WEBVTT - Steve Carell 0:00:05.519 --> 0:00:16.000 I'm Steve Carrell, and I played Michael Scott on The Office. Well, 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:20.200 hello everyone, Yes it is time. It's the one you've 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:23.160 been waiting for. I'm sure. Well. First of all, welcome 0:00:23.600 --> 0:00:26.840 to this week's episode of the Office Deep Dive. I 0:00:26.880 --> 0:00:30.560 am your host, Brian Baumgartner. I got ahead of myself. 0:00:30.920 --> 0:00:34.600 I could not be any more excited to present my 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:39.400 guest today, Mr Steve Carrell. Now, Steve was the star 0:00:39.520 --> 0:00:44.600 of the two thousand seven comedy of an Almighty Alright, No, 0:00:45.120 --> 0:00:51.080 but I mean talk about someone who truly needs no introduction, 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:54.320 which is probably a good thing, because there's literally no 0:00:54.400 --> 0:00:57.000 way that I could put into words just how incredible 0:00:57.680 --> 0:01:01.160 Steve is, even though it's like my job, my entire 0:01:01.240 --> 0:01:03.360 job is just to put things into words, and I 0:01:03.440 --> 0:01:07.000 clearly can't. Um, maybe this is the best way to 0:01:07.000 --> 0:01:10.720 explain it. During this conversation, the one you're about to hear, 0:01:11.600 --> 0:01:15.200 Steve basically said that it is so hard to talk 0:01:15.240 --> 0:01:18.640 about The Office without hyperbole. That he didn't want to 0:01:18.680 --> 0:01:23.200 be like it's the greatest or you know whatever, but honestly, 0:01:23.720 --> 0:01:28.600 that is how I feel about Steve. It's really hard 0:01:29.080 --> 0:01:33.720 to talk about Steve without hyperbole because He truly is 0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:39.000 the absolute greatest. I could go on forever, and I 0:01:39.000 --> 0:01:41.679 I kind of do in this conversation. So let me 0:01:41.720 --> 0:01:44.679 just say this. I hope you enjoy this just as 0:01:44.760 --> 0:01:49.720 much as I did. Here. He is the incomparable Steve 0:01:49.800 --> 0:02:01.960 Correll bubble Qui, I love it bubble Quigan or bubble 0:02:02.040 --> 0:02:06.920 and Squeaker cookie every month, lift over from the night before. 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:26.120 Oh my god, are you that's so good? It's so good? God, 0:02:27.720 --> 0:02:31.320 I know I was just saved your producer. Yes, where 0:02:31.320 --> 0:02:35.600 do you you want me here? Oh my god? How 0:02:35.919 --> 0:02:39.440 was life? I mean, sorry, I'm late. I know, I 0:02:39.520 --> 0:02:42.320 literally just saw and I texted. I said, he's ten 0:02:42.360 --> 0:02:48.200 minutes late. But that's now. So um, are you still 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:52.000 doing the thing where you because you bought the general store? 0:02:52.120 --> 0:02:55.760 Right is that's that's still your? Okay? So I was 0:02:55.960 --> 0:03:01.079 somewhere and New York or something and someone came up 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:04.519 and had something for me to sign somewhere. They knew 0:03:04.520 --> 0:03:06.000 it clearly I was going to be and they had 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:09.480 this thing, and I said, oh, you got you got Steve? 0:03:09.560 --> 0:03:12.200 I said, I don't. I don't normally see uh Steve, 0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:15.760 And he said, once a year, you do a day? 0:03:15.919 --> 0:03:19.519 Is this through your laughing. The year you do a 0:03:19.639 --> 0:03:23.280 day where you sign at the general store, well they 0:03:23.320 --> 0:03:27.320 every year this radio station does a little remote from 0:03:27.360 --> 0:03:30.400 the porch of the general store and just to promote 0:03:30.440 --> 0:03:33.200 the store, and my sister in law runs it, and 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:35.680 you know, it's sort of a festive kick off of 0:03:35.720 --> 0:03:38.440 summer thing. And I go and I do an interview 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:42.880 with them on the porch, and like ten fift people 0:03:42.880 --> 0:03:46.080 would show up and watch it. And then if anyone, 0:03:46.160 --> 0:03:48.520 you know, if anyone wanted an autographer a picture, R's 