Interview with Steve Carell

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I'm Jenna Fisher and I'm Angela Kinsey.

We were on The Office together and we're best friends.

And now we're doing the Ultimate Office Rewatch podcast just for you.

Each week, we will break down an episode of The Office and give exclusive behind-the-scenes stories that only two people who were there can tell you.

We're the office ladies.

Happy Wednesday, everybody.

A very happy Wednesday.

This is one of the most exciting Wednesdays for me.

This might be one of my happiest Wednesdays.

Office Ladies listeners, we have a special guest today.

The one, the only Steve Corell.

We have been waiting for this ever since the beginning of the podcast.

We are so excited to have him on, and you guys are going to love it.

We are dedicating this entire episode to Steve.

He's going to talk about all of his time on the office playing Michael Scott.

We could not be more excited for you to hear it.

Also, I hope you guys, when you listen, the thing that just warmed my heart was...

For me, it was just three friends getting to hang out who had missed each other and hadn't seen each other in so long.

So I just hope as you listen, you get to feel that with us.

It was like no time had passed.

We just were so happy to see our old friend.

I really feel like we captured what it's like to sit on set with Steve Carell.

People always ask us, what's it like to work with Steve Carell?

This interview captures what it's like.

These are the conversations.

This is how we would laugh.

Yeah, these were our Monday morning chats after the weekend.

Absolutely.

Before we get to the interview, we do want to give a big shout out to our Facebook fan page.

I hopped on there and I wrote a message.

I had to literally figure out Facebook in order to do it.

You did.

You were like, I don't know my password.

I don't know anything.

I can't do it.

I had an old account that was like five years old or something.

But I went on there and I asked you guys, what do you want us to ask Steve Carell?

And oh my gosh, did you show up for us?

It was amazing.

So awesome.

You guys sent in thousands of fantastic questions.

I also want to give a big shout out to Nikki, who moderates the Facebook fan page, because she helped us go through and pick out some of your most asked questions.

And we asked Steve your questions.

And some of the questions are so good.

I would have never thought of them.

I know.

And they made us laugh.

And we're, you'll hear it.

You'll hear it.

All right, let's take a break.

And when we come back, our interview with Steve Carell.

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Jenna, I am so excited because guess who's sitting next to me?

Steve!

it is my corrupt in the studio on office ladies we're all here in our glasses remember we didn't have these when we worked on the show together did we all three wear glasses the very last season i really needed them for table reads right for reading yes but look at us now now we're here

i know

eyewears

eyewear

should i just kick it off with our very first question we always ask we have a favorite first question of all of our guests.

Okay, here it is.

It is.

It's really hard.

It's really hard.

Ready?

How did you get your job on the office?

I auditioned.

I have to say, the audition for the office was unlike any audition I've ever had.

And I'm sure you had the same experience because it felt like it was a workshop.

It didn't feel like...

an audition there didn't seem to be a ton of pressure uh you just went in and they had a camera but you didn't think there was anyone outside of the, you know, the one or two people that was, that were in the room.

So it was very low-key and very supportive.

I remember we did a screen test together

because after I auditioned something like seven times, I made it to the end, I guess.

And it was like, I was one of the final four.

And they paired me up with you for a couple of scenes.

That was crazy.

I'd never done something like that before.

I said, I, anybody but her.

You were like, I don't care.

No country.

What is her name?

Gemma?

Gemma Fisker.

I don't like it.

Don't think it's going to be.

I don't think Gemma Fisker is going to be on the show.

No, I remember auditioning with you and I remember how grounded you were instantly in your character.

And I thought, you know, when you read with someone, you don't know who they are as a person.

Yeah.

And you immediately think, well, that's who she is, clearly, because

you can't separate it at that point

but then you find out like everyone has completely different personalities than the characters are portraying and it's kind of amazing like once i remember can i tell a story like right yes yes oh my gosh i remember when we were at our first studio our first sound stage out in culver city

and we were shooting the pilot And I was at craft service and I had taken a can of Diet Coke or something out of the six-pack.

And, you know, there was that plastic, the carrying six-pack thing.

And I started breaking it down.

I started cutting the edges before I threw it in the trash, you know, because of the dolphins.

And you don't want to.

And I remember you walking up and commending me for doing that.

And that stuck with me.

Like, oh, yeah, I was just kind of doing it as a courtesy to the dolphins, of course.

And,

but I remember you kind of giving me a pat on the back and saying, hey, good for you.

Nice job.

That is such a specific memory to remember.

I did.

Like, it's one of my strongest memories from

that first episode.

And I thought, she's so nice.

That's so, it's so nice to be with nice people.

I guess that was the takeaway.

Like, oh, this is going to be great.

A little dolphin lover.

You know, I do that at home.

I probably said I do that at home.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I love to see it.

And we should shout out to all the people out there.

Cut the plastic.

Who cut the plastic?

Don't, you know, well, keep the plastic down.

Yeah, there's that.

That's one thing.

That's right.

This is going to be a PSA.

It is so funny, though, like where your brain goes.

Because my strongest memory of the pilot is how you had to go down those stone steps outside to get like to crafting everything, you know, like you had to go outside the building.

down these stone staircase and Oscar and I were leaving at the same time and he we had done sketch comedy together for years, right?

So we just went back to our silly shtick and he goes, let's walk down the stairs together at the same way.

And I said, okay, Oscar.

And we started to go down the stairs with our arms flinging about.

And we turned and the whole like producing team was walking behind us, like Terry Weinberg, Howard Klein, all of those people.

And I was like, Oscar, there's a bunch of people behind us.

He goes, then we have to keep doing it.

Yeah, you have to own it.

