WEBVTT - Rainn Wilson - Pt. 2 0:00:05.120 --> 0:00:08.879 My name's Rain Wilson, and I played Dwight Kurt Shrewd. 0:00:15.760 --> 0:00:22.759 Hello everybody, Welcome back to the Office. Deep Dive. We're back, baby, 0:00:23.239 --> 0:00:27.160 that's right, we are back. I am your host, Brian 0:00:27.200 --> 0:00:30.600 baum Gartner. Today you are going to be listening to 0:00:30.680 --> 0:00:35.559 the second part of my conversation with Rain Wilson. So, 0:00:36.400 --> 0:00:39.360 just like with Angela, I wanted to save this part 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:44.520 of Rain's interview for our Camera as Character series because 0:00:44.640 --> 0:00:49.199 Dwight had one of the most interesting relationships with the 0:00:49.240 --> 0:00:52.240 camera on the show. Sometimes it was like he was 0:00:52.360 --> 0:00:55.920 hiding from it, he hated it, but at other times 0:00:56.440 --> 0:01:00.360 the camera was his friend, like in the Sea from 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:03.800 Stress Relief where he's lighting the fire. He thinks the 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:08.240 camera gets what I'm doing right. And we also talked 0:01:08.240 --> 0:01:14.279 about many other important topics, like Rain's dynamic with Steve Correll, 0:01:14.920 --> 0:01:20.320 whether The Office could indeed be made today, and who 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:24.640 in the cast was the most likely to get fired. 0:01:25.280 --> 0:01:29.119 As always, Rain had so many insightful things to say. 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:32.400 I just love talking to him about our show. Though 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:36.160 I hate that I'm being so nice to him, but 0:01:36.240 --> 0:01:38.240 you know what, I can't help But I love him. 0:01:38.360 --> 0:01:43.920 You love him. America loves him, Dwight. He's everyone's favorite. 0:01:44.160 --> 0:01:46.479 I'm not bitter about that at all. I'm a little 0:01:46.520 --> 0:01:50.320 bitter about that. But without further ado, here he is 0:01:51.720 --> 0:02:01.000 Rain Wilson, Bubble and I love it Bubble and squeaker 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:07.720 Bubble and squeaker cookie every month. Left over from the 0:02:07.880 --> 0:02:20.560 night before. When we talk about what was unique about 0:02:20.560 --> 0:02:25.640 the show, um, the camera as the character. UM. To me, 0:02:25.720 --> 0:02:29.840 what's impressive and what I'm tremendously proud of in the 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:35.360 show is that every shot it wasn't about how can 0:02:35.400 --> 0:02:37.560 we cover this person the best, how can we get 0:02:37.600 --> 0:02:39.400 this or even how can we get this joke? But 0:02:40.160 --> 0:02:43.520 is the camera there? Where is it? What story is 0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:48.639 that telling? Because we're supposedly seeing this through a Documentaryan's lens. 0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:53.280 I mean, your interactions with the cameras elevated Dwight an 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:58.480 even higher level than it was. Yeah. So there was 0:02:58.639 --> 0:03:03.760 a constant, uh a negotiation about where the cameras should 0:03:03.800 --> 0:03:06.720 be for a scene, and Greg was very exacting about it. 0:03:07.040 --> 0:03:09.800 Randall Ione Horn one of our chief directors, Matt Son, 0:03:09.919 --> 0:03:13.720 one of our chief directors, and cameraman. There was this 0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:17.000 constant dialogue and it was very thorough. Nothing was done 0:03:17.040 --> 0:03:20.640 half asked. You know, it was just kind of like, well, 0:03:21.040 --> 0:03:23.320 you know, we rehearse the scene. Maybe the director would 0:03:23.320 --> 0:03:25.760 have it plotted out, but the writer would come in 0:03:25.760 --> 0:03:28.520 and say, well, if the camera was here when he 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:31.320 says that thing and then looks away, we can rack 0:03:31.440 --> 0:03:34.760 focus to the person in the foreground and get their reaction, 0:03:35.240 --> 0:03:37.840 and the other camera can get this other reaction and 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:40.080 then you know, so it was there was a lot 0:03:40.200 --> 0:03:44.040 of calculation that went on. The