Speaker 1: Hi. I'm Ellie Kemper and I played Aaron Hannon on
Speaker 1: The Office. Hello there, everyone, here we are. We're back
Speaker 1: another episode of the Office Deep Dive. I am your host,
Speaker 1: Brian bam Gartner, and I'm just so happy you're here.
Speaker 1: So welcome. Uh. Today's guest is someone really dear to me.
Speaker 1: I love her and we share a special bond that
Speaker 1: only comes after one person has sat on the other
Speaker 1: person's shoulders in a pool of lukewarm water for eight
Speaker 1: hours straight. I mean, we all have that friend, right, Yes,
Speaker 1: you guessed it. It's Ellie Kemper. Now listening back to
Speaker 1: this one. This was a bit of a trip for
Speaker 1: me because I spoke with Ellie in April of Does
Speaker 1: anyone remember something that was going on in the world
Speaker 1: around that time? No, not murder hornets, No, not not
Speaker 1: Kanye running for president. Now, it was the early days
Speaker 1: of the global pandemic known as coronavirus. So I talked
Speaker 1: to Ellie over zoom. This was back when zoom was
Speaker 1: still a new thing. I didn't even know what a
Speaker 1: zoom was at that point. But you're gonna hear us
Speaker 1: trying to figure out the technology talking about quarantine. We
Speaker 1: were so naive back then. Anyways, enough about that, Let's
Speaker 1: just focus on our conversation, our great conversation, and and
Speaker 1: the great episode that I have for you. So sit back, relax,
Speaker 1: and listen to the soothing sounds of and the hilarious
Speaker 1: Ellie Kemper, bubble and squeak. I love it, Bubble and
Speaker 1: squeak on bubble and squeaker cookie, every moment left over
Speaker 1: from the nab pole. Am I in the meeting? Oh? Ellie,
Speaker 1: you are in the meeting? Can you hear me? Okay?
Speaker 1: I actually don't know. I can hear me? Okay? Can
Speaker 1: you hear me? Okay? I can hear you? Crystal clear? God,
Speaker 1: that's so great, Ellie. It's so nice to hear your voice. Brian,
Speaker 1: I have still been looking It's so nice to hear
Speaker 1: your voice. I have still been looking forward to this
Speaker 1: for many reasons. I mean, originally this meeting is being
Speaker 1: did Okay, we got it, and I was looking forward
Speaker 1: to it, of course for obvious reasons. And now during
Speaker 1: this unimaginable time, it is so nice to hear your voice.
Speaker 1: I know. Are you all okay? Yes? We are hungering down.
Speaker 1: You guys just decided to get out of New York.
Speaker 1: We were actually in Montreal when like mid March or
Speaker 1: whenever everything started shutting down, so we were already out
Speaker 1: of New York. We decided better to avoid going back there.
Speaker 1: So that's why we came to St. Louis, which is
Speaker 1: where I'm Do you know I'm from here? Yeah? No,
Speaker 1: I know, No, I know Jenna Phillis. Yeah, all of
Speaker 1: you guys, have you seen Phillis or no? Because you're
Speaker 1: social distancing, social distancing, I've seen have you seen? I've
Speaker 1: seen no one. I feel like I don't know how
Speaker 1: to interact with humans anymore beside my family. Is that
Speaker 1: going to be weird? I think it is. Well, we
Speaker 1: were once going to do this in person. We were,
Speaker 1: but it's so nice to hear from you, I mean
Speaker 1: over the phone. Yeah. I just can't believe it. Like,
Speaker 1: what was it two months ago when we were trying
Speaker 1: to meet up in New York and it seemed like
Speaker 1: a very normal Like it was just like logistics that
Speaker 1: got in the way. But it was like, oh, yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm going to be New York. Oh great, You're flying
Speaker 1: to New York on an airplane with other passengers and
Speaker 1: I'll meet you downtown and I'll give you a hug
Speaker 1: and like lick your palm. Yeah, there won't be any
Speaker 1: issues with those things. No, exactly, Um, Ellie, So what
Speaker 1: were you doing? What were you doing before the Office?
Speaker 1: What was I doing? Okay, so I was about to
Speaker 1: say very little, but that's not true. I was doing commercials.
Speaker 1: That's how I was earning money through commercials. In terms
Speaker 1: of I guess creative opportunities. I was doing mostly unpaid
Speaker 1: work at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and I was
Speaker 1: doing two person shows and one person shows an actual
Speaker 1: improvisation and um. But professionally it was mostly commercials up
Speaker 1: until that point, I think I had I had, like, oh,
Speaker 1: I I did something on a show called Daily Pops,
Speaker 1: which I think was on MTV. It was like an
Speaker 1: eight series, eight episode series. Um, I want to say
Speaker 1: that Kim Kardashian made a cameo. And I'm technically Kim
Speaker 1: Kardashian's co star. I think she made a cameo in
Speaker 1: one of these Daily Pops. You work together, We worked together,
Speaker 1: worked together, inspired her. But yes, um, I mean obviously
Speaker 1: The Office was my enormous we big break. Did you
Speaker 1: watch the Office, Brian did. I watched The Office. I
Speaker 1: devoured The Office. I was an enormous Office fan. You
Speaker 1: don't know what this is like because obviously you were
Speaker 1: on it from the start. But I loved The Office.