Yeah.

So I'm like, okay, that's, that's the one thing I remember.

But then you find out later on, those intimidating people weren't intimidating at all.

Everyone was completely in the boat.

So nice and rooting for us.

Yeah.

Everyone's in the same boat.

I have a question that came from our office ladies fan group.

This is from Carly D.

Carly would like to know, what was your process and inspiration behind playing Michael?

How did you craft this character?

I remember meeting with Greg Daniels up at a deli, like on the top of Mulholland.

And we didn't know each other at all.

And it's before, it's before I got the part, actually.

I think he was meeting with some of the people who were sort of in the mix, the final mix for Michael.

And we just discussed the character and talked about what his foibles are and what his

his dreams and hopes.

And I had a pretty specific take at that point.

And it wasn't Ricky Gervais's, you know, and I, and I've told this story a million times that I chose not to watch the British version because I just didn't want that to influence whatever this version was going to be.

And because he was so, he was clearly so great at it and was such a distinctive character.

I didn't want to do an impression of him.

I remember you telling me that.

And I remember telling you that I had chosen to watch the entire British series and completely copy Lucy Davis and was basically doing a leader with impression to get the job.

That's still not true.

Yeah.

But also kind of true.

I don't think so.

Until, you know, especially for the pilot, because we were doing it word for word and I was like, I think she nailed it.

Like, I don't know how to say the line better than that.

So I guess I'm just going to go with

what she did.

Well, but I remember you saying you'd never seen it.

And I didn't really get that.

I had a confirmation in your brain.

I didn't because, you know,

I watched like a minute of just to get a sense of the tone of the show, sort of how dark and

very dry, very dour,

kind of bleak, which I loved.

I loved how still it was at times.

But his character was so specific, I thought, no, I can't because that's what I'll want to do.

I won't, I won't see it any other way.

And I think Greg agreed with that as sort of a template for doing it.

And we were definitely on the same page in terms of who this guy could be and could become.

And

early on, I started thinking about an arc too, like where, where,

because you hope, you know, you don't go in thinking this is just going to be a pilot or this is just going to be six episodes.

The hope is

the character starts here and ends up way somewhere else.

There's no way of really knowing where a character is going to end

in the last

episode.

But I kind of, in my mind, I had a plan, like, because these characters, the hope was that all of these characters would change and evolve and grow.

And, and that's part of what's fun about watching a show is to see progress in these characters.

So that was, that was sort of the plan going in.

That was sort of the hope.

It was one of those parts that you just pray that you get because,

well, you know, at that point certainly we were all just happy to be working yeah yeah um but on top of it it just seemed like what a what a perfect thing to be a part of yeah and everyone who I met who had been involved with it seemed great and smart and nice and kind and all of those things just made it so appealing to to want to be I was, you know, crossing my fingers.

Oh, I know.

I remember thinking like, I can do this.

Like, this one I can do.

Yeah.

But that was Pam and I didn't get it.

But then I got to be the accountant.

And then I was like, no, I can really do this.

Have you ever worked in an office in real life?

Or ever had a boss like Michael Scott?

No.

No.

No.

I never have.

Not an office worker.

I did a lot of, you know, I did a lot of waiting tables.

I sold wine over the phone at one point.

What?

How do you sell wine over the phone?

Exactly.

I mean, you can't taste it.

How does it taste a beautiful bottle?

Well, you describe it based on, but we didn't get to drink the wine, but you have to describe a wine based on a, you know, a paragraph that they've written on each

wine and varietal characteristics of each wine.

It's a hard sell, believe me.

Hello.

Do you like wine?

I mean, click.

Oh, my God.

Okay.

Was The Office your first lead role?

Yeah, I think it was.

I had done,

it was really fun to do.

But I played a crazy Greek chef on a sitcom with Annie Potts and Tim Curry.

So

that's the sitcom that I had done.

And I did a show just before The Office starring Tom Papa, a really funny comedian.

And he had a show.

Come to Papa.

Come to Papa.

And

he was so great.

And the show, you know, only lasted a few episodes.

So I went from that and then auditioned for the office when that ended.

But no,

I'd never done a lead role.

Because I have such a memory of you, Steve, sitting over in that little sofa at front reception or the chair sometimes that was in front of Michael's office, just studying your lines, because you would have to carry every scene.

And I just breezed through and said something snarky to Kevin and then breezed out, you know, for the most part.

But I always thought, was there a lot of pressure to be the lead and have to carry all of that?

Not with that group of people, because I felt like everyone was an equal component of that show.

I didn't feel that way.

I didn't feel like I was carrying any

more load than anyone else.

Because when you think about it, you know, yeah, I had a lot of dialogue, but everyone was there all the time.

And even if you were in the background of a scene, you're still acting, you're still active.

You like all of us had

character stuff going on at all times.

So

I don't think enough can be said for the fact that

to be, to just be present on that set, everyone was working really hard, but it didn't, it didn't, I don't, don't, I don't want to make it sound like it was hard work because it wasn't.

It was really fun.

Right.

Because everyone was there supporting each other.

So, no, I never felt, I never felt like any undue pressure.

And also, the writing was so good

that at a certain point, it became very easy to memorize lines because

you started to understand exactly how the writers were writing it and how they were also writing to us, like to our characters and to all of our voices.

So I find that if dialogue's really good, it's generally pretty easy to remember because it makes sense.

That's right.

I always think about that too.

If it's well written, I have no problem.

And then our joke is we'd never make it on a medical show

because all of the things they have to just

quickly rapid fire off.

I'd be like, oh, no,

I'm not going to audition for that.

I'll be a disaster.

Yeah.

No, that would be tough.

