Speaker 1: Oh, I'm John Krasinski and I played Jim Albert on
Speaker 1: The Office. Oh hello everybody, uh, and welcome to this
Speaker 1: week's episode of the Office Deep Dive. I am your
Speaker 1: host Brian Baumgartner. Today. Oh, you are going to hear
Speaker 1: him in a way you have never heard him before,
Speaker 1: the hunkiest man in the Office, John Krasinski. Now, I
Speaker 1: actually had to go to New York uh, in the
Speaker 1: dead of winter. I might add to have my conversation
Speaker 1: with John because at the time he was putting the
Speaker 1: finishing touches on his film A Quiet Place Too. He
Speaker 1: was doing final edits, he was getting for the premiere,
Speaker 1: working very hard, and then about a week later, boom,
Speaker 1: global pandemic. That's right, so that premiere did not happen.
Speaker 1: I had to return the tucks I had rented um.
Speaker 1: The release date obviously was postponed, like very postponed. But
Speaker 1: I am excited to announce that A Quiet Place Too
Speaker 1: is now finally coming out. I cannot wait. I love
Speaker 1: the first one. If you haven't seen it, go check
Speaker 1: that one out because this this movie is going to
Speaker 1: be great. Anyway, I'm so glad I got to talk
Speaker 1: to John before we got stuck on opposite coast because
Speaker 1: seeing him in person, well, there's an energy. It's palpable.
Speaker 1: I'm not going to call it sexual energy. I'm just
Speaker 1: gonna say it's palpable. You you can decide what kind
Speaker 1: it is. John is a great storyteller. He's so funny,
Speaker 1: and he remember vers all kinds of things that that
Speaker 1: I do not remember from the show bus. It's it's
Speaker 1: just great to see my friend. So please enjoy the
Speaker 1: one and only j K. Bubble and Squeak. I love it.
Speaker 1: Bubble and Squeak on Bubble and Squeaker cookie every month,
Speaker 1: left over from the night before. Hey, body's just never
Speaker 1: let it end. Thanks for choosing to kill floor to record.
Speaker 1: It's like, hey, what do you mean? It's the scariest dart.
Speaker 1: I actually agree. I got out and I right and
Speaker 1: was like where I think I'm in the wrong spot? Oh,
Speaker 1: what's up are you doing? Dude? What's your hat? Um?
Speaker 1: How are you? By the way, just so you know,
Speaker 1: this is not Rebecca. I just want to teach you
Speaker 1: about things when you were like found a place in Tribeca.
Speaker 1: I didn't say that. I said, this is this is horrible.
Speaker 1: We're recording this on the Statland. It's literally horrible to
Speaker 1: get here. I ended up getting out of my car
Speaker 1: and walked still taking you in. I'm just drinking you in.
Speaker 1: You have not changed. It's really frustrating what everyone says
Speaker 1: that I really feel like I have. No, you haven't.
Speaker 1: I certainly am you have a lot. I'm elderly. Why
Speaker 1: would you say that I feel elderly else I can't
Speaker 1: even say elderly. What's with the intense beard though? Um?
Speaker 1: It started with laziness and then turned into winter, so
Speaker 1: it's just insulation. Really, gotta be honest. My wife, I
Speaker 1: was gonna shave it, and you want don't do that,
Speaker 1: so she liked it. Hello, Um, I can't do you know?
Speaker 1: I love No, I like it. No, I'm saying I
Speaker 1: love it here here in York just too cold. We've
Speaker 1: moved on from the beard. Okay, Well you talked about winter.
Speaker 1: I thought that was a seamless transition. Get ready for
Speaker 1: a lot of those I love it here. You should
Speaker 1: move here. It's really cold and it's literally the opposite
Speaker 1: of what you want. There's not a lot of golf.
Speaker 1: You've really done the post office thing, right, I'll tell
Speaker 1: you that. What do you mean just you know, show ends.
Speaker 1: You just become this like golfing extraordinaire. Like people don't
Speaker 1: know that I was over in Monte Carlo, Monica, Monica, Monica,
Speaker 1: one of those m's. Yeah, well that's Monte Carlo and Monica.
Speaker 1: I think it's kind of the same thing. Are still
Speaker 1: I'm not clear of. All I know is that I
Speaker 1: heard that you were there. I texted you and you said,
Speaker 1: I'm going, oh my god, this is great. I'm about
Speaker 1: to golf on a cliff overlooking like nice or something.
Speaker 1: It was like, cool, man, sorry about your life. Um,
Speaker 1: look at that you got notes? Is so official? No, No,
Speaker 1: I mean this is let's get back to it. You've
Speaker 1: now gotten everybody almost other than Steve basically, Uh yeah, Mike, sure,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna start making this noise. I'm sure I'm gonna
Speaker 1: get that note pretty soon. Yep, and that's a nod
Speaker 1: in the back. Alison Jones. Did you get Phillis? Yep?
Speaker 1: And I got them together as a that's awesome. Alison
Speaker 1: knew Phillis did not. Man, Yeah, they were like mystics.
Speaker 1: They knew what was happening before we did. In the
Speaker 1: casting process. They knew they were cooking something. But you
Speaker 1: started in New York, right, I did, Yeah, yeah, so
Speaker 1: you just it was like, what an open call or
Speaker 1: you got called into I got, wow, the elderly thing's
Speaker 1: taken in. I got I had just gotten a manager.
Speaker 1: I had gone out to l A to shoot this
Speaker 1: pilot and then they immediately didn't pick it up. And
Speaker 1: before I left l A, my manager said you should
Speaker 1: meet this person, Alison Jones. So I went by and
Speaker 1: met her and wanted her to adopt me. And then
Speaker 1: she said, you should pay attention to this thing coming
Speaker 1: out soon and it's called The Office and you should
Speaker 1: you should come in for it. And I said, oh,
Speaker 1: that's really nice. So I got back to New York
Speaker 1: and about three weeks later, my manager called and said,
Speaker 1: they want you to come in for the show called
Speaker 1: The Office. And I was like, Alison Jones pro and
Speaker 1: they said they want you to come in for the
Speaker 1: role of Dwighte. And at that point I had seen
Speaker 1: and fallen in love with the British show. I was
Speaker 1: down at Virgin Records. Remember that I was down at
Speaker 1: Virgin Records and Union Square buying the like black DVD
Speaker 1: case with this special edition and just binge watching that thing,
Speaker 1: and that's what made me so nervous, so that I
Speaker 1: actually said I don't know where I got I was
Speaker 1: still waiting tables and I don't know where I got
Speaker 1: the confidence to go, yeah, no, I don't want to
Speaker 1: go in for Dwight. Let me know when they're doing
Speaker 1: the Tim character. And they basically said like how dare you?
