it about the Office when you started initially watching it that you felt like you were seeing something different? What? What? What? What was that? Well? I don't know why I didn't. I didn't even I wasn't able to sort of understand what I liked about it.

But what I do think is kind of hilarious is that all of the awkwardness and the tension that we think is so funny our parents generation, especially as Southern parents, like you know, repression is a very powerful force in Southern families, and and that the awkwardness is is so intolerable.

And even on the Daily Show, especially with the field pieces, the correspondent field pieces, it was all about finding extremely tense moments, and you know, you read we would revel in the awkwardness and try to foster awkwardness with people, um because that tension is funny. Uh. And that that's sort of my post mortem analysis. Like I didn't quite,

I didn't. I never understood that at the time and I couldn't understand why, why why our parents generation didn't think The Office was funny, Like, well, how do you not get this? But I understand now that that um because I think I've seen more extreme versions of it that make me uncomfortable at times, and I can see like, oh, it's just it's like calibrating, like what's right here. Well, there's a number of fans who come up to me,

huge fan, I'm the biggest fan of the show. I can't watch Scott's Taughts like Scott's Taughts somehow puts it over the line. Dinner party is sort of like the straddling the straddling of the line, but Scott's Taughts two people are like no. And so I started to analyze, like, well,

why is that? And I think it's kind of what you were talking about about the Daily Show, which was most of the cringeing moments were happening to us, right the office workers, ourselves, whereas Scott's Taughts suddenly was about these kids and that that's rough. That's rough. Yeah, it's fun to see, like if your heroes are low status, the heroes of the show are lost datas, it's fun

to see them squirm. But when you see like regular people squirm, and and that's on the Daily Show, you know, we would try to make the bad guy squirm, right, whoever the villain of a piece of a field piece was. But I don't know why is that funny? Why is squirming so funny? I mean, the most extreme versions were all of Sasha Cohen's stuff, right, the borat and the alg It's it's a powerful it's it's it's an incredible mechanism for satire, but it is it can be polarizing

for sure. Um when well, let me ask you this, had you done much physical comedy before the office? Did you feel like that was something that you did? Well? I did. I've done a lot of improv, which is obviously a lot of um, you know, very broad physical stuff on stage. And I you know, I started by doing stand up in New York City, and I actually knew John Krasinski from that. He started by going to New York and kind of dipping his toe in the

stand up world. But we we were acquaintances back back then. But that's just a funny side note. What was I saying before? Oh, physical comedy? So in my stand up I kind of fancied myself like I don't know, like a sort of sand Luri or Brian Reagan, like a perform like someone who acted out his my bits. And so there was a lot of physicality there. And then

the Daily Show. I think part of what was fun about that was being a very stuffy reporter but breaking that mold and ridiculous ways sometimes physical And so I don't write, oh, did you really sing Acapello at Oberlin? Um? I did. There was a group called the Oberlin Overtones. That there is, I should say a group called the Oberlin Overtones, and I was in that group for or

one semester my freshman year. I don't know, maybe it was my it was spring of my freshman year and fall of my sophomore year and then and then I didn't do it anymore. Was that a joke that you pitched them on, Andy, or that was just going that? Yeah?

That was that? I think was something that you know, there was a little bit of Harvard writers like using Cornell as a punching bag, right, That's that's a little bit of what was going on with Andy greg being Harvard and Mike Shure and and a couple of others, But I had no baggage with Cornell, but I still just loved the I don't know, it seemed like a fun thing to make fun of, and so the acapella character trait was that just was he was endowed with

that in the writing process. And but it is something that I understood implicitly and I got Acapella is it is such an interesting art form because it is so fun to do, but it is kind of excruciating to watch or listen to. And I mean no disrespect to acapella aficionados out there, I just because my own relationship with it is complex. I have a love hate thing, and I think especially in college acapella groups, there's a strong association with kind of a a very clicky, smug

arrogant vibe. Right. It's almost like a like certain preppy fraternities or something. And even though the Oberlin overtones were actually not like that at all. There's really no part of Oberlin that's preppy. And um, it's something that made sense and it really informed Andy in lots of ways. That the creation of Andy's profile was one of the most thrilling creative endeavors of my life, because you know,

if it was the acapella thing. I would just start singing on set at wrong times, and then the writers would see that and be like, Oh, that's fun, and then they'd write in more singing. And that's just one example. There were so many little details that started to kind of slot in, like a Tetris game about who Andy was, and it was this feedback loop, and Mike Scher in particular had a real shine for Andy, and we just

had so much fun. Like I would go to the writer's room and just joke around with Mike about who Andy is and what made us laugh about him. And that was another thing that I think made the office so special is that the collaboration between the writers and