So, Steve, we have talked about many times on this podcast just about

our gratitude for your just

stability and consistency and your leadership so much so that a fan wrote in sarah h and said we've heard how supportive and professional steve is on set and i would love to hear steve's perspective or advice on setting the tone at work and fostering a supportive environment Let's start by saying, I am pretty great.

So some of it's just in your DNA.

I mean, you had a shirt you would wear that said, I'm fantastic, right?

That's right.

A shirt with my face on it.

So just reiterate that it's me.

That's really nice of you to say.

But I, again,

I felt like I was part of this very unique ensemble.

And so I never thought of myself that way.

I thought of Greg as our leader and our sort of mentor in terms of this world.

And he oversaw everything.

And everyone was so nice.

Everyone was so kind to each other that I never got a sense that it should be any other way than just in terms of the production of the show.

Like from

wardrobe to the writers to all of the crew, you know, catering.

craft service, everybody felt like they were part of something.

And the other part of it is I believe sincerely that every one of us knew,

no matter who watched it or whether it had any sort of longevity in terms of viewership, even if, you know, if we got canceled after a season or two or three, I was so, I think we were all so

happy and thankful for the time.

that we got to work on the show and to be with one another.

It was really, it just, it was a special, a special thing.

And we were aware of how special it was in the moment, I think.

For sure, for sure.

I always was

just super thankful for the writing because it was like,

you know, when you do an improv show or a sketch comic show or something, and there's one person that wants the joke, wants the joke, wants the joke, and they just kill the show?

I never felt that on our show.

It was like, if Phyllis had the best button, she could level the room or Oscar or Creed.

It didn't matter.

Like the jokes came from everyone.

It was a real creative collective and the writers wrote that way and Greg treated us that way.

Like Greg could look at a scene and be like, no, you know what?

It's not working with Jim getting the laugh.

Let's flip that and let's have Stanley say it.

And then it just floored everyone.

And so I always felt that way.

And I feel like Greg set that tone for us that like everybody gets to play.

You're exactly right.

Everyone got their shot.

Not just that, but everyone else loved it.

Everyone else was supportive of it there was no resentment no ego involved

and like why not that's the way to do it and i think you can see it when you watch the show because there is a calm to it like no one's everyone it's all good you know everyone's everyone is everyone's loving each other you know in in terms of us as actors and people beyond the characters i get so excited for conference room scenes because those were our rapid fire things.

I mean,

Michael is up there, but literally every single person in the room has either a bit or a look, and it's just so fun to watch.

Almost impossible to get through.

Oh, we, and we didn't.

Oh my God, we laughed so much.

Well, people are very excited for you to talk about some of your favorite memories of shooting the office.

Specifically, they're curious if you have a favorite episode, which I think is like asking, do you have a favorite child?

It's very hard.

That's so hard.

Yeah, that is hard.

You know, my last one, Talk About Heart, it was a really difficult episode to do, but I also loved it at the same time because

it was sort of that end game for Michael.

It was that the culmination, the sort of showing the growth that

he didn't need the big send-off.

He didn't need the big party.

He could say goodbye to all of his friends on his own terms without any of the, you know, the fanfare.

Exactly.

And so that, that, I really enjoyed, you know, having that character evolve to that point in that moment.

And people always point to this one, but, um, but dinner party was dinner party is up there.

And, you know, we'd come back after the writer's strike.

So that was the first thing that we had shot.

I know you've discussed it, but I think everyone was so ready to get back to work and had really missed each other.

And this is an episode that had just been sitting there waiting to happen for a while.

And it's so weird and

kind of dense thematically and crazy and had great guest appearances and great sight gags, but was also really dark in a lot of ways and very sad.

Yeah.

And kind of emotionally fraught.

So I, that there was a lot going on in that one.

So I, I like that one too.

We didn't realize until we were breaking it down and we did a little googling.

Apparently it was a huge bomb when it first aired.

It would not a fan favorite.

It is not what it is today.

But it was, um, people did not care for it.

The show in general, you know, was a huge bomb when people first saw it.

This is true.

I, you know, acquired taste, I suppose.

Another one, to your point, that people did not like at first was Scott's Tots.

Yes.

And I loved doing that episode because it was so

horrible, but, but I think expressed so much about this guy's persona because his heart, definitely in the right place and a huge heart, but so

wrong.

No follow through.

And I think there was a talking head, something to the effect of, of all the stupid things I've done in my life, this was the most generous or something

like that.

It was not the most generous.

It was something to that effect.

I think it's like of all the empty promises I've made in my life, this one was the most generous.

Great memory, Jenna.

That's it.

That's just such a hard line to say with a straight face.

You have so many amazing talking heads.

We talk about it every week.

And I sort of go and look at the deleted scenes and there's some real gems in there too.

But Jenna, your favorite is I have a favorite.

Yeah.

And we have an audio clip of it so that we can listen to it together.

Okay.

Is after Michael burns his foot on the Foreman grill.

Oh, wow.

And you very angrily explain

how it happened.

You're so annoyed.

You're so defensive.

Like, why do I have to explain this?

But I guess here it goes.

Again.

Wait, we got to hear it.

I enjoy having breakfast in bed.

I like waking up to the smell of bacon.

Sue me.

And since I don't have a butler, I have to do it myself.

So most nights before I go to bed, I will lay six strips of bacon out on my George Foreman grill.

Then I go to sleep.

When I wake up, I plug in the grill, I go back to sleep again, then I wake up to the smell of crackling bacon.

It is delicious, it's good for me, it's a perfect way to start the day.

Today, I got up, I stepped onto the grill, and I clamped down on my foot.

That's it.