use of Venetian blinds 0:03:44.360 --> 0:03:48.120 was extraordinary. How do we shoot through the blinds? Is 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:50.560 this a spy shot? Is that on this side of 0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:52.360 the blinds? On this side are they a where the 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:55.760 cameras there? And so if you look at the episodes, 0:03:55.880 --> 0:04:00.000 it's almost mathematical about, you know, how can we position 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:05.160 in the camera so it captures seemingly effortlessly captures the 0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:11.040 greatest number of reactions and interactions to bring out as 0:04:11.240 --> 0:04:16.080 much humanity and comedy at the same time. So, you know, 0:04:16.080 --> 0:04:18.880 when you would prep an episode, you would you know, 0:04:18.920 --> 0:04:20.960 have the a D there and you'd kind of read 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:23.240 through the scene and you'd think about where we would 0:04:23.240 --> 0:04:25.719 need to go, and you also didn't want to just 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:28.200 always repeat you didn't want to just always have like, 0:04:29.400 --> 0:04:31.440 you know, we'll just put the cameras in Michael's office, 0:04:31.560 --> 0:04:33.680 just shoot over one guy's left shoulder and the other 0:04:33.680 --> 0:04:36.840 guy's right shoulder, and just you wanted to find new 0:04:36.880 --> 0:04:40.839 original ways of shooting stuff, and it was very precise 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:44.680 and sometimes it was a real puzzle. One of the 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:47.320 challenges I remember having on one of the episodes, I 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:48.960 can't remember which one it might have been. I think 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:53.039 it was Classy Christmas was that if people walk in 0:04:53.120 --> 0:04:55.520 and they're having a scene and you're shooting them, you 0:04:55.600 --> 0:04:58.360 have to whip around to get reactions on the other people, 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:00.720 Whereas if you're on the other her side and they 0:05:00.720 --> 0:05:02.880 step in front of the camera so the camera has 0:05:02.920 --> 0:05:05.320 the deep background of the rest of the office behind 0:05:05.440 --> 0:05:09.680 the players in the foreground, then you get to follow 0:05:09.760 --> 0:05:13.400 the action and just rack focus past them, past the plant, 0:05:13.480 --> 0:05:16.080 past the copy machine, and get the reactions. So it's 0:05:16.160 --> 0:05:19.680 better to be on that side of the access of 0:05:19.720 --> 0:05:21.840 shooting because for people who don't know, there's a thing 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:25.080 called the line when you're directing, and it's the access 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:28.000 between the principal players, and you're either on one side 0:05:28.040 --> 0:05:29.400 of the line or the other side of the the line. 0:05:29.400 --> 0:05:31.720 You can't really play on both side of the lines. 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:34.360 They just would look really jumbled in the human brain. 0:05:34.400 --> 0:05:38.520 It's just how vision works. So I remember there being 0:05:38.560 --> 0:05:40.919 a lot of, you know, deep conversations like how do 0:05:40.960 --> 0:05:44.600 we get Steve in further so that the camera stays 0:05:44.600 --> 0:05:48.359 on this side. So it's very complex. Yeah. One of 0:05:48.360 --> 0:05:50.719 the other things that I've been thinking about is you 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:56.799 and I were theater actors, right, Steve Angela Oscar were 0:05:56.800 --> 0:06:01.000 really improv actors, and then you've got Craig Robinson and 0:06:01.080 --> 0:06:05.159 b J who were really stand up guys, And I wonder, 0:06:05.800 --> 0:06:09.360 it seems to me that there's something in what made 0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:13.040 our ensemble unique that had to do with that. That's interesting. 