Speaker 1: Who are you? And my manager did say he was
Speaker 1: like wow, that didn't go great. They were very upset,
Speaker 1: and then, very luckily for me, like four three four
Speaker 1: weeks later, they still hadn't found a gym, and then
Speaker 1: they were like, now you can come in for Jim
Speaker 1: and I was like okay, and then I went in
Speaker 1: trying to remember I guess I did one just with
Speaker 1: the casting people. It was totally terrified, because not only
Speaker 1: was I excited about the prospect of getting the part,
Speaker 1: but I was also very nervous. Oh my god, I
Speaker 1: don't want to be on one of those shows that
Speaker 1: because I was such a TV nerd, and I remember
Speaker 1: like Arrested Development was coming out around then and that
Speaker 1: was really good and smart, and I was like, oh no,
Speaker 1: we're going to take a really good, smart show and
Speaker 1: kill it, and while I was waiting in the waiting room,
Speaker 1: six gyms that looked identical to me had gone in
Speaker 1: and done their audition and left, and we're like high
Speaker 1: fiving each other, and I was the last on and
Speaker 1: right at that exact moment, they were like, we're gonna
Speaker 1: take a lunch break for an hour, and I was like, oh,
Speaker 1: maybe see one more and we get one more in
Speaker 1: and I sat there very nervous, and everybody left. It
Speaker 1: was at thirty rock, and then they came back with
Speaker 1: sandwiches and salads and someone sat down across from me
Speaker 1: with a salad and said, you know you're nervous, and
Speaker 1: I said, no, you know, you either get these things
Speaker 1: or you don't. But I'm terrified for the person creating
Speaker 1: a show, because I mean, I I just feel like
Speaker 1: Americans have such a track record of taking brilliant shows
Speaker 1: and ruining them. And he goes, I'll try not to.
Speaker 1: My name is Greg Daniels. I'm the executive doucer. And
Speaker 1: then I called my manager and said, I'm going to
Speaker 1: leave now. There's no way I can go into this
Speaker 1: room and he was like, you have to, you have
Speaker 1: to go in, and you know, blah, blah blah, and
Speaker 1: I went in and I remember opening the door to
Speaker 1: uproarious laughter, and it was not laughter with me, it
Speaker 1: was definitely laughter at me. And Greg was running the
Speaker 1: room and very sweetly but just like this is the
Speaker 1: guy who ruined his own life, and everybody was like laughing,
Speaker 1: and it, weirdly was this bizarre blessing because because they
Speaker 1: were already laughing, I felt like I was already in
Speaker 1: my audition when I walked in, So I just kept
Speaker 1: going and read some lines and they laughed. And then
Speaker 1: later I remember Gregg saying, I'll never forget that. You
Speaker 1: told me that it really helped your audition because you
Speaker 1: were really honest, and I remember I, that's the vibe
Speaker 1: that I want on this show, someone who will be
Speaker 1: honest and make sure that we're all doing good work.
Speaker 1: And I was like totally. So now I go into
Speaker 1: every audition for anything just being like, so, this movie
Speaker 1: sucks all right, hasn't worked since. But but the weirdest
Speaker 1: thing was I came and I didn't know this that
Speaker 1: there's a dynamic between New York actors and l A actors.
Speaker 1: Did you know this? It's like sharks and jets, like
Speaker 1: the New York actors go first because they flew in
Speaker 1: for it. And I remember Jim Gaffigan was on my
Speaker 1: plane auditioning for Steve's part, and and um, we were
Speaker 1: all in this room doing auditions, and I remember I
Speaker 1: got really nervous because we had been auditioning for like
Speaker 1: two hours. And then they like slowly were letting New
Speaker 1: York people go. And then I watched all the l
Speaker 1: A people come in and was just completely judging myself
Speaker 1: on them. Man, I'm having like a an acid flashback.
Speaker 1: But two people walked in that really blew my brain out.
Speaker 1: One was bj Novak, who I hadn't seen really since
Speaker 1: high school. We went to high school together, all right,
Speaker 1: so you knew him, and he walked in. He walked Yeah.
Speaker 1: I mean, imagine like somebody from your high school walking
Speaker 1: into a bizarre scenario. Already you're in some weird bizarro
Speaker 1: world auditioning to be doing something pretend for the rest
Speaker 1: of your life, and then that person walks in. It
Speaker 1: was an acid trip, and I was like hey, And
Speaker 1: then I got more nervous because he acted and directed
Speaker 1: and everything in high school, like he was already in
Speaker 1: and I was barely an actor. I mean, I wasn't
Speaker 1: an actor. I was a waiter and I was like,
Speaker 1: what part are you going out for? And he was like, oh,
Speaker 1: we're going I'm doing this part called Ryan It's like
Speaker 1: and I was like, oh, you're not going for gym?
Speaker 1: Then I might say other shot at and then I
Speaker 1: was like cool man, that's awesome, and was super like
Speaker 1: giving myself a fist pump. And then I know it
Speaker 1: sounds like a like a fairy tale, but it's true.
Speaker 1: I remember Jenni Fisher walking in and as soon as
Speaker 1: she crossed the threshold on the door, I was like, well,
Speaker 1: that's it, Like that is exactly who should play Pam.
Speaker 1: And then what happened was I watched her go in
Speaker 1: with all the other gyms and I was like, oh no,
Speaker 1: because like I saw that they were just lining up
Speaker 1: the gyms with her, and I was like, see, she's
Speaker 1: it's the tipping point. She's it. And I remember saying
Speaker 1: to myself alone in a corner, Uh, if I don't
Speaker 1: go in with her, I know I don't have it.