I don't see what's so hard to believe about that.

I love the big sigh.

After you've explained how you eat bacon, six strips of bacon every morning, you're like,

so today.

I think my favorite part of that is

what he says.

And it's good for me.

Just slipping.

How good,

how healthy eating six strips of bacon in the morning.

Oh.

But there's so much about that.

If you unpack it, like, it actually is really nice to wake up to the smell of bacon.

I have that memory from childhood.

It's a comfort.

Wake up on a Sunday, dad's downstairs making the pancakes, making some bacon.

It is actually a really, he has a point.

Maybe just made bacon.

He doesn't say it the way you just did, though.

That's the problem.

And what was so great about those talking heads and so terrifying in a way was that they were so well written that you just didn't want to screw it up.

You didn't, you, you,

there was an obligation, and I know you guys felt this too.

Like when you had a really good line

and it here comes, you would try to do everything you could to take the pedal off a little bit.

You know, don't, don't floor it for the joke.

Really ease off.

and let it seem like this is just a natural extension of what this guy is thinking or what these women are thinking.

And that was the hardest part is to not point to all of these fantastic jokes to just make them feel conversational and also just to not laugh.

I'm sure I laughed 20 times during that, trying to do that talking head.

There's one talking head I,

what was it, that I could barely get through.

And it was the same sort of thing.

It was something so

ridiculous.

There's one in the bloopers.

You know, Isabel's obsessed with the bloopers.

She loves them.

So she'll be like, oh, mom, you're at season seven.

There's great bloopers.

I'm like, okay, is.

But there was one, Steve, that you could not get through where you said, I'm going to get it wrong.

But you're like, Michael's like, I'm not a bad guy.

Sometimes I hit people with my car.

That's the one.

That's the one I was thinking.

Yeah.

You couldn't get through it.

Sometimes I hit people with my car.

Yeah, when I hit Meredith with my car.

Like trying to absolve myself of having done it.

I'm not a bad guy.

Sometimes I just hit people with my car.

And

I remember doing it.

And I'd be getting close.

Yeah.

And

I couldn't get through it.

It was so, it was,

it's fun going to know you're going to go into work every day and laugh until you cry.

Yeah.

Every, every day I was on that set at one, at least one point of the day, I was laughing until tears were coming out of my eyes.

And I mean, what a gift.

Yes.

Who has a job like that?

So Michael Scott had a lot of characters characters that he would play over the years.

And we found a deleted scene, Steve, that I wanted to share with you.

I don't know if you'll remember it.

You know, when you hear it, you'll remember it, but it's from season three in The Convict.

Michael explains where he got the idea, or I guess inspiration for all of his characters, in particular, Prison Mike.

I really wanted you to hear it.

Sam, can you play it?

When I was just a

little kid, we had an assembly at school where a giant owl came out and gave a very

impassioned speech about giving hoots and not polluting and you know what

I never polluted again

it was right then that I realized the power of saying things as a character

People listen to you when you are wearing an elaborate costume or

speaking in a voice

that is not yours.

Can you believe that, Mason?

Can you believe that was deleted?

That explains prison Mike.

It is Mike.

Everybody.

Michael Scarn, anyone, anytime you let a conference room meeting in a costume with a voice.

You thought this is it?

They're going to hear me.

This is how I am most active.

Because you don't give any hoots anymore.

You're just just

polluting.

Clearly, this relates back to me tearing apart the plastic,

you know,

or the dog.

Steven still,

you don't pollute.

Steve Corell gave a hoot.

Yeah, he sure did.

I, boy, I mean, that's sort of like that vague, foggy, as I was hearing it, I kind of recalled.

Yeah.

But there are, there are thousands of those.

There are like different versions of of all of this stuff and things

that could have made, you know, could made a difference either way.

Yeah.

But they were so good.

You know, the editors and Greg, I never regretted anything that was taken out of the show.

I like had complete confidence that, because you know how some people get possessive of like, well, why did that scene go?

Or what happened there?

They were so good about structuring the show and what needed to be in and what

might have been really funny, but didn't have.

Or might have explained a whole backstory,

but they just, they let the audience just jump in the middle.

They didn't have to like explain everything, but every once in a while as we're doing this rewatch and we find a deleted scene or something that's such a nugget, we're like, oh, well,

that's why he would come in these costumes and give a big presentation.

It's because of Hoot.

Hoot the owl.

Did you get to give notes on things?

Like, were you very much a part of that?

Like, I would remember sometimes you would stay behind after a table read and they would want to know your thoughts and things.

They were really collaborative and open in that way, right?

For sure.

Yes.

And the fact that so many of the writers were also actors on the show, there was such a great connection

that it didn't feel like different facets of the show.

Again, everybody just felt like they were all collaborators.

And the writers were part of the ensemble, which I think helped because they understood everyone's voice that much better because they were there and they were hearing it.

But yeah, I mean, I'd, I'd weigh in.

Would you pitch ideas?

Sure.

Yeah.

Do you remember any?

Well, I remember once, one specifically, and this was later on.

This was when you and Jim were getting married and they wanted to have a horse go overnight.

Oh my gosh.

I raised my hand and said, we can't.

That's

crazy.

I mean, all due respect, but please don't do that.

It was not just you.

Apparently, when we were breaking down that episode, we talked to Greg about it and he was like, Steve told me not to do it.

Randy told me not to do it.

You told me not to do it.

Like literally everyone told him it was so hard for him to let go of that.

I'm sure if it was Greg, it would have been funny, definitely.

But, and, and those were rare moments when you felt like,

no, I,

yeah, I mean, little notes here and there.

But again,

those writers were so good and so on point about everything that it was more in addition to, as opposed to negating.