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:51.360 day and I do with that. So this guy claimed 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:54.880 he stayed for hours it this last year was because 0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:57.160 there were a lot more people there, because I think 0:03:57.160 --> 0:04:00.120 with the office, I think the fact that I'm and 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:05.280 I'm sure you've talked a lot too many people about 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:08.680 exactly that. But boy, in the past couple of years, 0:04:08.960 --> 0:04:12.920 that's changed, just that the tone of that has changed, 0:04:13.200 --> 0:04:17.960 that that little get together. I mean, you're very, very 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:23.960 fancy movie star now, but much like how much is 0:04:24.000 --> 0:04:28.280 it for you now? The office still oh most of it, 0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:34.320 I mean that's right. Yeah. I um, I saw Creed 0:04:34.960 --> 0:04:36.719 and on Space Force. I'm working with a bunch of 0:04:36.720 --> 0:04:42.559 office and I think everyone feels that same sort of 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:46.680 It's just odd. It's odd that when we were doing 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:49.000 the show, and I'm sure you feel the same way, 0:04:49.200 --> 0:04:51.600 we're sort of in a vacuum. To a certain extent. 0:04:52.200 --> 0:04:55.279 I never got the sense that the show was a 0:04:55.400 --> 0:04:59.840 hit by any means, or it was popular enough to 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:02.320 keep it on the air. But we didn't have people 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:07.240 hanging outside the sound stages. Very rarely, occasionally we'd have 0:05:07.279 --> 0:05:16.400 a bogey stopped by, very very incredibly rare. Did that 0:05:16.440 --> 0:05:19.760 ever happen? So um, and we around in the middle 0:05:19.760 --> 0:05:22.760 of nowhere shooting the thing. So I think none of 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:25.160 us got a sense that, which was great because then 0:05:25.160 --> 0:05:27.320 it was just about doing the show and having fun 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:30.839 and bonding and and doing good work. Everyone was so 0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:34.800 committed to it. But yeah, these past couple of years, 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:38.040 I'll tell you when I really noticed it was when 0:05:38.040 --> 0:05:41.520 I was taking my daughter to her college. We we 0:05:41.600 --> 0:05:46.840 did tours and and this was to two years ago. Now, 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:51.080 I had no idea that it was as popular on 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:54.520 college campuses that it seems to become. And it kind 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:57.440 of freaked my daughter out a little bit because it 0:05:57.680 --> 0:06:00.440 became a bit of a thing. And you know, she 0:06:00.560 --> 0:06:03.560 was fine, but I think that was the first I mean, 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:05.159 and that was just a couple of years ago, the 0:06:05.200 --> 0:06:07.839 first sense that I got that it it had changed, 0:06:08.000 --> 0:06:11.680 you know, that temperature had changed a bit. Yeah, I 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:16.720 feel like, I mean, it's crazy because we were the 0:06:16.800 --> 0:06:19.760 number one scripted show on NBC for a long time. 