Speaker 1: I know I don't have it. And I never went
Speaker 1: in with her. And then four hours after they had
Speaker 1: like go of all the new York guys. I was
Speaker 1: sitting there and stood up and walked on set while
Speaker 1: they were in the middle of someone's audition, and I
Speaker 1: was like, I'm so sorry. I'm gonna leave now. I
Speaker 1: think you forgot to let me go home. And from
Speaker 1: behind a door like a fake wall, they were like
Speaker 1: all right, and then like Greg came out and they're like,
Speaker 1: just give us thirty more minutes, and I was like,
Speaker 1: and I was so insecure, and then I turned around.
Speaker 1: I waited another fifteen twenty minutes and they were like
Speaker 1: one more, just come on in. And I walked in
Speaker 1: and I saw that it was Jenna and I was like,
Speaker 1: oh my god, if I'm auditioning with her, I'm back.
Speaker 1: You have a shot. And we did a scene together
Speaker 1: that was awesome, and I remember having so much fun
Speaker 1: with it. I think it was that the copier. I
Speaker 1: think I think it was one at the desk and
Speaker 1: one at the copier and we just had to improv
Speaker 1: about stuff. And then we were walking out and I
Speaker 1: turned to her and I was like, just so you
Speaker 1: know you're gonna get the part. I know you're gonna
Speaker 1: get the part, and she was like, oh my god.
Speaker 1: I said the same thing about you. As soon as
Speaker 1: I saw you, I was like, that's Jim and it
Speaker 1: was really weird and I was like, all right, And
Speaker 1: again I don't know why this happened, but when I
Speaker 1: got the part, which was amazing, I legit jumped on
Speaker 1: a couch. I didn't think that that was real. And
Speaker 1: the only question I asked my manager at the time
Speaker 1: was did Jennificer get it. It was like I didn't
Speaker 1: even get fully happy until I knew that she was
Speaker 1: doing the part, because I was like, if she's the part,
Speaker 1: then again, it's just that one more step where like
Speaker 1: this might be good. It's so interesting because that a
Speaker 1: four hour story and that was really good. But what
Speaker 1: it um, it's interesting. I had never heard this before.
Speaker 1: Greg said she was she was it from the beginning. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's weird, right like, and look is just so perfect
Speaker 1: for it. But then also like, I don't know, man,
Speaker 1: they were selling in her delivery how like I don't
Speaker 1: know what the word is, like demure or something. And
Speaker 1: she was so good. I remember being so nervous when
Speaker 1: I was auditioning with her because I was like, she
Speaker 1: was so subdued and under where I was like, oh
Speaker 1: my god, I'm I'm like, she's just doing like physical
Speaker 1: comedy bits compared to you. So I just went super
Speaker 1: submerged and was like by the end just being like
Speaker 1: like barely talking. So so does she help you? Oh
Speaker 1: for sure? Because again I knew that my chance, my
Speaker 1: only chance, was with her, And as soon as I
Speaker 1: started acting with her, I was like, dude, this is
Speaker 1: the one. Don't blow this. Like I had auditioned with Rain,
Speaker 1: I also kind of knew Rain was going to get it,
Speaker 1: only because he was so I've told this story. He
Speaker 1: knows this story is like we were doing an improv
Speaker 1: about a bunch of things, and they did one where
Speaker 1: I had to go to the bathroom and I asked
Speaker 1: him to watch my phone. And by that time I
Speaker 1: was feeling great and Rain was so good and so funny,
Speaker 1: and then in this particular improv he was so infuriating.
Speaker 1: I remember leaving the scene being like he might get
Speaker 1: it because I'm actually so annoyed being in this room
Speaker 1: with him as John Krasinski rather than Jim Albert. He
Speaker 1: was so good. I remember I was like, hey, can
Speaker 1: you watch my phones? And he did this thing where
Speaker 1: he pretended that like security doors were coming down. He
Speaker 1: was like bird and I was like, dude, can you
Speaker 1: just watch my phone? He was like like all the
Speaker 1: like weird shutting, like eighties wipes, shutting doors. It was.
Speaker 1: It was so incredible and by the end I think
Speaker 1: I broken laughed because he was so infuriating that I
Speaker 1: just had to laugh. He was so good at what
Speaker 1: he was doing. He was making me physically angry. Well,
Speaker 1: it's funny that you mentioned that, because we you know,
Speaker 1: he and I really were the two that came from
Speaker 1: like theater theater, like Shakespeare and check off and and
Speaker 1: throw that in myth. But I'm saying he and I
Speaker 1: in terms of character construction, the physicality was a conscious decision.
Speaker 1: It's just it's just so highbrow theater garbage. Yeah, but
Speaker 1: that's what we're doing. What did you also learn fencing
Speaker 1: at school? Come on, no, I was I wasn't saying
Speaker 1: at all, and it was very odd. But no, I'm
Speaker 1: not saying that, although I will tell you this. Phillis
Speaker 1: was cast and we started filming episodes and she was like,
Speaker 1: I don't know what I'm doing. I can't keep up.
Speaker 1: And she went and bought books on improv and went
Speaker 1: home at night and read them on. These stories are
Speaker 1: amazing and adorable. I mean some of some of my
Speaker 1: favorite moments on the show, or Phillis and stuff. She
Speaker 1: is so funny. God, the relationship with her and Steve
Speaker 1: was because didn't we say that they like they went
Speaker 1: to school high school together, they knew each other. I
Speaker 1: love that, And he would reference how much older she was.
Speaker 1: It's such a good bit. By the way, Jenna tells
Speaker 1: the same story about asking about you. Yeah, she was
Speaker 1: cast because that contractually made her, which is so which
Speaker 1: is so crazy? Um so, I mean, here's the thing
Speaker 1: you're like, the you're like the hunky like. This is
Speaker 1: a great segment. No, I'm not transitioning. I've given up
Speaker 1: on it. You used the word hunky to start a thought. Hunky.