Yeah.

Side note, did you know, we didn't know this.

Randy shared this with us that up until like right like the day before, they had a horse they were training in a big water pool at Paramount Studios.

Like it was, they were all systems go, like right up until like the day before.

See, that's there was a horse being trained.

Of course, there was.

That's what you don't realize when you write something, somebody starts to build it.

Yeah.

I mean, it starts to happen.

So when you say, oh, so now we're going to be out in the woods.

Yeah.

And then a month later, you're driving an hour and a half up into.

the Los Angeles forest to shoot a few scenes.

Like, why did I write this?

It's a terrible idea.

It's nighttime in the forest in the middle of nowhere.

Freezing.

Terrible idea.

He falls in a creek.

What?

Why did I write it?

So we've talked how the show was slow to find an audience.

It was sort of like we were doing a little theater production and no one's seeing it.

But then one day it turned a corner and everybody knew the show.

And we had people coming up to us.

Jenna, do you remember we're at an award show and Laura Dern was like, stop, I have to talk to you.

And we're like, what?

She was like, I love your show.

And I was like, this is Laura dern oh my gosh but was there anyone like that for you steve that sort of surprised you and caught you off guard that was a fan of the show laura dern

same thing i i met her somewhere down the road i was doing a promotional thing with her and i wasn't even aware of your encounter with her

because she's she was clearly a fan because she was very excited to talk about the show.

And, you know, she said the same thing to me.

She loved it.

She was a, and that's, it's it's nice when, you know, it's nice when anyone likes something that you're a part of.

And especially nice when somebody that you respect like that and has sort of a critical eye for things likes your show.

So that, yeah, it was really nice.

It was nice hearing any of it, you know,

because you, you're right.

Early on, it felt like we were in a vacuum.

And is any, let alone appreciating, is anyone watching it?

Is anyone, you know, paying any sort of attention?

And the only part of it that mattered to me was the continuation of the show.

I wanted to have enough people watch it so they kept letting us do it because I didn't really care about the acclaim.

Right.

You know, or like we knew that we liked it and we were having fun with it.

And I think we all felt like it was special in that moment.

And that's what mattered to me.

But yeah, yeah, it was Lord Turn.

I remember that time early on because we, a few of us had gotten on MySpace and we were able to interact with the like 17 people who were watching our show in the beginning.

And they were such fans and they so got it and they so appreciated it.

And that really like kind of, that just felt so good, you know, because when you make a television show, you don't hear the people laugh when they watch it and you don't know how it's being received or a movie or whatever, I guess, unless you sneak in the theater, but you can't like go sneak in people's living rooms while they watch it.

I always loved when someone told us that they loved it, especially a fellow artist.

And they were excited too, because the show was different with the documentary style and the looking at the camera.

Would you look into the camera after you got jobs on the office?

I have never had a job where I didn't look into the camera at some point.

Same.

I can't not make the camera a character now.

It's so such a habit.

At least once.

Yeah.

I'm sure on Foxcatcher, I like looked into the camera and went, nope, you cannot comment on what you just did

because that's not this show.

Yep.

Same for me.

I actually had a director say, Angela, you just looked right down the barrel.

I was like, oh, I'm sorry.

Can I look to the left or right?

It was such a fun

kind of discipline.

Know who was really good at that right off the bat was Amy Adams.

I'll never forget because it was kind of a learned strength, I think, on the show to figure out the right way to play the camera, to invite the camera in and to make it feel like these people aren't used to the cameras.

So you couldn't be too savvy, especially at first.

You couldn't play it too well.

You needed to have an awareness of it without like having an over-awareness of it.

Yes.

But I remember when Amy Adams came in to do Purse Girl, was that it?

Hot girl.

Hot girl.

She was selling.

Selling the purse.

She was selling purses.

Yeah.

and i remember she just had like this she was right up to speed with everybody else in terms of how to play the camera like it's eavesdropping i don't know how i should react to it and that sort of discomfort built in that we had learned how to do so she was really good at that and that was such an interesting and we'll never we'll never get to do something like that again it was a really interesting acting exercise to be you know you're doing your you're in your character and your character is also

being watched.

So there was like another layer of something going on with all of these characters, which is kind of cool.

You mentioned Amy Adams.

One of my favorite guest stars that we had in terms of chemistry with you was Tim Meadows.

You guys doing the baby back ribs.

That also, that episode has one of my favorite lines in it, which is, Gould is dead

because Jan is no longer Jan Levinson Gould.

Yeah.

And she's like, no, Michael, we got, we're separated.

We're divorced.

Gould didn't die.

As if she would drop the Gould from her name if he died

as a widow.

Yeah.

Amazing.

But yeah, I love you guys.

I don't know how you got through all the rib eating and singing and comedy.

from that episode.

I've known Tim for a long time too.

And we did a Second City show that went to Washington, D.C., at the Kennedy Center with Nancy.

We went as this group one summer and spent, I don't know,

three weeks at the Kennedy Center doing a Second City show.

And I had known him from Second City as well, you know, earlier on stage.

And he is so,

I think he's one of those,

one of those people that is always great.

He's never not great.

You know, sometimes people like that are under the radar and then they pop out and you say, Oh my gosh, like they're incredible.

And yeah, he's, I think, one of the best.

And he's a great improviser.

And he's so,

he's so effortless.

He just doesn't look like he's ever breaking a sweat.

And he's hilarious.

Yeah, I'm a big fan.

He's a great guy.

Well, why don't we take a break?

And when we come back, we have some more questions from the fans.

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All right, we're back.

And while we were on break, before we get to fan questions, Steve, I remembered this cold open that we did that led in to a talking head that was one sentence from you.