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:24.479 Were we were, but they had enough of any of it, 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:29.560 They had nothing, I guess. Yeah, but but it's so 0:06:29.640 --> 0:06:34.560 much bigger now. Yeah, it's it's definitely changed and it's 0:06:35.120 --> 0:06:36.960 you know, how can you not be happy about that 0:06:36.960 --> 0:06:39.960 that people found it because I think when we were 0:06:39.960 --> 0:06:41.960 doing it, we all felt it was special. We all 0:06:42.040 --> 0:06:44.839 felt that there were there were elements of the show 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:52.040 that I feel like people have they see it um 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:56.960 more fully upon repeated viewing. Well, it was complex, and 0:06:57.600 --> 0:07:00.400 I think more more so than I think people assumed 0:07:00.400 --> 0:07:02.800 it was initially. I don't know. I don't want to 0:07:02.800 --> 0:07:04.760 tout it too much because that's the other thing. I 0:07:04.760 --> 0:07:06.680 don't want to sit back and say, oh, you know, 0:07:06.760 --> 0:07:08.960 it's a it's a classic, and it's this and that 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:13.640 and that's why people love it. I I'm I'm surprised 0:07:13.920 --> 0:07:17.160 frankly that it had the second life that it seems 0:07:17.200 --> 0:07:20.760 to have and people have. We've talked about it. I've 0:07:20.800 --> 0:07:26.160 talked to Nancy about it, my wife about why, Well, 0:07:26.200 --> 0:07:28.800 for starters, why was it able to stay on the 0:07:28.840 --> 0:07:31.720 air in the first place, because it was a remake 0:07:32.320 --> 0:07:35.160 of a very heralded show and it did not get 0:07:35.320 --> 0:07:39.800 good reviews out of the block and everyone. I remember 0:07:39.960 --> 0:07:44.280 before I auditioned, I was talking to Paul Rudd and 0:07:44.280 --> 0:07:48.000 and I'd never seen the original one, and he asked 0:07:48.040 --> 0:07:49.840 what I was up to. This was around I think 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:52.000 it was right after Anchor Man I was going to audition, 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:56.320 and I told him I was going to audition for 0:07:56.360 --> 0:07:58.880 the American version of the Office, and he said, duc 0:07:59.000 --> 0:08:03.120 don't do it bad Dad, move dude. I mean, it's 0:08:03.200 --> 0:08:06.160 never going to be as good like what everybody was saying. 0:08:06.520 --> 0:08:08.680 So it's I think a miracle that it was that 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:13.040 it even lasted, you know, that first second season. I 0:08:13.080 --> 0:08:16.240 mean it was like every we get two episodes, then 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:18.760 they'd move it up to six episodes, so the orders 0:08:18.800 --> 0:08:21.360 weren't there was a lot of confidence in the show 0:08:21.560 --> 0:08:24.920 for a long time. Yeah. My favorite review, there's a 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:28.440 gentleman by the name of David bian Coolie. He wrote 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:32.240 the following This is after the pilot where Ricky Gervais 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:36.600 let the bosses insecurity shine through. Steve Carrell is all 0:08:36.720 --> 0:08:40.680 noise and stupidity, like a sketch comedy character, not a 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:47.160 real person, not just foolish, but a fool. Yeah. He 0:08:47.280 --> 0:08:49.679 was never I mean, he was never a fan of 0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:53.200 the show. He never was. I know him. I don't 0:08:53.200 --> 0:08:57.840 know him personally, but I know I've read other things 0:08:57.840 --> 0:09:01.160 that he's written about the show, and it was I 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:03.720 don't know, I don't know who he wrote for, but 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:05.680 that was It wasn't just him. I think it was 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:09.800 kind of that was pretty common. I think across the 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:16.120 board there was not a lot of critical love for 0:09:16.160 --> 0:09:21.559 the show, which is interesting because I think we all 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:25.440 just disagreed. I think we felt like we were onto 0:09:25.480 --> 0:09:28.640 something and it wasn't the British version, and it was 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:33.160 something unto itself. It was based on all of the 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:37.000 components that we're making it up. I think Greg daniels 0:09:37.040 --> 0:09:42.280 Man one of I think his great talents is choosing people, 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:49.040 choosing people who