0:06:13.040 --> 0:06:14.960 I hadn't really thought about that before, but I think 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:18.280 that's a really good point. People had all of these 0:06:18.320 --> 0:06:24.760 different backgrounds that kind of suited their characters, and I 0:06:25.160 --> 0:06:27.960 don't know exactly how, but I definitely see that all 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:30.240 kind of adding into that kind of the jumble eye 0:06:30.320 --> 0:06:35.440 of of the ensemble. And also, like, remember we were 0:06:35.560 --> 0:06:39.240 just post friends, right, this was two thousand four, and 0:06:40.279 --> 0:06:44.800 everyone was very interesting faces, you know, even like John Krasinski, 0:06:44.839 --> 0:06:48.240 who's handsome, was not traditionally handsome in a lot of ways. 0:06:48.279 --> 0:06:50.280 You know, it's kind of long face and stuff like that, 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:56.200 but really interesting and odd faces all around. And that 0:06:56.279 --> 0:06:59.520 was pretty groundbreaking for the time. You see it more now, 0:07:00.120 --> 0:07:02.920 but especially for network television at that time, it was 0:07:03.000 --> 0:07:06.640 just unheard of, all these kind of weirdos. But I 0:07:06.680 --> 0:07:10.480 think the diversity in our acting backgrounds people brought different strengths. 0:07:10.520 --> 0:07:14.760 You know, what do you think made the ensemble so special? 0:07:15.720 --> 0:07:20.760 You Well, obviously I was I was the main part 0:07:20.800 --> 0:07:25.520 of that. I think Greg had a lot of experience, 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:28.240 so he had written on Seinfeld and Simpsons and created 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:29.840 King of the Hill, of course, but he had been 0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:32.400 on a lot of other shows, and I think he 0:07:32.480 --> 0:07:34.640 was very careful to make sure that he wasn't casting 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:38.120 any divas and that everyone was a team player and 0:07:38.160 --> 0:07:41.240 an ensemble player. So I think that one thing that 0:07:41.320 --> 0:07:44.000 theater and improv gives you is a sense of like, 0:07:44.640 --> 0:07:47.600 it's not the Rain Wilson Show or the Steve Carrell 0:07:47.680 --> 0:07:51.000 Show or whatever, it's the It's about the ensembles, Like 0:07:51.040 --> 0:07:52.840 how do you make other people funnier? How do you 0:07:52.920 --> 0:07:56.160 play well with others? That was another thing he picked 0:07:56.200 --> 0:07:59.520 people with also, like just really good hearts, like the people. 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:01.800 When you look back on it, everyone is a really 0:08:01.880 --> 0:08:05.600 goodhearted person. Now, I've worked on TV shows where that 0:08:05.760 --> 0:08:09.200 is not the case. In fact, I remember I forget 0:08:09.840 --> 0:08:12.360 which director was. It was a director later on season 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:14.520 five or six, and they were like, oh my god, 0:08:14.560 --> 0:08:16.320 I can't believe how much you guys love each other 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:19.000 like that. We hug each other and high five and 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:21.960 in between takes were just laughing and watching videos and 0:08:22.280 --> 0:08:26.800 goofing off and um, just a really loving environment. And 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:29.520 he goes, I just got back from directing Desperate Housewives. 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:32.280 It's like half the cast is not talking to the 0:08:32.320 --> 0:08:34.080 other half of the cast. You have to call people 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:36.600 out of trailers at certain points in time, but they 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:38.520 won't look at each other, they won't do the off 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:41.120 camera work with the other person. It's all this just 0:08:41.520 --> 0:08:45.560 cattiness and competitiveness and and that that exists on a 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:48.320 lot of different shows. You kind of you kind of 0:08:48.320 --> 0:08:51.200 read about it and it's, uh, it's pretty extraordinary, and 0:08:51.240 --> 0:08:56.320 it wasn't there for us, not in the slightest No. Yeah. Um, 0:08:56.360 --> 0:08:59.120 so we have this, like, we have this collection of 0:08:59.240 --> 0:09:03.079 characters that are existing within this office. And I think 0:09:03.080 --> 0:09:05.120 when you think about the show, that's what you think about, 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:10.439 and you forget how much change we had, like even 0:09:10.600 --> 0:09:16.840 from from season three and Jim leaving and then Um, Karen, 0:09:16.840 --> 0:09:20.720 Philip Elly and Andy coming in and Ed and then 0:09:20.760 --> 0:09:23.400 Ellie coming in, like we had sort of a constant 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:26.920 revolving tour, although not really revolving because not many people left. 0:09:26.960 --> 0:09:29.720 We just got bigger. Um. I don't know, there's something 0:09:29.760 --> 0:09:32.679 interesting to me about the energy that was created by 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:36.680 Greg constantly changing up and adding cast members and making 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:40.880 us go on locations. Later seasons we had Clark Duke 0:09:41.120 --> 0:09:45.600 and Jake Lacey. Yeah exactly. Um, Yeah, I think that 0:09:45.760 --> 0:09:50.000 was really smart. I mean, you know, I think Rashida 0:09:50.080 --> 0:09:54.080 and Ed Helms, like two of the greatest comedy actors 0:09:54.240 --> 0:09:57.360 of all time coming in was a really needed breath 0:09:57.440 --> 0:10:00.640 of fresh air in that third season and really helped 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:02.920 us a lot. And I think Ellie Kemper, who has 0:10:02.920 --> 0:10:06.600 proven herself to be one of the great comedians UH 0:10:06.679 --> 0:10:10.960 television personalities, bringing her in in season five or six 0:10:11.040 --> 0:10:14.360 or whenever it was, um really helped the show as well. 0:10:14.440 --> 0:10:18.080 So he was very adept about that, as as he 0:10:18.160 --> 0:10:39.880 is in all of his decision making. I consider you 0:10:40.120 --> 0:10:45.720 and Steve to be one of, if not the greatest 0:10:46.240 --> 0:10:50.640 comedy duos in the history of television. Wow, that's so 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:56.440 sweet of you, Brian. Thank you. Shut up. I'm serious, 0:10:56.480 --> 0:10:59.080 I'm serious. That is very sweet of you. I do 0:10:59.600 --> 0:11:01.400 I I just kind of want to do a little 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:05.719 deep dive into you and he working. How much did 0:11:05.760 --> 0:11:09.400 you talk about those scenes before you were in the 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:14.439 room shooting. We never talked about scenes, never ever. Um, 0:11:14.480 --> 0:11:18.280 so you talk about the various skill sets that we 0:11:18.360 --> 0:11:21.920 brought to the equation as actors. So Steve was in 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:26.160 Second City. He was kind of infamously great in Second City. 0:11:26.200 --> 0:11:28.679 He wrote a lot of their favorite best sketches. He 0:11:28.760 --> 0:11:31.560 toured with them, You've done the Dana Carvey Show, and 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:34.560 he was just really well known and super highly respected 0:11:34.559 --> 0:11:37.840 and and truly like I've worked with a lot of 0:11:37.880 --> 0:11:40.640 amazing actors over the years before The Office and since 0:11:40.679 --> 0:11:44.440 the Office, I've never worked with anyone like him before. 0:11:45.080 --> 0:11:49.800 He can improvise like it's it's it's it's almost a 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:54.040 crime to call it improvisation, because he can just be 0:11:54.559 --> 0:11:59.479 and speak as a character and it's both funny and 0:11:59.480 --> 0:12:02.559 and pathetic and sad and moving at the same time, 0:12:03.000 --> 0:12:06.560 and it was just a true honor and marvel to 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:10.600 like watch him work and for me, like again I 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:13.800 improvised pretty well, it's not really my bag. My bag 0:12:13.880 --> 0:12:16.440 is like creating memorable characters. That's how I think of 0:12:16.480 --> 0:12:18.840 myself as an Actor's like when I die and they 0:12:18.880 --> 0:12:21.240 show the little thing on the Emmys of the Academy Awards, 0:12:21.280 --> 0:12:23.240 I want people to go like, oh wow, he created 0:12:23.240 --> 0:12:27.000 a lot of really interesting memorable