When I re-watched it, I laughed so hard.

I had tears streaming down my face.

What?

Do you remember the cold open that we did where we're all trying to take the Christmas photo?

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

And we're trying to jump on three, three, two, one, one, two, three.

Yeah.

This whole thing.

dwight's like phyllis didn't jump angela didn't jump yes and it's so long this cold open

and then it cuts to a talking head of michael and michael says we never got it

i you know what that that cold open is a perfect demonstration of us as an ensemble i think yeah

because

to

to make it look as bad as it did

took some effort.

Like, we had to be completely in sync to be that out of sync.

Yeah.

And everyone jumping at different times.

Yeah.

And Michael getting frustrated like a dad would.

Like, come on, come on, guys.

I think that's a perfect example of how in sync we were as a cast because we all got what that thing was.

Yeah.

And how many people needed to be going at one time?

But we didn't talk about it.

No.

We didn't discuss like, well, on the count of three, you two are going to go.

And then we just, as a group, we just felt that not to give ourselves too big a pat on the back but but i think i've i've watched that um since and thought the same thing like that's there was something something cool happening there that was one of my favorite group cold opens for that reason i know well let's get into these fan questions okay Catherine G and Christy R both asked if you had to choose a different character to play on the office besides Michael, is there one you'd like to be?

Wow.

I can't imagine anyone but the people who played their parts.

Like right off the top of my head, I think Dwight is a very fun role to play,

but

I would have been terrible.

I mean, Rain was perfect for that part.

So no, I never like, I never imagined myself in another part.

It was, it was just as it should have been.

Lauren D asked, What trend or big pop culture moment that's happened since 2011 do you think Michael would have gotten obsessed about?

For example, Lauren thinks Michael would have been all over the ice bucket challenge

in 2014.

I think, I think she's done

so much ice water.

Oh, and would have, would have done something wrong.

Someone might have ended up in the hospital.

Probably Meredith.

Yeah.

Dwight would have overdone it too.

Yes.

Yeah.

It would have gone south somehow.

It would have gone wrong.

We say that we think that Michael probably would have made us all learn TikTok dances.

So many TikTok dances.

Well, the internet wasn't as certainly as

much of a thing.

Social media, really.

We had flip phones when we started the show.

Then we got Blackberries.

And then at the end, we had iPhones.

Yeah.

Yeah.

A lot, a lot changed.

Yeah, there are tons of things that Michael would have glommed on to in the worst possible way.

beth m writes in and says what is the most common michael line that people quote back to you what do you think it is yeah beth that's what she said

is there one other than that um

that's the one that's the one that's the one i hear yeah and sometimes i don't know do people ever stop you and say oh could you talk to can you do a shout out you know into my phone and yeah and i'm happy to do it But when they say, can you say that?

I can't, I just, I don't, I can't.

It can be taken out of context.

Please don't make Steve say that's what she said if you see him at the airport.

Do you ever, that's what she said in your life.

Do you ever find never?

No.

Really?

I don't do it.

I, I do throw them out, Jenna.

I do.

Yeah.

Well, you can.

You, you can.

Gosh, it's going to be so weird when we give you your parting gift.

It's a, it's a t-shirt that says that's what she she's

well.

You'll love it.

I do wear that all the time.

And on the back, it says, I'm fantastic.

Same brain.

We really liked this question because we both come from a long line of teachers.

Someone wanted to know if you remember a favorite teacher.

There was one in particular, a guy named Mr.

Blackman, my second grade teacher.

And he's the one who got me interested in acting in the first place.

We were doing like a Pilgrim's Meet the Native Americans thing.

It was a long time ago.

So

a lot was being glossed over for sure.

But what I remember is we were rowing canoes and it was all mime.

You know, we were sitting in little chairs in the classroom.

It wasn't a big play.

It was just like an in-class thing.

And I started rowing the canoe, my mime rowing, and then I changed my hands with the oar and rowed on the other side.

I'll never forget it.

He singled me out.

It's the first time I'd ever been singled out in any way.

And he gave me a pat on the back and said, notice how Steve rode on both sides of the canoe so he wouldn't go in a circle.

And he kept the canoe straight, you know, in the, in this mime, you know, miming the canoe.

And something about that really struck me.

And I thought, and apart from that, he was just the most lovely guy and really kind to all the kids.

And everyone, it was fun.

It was really just a fun class.

And he did that for all the kids too.

He made them feel special about whatever talent they had, whether it was art or music or anything.

He really, he really embraced, you know, everyone's abilities, you know, as little as they were in that, that moment as a second grader.

But I'll never forget it, like being seen.

Yeah, yeah, seen.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And it was, it was, that was special.

Something sort of clicked like, oh, that felt good.

And so I guess I, I owe it all to him.

You know, Steve, I love that story because I have a similar story.

I took a summer school acting class and we had to do panamime.

We had to mime things.

And my assignment was to go over to the refrigerator and get out some milk and pour it in a glass and drink it.

And so I did it.

And afterwards, the teacher said, did everyone notice how Jenna shut the refrigerator with her foot?

Ah,

it's exactly.

And I was like, wait, I might be good at this because I didn't think.

It just, maybe I have a little thing.

Right, exactly.

You know, and then it just just makes you feel like, I might be good at this.

Or it might be something.

Yeah.

You know, it might be something that I'm actually, yeah, capable of.

That's so fun.

And it's not even like, look at me.

Like,

it, it's just a sense of a set, like the, one of the first senses of pride that you ever feel that you accomplish something completely on your own, not your parents.

And nothing that you were instructed to do.

It's just something that you did naturally.

And to have somebody notice it felt really good.