Speaker 1: I watched it every week. It's very strange to go
Speaker 1: from watching a television show that you happen to love
Speaker 1: and then being in the room with everybody. I actually
Speaker 1: the first day, of course, felt surreal for many reasons,
Speaker 1: but it's it's weird when you I think maybe anyone
Speaker 1: has had this experience. If you watch someone on a
Speaker 1: screen and then you see them in person, it feels otherworldly.
Speaker 1: And particularly because I already loved everyone on it and
Speaker 1: admired them so much, it felt even stranger because yeah,
Speaker 1: I was a huge fan. It's very weird. I really
Speaker 1: tried to play it cool. Well, so wait, literally, you
Speaker 1: watched it Thursday night? Yes, yes, I did. I lived
Speaker 1: in New York at the time, and we always my
Speaker 1: my whole family was a fan of the Office. Have
Speaker 1: I told you that? Mos make sure reminded us of
Speaker 1: my older brother John college, like when John was in college,
Speaker 1: So we had like a big joke about that. But yeah,
Speaker 1: I lived in New York and I watched the Office
Speaker 1: every Thursday, and had you met Alison Jones before? No,
Speaker 1: So I met with Greg and Mike, Greg Daniels and
Speaker 1: Mike Sure. I think I was meeting with them for
Speaker 1: Parks and Recreation. This was before Parks and Recreation was
Speaker 1: had aired, and I think that's what it was about.
Speaker 1: I really don't know. It was sort of just a
Speaker 1: general hello. And after that I met Alison when I
Speaker 1: actually read for Parks and Recreation, which it wasn't called
Speaker 1: Parks and Recreation, it was like untitled make Sure Project.
Speaker 1: And then I didn't get a part on Parks and Recreation.
Speaker 1: But then they called me back later for the Office
Speaker 1: and your first day on set? Were you nervous? I
Speaker 1: was so nervous. I first, okay, I can't remember the
Speaker 1: actual very first person I met. I remember telling John Krasinski,
Speaker 1: who I had read was an intern at Conan and
Speaker 1: I had been an Internet Conan because my first scene,
Speaker 1: John is making a Jim Jim excuse me, It is
Speaker 1: making a copy at the copy machine, and I'm like
Speaker 1: sitting there and I was like, like, in between takes,
Speaker 1: I was like, so, um, yeah, um, you've interned to Conan, right,
Speaker 1: Why did I feel they need to strike up conversation.
Speaker 1: I am the new person. I think I should stay
Speaker 1: quiet until spoken to. But I was unusually bold and
Speaker 1: he said, oh, yeah, you know colne In And I
Speaker 1: said I had turned there too. That was it. I
Speaker 1: don't know if somebody walked away, somebody saved me, because
Speaker 1: I wouldn't have. I wouldn't have kept that conversation going
Speaker 1: very well. And then and then the big news, Brian,
Speaker 1: I had to dye my hair that day. I have
Speaker 1: red hair, and as soon as I got there, they
Speaker 1: were like, you have to dye your hair brown. And
Speaker 1: I remember, Mindy, I saw in the morning and I
Speaker 1: saw in the afternoon, and I had brown hair in
Speaker 1: the afternoon, and she said, why did you let them
Speaker 1: do that? I would never let anyone dye my hair
Speaker 1: like uh, because in my first jobs ever, they can
Speaker 1: do whatever they want. Anyway, why did they dye your hair? Well?
Speaker 1: Do you know? I still don't know. I think the
Speaker 1: reason was they said it looked at this new character's
Speaker 1: hair looked too close to Pam's color. But I never Pam,
Speaker 1: never Jenna, But I mean the character Pam. Pam didn't
Speaker 1: have red hair, did she like was it jest study. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I guess I'm not real good at hair, I'll be
Speaker 1: honest with you, honestly, apparently neither of my But anyway, yeah,
Speaker 1: first day memories are sort of blurry because I was
Speaker 1: so I don't know, I don't think you can relate
Speaker 1: to this feeling because, like I said, you were there
Speaker 1: from the start. But it was just so it was
Speaker 1: first day of school, but to the millions of degree
Speaker 1: because it was like I already I'm like in awe
Speaker 1: of all these people and I'm the new girl. Don't
Speaker 1: mess anything up. Yeah, I did fairly recently. Actually, I
Speaker 1: had a similar experience. It was not such a CULTI show.
Speaker 1: But being a guest star is a very difficult thing.
Speaker 1: It doesn't matter who you are. It's tough. It's tough.