characters. But it was 0:12:27.040 --> 0:12:30.640 just about watching Steve go. So I thought of us 0:12:30.679 --> 0:12:37.119 as like, wow, these guys are the loudest podcast engineers 0:12:37.480 --> 0:12:40.600 I've ever heard in my life. Um, I'm just kidding, 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:42.400 you know, It's okay, I'll show you how to turn 0:12:42.400 --> 0:12:45.520 the volume down on the computer. Though. The so I 0:12:45.760 --> 0:12:48.840 thought of us as like the vision that I had 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:50.720 was like the image that I had, like we're just 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:54.839 these different musicians, Like Steve is like this he's a 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:57.880 violent player, or he's the Alto Sacks or something. It's 0:12:57.920 --> 0:13:02.280 like it's quick, it's mercurial, it's changing, and Dwight is 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:05.000 kind of like a little more of the base. And 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:08.920 also I thought part of Dwight's job, part of my 0:13:09.040 --> 0:13:12.040 job as an actor is just to keep him off 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:15.360 balance just a little bit. So I would always vary 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:19.440 my timings and sometimes just try and funk with him, 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:22.080 and I'll just all of a sudden, say I could 0:13:22.080 --> 0:13:24.200 really go for some spaghetti right about now, and he 0:13:24.240 --> 0:13:27.240 would just never miss a beat. He would spin it 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:30.080 into pure gold. So it was it was really a 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:35.120 miraculous thing to watch. But I think that when a 0:13:35.240 --> 0:13:38.200 comedy duo is in sync there they know kind of 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:41.520 what instruments they're playing. And Dwight, I think sometimes I 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:43.680 would try and be the violin, but Dwight was never 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:48.559 That's not his speed, it's not his rhythm. Um, he 0:13:48.920 --> 0:13:51.640 doesn't work in the same way. And it was also 0:13:51.720 --> 0:13:55.200 really great to just know, like, this is what Steve does. 0:13:55.320 --> 0:13:58.240 He does it better than anyone else, like on the planet, 0:13:59.160 --> 0:14:02.280 and I don't need to try and do that. I'll 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:05.520 do my thing. My thing is to play kind of 0:14:05.559 --> 0:14:09.680 the big bass playing weirdo in the corner, you know. 0:14:09.800 --> 0:14:13.160 In opposition to that. Well, that was the thing that 0:14:13.320 --> 0:14:18.200 always amazed me, which was he would come in, you know, 0:14:18.400 --> 0:14:21.880 like in the conference room scenes. These are sides, by 0:14:21.920 --> 0:14:23.880 the way, these are fake sides, and he would be like, 0:14:24.000 --> 0:14:26.640 you know, kind of like flipping through and like okay, 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:29.160 and I'm gonna move here, and we would rehearse for 0:14:29.240 --> 0:14:32.120 like an eight page scene for about six minutes, and 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:34.320 then'd be like okay, everybody go get dressed and whatever. 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:36.520 And then he would put on his suit and finish 0:14:36.560 --> 0:14:38.360 getting his makeup on, and he would walk back in 0:14:38.400 --> 0:14:42.200 and it was like boom. He was like fully there. Yeah. 0:14:42.280 --> 0:14:45.680 But that's why I wondered if you and he ever 0:14:45.760 --> 0:14:48.520 talked through any more of those things. That was one 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:51.200 of the things with Steve that I kind of saw 0:14:51.360 --> 0:14:54.280 really quick because I wanted to just be respectful to 0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:57.440 his process and whatnot, Like he did not want to 0:14:57.440 --> 0:15:01.240 work stuff out, He did not want to rehearse, he 0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:04.320 didn't want to like talk about it and and stuff 0:15:04.360 --> 0:15:05.680 