the cast was next level, right. I Mean, there were cast members that were writers to begin with, but then I always felt like the writer's room was an open door and that when the writers were on set, it was always a conversation like what, like, how do we have more fun with this character? Or what what can we come up with? And everyone was open minded and that it's that kind of best idea wins mentality that

leads to great stuff. Yeah, I agree with you a thousand and Greg told me that He wanted that opened up as a workshop for the writers, actually, because he believed that the comedy in the show was so much about behavior, and you can't write behavior and so well in the beginning. You can't until you get to know a character, right, But yeah, you're so right. There's a famous episode of Friends in which they start making fun of the way that Chandler talks, like the cadence of

his speech, and it's one. It's a favorite episode. It's extremely funny, but it is it. It's something that could not have been written in season one. It's something that everyone started to understand implicitly, and it took a writer being like, that's funny, Like that's a really specific annything about Chandler, and if the other characters clock it, we can write to it. But that's really cool to hear. I didn't know that, But you're you're so right. I mean,

for Greg to be ahead of that. Writing always gets better on a TV show as the writers learned the behavior of characters. But to start with that ethos of like we are behavior forward, that's awesome. Yeah, Greg's awesome, that's awesome. Changing gears a little bit. Mike Sure talked specifically about you during the writer's strike and coming out to the picket line that was happening, and what a different and that made for them as they were having

a difficult emotional time picketing their own show. Do you recall anything about that? Yeah? Absolutely, Um, I just remember everyone felt a lot of tension, like am I a part of this fight or am I? You know, obviously I support the writers, but I'm there's some it's scary a little bit like it just felt so baffling, and I think in hindsight, I've I really appreciate what how courageous that was. And yeah, there were a bunch of

There were a bunch of picket lines. I remember going to the first day was on our little lot up in Van Nuys, right, it was just our writing staff and um, they said they were confused about what where they should go, and there were things about going to Paramount or going to Universal. They thought, well, that's not

where we work. This is where we work, so they went on their own there, right, And then over the next Over the subsequent weeks, there were lots of demonstrations at the studios, Like I remember going to Universal Studios. There was a big one on the Avenue of the Stars, like they took over the whole that whole block in Century State, in Century City, the Giant March. But that

was a crazy, crazy time. Yeah, I remember. It was all very confusing because ultimately the actors supported what the writers were doing, and the writers were in a way they were fighting the fight for all artists. Absolutely, But at the same time, I remember talking to my representation and going like, what you know, and they said, well, you know, you have to show up, like you can't

not show up. And you know some of the writers have talked about it was Steve not showing up and apparent only he got calls from the network executives and lawyers, and I was told, you have to show up, show up to work, to work, not to the picking. Yeah, to show up to work. And he just said, no, you're gonna do How long the strike was three hundred days,

three months, a little over three months. Yeah, I it's you know, since then, I've been in so many different parts of this industry now on different sides of things, and and you know, unions are complicated, but they are

so necessary. They're just the ultimate bulwark against exploitation. And not to get political here, but it just like being on the front lines of that, and and that there were a handful of show runners that really led the charge and took strong positions, and Greg was super inspirational through all that. Greg's a soft spoken guy, but he is tough, you know, like he's he's tough. He fights for and stands by what he believes. And in the case of the writer strike, that was about principle and

what was right or wrong. And yeah, it's good to be on Greg's side. It's always good to be on correct side. Um, do you remember your impression when you heard Steve was leaving? I guess maybe more were you afraid that the show couldn't survive or were you confident that it could go forward? I think I felt pretty confident that the show could morph into a different thing.

And I just had so much confidence and Greg and in the writing staff, and there had been that there were so many experiments that we all kind of went through it narratively on the show that sometimes they worked and sometimes it didn't, and if they didn't, you just would kind of it would veer away from that thing. And it seemed like there would be like if anybody can do it, it's the Office writing staff, right, you know.

I mean that's not to diminish the unimaginably massive blow that his departure is was, but I I think that the show felt bigger than any one person at that point, if that's if that makes sense, Yeah, it is, though a credit to you. I mean, much like Steve with

forty year old Virgin. Part of the way into your time on the Office, you became a giant movie star too, what the hangover, And I think you deserve a lot of credit for that, for not only staying around, but being energized and continue to work on your character and on the show with great integrity. Thanks. That's very very

kind of you. Um, I just love The Office. I and I kind of never wanted it to end, and I loved I think loving The Office really is about just loving the people and loving that cast and crew, and it's really feeling like a family and just wanting to step up and deliver for everybody's sake all the time. You know, shooting those movies was often exhausting because it was concurrent with the Office. I don't think a lot of people know or understand quite how crazy some of

that was. But I was shooting cross or of episodes, meaning like I would do two days on the Office. I was shooting the Office Monday and Tuesday, and then the hangover Wednesday through Sunday. It's insane. I mean that was crazy. And then a lot of that hangover stuff was nighttime. So I just was like a zombie. Um. But it was so fun and no one ever, I never felt kind of judged or or slighted by anyone.