Speaker 1: It's just because you, like you just said, it doesn't
Speaker 1: matter who you are, because in that moment, you're the guests,
Speaker 1: and so it's like their home. And so I think
Speaker 1: it's ner wrecking to start any new job, but when
Speaker 1: it's already in motion and you're the You're the thing
Speaker 1: that's being added, it's totally nerve wracking. And especially I
Speaker 1: don't know what your arc what like they for the
Speaker 1: office was written as a four episode arc, so I
Speaker 1: felt like, Okay, this is finite amount of time, and
Speaker 1: you want to do an excellent job, but you also
Speaker 1: want to be deferential to the people who have already
Speaker 1: you know, the regular cast, like the family that's already there, right,
Speaker 1: So that's what I was going to ask you. So
Speaker 1: when you showed up, it was originally just for four episodes.
Speaker 1: That was That was what your understanding was. That was
Speaker 1: my understanding. Pam was going to work at the Michael
Speaker 1: Scott Paper Company and they needed a temporary receptionist in
Speaker 1: the meantime, and then Pam ended up getting promoted to salesperson.
Speaker 1: And that's why my character state which I couldn't believe
Speaker 1: that that had happened, but yes, that's how I have
Speaker 1: always perceived it. I think that's what happened. And when
Speaker 1: did you get an idea that you might be around
Speaker 1: a little bit longer? I truly think because it was
Speaker 1: how man Brian. I was worried this would happened. I
Speaker 1: was like, I don't know if it happens to you.
Speaker 1: I'm like alarmed by my memory sometimes because it can
Speaker 1: be so fuzzy okay, few, it's bad and like, right now,
Speaker 1: I can't remember if those four episodes were the last
Speaker 1: four episodes of that season or if there were a
Speaker 1: few more. Maybe they added it, right, it was definitely
Speaker 1: the end. I didn't find out until that season had
Speaker 1: wrapped that they were going to keep my character on,
Speaker 1: So I don't think I got any angling that it
Speaker 1: might be longer than four episodes. I think it was
Speaker 1: just like, Okay, just do this for a month and
Speaker 1: then get out without messing anything up. Well, I want
Speaker 1: to share with you something that Claire Scanlon actually told me.
Speaker 1: What Claire said was that a lot of people would
Speaker 1: come in and it was basically a four to six
Speaker 1: episode audition. And she remembers watching you in one of
Speaker 1: your early episodes and you had some scenes with Steve,
Speaker 1: and she remembers in the editing bay watching that and
Speaker 1: saying to herself, Oh, she's going to be around for
Speaker 1: a while. Oh, you're gonna make ry that is That's
Speaker 1: the sweetest compliment. That's the biggest compliment, because there's no
Speaker 1: higher praise and something like that, because I so admire
Speaker 1: the work that you guys do and how you put
Speaker 1: up the show so anyway, that's very kind of you
Speaker 1: to share with me. But of course you the actor
Speaker 1: never feel sure of anything because he's like, this could
Speaker 1: all go away tomorrow. What do you think that Aaron,
Speaker 1: the character of Aaron brought to the office. Well, I
Speaker 1: feel you know, I felt like my own difficulty was
Speaker 1: playing Aaron would just be that some of the things
Speaker 1: she said, we're so cartoony and so uh, sort of cartoony,
Speaker 1: I think is the word, because I don't want to
Speaker 1: say she was flaky or did s or anything like that,
Speaker 1: because I do think she was smart, but she said
Speaker 1: a lot of things that a more grounded person wouldn't say.
Speaker 1: At the same time, you know, she had these very
Speaker 1: serious arc with Michael and these series arts with Andy,
Speaker 1: and you know, there was some real depth to this character,
Speaker 1: and so I felt like what she brought to the
Speaker 1: office was certainly some levity. She was such such an
Speaker 1: odd bird, but that she also, um, I hope she
Speaker 1: brought some sweetness and I think she wanted to be
Speaker 1: very good at her job, and she was very earnest
Speaker 1: about it. But I also think that unintentionally he was
Speaker 1: sort of funny, not not knowing that she was being
Speaker 1: funny because you know, not totally grounded, right. I think
Speaker 1: Paul fig directed one of your first episodes and he
Speaker 1: talks about directing a talking head that you were giving
Speaker 1: and he was taken with you and your energy and
Speaker 1: the character and how different it was from everybody else
Speaker 1: on the show. It's a bunch of disgruntled, put upon
Speaker 1: office workers that are you know, I have to deal
Speaker 1: with this crazy boss that makes them crazy, and all
Speaker 1: they want to do is punch in and punch, shout
Speaker 1: and go home. And why would anyone want to work
Speaker 1: in a paper company? Whereas Aaron's energy was very positive
Speaker 1: and she just loved being there. Yes, that I feel,
Speaker 1: and you hit it on the head, you know. Family
Speaker 1: maybe a little bit over it, Oscar maybe over it,
Speaker 1: but Aaron lived for it. She loved being there. Like
Speaker 1: you can imagine her getting ready for work in the morning.