like that. I mean he would if there was there 0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:07.160 needed to be a change in the writing, he would 0:15:07.160 --> 0:15:09.760 bring in Greg or Paul or or Jen or whomever 0:15:09.880 --> 0:15:13.000 and talk about, like could we change this. I feel 0:15:13.040 --> 0:15:14.680 like he would say this and needs to say something 0:15:14.720 --> 0:15:16.920 more like that. But as far as the acting, it's 0:15:17.000 --> 0:15:20.560 like it's off, boom starting gun, the horses are off 0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:26.320 and you you just go and worked really well. Right. Um, 0:15:26.600 --> 0:15:29.320 it occurred to me, one of the things that make 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:33.960 made you and Steve so unique goes to not to 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:38.120 dismiss this at all. You and John were hilarious together, 0:15:38.320 --> 0:15:41.320 but you were a much more classical duo. He was 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:44.520 the straight man to you, whereas with you and Steve, 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:48.920 you both were crazy idiots, right and still somehow it 0:15:49.000 --> 0:15:53.560 was made believable and real and hilariously funny without being 0:15:53.600 --> 0:15:56.560 a competition. It was really like an orchestra, Like you said, Yeah, 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:00.000 so this is where we could talk shop a little bit, 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:03.960 because I love the history of clown and of clowning. 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:08.840 And it really started with the comedies of the ancient Greeks, 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:13.160 you know, like Aristophanes the Frogs and some of those plays. 0:16:14.160 --> 0:16:17.520 What's the one where they all have boners, um they 0:16:17.640 --> 0:16:20.480 withhold sex from the man until the men stopped the war? 0:16:20.600 --> 0:16:23.760 Anyone blanking on the name anyway, So it all starts 0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:27.640 back then, and then swiftly moves to Comedia dell arte, 0:16:27.720 --> 0:16:30.960 which sprang out of you know, Roman theater that had 0:16:31.000 --> 0:16:34.320 these comic tropes and would travel all over Europe. And 0:16:34.360 --> 0:16:38.480 they always had the dopey clown like Kevin. They had 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:43.080 like the weird, intense clown like Dwhite. There were these tropes, 0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:47.560 and basically all of comedy uh in the Western world 0:16:47.560 --> 0:16:49.840 I think is based off of those tropes, from comedy 0:16:49.920 --> 0:16:54.600 to Larte. They influenced obviously Moliere and then Shakespeare, Vaudeville 0:16:54.680 --> 0:16:58.600 and clown characters like that, then moved into you know, 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:01.800 early radio and TV. You know, think about the Honeymooners 0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:04.240 and then the early sitcoms and Dick Van Dyke and 0:17:04.280 --> 0:17:07.119 Merritt Tyler Moore and then on into the later sitcoms, 0:17:07.119 --> 0:17:12.119 and this constantly evolving process of these archetypal kind of 0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:16.320 forms that I really view like Michael and Dwight, and 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:20.200 Dwight and Jim as like two comic duos as being 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:24.560 like inheritors of the history of comedy. I don't know 0:17:24.600 --> 0:17:28.800 exactly how they fit in um certainly, you know, Jim 0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:31.160 was like the young lover, although he had that great 0:17:31.200 --> 0:17:34.680 dead pan and got more laughs than anyone else could 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:37.000 have gotten in that role with this you know, his 0:17:37.119 --> 0:17:39.840 looks to the camera and his long suffering nous and 0:17:40.200 --> 0:17:44.199 quick wittedness. But it's the it's the essence of clown. 