I felt fully supported, and I just I knew that if I slipped or or didn't wasn't there for everybody else, then I had no right to be doing going off and doing these movies. I had to show up for the Office and still be fully present. And and it helped that that I that it's so fun. I mean, I keep going back to that. It was just the only way I could do that was because the hangover was fun. But the Office was fun, and the Office was the thing that I knew and I loved and

I knew I wanted to do right by the Office always. Yeah, did you feel like it was the right time to end after season nine? I think so? Um. I mean at that point, I think my my disposition had shifted

a little bit. I was starting to look a bit the bigger picture of my life and career and and my personal goals, and I think, you know, candidly, there were some ways that Andy There's just some storylines there towards the end that that confused me a little bit, and I wasn't as I just didn't feel like this is the same thing I loved as much, if that makes sense, Not the show, but just sort of what in particular kind of some of what Andy was was doing or going through, and um, I just there was

sort of a shift happening, I think in my life and then my my emotional state at the time, and so I felt it actually felt like a a reasonable place to wrap up. I think in it it's hard to remember how exactly how I felt, but it's been a long time. I am trying to unpack, like why is The Office the most watched show on television now five years later? Like what what are the reasons? And I think that there's a chance. I recently went back and watched it the whole the whole series, and it

doesn't feel dated. And I started thinking like why, and I the only answer that I can come up with is a documentary can never feel dated because it's taking a snapshot of what was actually happening. You don't look at a documentary about the seventies and go, well, that's dated, right, You're just looking at that time. And that also the subject matter being an office that is not at the

forefront of fashion or technology, all those things. You know, like a movie like Devilwaar's Product, which is so stylish and it's an amazing movie, but it will you'll feel when it was made because of all those cues. But you take a world like under Mifflin and those people and those props and those sets like there, those are things that would not change in that space for twenty years, right right, Like it would look the same over a

long period of time. Why do you think the show We kind of talked about this, but why young people have responded so much to the show given that it has to do with basically middle aged office workers. Well, you know, we can ask this question all the time any talk show, whatever, it's the most common and or dinner party wherever I am. I feel like people ask me this all the time, and I'm like, I don't know,

ask the kids. They're the ones who love it, um so, but it were left to just speculate and UM and I have lots of theories, I'm sure like you do. UM. I think the simplest version is the same reason that I loved Saturday Night Live when I was a kid and I wanted to be on it. That that was like the thing that drove my entire life, was wanting to be on Saturday Night Live as a as a young person. And the reason I loved it so much from such a young age. I started watching it when

I was eight. And what was so intoxicating to me? Even though I didn't even get the jokes half the time, they clearly we're having so much fun. There was something you could tell Eddie Murphy was in the zone right, And I just loved that and I that was something that I sought my whole career and still do and and I and I think the Office is one of those rare places where a lot of the time that

whole cast is in the zone right. There's even even when the scenes are small and there's and the performance are small and the dialogue is intimate or whatever, it felt it felt so fun and special to be there and be a part of it. And at some level that comes across right. There's some way that I think audiences just clock that in the same way that I did as a little kid watching Saturday Night Live, and

I I think that's a huge part of it. I also think that there are some contextual things like it's a fish bowl, it's a it's a bullpen. It's mundane, it's gettable, it's understandable. It's like and the people in that office go through so many things, but you never question whether or not they're going to be there the next day. You know, a question whether or not they

kind of love each other still. You know there's something, there's something I think that makes people want to be a part of that dunder Mifflin family when they watch it,

because it's it's just comfortable. As awkward as the dialogue is and as as much tension as there was at different times in the stories, there there's a sense of belonging that everyone in that space had, and everyone had a role, and it was predictable, and character's behavior was predictable and understandable, and I just I think that's um. It takes a long time for a show to get there, and thank god the office had that breathing room to

find that. But when a show does, like Cheers or Taxi, you just love to hang out with it and be in that space. Yeah, what are you most thankful for? Oh man, Um, it's yeah, it's so abstract, but it's like, um m m um, the whole thing. Yeah, um yeah, Uh that my last line that I said on the show. Um, it really resonates, you know, it's like those were those

were good old days for sure. Yeah, it's crazy. I Um, I don't remember how long ago it was now, but I saw you post a photo of me and you and John and Rain I think at a Golden Globes we're all like in our Texas and you put that quote and it's hard to describe or put yourself back there, but it was just like it's just one of those instantly like hits you in the chest in a way. Yeah.