Speaker 1: She wanted to excel at her jobs. She wanted to
Speaker 1: do a very good job, you know, I believe, within
Speaker 1: like thirty seconds in the audience, meeting this new character,
Speaker 1: she agrees to go by her middle name, like yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: I'll go by Aaron, Like she just wanted to be there, right.
Speaker 1: It occurs to me, however, that Aaron agrees to change
Speaker 1: her name on the first day and you agreed to
Speaker 1: change your hair color on the first day. Right, this
Speaker 1: is where I get worried, because you're right, and I
Speaker 1: worried some of the things Aaron would say. I'm like,
Speaker 1: the writer is making fun of me. Ellie here, I
Speaker 1: might say something that, um do you could not be
Speaker 1: more And I'm sure when people meet you they assume, oh,
Speaker 1: he's going to be like Kevin, when you are the
Speaker 1: polar opposite of Kevin, like the polar opposite. Well, I
Speaker 1: feel like I'm a little similar. Well, you're infectious energy,
Speaker 1: oh good, wow, and positivity. Positivity. I hope that I
Speaker 1: share Aaron's positivity. But yeah, how what do you think?
Speaker 1: I feel like there's some characters in casts who do
Speaker 1: sort of overlap a bit. I mean, I know this
Speaker 1: is that you were asking the questions, but I feel
Speaker 1: like you overlap with Kevin. Not at all. I hope
Speaker 1: the least. I think the least. I hope, I hope
Speaker 1: the least. Is there anything I don't think there's anything anyway.
Speaker 1: I well, I enjoy sports. There's something there's yes, And
Speaker 1: I might be a little childlike at times, well who
Speaker 1: is So? You had a number of relationships throughout the show.
Speaker 1: I mean probably in some ways your your central relationship
Speaker 1: you brought up is was your relationship with Michael. It's
Speaker 1: almost a father daughter thing going on in a way,
Speaker 1: as like a mentor someone you look up to. You're
Speaker 1: probably the only character that looks up to Michael Scott.
Speaker 1: Like she never felt like beaten down by him or
Speaker 1: rolled her eyes at him, you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh. No, on the contrary, she she adored
Speaker 1: him like he was I think an inspire ration to
Speaker 1: her and just like he was just the tops I
Speaker 1: think to Aaron, because I remember when Aaron meets Holly,
Speaker 1: She's just like so it's almost like she's territorial. She's like,
Speaker 1: this is the lady who's stealing Michael's heart. She she's
Speaker 1: just so skeptical of this woman because she feels like
Speaker 1: no one is good enough for Michael Scott. Which is
Speaker 1: really funny, and it definitely felt like a father daughter relationship.
Speaker 1: I thought it was very tender and very sweet and
Speaker 1: very well written that I think the way they the
Speaker 1: writer's crafted that whole relationship was it was really sweet.
Speaker 1: Why do you think they bonded a little. To use
Speaker 1: your word, I think they are both a little childlike.
Speaker 1: I mean, you're word about something else entirely was just
Speaker 1: a word. I just heard that. I said, you didn't
Speaker 1: describe it as child like. What you just said that word,
Speaker 1: and now I love it. I think that they both
Speaker 1: are a little childlike. I think that they're they're both odd.
Speaker 1: And I think that um, Aaron didn't have and she
Speaker 1: never ever had a stable frontal figure in her life,
Speaker 1: and certainly not a strong male figure in her life.
Speaker 1: And I think that she found that in Michael. I mean,
Speaker 1: just by definition he was her boss. I think there
Speaker 1: was this thing of like admiring him and looking up
Speaker 1: to him. But that also when she got to know
Speaker 1: him a little, I think that she I think he
Speaker 1: was kind to her. I don't think he I don't
Speaker 1: want to say mistreated, but I think he was like
Speaker 1: fair and respectful to her, and so I think she
Speaker 1: just sort of clung to that. And like I said,
Speaker 1: I mean, well, although my favorite episode for Aaron is
Speaker 1: Secretary's Day and when she when Aaron is like even
Speaker 1: weirding out Michael, she like out weird Michael Scott they're
Speaker 1: having lunch together and Michael just can't take it anymore
Speaker 1: because she's so strange. That's when I felt like, oh wow,
Speaker 1: well so yeah, so even he seems much more grounded
Speaker 1: in this in this world than she is. That was
Speaker 1: one of the best days of my life that I
Speaker 1: just remember. We we sat that restaurant scene on a Friday,
Speaker 1: and I was like, I couldn't believe how lucky it
Speaker 1: was to be able to be in a scene speakerl
Speaker 1: like that that it was just MINDI wrote it, and
Speaker 1: I believe Steve directed that episode, and it was just