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:48.320 You studied clown as well, and physical theater and stuff 0:17:48.359 --> 0:17:51.040 like that. You And I know this might sound pretentious 0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:53.080 as hell to people, but I don't care for them. 0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:54.840 What how do you how do you feel like it 0:17:54.840 --> 0:17:58.520 it played into the clowns and the physical comedy of 0:17:58.520 --> 0:18:03.359 the Office. Absolutely, I mean I think primarily with Kevin 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:09.240 and Dwight and Michael Um, but no, even Angela, Andy Bernard, 0:18:10.200 --> 0:18:13.919 those characters. Absolutely, we all might have had clown noses 0:18:13.960 --> 0:18:15.960 on when you think about it, totally, you could have 0:18:15.960 --> 0:18:18.280 put clown noses on all of the different characters. And 0:18:18.359 --> 0:18:21.159 even though it's a documentary and gritty and real and 0:18:21.240 --> 0:18:23.400 felt like in an office, like it was really happening 0:18:24.000 --> 0:18:26.920 documentary style. And that was one of the things that 0:18:27.560 --> 0:18:30.160 I said to Greg early on into the writer's room, 0:18:30.200 --> 0:18:35.159 like I really love physical comedy and I would really 0:18:35.200 --> 0:18:38.320 I think that Dwight really soars when he's doing physical comedy. 0:18:38.359 --> 0:18:41.600 I really want you to consider writing as much physical 0:18:41.640 --> 0:18:44.320 comedy for me as possible. And I do think that 0:18:44.320 --> 0:18:47.360 that's when you think of the Office, you think of 0:18:47.359 --> 0:18:51.680 like documentary uber real bad lighting, reactions looking at the 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:54.159 camera and stuff like that. But you could do a 0:18:54.200 --> 0:18:58.080 compilation episode of the Office of like the physical comedy bits, 0:18:58.720 --> 0:19:02.639 you know, the fire episode, and Dwight with Jan's baby 0:19:02.720 --> 0:19:06.320 carriage or um parkour and all of this stuff, like 0:19:06.560 --> 0:19:08.639 even you having to give me a massage. Do you 0:19:08.680 --> 0:19:12.000 remember you climbing up on the wall. I was on 0:19:12.080 --> 0:19:14.879 my were on the filing cabinet behind you as I 0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:19.200 was doing that. So, um, there's a really a strong 0:19:19.520 --> 0:19:22.320 constant vein. Like every episode I would say had some 0:19:22.920 --> 0:19:26.960 at least one or two big bits of physical comedy 0:19:27.400 --> 0:19:30.320 and involving pain and getting hit and doors slammed in 0:19:30.359 --> 0:19:32.879 faces and whatnot, and that I don't think that gets 0:19:33.160 --> 0:19:36.760 quite enough props or attention from people. Well, and and 0:19:36.920 --> 0:19:40.680 even pretending to be a different character than you are, right, 0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:43.960 you a number of characters and Jim and me, And 0:19:44.080 --> 0:19:47.560 when Jim dresses is Dwight and says Bears beats Battlestar Galactica, 0:19:47.720 --> 0:19:49.760 and people always say, I want you to write Bears 0:19:49.800 --> 0:19:52.560 beats Battlestar Galactica or if I'm signing a picture or 0:19:52.560 --> 0:19:54.240 something like that, or say it or something like that. 0:19:54.280 --> 0:19:58.440 I'm like, Dwight actually never said that. In two episodes, 0:19:58.520 --> 0:20:01.200 Dwight never said Bears be It's Battlestar galact That was 0:20:01.320 --> 0:20:04.880 Jim as Dwight saying that, I don't say that. I'm 0:20:04.920 --> 0:20:09.160 not a perist nicketty asshole going wait said it. But 0:20:09.760 --> 0:20:12.680 people should realize that Dwight never actually said that. Wow, 0:20:12.800 --> 0:20:15.320 I would never have gotten that. I would I blew 0:20:15.359 --> 0:20:19.959 your mind. No, I never would have gotten that. Um okay, 0:20:20.000 --> 0:20:23.679 So you have this comedy duo with Steve. When did 0:20:23.720 --> 0:20:28.040 you find out he was leaving? Um? I knew that 0:20:28.080 --> 0:20:30.440 Steve was going to get out of there as soon 0:20:30.480 --> 0:20:33.159 as he possibly could because he had all of these 0:20:33.440 --> 0:20:37.440 movies that were wanting to pay him ten and fifteen 0:20:37.640 --> 0:20:40.399 million dollars a pop to go do. So of course 0:20:40.440 --> 0:20:45.520 he would like what you know. So, um, did you 0:20:45.560 --> 0:20:50.240 have reservations about the show existing beyond him? Yeah? I had. 0:20:50.400 --> 0:20:54.600 I had great reservations about the show existing without Steve. 