Speaker 1: I don't know what the right word is. But part
Speaker 1: of what we're looking at in the show was like
Speaker 1: the TV Lance Gape at the time was way prettier
Speaker 1: than we were. You look at friends Will and Grace
Speaker 1: and there was a transition with Alison Jones uh and
Speaker 1: freaks and geeks and and wanting to cast people who
Speaker 1: were more real. Were you aware of that at the
Speaker 1: time or did you realize that we were doing something.
Speaker 1: I don't think I would have been cast if it
Speaker 1: wasn't for that. Well, I mean, I think again, I
Speaker 1: saw the English show and I was like I could
Speaker 1: feel the vibe of what they were going for, and
Speaker 1: I knew shooting wise, I immediately felt even from the
Speaker 1: lighting of that probably the test they were just using
Speaker 1: those weird, you know, office lights, which I thought was
Speaker 1: so cool, like everything just looked kind of a bummer
Speaker 1: in a good way. Because that makes sense. No, it
Speaker 1: does make sense. So you get cast in the show,
Speaker 1: You're living in New York, you went to Scranton and shot.
Speaker 1: What was your decision behind at just pure nerd them,
Speaker 1: just super nerdy. So excited to have this part. And
Speaker 1: Greg contacted me to say congrats you of the part.
Speaker 1: And I was so excited. I was twenty three, and
Speaker 1: I was just you know, I think at that time
Speaker 1: in my life my only experiences with was in college
Speaker 1: just sort of like let life happen. Who knows, right,
Speaker 1: And so I was like so excitable, like a puppy.
Speaker 1: And I said to Greg, I was like, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: go to Scranton and I'm gonna do research. And he
Speaker 1: was like, oh cool, Yeah, there's actually a paper company
Speaker 1: there that does like cards and stuff. I gotta see
Speaker 1: that footage because I think they have it. But I
Speaker 1: went and I was so excited. I went with my
Speaker 1: friend Kevin Connors and we drove to Scranton and out
Speaker 1: of his Jeeps sunroof, I had a tiny little camera
Speaker 1: and that shot of the Scranton sign is us driving
Speaker 1: at full speed limit. So I just sort of like
Speaker 1: popped out of the sun roof and was like, oh wait, wait, wait,
Speaker 1: and he didn't really know, so I was like filming
Speaker 1: it as we drove by. Then I went around this
Speaker 1: paper company all day and interviewed the boss, but the
Speaker 1: boss found out that it was based on the English one,
Speaker 1: and then realized that the boss is the boob, and
Speaker 1: I was like, I don't want this to ever air,
Speaker 1: and don't make me look bad, and it was not great.
Speaker 1: And then I came back just thinking that I had
Speaker 1: immersed myself in this thing and really done some research. Man,
Speaker 1: and then Greg goes, can I have that footage? And
Speaker 1: I said sure, and then he said I might use
Speaker 1: it for the opening of the show and I went
Speaker 1: what And he was like, so I have to buy
Speaker 1: it from you. Can I buy your footage? And I
Speaker 1: was like, I don't know, like you can just have
Speaker 1: it again super young. I was like, no, no, you
Speaker 1: could just have it, and so I think he he
Speaker 1: was like, no, we gotta buy it, and I think
Speaker 1: he bought it for I think like a thousand dollars.
Speaker 1: Are you so you just did a buyout? Straight buyout?
Speaker 1: Straight buyout? Yeah? Again, it was like a decisions so
Speaker 1: dumb soul that was would have been the greatest investment
Speaker 1: in my life. No, truly, I know that is insane.
Speaker 1: You know about the sign, right, has anyone ever told
Speaker 1: you this? The sign that you got out of the
Speaker 1: sun roof and filmed. You know, it's not on the
Speaker 1: highway anymore. It's in the mall because too many people
Speaker 1: were stopping along the highway to take pictures by it.
Speaker 1: It is now that sign is now not on the
Speaker 1: highway to Grant because it was a safety because safety issue.
Speaker 1: How Greg talked about he felt like his job for
Speaker 1: the pilot. For him, it was about creating the world
Speaker 1: as opposed to the writing of the words. So so
Speaker 1: many things that happened in terms of remember Kappas and
Speaker 1: our thirty minutes of busy work. Oh my god, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I remember that. I totally like, you know, it was
Speaker 1: like an acting exercise. I made fun of you practing pool,
Speaker 1: but really it's it's true. I remember that being like
Speaker 1: so nerdy, and then by the end of it you
Speaker 1: were kind of into it. You were kind of dialed in,
Speaker 1: like ming in the papers and and he talked about
Speaker 1: wanting to do that because he wanted the space to
Speaker 1: feel lived in and we had been there for a
Speaker 1: long time. Wo I thought he was just trying to
Speaker 1: get us out of our heads to not think about
Speaker 1: lines thirty minutes of busy work. That's right, He's he's
Speaker 1: the most amazing energy. But you know, don't you feel
Speaker 1: like nobody else could have directed that pilot? Yes? Is
Speaker 1: that what you were getting at I stopped your flow? No,
Speaker 1: I just think you know, that was one element the
Speaker 1: lighting that you talked about. Um, the set design was
Speaker 1: amazing set design. They talked to me also about that
Speaker 1: the architecture of the space was important. That you knew
Speaker 1: where Jim and Dwight's clump was relative to Michael, relative
Speaker 1: to accounting and Pam and all of that stuff. That
Speaker 1: It's totally true. It works. It was like some of
Speaker 1: the story, I mean so much of the stories being
Speaker 1: told in the camera, Like when the camera whips to
Speaker 1: a geographic region, you already know who you're going to.
Speaker 1: Like you, we always knew where you were. Always everybody
Speaker 1: we're checking out fantasy football. You had such a great
Speaker 1: little like secret hole back there. Yeah, I know, never bothered,
Speaker 1: never paid attention to do you know? Gregre on the
Speaker 1: show during this he finally said something to me that
Speaker 1: no one ever said to me before. When a great
Speaker 1: scene was written that didn't really have an end, I
Speaker 1: would like, um, like a wide receiver to a quarterback.