Speaker 1: like the real because like, who on the planet is like,
Speaker 1: there's no one really, So yeah, again, you started from
Speaker 1: day one, So I don't know if you ever had
Speaker 1: that feeling of like did it all wait? Well, I
Speaker 1: will do my separate interview with you where I asked
Speaker 1: the question. But I'm so curious to know how it
Speaker 1: felt to you guys, because I had such a different experience,
Speaker 1: obviously because I came into it midway and it was
Speaker 1: like my whole time there felt like I felt a
Speaker 1: little bit giddy. I don't know if if you had
Speaker 1: that you were there from the beginning, Well, if you
Speaker 1: listen to this podcast, then you will get the full
Speaker 1: detailed answer, but the short The short answer would be
Speaker 1: nobody was famous before it started, and nobody, no, nobody
Speaker 1: knew enough but immediately his ability to improv in the
Speaker 1: moment on topic is I don't know, I think he's
Speaker 1: maybe the best person on the planet at that Oh
Speaker 1: I do too. And to be honest with you, Brian,
Speaker 1: sometimes when like the director would say, okay, now you know,
Speaker 1: like fun run whatever, I was like, guys, I would
Speaker 1: think to myself, I'd be like, let's just let Steve
Speaker 1: have a fun run because he's um. Do you think
Speaker 1: that you sorry? Do you think that Aaron and Andy
Speaker 1: were a good match? I never thought so. Is that
Speaker 1: terrible to say? I don't know. I felt like and
Speaker 1: he was a bit too childish. I don't think he
Speaker 1: was ready to um take care of Aaron the way
Speaker 1: she needed to be and I and I think Aaron
Speaker 1: was ready to take care of him. But I felt
Speaker 1: like it was uneven in that respect. So yeah, I
Speaker 1: I I love Ed. I love that we got to
Speaker 1: be in so many scenes together, but that actual it
Speaker 1: never felt quite fair to me that relationship. I feel
Speaker 1: like it was uneven well, and then she chose to Gabe.
Speaker 1: Was he a better match? Who should Aaron be with?
Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't know. I don't think that
Speaker 1: was a better match. And I adore Zach, but I
Speaker 1: do not. I mean, that was a very strange mass.
Speaker 1: And then I also felt like with Jake Lacey, I
Speaker 1: didn't feel that was quite right either. I don't know.
Speaker 1: It seems like she I don't know who Aaron should
Speaker 1: be with, but someone like odd but also able to
Speaker 1: take Again. When I say take care of her, I
Speaker 1: don't mean she needs to be taken care of, but
Speaker 1: I mean how a couple takes care of each other.
Speaker 1: So I don't know. I didn't feel like she ever
Speaker 1: quite got her right match in that show. Do you
Speaker 1: know that I pitched Kevin and Aaron getting together, Ah, Bryan,
Speaker 1: I think that would be a pretty reasonable relationship. I
Speaker 1: went up to the writer's room and I said, if
Speaker 1: Kevin could mature just a little, there was something about
Speaker 1: their energy that I thought was right. It's almost like
Speaker 1: the static being and the hummingbird that goes around, but
Speaker 1: somehow still their energy is matched in a weird way
Speaker 1: that actually makes perfect sense to me. I love that pitch.
Speaker 1: I'm sorry I wasn't there for it. I should have
Speaker 1: should have called you Anne. What you know what I
Speaker 1: had in that writer? Um, I don't think I ever
Speaker 1: went to the writer's room. What did you have? Any
Speaker 1: favorite moments? Some of the favorite things when Aaron really
Speaker 1: like you know, like lived out how crazy she was.
Speaker 1: I loved those moments. I loved Cafe Disco. I loved
Speaker 1: that episode. I loved Dancing with Mindy and it was
Speaker 1: just like a weird episode that was so funny. I
Speaker 1: loved that episode. And um, oh my gosh, I loved
Speaker 1: the bus episode directed by Brian Cranston. Brian, you remember
Speaker 1: we all almost died. Yes, we almost were given carbon
Speaker 1: monoxide poisoning, to name one of many ways we almost died.
Speaker 1: I at the time, I don't think I was enjoying it,
Speaker 1: And now in retrospect, I'm like, that was fun. Um. Oh, Brian,
Speaker 1: you'll remember I went my pants on that bus during
Speaker 1: the Shibuya roll call. Um. It was like, I don't
Speaker 1: know what you guys were doing, but I got a
Speaker 1: case of the giggles and I went my pants and
Speaker 1: I was like, how long can I had this wish?
Speaker 1: I just fessed up right away. And I did fess
Speaker 1: up right away, and all the ladies were like, oh,
Speaker 1: you need know the skirt, Like nobody was face and
Speaker 1: literally all the guys because I had said it sort
Speaker 1: of loudly because there was no word of the guys
Speaker 1: didn't understand it. But the women, the ladies had my back. Um,
Speaker 1: how do you feel like things changed with Steve leaving? Oh?