have chemistry, both professionally and personally. Everybody 0:09:49.720 --> 0:09:53.360 got along, I mean every people. We loved each other 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:56.520 on that show. I mean when I just walked in 0:09:56.559 --> 0:10:00.360 a Zoe, I felt like crying. It's it's it was 0:10:00.400 --> 0:10:03.160 such a special thing, I think to all of us, 0:10:03.160 --> 0:10:07.400 and I think we're all very protective of it. And 0:10:08.400 --> 0:10:12.400 you know, reviews, good, bad, it's it's okay totally. People 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:15.080 have their own opinions and they're entitled to them, and 0:10:15.120 --> 0:10:17.800 I you can't take any of that too seriously. But 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:20.720 at the same time, I think we all had confidence 0:10:20.800 --> 0:10:25.120 that we were doing doing something good and doing something 0:10:25.120 --> 0:10:29.040 of value. From Diversity Day, I remember sitting in that 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:31.880 conference room going, if people give this thing a shot, 0:10:32.720 --> 0:10:36.120 this is funny, and it's doing something different. It's looking 0:10:36.120 --> 0:10:42.440 at the world outside in an interesting and complex way. Yeah, 0:10:41.840 --> 0:10:48.120 do you how do you feel like the show reflected 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:51.800 the outside world, you know, in terms of like Diversity 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:56.319 Day or gay witch Hunt or well. Starting with the 0:10:57.040 --> 0:11:01.160 quality of our writing staff those first few seasons, especially 0:11:01.400 --> 0:11:04.839 before everyone became big deals and went off to their 0:11:04.840 --> 0:11:06.960 own shows, I mean, that's what happens. You get you 0:11:06.960 --> 0:11:11.160 get these great people like Mindy Kaling and Mike Sure, 0:11:11.320 --> 0:11:12.960 and we had a ton of them. We had a 0:11:13.160 --> 0:11:17.600 really really deep bench of writers. And when you have 0:11:17.760 --> 0:11:21.800 a bunch of people who are that funny and that's smart. Um. 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:26.480 For me, the hardest part of it was servicing the script, 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:30.360 making sure I didn't because I get I get dialogue 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:34.280 every day and think, I, I can't screw this up 0:11:34.360 --> 0:11:38.080 because it and it and I knew it had to 0:11:38.120 --> 0:11:42.600 be delivered in in just the right way because or 0:11:42.640 --> 0:11:45.520 otherwise you're not servicing this great writing. So I think 0:11:45.520 --> 0:11:47.120 that I think and I think we all felt that 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:49.720 there was a responsibility to get it right because the 0:11:49.760 --> 0:11:52.400 writer the writing was so consistent in terms of how 0:11:52.440 --> 0:11:55.840 it reflected society, but to do it in a way 0:11:55.840 --> 0:11:59.760 that wasn't too heavy handed and felt organic to what 0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:02.880 we were doing his characters. And that was the other 0:12:04.040 --> 0:12:06.520 great part of having Run. I mean, I was there 0:12:06.559 --> 0:12:09.520 for seven years. You were there for nine too, to 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:13.560 be able to tracy evolution of a character and have 0:12:13.720 --> 0:12:17.080 something in mind and be able to talk to the 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:20.560 writers and talk to Greg Daniels and say, what if 0:12:21.120 --> 0:12:25.960 next season my character went in this direction, and and 0:12:26.040 --> 0:12:30.120 then it happened. Um, And I think everyone trusted each 0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:34.920 other to such a such a degree that you know, 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:37.440 that was pete that they were. They were willing to, 0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:41.000 you know, not be too precious about anything. And I 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:43.480 think it became better because of that. Greg told me 0:12:43.520 --> 0:12:45.600 something I did not know