Speaker 1: I would give Matt Selling a little nod, right, so
Speaker 1: you guys would do your thing. Matt soon would whip
Speaker 1: over to me if I had an idea. Greg told
Speaker 1: me that when they were having trouble ending a scene,
Speaker 1: Greg would say, what was Brian doing? Where is the
Speaker 1: where is the thing? Yeah I was. I'm pretty proud
Speaker 1: of that one. Well he's sound conceited, but yeah, no,
Speaker 1: you should be. I mean, I am no, but I am.
Speaker 1: What Let's think back what you just said. When a
Speaker 1: scene was going great, I'd give Matt a nod and
Speaker 1: say I'll make it better. You also said like a
Speaker 1: receiver to a quarterback. Yeah, like a lot of people
Speaker 1: tuned out on that one. M And if they didn't
Speaker 1: tune out on the acting school, and I wasn't properly trained,
Speaker 1: and you know that. You think they're long gone by now.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, most of them left on the acting thing.
Speaker 1: That's why I'm feeling free right now. Yeah, but it's funny.
Speaker 1: Yeah you said the other thing I remember. I remember
Speaker 1: when they told me that Randall and Matt came from Survivor,
Speaker 1: and I thought that was the coolest thing ever. And
Speaker 1: then on an episode two, I remember saying to Matt, like,
Speaker 1: just let me know where you want to be, and
Speaker 1: he was like, no, no no, no, don't, that's my job.
Speaker 1: Don't tell me where you're going to be. It will
Speaker 1: make it feel more alive. And if we hadn't had them,
Speaker 1: the guys from Survivor whose job it was to find
Speaker 1: behavior that was happening because it wasn't technically scripted, I
Speaker 1: think that might be a weird secret element that people
Speaker 1: don't realize, Like people don't realize that like Randal and
Speaker 1: Matt would dive across the table knowing full well that
Speaker 1: not only was an injury imminent, but that the take
Speaker 1: would only be point two seconds because the camera would
Speaker 1: kind of catch someone and then smashed to the ground,
Speaker 1: But that moment would feel so much more alive. And
Speaker 1: I remember Randall would sometimes say like, no, I will
Speaker 1: not reposition myself for a better shot, because then it
Speaker 1: will show that we were aware of what you guys
Speaker 1: were doing and we can't. And I was like, wow,
Speaker 1: that is so high level. That is that was next
Speaker 1: level stuff. Their their adage was everything that makes it
Speaker 1: harder makes it better. Wow, that's cool. Yeah, did you
Speaker 1: have a conscious to sit or did you have a
Speaker 1: conversation with Greg about Jim's relationship to the camera. Yes,
Speaker 1: I remember talking to Greg about it, and I kind
Speaker 1: of remember a version of like Mike Sure talking about
Speaker 1: it a lot, because I remember Mike loved those looks
Speaker 1: early on. How awesome is that? By the way, I
Speaker 1: don't think that's ever happened. Like every take seven writers
Speaker 1: would blow out of that door that we never you know,
Speaker 1: because that was the writer's room that would never say
Speaker 1: what it is, and they would blow out and be like,
Speaker 1: all right, that was amazing, and then cut that part
Speaker 1: because what you said was way funnier and like we
Speaker 1: always did the script many times, but then they started
Speaker 1: tweaking the script as we went. It was so alive.
Speaker 1: I felt like I almost felt like you were doing
Speaker 1: live theater anyway. But I remember Mike coming in that
Speaker 1: amazing laugh several times when I looked to camera and
Speaker 1: he was like, that was so great. And then I
Speaker 1: think it started to become let's not over use it,
Speaker 1: but it's a it's a really important story point. And
Speaker 1: I think what I remember Greg and I talking about
Speaker 1: is how I was the window to the audience. I
Speaker 1: was the character who right when you were thinking this
Speaker 1: was all ridiculous, I would turn to you and go,
Speaker 1: you're right, this is ridiculous. Or I would load it
Speaker 1: by saying like, wait till you see what's about to happen.
Speaker 1: And it's that was really interesting to me. I thought
Speaker 1: that was so fascinating and smart, and I didn't think
Speaker 1: of it. See, I'm not conceded. I will say other
Speaker 1: people had good ideas, not just a humble brag. No,
Speaker 1: it's not no, not like when we were winning the game,
Speaker 1: I said, put me in coach god, um, so talk
Speaker 1: a little bit about you're a fan of the British show.
Speaker 1: We start work on a ratings are not good. But
Speaker 1: are you feeling good about what we were doing? Oh
Speaker 1: my god, yeah, I think you know, shooting the pilot,
Speaker 1: we were all a little nervous, right, I think so
Speaker 1: we all felt like, oh my god, we're gonna be
Speaker 1: judged on the actual British script. At least that's what
Speaker 1: I felt. But I was just so happy to be there.
Speaker 1: I knew the group was working really well. I knew
Speaker 1: the show like are like you said, the world was
Speaker 1: really good, the vibe was really good, all the actors
Speaker 1: were incredible, And I gotta be honest, it was probably
Speaker 1: one of the reasons why I was able to keep
Speaker 1: a level head, because I didn't care if the show
Speaker 1: did well or not. Because I asked, um, what's his name?
Speaker 1: Oh my god, Um the executive that came every Friday,
Speaker 1: and that like super handsome dude. I'm gonna remember his name.
Speaker 1: He was so nice. No, no, no, he's super handsome
Speaker 1: as well. No, Jeff and Gold I gotta I gotta
Speaker 1: take a nap after pulling that. Jeff was the nicest guy,
Speaker 1: but don't you remember he would come down super nice,
Speaker 1: dressed well, handsome, ass guy, and I'd be like, what's up,
Speaker 1: Jap and he's like, oh, great, I love this episode.