Speaker 1: My gosh, O wait, sorry, a baby is crying. It's
Speaker 1: the monitor. I'm going to turn down the blast I
Speaker 1: promised someone is watching the baby. Isn't it scary how
Speaker 1: you can just turn down the monitor and then it's
Speaker 1: like the baby isn't crying anymore that my husband's lasting,
Speaker 1: I swear. Okay, Um, it's embarrassing how upset I was
Speaker 1: about Steve leaving. And I feel like there was one
Speaker 1: moment when my grain was like, why are you sackcause
Speaker 1: because I was like, I think how long? I guess
Speaker 1: he was on for two seasons while I was there,
Speaker 1: and then there were two seasons were there two seasons
Speaker 1: after he left? Yeah, So it's not like I shared
Speaker 1: nearly the amount of time that you guys did with him,
Speaker 1: but I felt so it felt like a very bitter
Speaker 1: sweet time. I don't know, how did you feel, Oh,
Speaker 1: I was incredibly difficult. I'm glad you say what do
Speaker 1: you think? What do you think the greater loss was.
Speaker 1: It's not a trick question, Okay, Steve or Michael Ryant.
Speaker 1: That's a very good question. Oh well, of course I
Speaker 1: have to say Steve because he was such a leader,
Speaker 1: and he was such a quiet leader, and he was
Speaker 1: the backbone of the whole show, and so you know,
Speaker 1: he was just like hard working, never complained, kind, quiet,
Speaker 1: did his job, generous, selfless. I feel like he's the
Speaker 1: supreme example of how a person should behave and so
Speaker 1: it was of course an enormous loss when he left.
Speaker 1: I mean, everybody carried on, okay, it's not like everybody
Speaker 1: went crazy. But who was it? I feel like, um,
Speaker 1: it was Kelly Cantley, one of our assistant directors for
Speaker 1: those of you just joining us at the end, and
Speaker 1: she said something like I think it was her who
Speaker 1: said that he kept everyone in like he was the
Speaker 1: head duck and he kept all the little duck laings
Speaker 1: in line. And it's true, like when he was gone,
Speaker 1: I feel like, okay, well Dad's not here, and maybe
Speaker 1: you know, people wouldn't come to set right on time
Speaker 1: or whatever, like a little very tiny transgressions. But yeah,
Speaker 1: I felt like that was a real that was an
Speaker 1: energy that was really you know lost. But yes, as
Speaker 1: an office, I feel like Michael was when he was
Speaker 1: a backbone of that workplace as well. So of course
Speaker 1: the whole D'Angelo vickers, I mean that was brilliant. That
Speaker 1: eased the transition. I thought with Will Ferrell, oh my gosh, right, yeah,
Speaker 1: that was great. Well, and there were, you know, in
Speaker 1: the end, a lot of big guest stars that came
Speaker 1: onto our little show that we weren't supposed to have
Speaker 1: known people right like Cathy Bays, James Spader. That was
Speaker 1: more than a guest star, I guess. Yeah. How do
Speaker 1: you think that their energy changed things? That's a good question.
Speaker 1: I mean I feel like they, you know, they're all
Speaker 1: such excellent actors that it I mean this in a
Speaker 1: in a complimentary way, that they blended into the um
Speaker 1: energy of the office. But on a personal level, I
Speaker 1: felt like, oh, I can't believe these giants are in
Speaker 1: this room with us, because it is such a drab
Speaker 1: of everyday office and then you have these I feel
Speaker 1: like it's always steel surreal because you have these huge
Speaker 1: people coming in, but they're not in the world of
Speaker 1: the office, right, that's interesting. I I loved Robert California.
Speaker 1: I thought that he I thought he was such strange,
Speaker 1: but I thought that his addition to the office was
Speaker 1: actually great and that he was never going to be
Speaker 1: a replacement for Michael Scott, but that it was just
Speaker 1: a different energy altogether, and I thought it suited the office.
Speaker 1: I mean dunder Milin like pretty well, where it was
Speaker 1: just I mean, he was strange, Brian that character. Yes, yes,
Speaker 1: do you remember Pool Party? That's the episode that I
Speaker 1: referenced being when people are like what was your least
Speaker 1: favorite or what was the hardest episode? I always a
Speaker 1: pool party, and it was remember the pool being particularly
Speaker 1: like a great temperature, and I feel like it was
Speaker 1: it felt like many days in that pool, right, many days,
Speaker 1: many many days. Yeah. Yeah, I don't I always I
Speaker 1: don't have I don't have like traumatic memories of that,
Speaker 1: but I just remember that I was like, this is
Speaker 1: It's just always an episode that I remember, I guess
Speaker 1: because it was it distribushed itself by being in a pool. Also,
Speaker 1: I feel like the week before is when we got
Speaker 1: the heads up like, oh yeah, you guys are going
Speaker 1: to be in a pool for the next week at
Speaker 1: the table where they were like, oh yeah, do we
Speaker 1: not mention you You're gonna be in the pool for
Speaker 1: a week? Swim right right. So the finale of the shop,
Speaker 1: we come back for Dwight and Angela's wedding, and there's
Speaker 1: also a Q and A that we do. Yes, there's
Speaker 1: a Q and A the cast of the documentaries, you know,
Speaker 1: answering questions from the documentary that aired. I know personally
Speaker 1: that's when aaron parents who are in the audience, asking
Speaker 1: questions and what a like beautiful, beautiful end I thought
Speaker 1: for Aaron anyway, like a beautiful end to her arc.