They're just so few times in life when when you just feel un burdened by a lot, and when there are so many times during the office that I just remember driving to work at five in the morning with a cup of coffee so psyched, right, and that that feeling of just being psyched to go to work, being psyched to go to events with my cast mates, to go hang out, get drinks with some writers, whatever. I just was psyched a lot during that whole time. And

and that's an elusive thing in life. You know, life's complicated, and there are ups and downs, and most of the time we're kind of in the middle somewhere, and there's things were psyched about, but there's things were we're burdened by or scared of that are going on all the time. And at that time, I just remember being psyched a lot, you know, like a lot of the time, and hanging out at base camp and our trailers, just playing tunes with Creed or or just like hanging out with you

just whatever gossip was going on, whatever it was. It's rare to feel like you're part of something special. And but boys are awesome when you do have that feeling. And that's I think what defined that whole time for me. I just felt special. Yeah, well Ed, thank you so much, Oh my god again and talking And I just appreciate so much. Obviously, you and I have the longest history anybody um on the show, and I you know, I love you, and I just I so appreciate you coming

in and talking about it for a little bit. Oh man, it's awesome. You yanked some heart strings here that I wasn't expecting. But I I'm grateful for it. I love it, and I love you too, and that's it. That is Ed. And although on the day I didn't say to Ed that he yanked my heart strings, uh, he did and he always does. I remember when I called Ed about sitting down with me, and Ed was working on another project at the time. He was incredibly busy, and he didn't.

He not only said yes, when would you like me to come in? But he said yes, when would you like me to come in? And then we started talking stories. At one point I had to say, no, Ed, stop, no, wait, I want to I don't have this. I'm not recording this right now, and I want to hear this spontaneously as you're remembering it. So let's I love talking to you, but I'm going to stop talking to you now because I want to talk to you when I have a camera or when I have a microphone in front of you. Um.

But his generosity, his heart, his spirit. Um. Well I hope you saw it because it's true. So thank you d for joining me and thank all of you for listening to me, to me, to me, and ed uh, thank you. And now for the second big announcement. All right. So, as you know, I have been interviewing the cast and crew of the Office, my Office family for the last couple of years now, and let me tell you, I never thought that I would be doing it this long, right.

My original intention was to do the oral history and write the book and that's it. But sharing these interviews with you has been truly the greatest joy of my life. Letting you get to know these actors and writers and makeup artists and stand ins and directors that that have so much to give and so much to tell. Introducing you to the people who have inspired me. That for me is what it's all about. All right. So I keep getting questions like, Brian, when can you bring this

guest on? Brian, when are you going to do this for other shows? Well, guess what, baby, We're coming back in two and it is going to be bigger and and better than ever. We're gonna start at the top of two with guest stars from the Office, people who are on just a few episodes like the Will Ferrell's and the Kathy Bates is Is and and then we're going to expand and we're gonna start talking about some

of your other favorite shows. Think Modern Family, Think Cheers, Think Fresh Prince of bel Air, because those shows, well, they need love to So stay with me here, same time, same place, same host, same feed, just more guests, and I promise you this, you're gonna have a fantastic time, because when I have a good time, you have a good time. Now. As for the name, it's going to be called Off the Beat. And here's the story behind that.

I had a a French director that I worked with for many years, Dominique Surrand shout out and and he taught me something that that comedy happens off the beat. And that's exactly the kind of conversation that I'm going to strive to have one that happens off of the beat, about what happens off camera in the moments between the stories, because that's the kind of stuff that I want to know about. So starting next year, you're gonna hear a

new iteration of this podcast. Let's call it version two point oh, because that's what everybody names things two point oh. It'll be everything you loved about the Office Deep Dive and so much more. But before the new year, I want to hear from all of you. All right, I'm gonna be doing a couple of very special call in episodes where you get to guide the conversation. That's right, I want to hear your stories. How has the Office changed your life? Is there anything that you have been

dying to let me know? Do you have any spectacular or spectacularly funny stories tied in with the show, or run ins with the cast or anything. Really, sky's the limit. I just want to hear what you have to say. You know, when I'm out in public, I often have people come up to me and tell me very, very hilarious or moving stories about their experience with the show. This is your opportunity to share those stories, not just

with me, but well with everyone. So the best way to be featured on one of our call in episodes is to use use the voice Memo app on your phone, record your question or comment, and then email it to us at the Office deep Dive at gmail dot com. That is the Office deep Dive at gmail dot com. Make sure to include your name, where you're from, and then your question or comment, and don't forget to leave your number two, because yes, I am going to call a few of you back and have you on this show.

All right, that's it. I've announced just about everything there is to announce. So with that, I will say goodbye, thank you so much again for listening, and have a great one everyone. The Office. Deep Dive is hosted and executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner, alongside our executive producer Lang Lee. Our senior producer is Tessa Kramer. Our producers are Liz Hayes and Diego Tapia. My main man in

the booth is Alec Moore. Our theme song Bubble and Squeak, performed by my great friend Cree Bratton, and the episode was mixed by Seth Olandski