Speaker 1: This will be the last one. And I was like oh,
Speaker 1: and he's like, yeah, it's just not getting the ratings
Speaker 1: and the and the network doesn't get it. I love it,
Speaker 1: but this is gonna be the last one. He said
Speaker 1: that every week of the first season, those first six
Speaker 1: are six total, just every week, and so on the
Speaker 1: like fifth week, I said to him, can you make
Speaker 1: me a DVD so I can give it to my
Speaker 1: mom so she at least knows that what I was
Speaker 1: doing out here was real and that I wasn't like
Speaker 1: living under a bridge somewhere. And he said, yes, I
Speaker 1: still have that DVD that he wrote hand wrote on
Speaker 1: it the office episodes one through six. So that's kind
Speaker 1: of all I cared about. Was like, I definitely want
Speaker 1: to show my friends because this will be one of
Speaker 1: those things that's brilliantly canceled. And I want to show
Speaker 1: my mom and I want her to know that I'm okay.
Speaker 1: But I'll tell you I do know when it changed
Speaker 1: for me was I used to go to this same
Speaker 1: diner every morning with my buddy Danny and on a Wednesday,
Speaker 1: because we used to air on Tuesdays. I think that
Speaker 1: at that time I walked in on a Wednesday morning
Speaker 1: and the same diner, same people, We're now looking up
Speaker 1: and being like, that's that's to do from that show
Speaker 1: and it was sexual harassment had aired the night before.
Speaker 1: I at least that was my moment that I really
Speaker 1: knew something had changed, like people were watching and it started.
Speaker 1: It was weird because I was really happy about it, obviously,
Speaker 1: but I was also a little freaked out because that's
Speaker 1: sort of like secret club that we had was no
Speaker 1: longer secret. Obviously, it was great that the Secret Cub
Speaker 1: was not secret, but it was like a big transition
Speaker 1: for me. I remember that it took me a while
Speaker 1: too that people knew who I was. Was very weird.
Speaker 1: I also remember this moment I was walking here in
Speaker 1: New York and I was walking through and this guy
Speaker 1: put his hand up real fast in my face and
Speaker 1: I thought I was getting assaulted. And he was like,
Speaker 1: you're on my iPod, dude, And I was like, what
Speaker 1: is an iPod? What are you showing me? And there
Speaker 1: was my dumb face on his whatever. It was like
Speaker 1: an inch by an inch or two. Video iPod, Big Dial,
Speaker 1: Big Dial. That was trippy for me. Interesting. And then
Speaker 1: the third and final thing was when we got parodied
Speaker 1: on SNL. Remember Fred Armison did a we Can Update piece.
Speaker 1: He was pretending to be Steve Jobs or was he
Speaker 1: talking about Steve Jobs. I think he was pretending to
Speaker 1: be Steve Jobs, and he kept saying iPod, and he
Speaker 1: was going iPod the office at Apple, the office, iPod,
Speaker 1: iPod the office. And I remember that laughing really hard
Speaker 1: because I loved everything Fred did, but I was also like, whoa,
Speaker 1: if we're being parodied on SNL, this is big, I
Speaker 1: think for me. The first Christmas episode that we did,
Speaker 1: that's kind of when the video iPod came out. There
Speaker 1: was a deal with Apple as you as you reference
Speaker 1: that we were going to be on there, and that's
Speaker 1: when we were in our second season. It was like
Speaker 1: six episode, four episodes, one more Zero Confidence. And then
Speaker 1: I remember Greg saying it all. You know, I think
Speaker 1: a lot of people get to say, you know, we
Speaker 1: owe it all to our fans, but I think we
Speaker 1: might be the only show who actually owes it all
Speaker 1: to our fans. Because Greg told me that when people
Speaker 1: started paying for shows that they could watch for free
Speaker 1: on their TV. Then they had to pick up the
Speaker 1: show and I remember being like, what that was just
Speaker 1: so mind blowing to me. Yeah, the risk taking that
Speaker 1: was happening from day one, because imagine the conversations that
Speaker 1: were going on at the network, which again I know
Speaker 1: the network totally was hands off, because at the end
Speaker 1: of the day, I think they were sort of like,
Speaker 1: we put the screws to you, it succeeded even despite us,
Speaker 1: and then now let's just leave you alone and make
Speaker 1: your magic. Which I remember that story. Did Greg tell
Speaker 1: you that. I think it was around sexual or whatever
Speaker 1: was the big hit. I know I remember as sexual happrassment,
Speaker 1: but maybe it was something else. One of our table reads,
Speaker 1: there were like six people from the network and they're
Speaker 1: always used to be one and after that table read,
Speaker 1: he was like nope, and he supposedly said to them,
Speaker 1: do not come back or I quit, Like, now that
Speaker 1: we have proven ourselves, you don't get to change the formula.
Speaker 1: That to me, especially now that I've had more experience
Speaker 1: in this business, I think it is not only rare,
Speaker 1: it's damn near impossible to have a leader like that.
Speaker 1: And again he comes across as the nicest guy ever.
Speaker 1: But to have someone who's willing to stake their career
Speaker 1: on big swings like that, and then you realize, yeah,
Speaker 1: that was going on since day one. They were taking
Speaker 1: risks from day one. Yes, Lee Eisenberg told me that
Speaker 1: UM dinner party. He said, it came back really well.
Speaker 1: The writers had come up with this great idea. He
Speaker 1: and Jeane had written this episode and it came back
Speaker 1: and the network called network executive and we didn't know
Speaker 1: who it was. Um, great scrapt so funny, really really funny.