Speaker 1: Aaron never really had a permanent family, like growing up,
Speaker 1: she was in foster homes. And I just loved that
Speaker 1: the writers arranged that for Aaron at the end, to
Speaker 1: meet her birth parents. That was so And of course
Speaker 1: you couldn't have gotten too better. It was Ed Begley Jr.
Speaker 1: And Joan Cusack, who you're like, by the way, do
Speaker 1: you know I still have Joan not to creep you
Speaker 1: out or Joan qu sack out? But I still have
Speaker 1: her card again. She gave me her card again. I
Speaker 1: said something like either complimented her card again or I
Speaker 1: said it smelled so good or something. This is on
Speaker 1: the last day, so you're gonna have it. She took
Speaker 1: his off and she gave it to me. Well, but
Speaker 1: did she give it to you too? Used for a minute,
Speaker 1: or was she like, no, you take this, She said
Speaker 1: you can have it. You know, maybe she literally just
Speaker 1: meant you can borrow it, and I never gave it back.
Speaker 1: All right, well, yeah, it's very possible I misinterpreted that.
Speaker 1: That would seem about right. Oh my gosh. By the way,
Speaker 1: do you remember that was during the finale obviously, remember
Speaker 1: we had to work like two saturdays in a row,
Speaker 1: and we were like, oh my gosh, I can't believe it.
Speaker 1: That was the only I think Saturday I ever worked
Speaker 1: on that show. No, I think I enjoyed just every
Speaker 1: minute of it. I don't know what you're talking about.
Speaker 1: I will share this with you. We don't have this
Speaker 1: on tape anywhere, but I will share this with you.
Speaker 1: We were very very well behaved cast. Some would say churchly,
Speaker 1: but you know, there were a few of us that
Speaker 1: were maybe visited Kevin's bar that he had in the
Speaker 1: finale that maybe had a little bit to my just
Speaker 1: to drink on set. There you go and well committed
Speaker 1: to tape. Okay we haven't recorded, but it took until
Speaker 1: the finale to do that, right, Yes, exactly, a very
Speaker 1: well behaved guest until Kevin's Bar. Yeah, exactly. Did you
Speaker 1: go to the Rat Party in Scranton? Yes, First of all,
Speaker 1: the Rat party that night, Like I remember, we wrapped
Speaker 1: on a Saturday, and I believe I met you and Angela.
Speaker 1: I just remember that we drove to the Rat party
Speaker 1: together and then yeah, that was so much fun that night.
Speaker 1: I just remember the l A Marathon was the next
Speaker 1: day and I was like, how is anyone running? Because
Speaker 1: we were absolute but um, the Scranton Rap Party was
Speaker 1: one of the best weekends of my life. That was phenomenal.
Speaker 1: And do you remember how Christina was, Brian, It was like,
Speaker 1: there's not a cloud in the sky. The baseball game, Brian,
Speaker 1: did we throw Wait? What happened? Why were we at
Speaker 1: the somebody who threw out a pitch? Somebody did? No,
Speaker 1: we were just doing a Q and A in the
Speaker 1: baseball stadium because they needed the biggest venue that they
Speaker 1: could fine, Oh my gosh. And then we went to
Speaker 1: was at the backyard fence backyard Adale House. Oh and
Speaker 1: then we just like we're behind the bar. That was
Speaker 1: unbelievable was that the most special weekend ever was the
Speaker 1: best and the people who lived there are so welcoming
Speaker 1: and warm and kind. That was really an amazing event.
Speaker 1: Have you been? Oh wait, you told me where you
Speaker 1: were on your way there when we couldn't meet up
Speaker 1: in New York. I just went yes. I went back
Speaker 1: to the to the ballpark, I went back to the
Speaker 1: Backyardale House to revisit some sites and to talk to
Speaker 1: some of the folks there, I mean, and really talking
Speaker 1: to them about how crazy it is that The Office
Speaker 1: was big when it was on, and it seemingly has
Speaker 1: only grown in popularity since two thousand seventeen. It has
Speaker 1: over a hundred fifty three billion minutes watched streaming. Oh
Speaker 1: my god, it with a B. I mean that I
Speaker 1: again as a fan, because I have this perspective. It
Speaker 1: makes perfect sense to me. It's a comforting show. It's
Speaker 1: a healing show. It's not cynical. It's like a really
Speaker 1: kind show. And and I think when you're watching it,
Speaker 1: you feel like you know these people intimately and like
Speaker 1: and what I love is kids who were too young
Speaker 1: when it was first on and watch it now. I mean,
Speaker 1: these kids are in middle school, they're high school. They
Speaker 1: don't know what an office workplace is, but they know
Speaker 1: what school is and they know and I think that's
Speaker 1: how they relate to it, is that it's it's any
Speaker 1: it's any situation where you're with the same people day
Speaker 1: and day out, and everyone has these very distinct personalities
Speaker 1: and it's an infinitely relatable show. But so I understand
Speaker 1: why people watch it so much because I did too.