this, Maybe you knew this, 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:48.439 I mean, obviously. One thing that he did that was 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:51.559 unique was he sort of tried to obliterate the barriers 0:12:51.600 --> 0:12:54.839 between the writer's room and and the actors. And because 0:12:54.880 --> 0:12:59.040 he said, for him, this show was about behavior, and 0:12:59.520 --> 0:13:04.800 you can't right behavior. You can't write body posture, you 0:13:04.840 --> 0:13:08.000 can't write a specific look on your face, which I 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:10.400 thought was so interesting. That's really smart. I know I 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:13.960 never heard that, but it completely makes sense. And the 0:13:13.960 --> 0:13:16.679 fact that so many of the writers were actors on 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:20.200 the show, not just watching. Another thing I liked was 0:13:20.240 --> 0:13:24.960 that when we were on set, it was pretty much 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:28.080 just us and the camera crew and the director all 0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:32.520 the time, so it felt as close to what we 0:13:32.520 --> 0:13:36.319 were supposed to be doing. Um, you know, it was 0:13:36.360 --> 0:13:39.800 as close to doing a documentary without actually doing one 0:13:39.880 --> 0:13:43.640 as it could feel. But yeah, having writers there and 0:13:43.720 --> 0:13:48.480 seeing how the actor's work and maybe tweak a line 0:13:48.600 --> 0:13:51.960 or improvise and find something, and to have you know, 0:13:52.040 --> 0:13:54.920 to have Mindy, to have Paul, to have b j 0:13:55.240 --> 0:14:00.360 all there not just as actors but as fuel and 0:14:00.360 --> 0:14:05.719 and having incredible suggestions or ideas or or things to 0:14:05.800 --> 0:14:08.959 throw in rewrites. I mean, I don't know how much 0:14:09.880 --> 0:14:13.320 footage there is on the cutting room floor, but you 0:14:13.360 --> 0:14:19.960 could edit an entire season for sure, of of stories, 0:14:20.080 --> 0:14:23.040 whole storylines that were cut out that we're hilarious and 0:14:23.040 --> 0:14:26.760 we're just cut for time. I mean, our scripts were long, 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:30.400 and our first cuts of things they had to be 0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:36.240 what twenty minutes, and they'd have thirty five minute cuts, 0:14:36.280 --> 0:14:39.560 their first cut, forty minute cuts. Sometimes they just split 0:14:39.600 --> 0:14:42.760 them in half and we'd have two shows. That happened 0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:45.400 a couple of times. Do you remember was there anything 0:14:45.560 --> 0:14:49.120 for you that you recall that was cut? People ask like, 0:14:49.360 --> 0:14:52.200 was there anything that was cut either a story or 0:14:53.040 --> 0:15:00.240 I mean, I there, No, I'm I don't. I just don't. No. 0:15:00.480 --> 0:15:03.120 I mean I would see things in there and think, oh, yeah, 0:15:03.160 --> 0:15:05.680 I remember, I remember we shot that. That's right, I know. 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:08.200 I recently we went back and watched the whole thing. 0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:12.000 Claire Scanlin told me the story, which I certainly did 0:15:12.000 --> 0:15:15.560 not remember. But there was an episode where Jim and 0:15:15.720 --> 0:15:19.400 Pam are fighting, and the episode came in and it 0:15:19.440 --> 0:15:23.840 was really long, and someone had the idea, well, let's 0:15:23.880 --> 0:15:25.960 just make it a silent fight and it's just going 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:27.800 to be about looks like we're not going to have them, 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:29.880 We're gonna cut any exchange between the two of them, 0:15:29.920 --> 0:15:31.960 and the episode is just going to exist as a 0:15:32.040 --> 0:15:36.840 silent fight throughout the whole thing. And at the very end, 0:15:37.040 --> 0:15:40.240 just as they're walking out to their car, they hold 0:15:40.320 --> 0:15:43.160 hands and it just like flips the whole thing, but 0:15:43.240 --> 0:15:46.880 the entire story that had