Speaker 1: It's really dark and Greg was like, yep, I mean
Speaker 1: it's it's really dark. Greg was like, h yeah, it is, yeah,
Speaker 1: but I mean it's like it's real dark. Greg's like,
Speaker 1: m guys, anything else, Like nope, okay, thanks for calling
Speaker 1: hung out amazing and that's like some Jedi minds. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and Lee was like again from Greg, just the most
Speaker 1: baller like but that's what I mean. It's like I've
Speaker 1: now like directed movies, and even in my directing movies,
Speaker 1: I find myself totally going with that of like, yeah,
Speaker 1: you know what, maybe I'll try that, or like he
Speaker 1: just sat on the wall and was like, you will
Speaker 1: not pass it. Was amazing. But that's what I mean
Speaker 1: is like that, it's it's incredible that that's who we
Speaker 1: had on the wall, because even a impressive showrunner would
Speaker 1: have come back and be like, dos in, guys, we
Speaker 1: gotta shoot one other version where it's not as dark,
Speaker 1: and he was like, no, yeah, um, your relationship with Rain,
Speaker 1: Jim and Dwight. One of the things that we've been
Speaker 1: talking about are like comedy duos, right, And we talked
Speaker 1: about the ensemble, and it is like the greater ensemble,
Speaker 1: but also like the pairings, like the accountants, Michael and Dwight,
Speaker 1: Dwight and Jim, you know, and how all of those
Speaker 1: things the smaller groups work together. That's when I think
Speaker 1: the show became stratospheric, is when you guys started having
Speaker 1: real storylines, you know what I mean. Like I remember
Speaker 1: when Creed had a big storyline for the first time,
Speaker 1: and I was like, this is it, man, This is
Speaker 1: like painting pictures with the four primary colors or using
Speaker 1: everything you have in the palette, and how much more beautiful.
Speaker 1: I remember feeling that the show is like genuinely lifting
Speaker 1: off because like everyone, you know, all those bullpen scenes
Speaker 1: got so much funnier when everybody was involved, like Diversity Day,
Speaker 1: Diversity that which was the second episode, but it's crazy.
Speaker 1: That's when I knew that we were doing something different
Speaker 1: than the British. I might have even said it's a
Speaker 1: Rain or Jenna. I was like, WHOA. Like the fact
Speaker 1: that we're being this sort of on the edge and
Speaker 1: it's so funny and making such a great social commentary
Speaker 1: using Steve as the the sort of boob character. It
Speaker 1: was so next level like that. That's when I realized, like, oh,
Speaker 1: if I wasn't on this show, I would be obsessed
Speaker 1: with this show. I remember when Larry Wilmore said my
Speaker 1: name is Mr Brown, he goes, I'm not calling you that.
Speaker 1: I lost my mind. That joke so good. That was
Speaker 1: b J wrote that, right, yea, so good. But you
Speaker 1: um the Gem and Dwight stuff, and specifically what everybody
Speaker 1: talks about are the pranks and the two of you
Speaker 1: guys working together. Why do you think you two worked
Speaker 1: so well together. I don't know either the characters or
Speaker 1: the you know, the actors, you and Rain well. I mean,
Speaker 1: I think obviously there's some version of the old adage
Speaker 1: of polar opposites are always great. You know, whatever happens
Speaker 1: when you put two polar opposite characters together is sort
Speaker 1: of magical because it's the RT couple, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean. And I think that the beauty of our
Speaker 1: show that I really remember being so special is when
Speaker 1: pretty early on, they would allow Rain's character to have
Speaker 1: heart and he felt bad for him at times, and
Speaker 1: then he totally not make you feel bad for him
Speaker 1: because he'd be doing crazy stuff. But I remember that
Speaker 1: that really helped me with the pranks because it wasn't
Speaker 1: just being mean to him because pranks are easy, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. I think pranks are kind of
Speaker 1: the easiest form of jokes. I don't mean on our show,
Speaker 1: I'm saying, like doing a prank to someone because it's
Speaker 1: fishing a barrow kind of you know. But I think
Speaker 1: that what the writers did so well was make those
Speaker 1: pranks kind of loving and like brotherly, Like there was
Speaker 1: a brother aspect to it that I think made them
Speaker 1: so great because I wasn't being mean. I was doing
Speaker 1: something that I knew he kind of got to kick
Speaker 1: out of two. I don't know that that's my theory
Speaker 1: on it, but I think that he was everything I
Speaker 1: didn't want to be or so I thought we were
Speaker 1: in the scenes together coming from two totally different places,
Speaker 1: and that's what was so cool, like the weird explosive thing.
Speaker 1: And it was one of those things where you know,
Speaker 1: I think that when you put yourself as an audience
Speaker 1: member and you're like, I think this is funny. I
Speaker 1: knew this is what I would want to see, is
Speaker 1: me trying to tell him something and him being annoying.
Speaker 1: Or the best is when we teamed up, when we
Speaker 1: did when we did stuff together and we were a team,
Speaker 1: that was great. That stuff was amazing, like those those
Speaker 1: talking heads where we do together. Don't think I was
Speaker 1: professional once in those because when I sat in a
Speaker 1: chair next to him, that weird energy radiated off of
Speaker 1: him and I just started laughing. I'm a crier laugher,
Speaker 1: and I had like that high pitched girl laughs. That's
Speaker 1: what made Rain so good is he he was able
Speaker 1: to remember. We always used to laugh because he had
Speaker 1: this look on his face that he'd give to me
Speaker 1: that would make me break every time. And by the way,
Speaker 1: it's like his face didn't even move, but like some
Speaker 1: energy came out and I would laugh every time he
Speaker 1: would do this like really funny, kind of like dumb
Speaker 1: face at me, and I would laugh every time, and
Speaker 1: it's funny. It's almost like he, of all people, made
Speaker 1: the lines feel like improv. Him and Steve I think
Speaker 1: made the lines feel the most like they were improving.
Speaker 1: You know, you're the part of my favorite moment of
Speaker 1: shooting ever. People always asked me, what's the hard us
Speaker 1: you ever laughed on set? Without a doubt, it's when
Speaker 1: you sat on his lap. When you sat on his
Speaker 1: lap and his improv with you. I think you can
Speaker 1: see it on the out takes, right, Oh yeah, it's
Speaker 1: the funniest. And by the way, to your point again,
Speaker 1: you're right they always went to you for a button
Speaker 1: because anytime they went to me for a button and
Speaker 1: Steve was doing improv, I was not there physically not.
Speaker 1: I remember Matt soone going just just let me know,
Speaker 1: are you gonna be there? And I was like no,
Speaker 1: because I would laugh so hard that I had to
Speaker 1: walk off sets diving the office and I was just
Speaker 1: the most unprofessional, and they would you were doing such
Speaker 1: good work, and he said something about like attaching balloons
Speaker 1: to you or something, and they went to me and
Speaker 1: I was like dude, don't do it. I'm only going
Speaker 1: to fail you. And that was one of the only
Speaker 1: times that I just literally gave up on doing my job.