0:20:55.240 --> 0:20:58.639 You know, did I think we were going to bomb 0:20:58.680 --> 0:21:01.919 and fail without Steve? Know, We're we going to be 0:21:02.040 --> 0:21:04.800 hurt by losing one of the greatest comedic actors of 0:21:04.880 --> 0:21:08.280 all time in the lead character? Of course, we were. 0:21:08.840 --> 0:21:12.159 No one thought otherwise. At the same time, we had 0:21:12.200 --> 0:21:15.560 a pretty damn great ensemble. You know, Ed Helms at 0:21:15.560 --> 0:21:19.560 the time was lead in Hangover, which was the biggest 0:21:19.560 --> 0:21:25.399 comedy ever made and we had him and he you know, 0:21:25.440 --> 0:21:27.879 I didn't think we needed like a Robert California or 0:21:28.000 --> 0:21:30.240 Cathy Bates or you know a lot of other like 0:21:30.320 --> 0:21:32.600 big names to bring in at that point. I think 0:21:32.600 --> 0:21:35.760 we had the ensemble. I wish the creators and I 0:21:35.800 --> 0:21:37.399 know they were doing a lot of battling with with 0:21:37.560 --> 0:21:39.840 NBC at the time because we were starting to slip 0:21:39.840 --> 0:21:43.080 in our ratings even before Steve left. It's not like 0:21:43.119 --> 0:21:45.160 we were just on a ratings bonanza all the way 0:21:45.160 --> 0:21:47.640 through Steve and then Steve left and we were declined. 0:21:47.680 --> 0:21:50.160 We were in decline for a good year or two 0:21:50.680 --> 0:21:54.920 with Steve there. But yeah, I knew it was gonna Um. 0:21:54.960 --> 0:21:56.600 I knew it was going to hurt us, and I 0:21:56.680 --> 0:21:58.960 knew it was also time for you know, all of 0:21:59.040 --> 0:22:02.720 us to step up in the ensemble and carry more weight. 0:22:04.040 --> 0:22:08.880 Um of anyone on set, who would be the most 0:22:09.080 --> 0:22:15.600 likely to be fired for an HR violation, Oh ouch, 0:22:16.320 --> 0:22:21.880 um boy, I would. I was first wanted to joke 0:22:21.920 --> 0:22:23.840 and say, oh, that would be me, because I told 0:22:23.840 --> 0:22:29.800 a lot of inappropriate jokes. But at the same time, 0:22:30.520 --> 0:22:33.320 oh boy, you've got me stumped on this one. At 0:22:33.320 --> 0:22:35.200 the same time, for some reason, I'm going to Creed 0:22:35.560 --> 0:22:38.919 because I would tell inappropriate jokes, but people could always 0:22:38.920 --> 0:22:41.240 tell like, oh, that's Rain telling a really inappropriate joke. 0:22:41.280 --> 0:22:43.040 But at the same time, like Creed could tell one, 0:22:43.480 --> 0:22:46.200 and I imagine that certain people would kind of go, oh, 0:22:46.280 --> 0:22:50.000 he means it. He's actually going to chop up my 0:22:50.040 --> 0:22:51.600 body and put me in the trunk of his car 0:22:51.720 --> 0:22:55.440 or something like that. Or um, so I would say 0:22:55.440 --> 0:22:57.800 a tie between me and Creed. Maybe yeah, okay, I mean, 0:22:58.040 --> 0:23:00.439 would you go with that? I will, now that you 0:23:00.520 --> 0:23:04.160 said it was all about you, you would say things 0:23:05.280 --> 0:23:09.000 that I mean, my language can be horrendously bad. I've 0:23:09.080 --> 0:23:12.480 kept it together somewhat here, but you somehow would put 0:23:12.880 --> 0:23:16.120 combinations of vulgar words together in a way that even 0:23:16.200 --> 0:23:19.360 made me uncomfortable and looking around like who heard that? 0:23:19.480 --> 0:23:22.359 And are we in trouble? Oh my god? You know 0:23:22.480 --> 0:23:25.960 we made the show before all of this stuff, the 0:23:26.160 --> 0:23:27.879 me too and stuff like that. I hope I was 0:23:27.960 --> 0:23:31.879 never really I certainly was never demeaning to anybody or 0:23:32.119 --> 0:23:35.359 or cruel to anyone, um or you know, coming on 0:23:35.440 --> 0:23:37.320 to women in some weird ways. It was just like 0:23:37.880 --> 0:23:41.840 inappropriate jokes. But I heard about some other shows where 0:23:41.880 --> 0:23:47.000 people like off camera were like dropping their pants and 0:23:47.040 --> 0:23:50.159 showing their genitals to the person who's on the camera, 0:23:50.240 --> 0:23:52.040 and that would happen all the time, and everyone thought, oh, 0:23:52.080 --> 0:23:55.160 this is hysterical, you know, like all the quote unquote 0:23:55.320 --> 0:23:59.399 hysterical high jinks that would happen. That was really just 0:23:59.600 --> 0:24:03.320 straight harassment. That's what I always imagine people are wanting 0:24:03.400 --> 0:24:05.720