been written and was just gone. 0:15:47.080 --> 0:15:49.920 That's such a great That's a great move though, and 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:54.560 probably so much more powerful than all the dialogue they 0:15:54.600 --> 0:15:58.280 could have said, you know, because that that passive, aggressive, 0:15:58.400 --> 0:16:03.560 that subtle silent between couples can speak volumes. Not that 0:16:03.600 --> 0:16:08.040 I would have any personal knowledge of that. I'm just 0:16:08.080 --> 0:16:12.920 saying as a writer an actor. Um, but yeah, that's 0:16:12.920 --> 0:16:14.600 a great move. And I think they did stuff like 0:16:14.640 --> 0:16:17.960 that all the time. You know, those editors, We had 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:21.840 some great, great people, and so much of the story 0:16:21.880 --> 0:16:25.360 obviously is told there, and I felt like our job 0:16:25.480 --> 0:16:30.080 was just to supply them with as much fodder for 0:16:30.400 --> 0:16:32.840 whatever it was going to become. But I didn't get 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:36.920 precious about anything, because I just knew again it's just 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:41.000 a matter of trust. I trusted Greg and Dave and 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:44.080 Claire and I trusted everyone in the cast and all 0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:47.960 of those writers. That's such a great environment to work 0:16:48.000 --> 0:16:52.880 in when you just know, do your job and they're 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:56.280 going to take it and crafted into something that works. 0:16:56.800 --> 0:17:00.440 And I think everyone did that everyone. So the level 0:17:00.960 --> 0:17:08.320 I don't think what people no necessarily is that as much, 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:11.879 if not more than anything I've ever worked on. The 0:17:12.080 --> 0:17:18.159 universal level of commitment on that show, across the board, actors, writers, crew, 0:17:18.760 --> 0:17:23.119 people were in and it's rare, but I think we 0:17:23.160 --> 0:17:26.479 all sensed it, we all knew And it's not like 0:17:26.560 --> 0:17:29.520 the show. We we were never a friends, we were 0:17:29.560 --> 0:17:33.760 never We were always sort of the the outcast, you know, 0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:40.880 the little engine for sure, and we got those kind 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:44.720 of reviews we never you know, there were never articles 0:17:44.720 --> 0:17:49.159 written about the office back then. But I personally so 0:17:49.200 --> 0:17:53.120 proud of the fact that, in spite of all of 0:17:53.160 --> 0:17:56.359 the negativity that I think kind of surrounded it, at 0:17:56.440 --> 0:18:00.840 least at first, that group was completely committed a hundred. 0:18:01.160 --> 0:18:04.359 I I feel like we all sort of it was 0:18:04.400 --> 0:18:07.400 like we came up together, which which helped us form 0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:12.920 a very unique bond. I completely agree the relationships between 0:18:13.480 --> 0:18:17.600 all of us um and again doing this other show 0:18:17.640 --> 0:18:20.760 that I'm doing now. Just being able to work with 0:18:21.920 --> 0:18:24.920 you know, five six, seven people that I had worked 0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:29.840 with for seven years, what fifteen years ago? It just 0:18:29.920 --> 0:18:32.240 try it just goes from one thing to the other 0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:37.040 because there is there is that commonality, there is that 0:18:37.040 --> 0:18:39.760 that sense of we we came up together. It's so 0:18:39.800 --> 0:18:42.600 hard to talk about it without hyperbole, too, because I 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:46.960 find myself like, it's the great you know. I don't 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:49.639 want to I don't want to touted too much. I 0:18:49.640 --> 0:18:53.320 don't want to put too much emphasis on how how 0:18:53.520 --> 0:18:56.600 great we all think it was. But I mean, you know, 0:18:56.640 --> 0:18:59.600 people can judge whatever the show is and how are 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:04.040 