Speaker 1: And then he pretended that his legs were asleep. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but his voice changed when you sat on his lap. Well,
Speaker 1: that's that's the thing that I always but I always
Speaker 1: say it people was and it was right in my ear.
Speaker 1: It was right in my ear. And I would go
Speaker 1: kill what would you like a little And it was
Speaker 1: like this inhalation of air. Jeez, I didn't know you
Speaker 1: were going to ask me that, and he goes, well,
Speaker 1: thank quicker. Like remember when he started banging and said
Speaker 1: out the glass, Oh, that whole improv And I remember,
Speaker 1: God bless Steve. He used to get so frustrated. So
Speaker 1: I'm not really but like I know, I was a
Speaker 1: pain in the aster room because I would laugh so
Speaker 1: hard and some of if he'd be doing the most
Speaker 1: genius stuff and I'd be in a two shot with
Speaker 1: him ruining the take and he was like, come on, man,
Speaker 1: maybe don't laugh on this one. So nice about it.
Speaker 1: But also it was like I'd like to go home
Speaker 1: and see my kids. I'd like to get out of here. Yeah. Um, writing, acting, directing.
Speaker 1: Is there one you prefer? That's a good question. I
Speaker 1: don't know. I think yeah. I think acting was always
Speaker 1: I think because it was the first, there's something I
Speaker 1: really love about it. I think that there's elements to
Speaker 1: acting being more fun because you don't have the weight
Speaker 1: of responsibility of any kind like turning into script. You
Speaker 1: have the responsibility. I hope this doesn't suck, and directing
Speaker 1: you of all the responsibilities, which can be terrifying. But
Speaker 1: by the way, you don't want to suck being an
Speaker 1: actor either. But I don't know. I guess that it's
Speaker 1: once you've gone to you know, the whole behind the
Speaker 1: camera idea, and you see how the sausage is made,
Speaker 1: you realize how I think writing and directing made me
Speaker 1: a better actor, and vice versa. You know everybody. I
Speaker 1: remember always getting awards. People would always be like in
Speaker 1: thanks to the crew and whatever, and we had the
Speaker 1: greatest crew of all time. And I think that that
Speaker 1: taught me to look back on all the things I
Speaker 1: loved movies and television or whatever, and realized that for
Speaker 1: every moment you remember watching and loving, there were three
Speaker 1: to six people who made that moment exactly happen at
Speaker 1: that exact time, and it was magic, from props to
Speaker 1: camera to the set design. Like I said, like, I
Speaker 1: look back on the Office and realized, like you said,
Speaker 1: that that geography thing really blew my mind because it
Speaker 1: feels like that that that set design was so purposeful anyway,
Speaker 1: that kind of thing. I don't know if that answered anything, No,
Speaker 1: I think so people always ask how did I get
Speaker 1: into directing or writing? And it's like, because I went
Speaker 1: to the best film school ever, which was The Office,
Speaker 1: and you learn what's good. I think my taste level
Speaker 1: became solidified on that show, like I see what's possible
Speaker 1: now in everything I do. Um. I've said this before
Speaker 1: that I never would have directed and rewritten A Quiet
Speaker 1: Place if it wasn't for Greg, because I remember him
Speaker 1: saying to me one day, don't look at this as
Speaker 1: a comedy. Just be in the moment, right, you do
Speaker 1: you your character doesn't know he's funny. We get too,
Speaker 1: we get to decide, right. So we're not making a comedy.
Speaker 1: We're just telling the best story we can. And if
Speaker 1: you end up laughing, great, if you cry at a
Speaker 1: moment with Pam, great, But just tell the best story.
Speaker 1: So when I got offered Quiet Place, I was like,
Speaker 1: I don't know anything about horror. And I remember actually
Speaker 1: sitting down before I wrote the script and said, I'm
Speaker 1: not going to make a horror movie. I'm not gonna
Speaker 1: make a genre movie. I'm gonna tell the best story
Speaker 1: I can about this family. And if you end up
Speaker 1: getting scared at moments, that is on you, because it's
Speaker 1: only my job is only to tell you the most
Speaker 1: concise and strong story I can, and then every emotional
Speaker 1: thing that you feel is coming from you and how
Speaker 1: you're experiencing it. And I remember I never would have
Speaker 1: had the guts to do that, because I would have
Speaker 1: said the same thing I said to Greg that day,
Speaker 1: which is like, I don't want to mess this up.
Speaker 1: I want to make sure I'm really funny in this
Speaker 1: scene for you. And he was like, no, no no, I
Speaker 1: don't want you to be funny. I want you to
Speaker 1: tell the best story and let other people decide whether
Speaker 1: the scene is funny. And I was like, WHOA, mind
Speaker 1: blowing stuff. That is very, very smart. But The Quiet
Speaker 1: Place isn't a comedy. No, you should see it before
Speaker 1: we do an interview. Shoot. All right, guys, we're gonna
Speaker 1: take a break right there. I'm gonna save the rest
Speaker 1: of John's interview for a very special occasion down the line,
Speaker 1: because John is a very special boy. Thank you j
Speaker 1: K for joining me. I have to admit you are
Speaker 1: my number one, top, absolute favorite pain in the ass
Speaker 1: in the world. Um, so congratulations on that. To all
Speaker 1: of you listeners, thank you for joining me. We will
Speaker 1: be back next time for another hilarious guest. So have
Speaker 1: a fantastic week, everybody. The office. Deep Dive is hosted
Speaker 1: and executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner, alongside our executive producer,
Speaker 1: Lang Lee. Our senior producer is Tessa Kramer, our associate
Speaker 1: producer is Emily Carr, and our assistant editor is Diego Tapia.
Speaker 1: My main man in the booth is Alec Moore. Our
Speaker 1: theme song Bubble and Squeak performed by my great friend
Speaker 1: Creed Bratton, and the episode was mixed by seth Olandski.