Speaker 1: And it's like, I think, with Netflix, no one could
Speaker 1: have ever predicted how many people would view this show,
Speaker 1: don't you feel I feel so lucky that we got
Speaker 1: to be well again as a newcomer. I feel so
Speaker 1: lucky that I got to have any parts in it.
Speaker 1: But it's really cool, Like how how how people are
Speaker 1: still watching it? Yeah? It is. If it weren't for
Speaker 1: The Office, where do you think you would be? Now?
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, Actually I take that back because on
Speaker 1: the same day that I auditioned for the Office, I
Speaker 1: also auditioned for a show called Cophouse and cop House
Speaker 1: was a pilot written by the brilliant Adam Resnick, who
Speaker 1: I adore. I don't think that the show was ordered
Speaker 1: to series, but I think I would have been in
Speaker 1: a pilot called cop House, and from there, I don't
Speaker 1: know what I would have done. That's very interesting. You
Speaker 1: were almost on cop House. I was almost the star
Speaker 1: of cop House, so I would have done that and
Speaker 1: the oh, I don't know what. Yeah, I don't know what.
Speaker 1: That's a great question. I hope I would have found
Speaker 1: work somewhere else, but nowhere would have been, of course,
Speaker 1: of course as special as the office. Ellie. It's so
Speaker 1: great to hear your voice. I'm only sorry that I'm
Speaker 1: not seeing you in person and probably won't until two
Speaker 1: two when there's a vaccine, but it is so thank
Speaker 1: you for talking to me. It is so wonderful. I,
Speaker 1: like I said, I've been looking forward to this, just
Speaker 1: like selfishly as it picked me up separately. We need
Speaker 1: like a two hour long just personal catch up. I
Speaker 1: know I would love that, and I will tell you that.
Speaker 1: At some point, I think Rain posted a text exchange
Speaker 1: between you and him on the internet and I saw
Speaker 1: it and I was like Oh my god, why aren't
Speaker 1: Ellian I texting like that? Because it just really made
Speaker 1: me smile. I don't know why we're not texting like that.
Speaker 1: And also Rain Will said, I was like, he didn't
Speaker 1: not tell me he was going to post that to
Speaker 1: his millions of followers, like luckily everything was fine, but
Speaker 1: yeah he wasn't. Again, just tell me the joke because
Speaker 1: it will make me laugh. What was you can't remember
Speaker 1: it either? Everything about what it was. It was about money, hute,
Speaker 1: We'll have to look it up something totally. I feel
Speaker 1: like it was bordering on inappropriate and then it was
Speaker 1: actually fine. Rain is so weird, like when he says
Speaker 1: he's I feel like he and Dwight are weird in
Speaker 1: such specific ways and wildly different ways. But they're both
Speaker 1: very weird people. But except Rain is actually like extremely kind.
Speaker 1: Well I guess White was kind, but um, it is
Speaker 1: the funniest thing he no text out of the blue,
Speaker 1: the most insane thing, and it makes me so happy
Speaker 1: that I know him. But anyway, yes, he posted that exchange.
Speaker 1: We need to start texting not a regular occurrence with Rain,
Speaker 1: and what it happens is like, but don't you feel
Speaker 1: that we with so many people from the office where
Speaker 1: like you don't hear from them for a while, and
Speaker 1: then you do and it's like no time is past.
Speaker 1: I totally I totally feel that way. All right, Ellie,
Speaker 1: I will talk to you soon. Thank you so much,
Speaker 1: Thank you, Brian. This is what a bright spot in
Speaker 1: this otherwise bleak time. So I'm so good to hear
Speaker 1: your voice. Once everything is calmed down, we're having the biggest,
Speaker 1: like celebratory dinner out in a restaurant. It might be
Speaker 1: five years from now, but we're doing it. Sounds perfect, okay, alright, alright,
Speaker 1: by bye. Oh there you have her, Ellie kemper, Ellie,
Speaker 1: we are on. We are so on for that dinner.
Speaker 1: I just hope it's not five years. Please let's not
Speaker 1: have it be five years. Thank you Ellie for your wit,
Speaker 1: for your insight. I always have the most fun talking
Speaker 1: to you and to my dear listeners. I had so
Speaker 1: much fun bringing you this interview. So please come back
Speaker 1: next week and join Ellie and I for that dinner.
Speaker 1: We'd be happy to have you. Um. But in the meantime,
Speaker 1: before the dinner happens, like subscribe review us on whatever
Speaker 1: platform you see fit it helps us so much, so,
Speaker 1: thank you in advance and have an excellent week the Office.
Speaker 1: Deep Dive is hosted and executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner,
Speaker 1: alongside our executive producer Langley. Our senior producer is Tessa Kramer.
Speaker 1: Our producers are Emily Carr and Diego Tapia. Our social
Speaker 1: media producer is Liz Hayes, and our intern is Hannah Harris.
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 Olandsky
Speaker 1: h