they like it, and they'll upon repeated viewings, they you know, 0:19:04.080 --> 0:19:06.159 if they find all of this stuff in it, and 0:19:06.200 --> 0:19:10.320 that is great. But from a personal perspective, having worked 0:19:10.359 --> 0:19:14.639 on it was the joy like having these friendships and 0:19:14.680 --> 0:19:18.840 that work experience. I knew when I was doing it 0:19:18.920 --> 0:19:21.080 that this was going it. Nothing was going to be 0:19:21.080 --> 0:19:24.280 better than this as a work experience. I didn't know 0:19:24.320 --> 0:19:27.159 whether it would be the best thing I'd ever be 0:19:27.200 --> 0:19:29.880 a part of, or I knew it would be hard 0:19:29.920 --> 0:19:32.760 to top, certainly, But but just in terms of a 0:19:32.800 --> 0:19:36.840 personal experience and the rewards from that, nothing will ever 0:19:36.880 --> 0:19:39.639 come close to it. Yeah, And I think, you know, 0:19:39.760 --> 0:19:43.919 for me, certainly, I don't want to go into hyperbole either, 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:48.320 but I think trying to at least examine the question 0:19:48.400 --> 0:19:51.680 of why, you know, we were so close. Maybe it's 0:19:51.680 --> 0:19:54.280 because we came up together. And to me, the the 0:19:54.359 --> 0:19:58.880 other element was we had such a wide range of experience, 0:19:58.960 --> 0:20:02.119 you know, like and myself, for example, we were like 0:20:02.680 --> 0:20:04.960 doing check off the month before, you know what I mean, 0:20:05.200 --> 0:20:08.959 like that and improv and stand up and sort of 0:20:09.000 --> 0:20:11.639 all of those experiences. Bill has told me the story. 0:20:11.760 --> 0:20:13.760 Oh my god, I don't know if you've ever heard this. 0:20:14.200 --> 0:20:20.560 She got cast. She came in and she was watching 0:20:20.600 --> 0:20:25.719 everybody improv and she said, I can't do that. So 0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:28.920 the first season she went on her way home, drove 0:20:28.920 --> 0:20:31.400 to the bookstore and bought books on improv, and we're 0:20:31.440 --> 0:20:35.120 reading books she did. I never knew that. I'd never 0:20:35.200 --> 0:20:39.080 do that either. That's shocking to me because I always 0:20:39.080 --> 0:20:43.320 thought she was so pure, so good, like one of 0:20:43.359 --> 0:20:46.959 the best improvisers of any of us, because it was 0:20:47.280 --> 0:20:53.239 everything was completely honest, and she just listened and she 0:20:53.359 --> 0:20:57.359 would just respond within character. That's what it is, you know, 0:20:57.440 --> 0:21:02.240 that's that's the crux of it. Wow that I I 0:21:02.240 --> 0:21:04.200 think all those things you say are true. I think 0:21:04.200 --> 0:21:07.360 the fact that Greg was able to cast people that 0:21:08.080 --> 0:21:12.920 it's just the chemistry was there. People genuinely cared about 0:21:12.960 --> 0:21:16.640 each other because there were there were times that people 0:21:16.680 --> 0:21:20.639 would be in the background for hours and just be 0:21:20.760 --> 0:21:25.080 seen like in profile, while other scenes were taking place 0:21:25.440 --> 0:21:30.440 in the foreground. And I never ever heard one complaint 0:21:31.080 --> 0:21:34.159 by anyone. You know, it was to me, it was 0:21:34.200 --> 0:21:38.199 the true definition of an ensemble. More than anything. I 0:21:38.240 --> 0:21:40.600 think that's why it worked is because there were no 0:21:41.680 --> 0:21:46.680 I don't think anyone wanted to stick out in any way. 0:21:46.760 --> 0:21:49.600 I think everyone just felt a joy in being part 0:21:49.600 --> 0:21:54.560 of that unit. When we come back, our executive producer 0:21:54.600 --> 0:21:59.320 Ben Silverman joins our unit for a conversation about the 0:21:59.359 --> 0:22:02.720 structure of the show and a little thing called the 0:22:02.800 --> 0:22:19.480 director sandwich. I was talking to a couple of people 0:22:19.640 --> 0:22:21.919 just about I had a French director I worked with 0:22:21.960 --> 0:22:24.800 for a while that he taught me that the comedy 0:22:24.840 --> 0:22:28.280 exists off the beat. It happens either quicker or it 0:22:28.320 --> 0:22:31.280 takes longer that that pause. But did you never land 0:22:31.320 --> 0:22:33.120 it right on the beat? I feel like our show 0:22:33.200 --> 0:22:36.120 did