And that's a great teacher in my mind.

Somebody who can pick up on those things.

Yeah.

Okay.

I love this question.

Here it is.

Are there any foods you don't eat anymore because of so many takes you had to do with that certain food?

It can be on the office or any other job.

I know mine right away.

It's that cake.

that we had to eat, the ice cream cake for Meredith's birthday.

Was it the Alliance?

We started filming at 7.30 in the morning and we were given a slice of cake.

And, you know, this is a rookie move on my part.

I took a plate with a big piece of cake and I took a huge bite in that first take.

And by the end, my fork was shaking as it got close to my mouth because I was like,

I can't, I can't eat it anymore.

Anyway, I was asking you that, but literally, I have a visceral.

I can't eat ice cream cake anymore.

That did it.

That did you in.

That was so gross to me.

I learned early on to nibble.

Yeah.

Not like if that first take, try not to take a big bite because then you have to match it for the rest of the day.

Yeah.

Or I'm not hungry today.

You know, my character's not hungry.

But Michael would eat some pretty crazy stuff.

I, nothing that turned my stomach,

nothing to the point where I can't eat it anymore.

I did a bit on the daily show

where

I was supposed to be eating Crisco.

I was doing, it was some health food food segment.

And I said, Well, this is all vegetable-based.

And I was like at the

desk with John.

And so I take a big spoonful of Crisco.

For real, Crisco?

Well, they wanted to mock it up and just put like vanilla frosting in because no one would know.

And I could play it like it's Crisco.

But I said, no, leave Crisco in because that's going to be funnier for John to watch me eat Crisco because

the expression on his face was pretty horrifying.

And I didn't practice it, so I didn't know what I was getting myself into.

And so, on camera, basically live, you know, that show was live to tape, but it was really bad.

I did not,

I could, I mean, the two of us had a hard time getting through the rest of that segment because he, he knew

I was in your eyes, he did, he knew I was in distress.

So, so not that I would sit around eating Crisco, but that, that kind of, that was a hard one.

Yeah.

Here's a good question.

Do you have a Toby in your life?

Someone who just enrages you the second.

This was one of our favorite questions sent in

because

we're like, we're sure Steve doesn't have a Toby, but

yeah.

Someone who just really for no reason just to do that.

You just hate.

Just abject hatred.

No, I don't.

But that's, that's one of my favorite character dynamics of the time that I spent on the office.

And it evolved from, I don't exactly, I know it's been discussed as to, and I think the writers could sort of pinpoint clearly.

But I think one day I just decided,

I just got

really

mad at him and like disgusted by him for no reason.

And we just kind of stayed with it.

People lost it.

They would lose it at a table read when you would snap at Toby.

We did an interview with Paul, and he said he remembers the moment.

Oh, he does.

It was during the alliance when he has to come in the office and sign Meredith's birthday card.

And apparently, it just took him a long time to write.

And you turned on him and you told him, you said, I don't know what it is, Paul, but I hate you for how long it's taken you to write this card.

And you guys laughed so hard about it.

And you met like me as Michael.

Like, Michael is so irritated with you right now.

And that was like everyone else just signed their name, but he started to write something.

Yeah, I, it was like, I love the fact that it was never discussed, too, as to why

and the specifics of it.

Yeah.

And, and people have asked me that too.

Well, why, why does Michael hate Toby so much?

And I think, well, I think it's like the end when our characters say goodbye to each other.

I, that's, i'll never talk about exactly what was said because that's that's like our thing and i and it's more fun too to leave those things as sort of a mystery like well why really because i i built in michael's head like all of the reasons but it's better that you don't know yeah that it just kind of sits there That's how I feel about the teapot letter.

Right.

Everyone wants to know what's in the teapot letter.

And the thing is, is that what's in the teapot letter is what you need to be in the teapot letter.

There's what I needed to be in the teapot letter.

There's the thing that Pam needs, but like it has to be the most wonderful romantic thing.

And you can't write it.

Like you can't tell people what was in it.

It'll just be a letdown.

It will.

It can't live up to it.

Right.

So it's like, I know what it said.

Completely.

But it's better if you write it yourself as an audience member.

I think the writers in general felt that way about the show.

And I think Greg was very savvy about that, that you don't have to tell the whole story and just let people come to it.

And I think that's partly why people have liked the show over the years.

It doesn't spell everything out about these characters or about these relationships.

You kind of acquire a knowledge over time and it becomes more ingrained that way.

This is sort of off the subject, but you know, you talking about the teapot letter.

And, you know, and I thought about this many, many times since I left the show, that you and John, in my opinion, you and John were

the

rock of that show.

Like, if not for your two characters, I feel like that show would have imploded because

there was so much craziness going on and so much wackiness.

And you were both such grounded characters on that show, while simultaneously being incredibly funny and real.

But the fact that everyone could bounce off of you and your your very grounded, loving, and

interesting relationship and how that grew.

To me, that was the nucleus of the show.

I've always felt that way.

And the way that you guys, and you're both such good actors, too.

It's like we're so fortunate on so many fronts in terms of the casting of this show, in terms of the writing.

I attribute it to, well, to you guys, obviously, and to Greg for like

putting this group of people together in just the right sort of alchemy.

I don't know if I've ever specifically told you that, but I've always felt that way.

Steve, thank you.

I remember when we got ready to shoot the pilot, Stephen and Ricky came to visit, and we had like this one-day meeting with them.

And Stephen told John and I, never forget you two are the heart of the show.

And I remember it was like in Threat Level Midnight.

I was like, gulp, gulp.

I thought, I don't really know what that means.

That's sort of scary to me.