really well on that. There was you know, for example, 0:22:36.160 --> 0:22:39.040 a bad joke that then you get a reaction from Jim, 0:22:39.080 --> 0:22:40.840 that then you get a reaction from somebody, and the 0:22:40.960 --> 0:22:44.720 laugh could go sort of at any place. And there 0:22:44.800 --> 0:22:48.679 was a lot going on between the lines there, and 0:22:49.440 --> 0:22:52.439 the writers were aware of that. They were aware of 0:22:52.480 --> 0:22:55.040 the pauses. They were aware of like at the end 0:22:55.080 --> 0:22:58.320 of it it was Office Olympics. There's a scene We're 0:22:58.359 --> 0:23:04.440 all getting our ten awards and the yogurt. The yogurt, 0:23:05.080 --> 0:23:10.040 and I remember that turned into a really emotional moment 0:23:10.080 --> 0:23:13.760 from Michael Scott because someone was giving him an award 0:23:13.880 --> 0:23:16.760 and it was important in that moment, And I was 0:23:16.800 --> 0:23:19.560 talking to Greg about this, and I don't think any 0:23:19.640 --> 0:23:23.320 of us realized until we started doing it that that 0:23:23.400 --> 0:23:26.800 scene was going to have that sort of emotional and 0:23:26.920 --> 0:23:31.320 comedic residence because it wasn't scripted. It was just this 0:23:31.480 --> 0:23:35.560 moment where Jim looks at Michael and realizes this is 0:23:35.600 --> 0:23:39.320 a big deal, and Michael starts to cry out of 0:23:39.440 --> 0:23:45.040 joy and pride, and it it turned into something very different. 0:23:45.320 --> 0:23:49.119 And I think part of the for for my character, 0:23:49.240 --> 0:23:51.200 part of the trick was to not let on where 0:23:51.200 --> 0:23:55.040 the jokes were because Michael generally wouldn't He wouldn't know, 0:23:55.920 --> 0:23:58.200 he wouldn't have an awareness that anything he was saying 0:23:58.320 --> 0:24:00.960 was funny unless he was trying to be funny. So 0:24:01.040 --> 0:24:05.080 to try to mask the absurdity of the line within 0:24:06.000 --> 0:24:09.560 somebody just believing it and not commenting on it as 0:24:09.560 --> 0:24:12.600 an actor while you say it, not not leaning into 0:24:13.320 --> 0:24:17.439 the joke of the line. I think that was something 0:24:17.480 --> 0:24:20.399 that was really tricky. Did the production style help you 0:24:20.440 --> 0:24:23.000 do that? For sure? The way the way that that 0:24:23.040 --> 0:24:27.800 it wasn't is the production style helped everything, um, because 0:24:27.800 --> 0:24:32.520 there wasn't that. It wasn't intricate. The lighting took five 0:24:32.600 --> 0:24:37.240 minutes and we all looked terrible all the time, so 0:24:37.280 --> 0:24:39.800 there was no vanity involved me. That's why the networks 0:24:39.800 --> 0:24:42.879 didn't like it. Probably we all looked like real people 0:24:43.359 --> 0:24:45.000 and we were up. We came out of the bay 0:24:45.040 --> 0:24:46.840 Watch age, you know, we were like we were born 0:24:46.840 --> 0:24:49.360 of the last part. We were not. But to kind 0:24:49.400 --> 0:24:53.359 of throw away all the vanity too was very you know, 0:24:53.600 --> 0:24:56.919 that was great because no one was worried about getting 0:24:56.920 --> 0:24:59.199 touched up all the time. We were just kind of 0:24:59.240 --> 0:25:01.040 in our character is in doing our thing, and that 0:25:01.640 --> 0:25:04.920 not what the show is predicated on, and so in 0:25:04.960 --> 0:25:07.199 that sense, I think it felt more like a documentary 0:25:07.200 --> 0:25:12.399 to Linda. Authenticity and reality and then the performance, I 0:25:12.400 --> 0:25:15.360 mean the other level, just the camera as a character, 0:25:15.840 --> 0:25:20.560 as an entirely other layer of comedy that doesn't exist 0:25:20.600 --> 0:25:22.920 even if you're just playing out a scene. In other words, 0:25:23.000 --> 0:25:26.639 your awareness as a character. You have your own behavior 0:25:26.680 --> 0:25:29.120 and your intention with this character, but you also are 0:25:29.200 --> 0:25:32.000 either playing to the camera or hiding from the camera. 0:25:32.359 --> 0:25:34.560 It's been the bane of my existence since I've left 0:25:34.560 --> 0:25:38.200 thee Yeah, I'm sure I revert to the other two 0:25:38.840 --> 0:25:43.440 in everything I've done since the office. At least once, 0:25:43.800 --> 0:25:47.800 I will inadvertently do a take to the camera and 0:25:47.880 --> 0:25:50.280