I was sort of hoping to kind of keep with my whole like wallflower thing where Pam just kind of sits at the desk and gives a couple of stares, really liking that lane.

But over time, I understood what he meant.

And it's kind of what you're saying, which is like, we're not going to go to you all the time, or maybe even very often.

But over a large

arc, over a large period of time, this is a really important thing.

And so just, you know, make sure you always honor it.

Make sure that you, you know, that.

I'm so glad we did.

I'm so glad Jim and Pam

made it and work and they didn't like

do that thing where they pull you apart and put you back together.

Break up, break up makeup.

Yeah.

And I get really defensive of Jim and Pam if like we're doing an interview and someone's like to Jenna, so I think Jim and Pam are still together.

I'm like, how dare you?

Of course they're still together.

And so are Dwight and Angela.

And so are Michael and Holly.

Get out of here.

Oh, you know what?

I need to tell you about this.

No.

Oh, dear.

No.

Michael and Holly.

No.

No.

It is bad.

It is bad.

Oh,

I don't want to get into it.

We just watched the scene and it's, it's, you know, I feel like I'm rediscovering so many of these scenes because we haven't seen the show since it aired, you know, a lot of these episodes.

But when you and Amy Ryan do that, you are, hoo-ha, like that moment, and it says basically, I love you, like, yo, wicked smack.

You are.

It's like, I was like tearing up.

Yeah.

I like played it for Jenna.

I was like, you got to watch this scene.

They're just saying you are, but it's like so powerful.

Yeah.

Amy Ryan's pretty good.

Yeah, she's okay.

She was fine.

I mean,

I guess we were lucky to get her on the show.

She did pretty well for herself, I think.

We did just watch all of these episodes.

We watched the proposal to Holly and the singing goodbye to you.

Yeah.

And, you know, all the individual goodbyes to all the different people.

What a brutal couple of final weeks for you.

I mean, were we,

did we just cry the whole time?

How did we do that?

I don't know.

I, you know, I could look at it.

I don't know.

I don't want to make too much of it, but it, it was,

it was difficult because, you know, we were such good friends and it had been so much fun

and so rewarding in a lot of ways, all ways.

But at the same time, there was,

for me, there was a joy to it, you know, when you, you're crying with joy because it wasn't even sadness.

Like, because I was ready.

I was ready to go.

And so I wasn't sad about leaving.

Yeah.

And it felt right for Michael.

Yeah.

No, it was, it was time.

And it was time.

It was time for other characters to kind of step to the forefront and

other storylines to be pursued.

It was just, I think it was the right, it was that the timing was right, I think for everybody.

But simultaneously, there was just a sense of joy for me that we had experienced all of this and we were getting, I was getting a chance to kind of take a lap with everybody.

And the way, you know, those last few episodes were structured, it felt very very rich to me to kind of simultaneously be saying goodbye as Michael and, you know, us as

friends, you know, in this moment of work together.

But yeah, it was a lot.

It was a very emotional thing.

It was.

Like it was.

It was just hitting us in waves.

I remember like we would laugh one minute and then we'd be tearing up the next.

But like you said, it's because we had had such a great run.

We had such a good time.

Incredible.

Just incredible.

Steve, we are always telling people when they ask us, what was it like to work with Steve Carell?

What is Steve Carell like?

And we say he is a regular guy.

We're telling you he is a regular guy.

Yeah.

So we thought we would end this interview with a regular guy quiz.

Yeah.

All right.

All right.

Regular guy question number one.

Favorite pizza?

Favorite brand of pizza, like favorite pizza place.

Oh my gosh, you're very versed in pizza.

I mean, oh, I, come on.

Window, we know your love of pizza.

Well, favorite topping.

I will either go with just a plain cheese

or maybe

do half cheese and then half mushroom and pepperoni.

That's my pizza of choice.

Okay.

But I have a lot of different spots.

I have different types, the deep dish, the thin crust, the New York style.

There's different LA types of pizzas that are, it's, I'm sort of a connoisseur.

Next podcast, pizza with Steve.

That's, hey, you just gave me an idea.

I'm getting the studio next to yours.

Next question.

Favorite ice cream or frozen yogurt?

I like a good,

I kind of a basic, like a chocolate.

I like a good sundae, like a hot fudge sundae.

Okay.

It's always pretty delicious.

So you like a topping more than maybe something in the actual ice cream?

I'm not, yeah.

Brownies mixed in are always good.

Okay.

But kind of basic.

Kind of, I don't, I'm not like a gummy worms and pistachio ice cream kind of guy.

That sounds delicious.

Okay,

let's see.

Favorite place you've visited in the United States?

Pittsburgh was pretty cool.

Oh, yeah?

Yeah.

I mean, I'm not saying that ironically either.

I've done a couple of movies there and I liked it.

It was a cool city.

All right.

There you go.

I bet that's the first one you got.

Shout out to Pittsburgh.

Shout out to Pittsburgh.

What is your least favorite exercise or the exercise you avoid the most?

Abs.

Yes.

Babs.

Of course.

Oh.

Leg day was always fun.

We love a leg day.

Who doesn't?

I mean us.

I mean, look at us.

What's what?

Well, yeah.

I mean, just doing sit-ups is that's a I do it, but I don't love it.

All right.

What's the last thing you bought at Target?

I bought one of those

little razors

for my son because he's shaving now.

And it's not, it's like a trimmer,

but it's what it's what the youths are using now.

Okay.

They're not, they're not using a blade.

We're not there yet.

They're not using, but it's like, it's like you can trim it close enough.

This is a terror.

You can definitely lift this from the show.

No, this is my favorite dumbest answer.

I don't even want to know what they're called.

It's like it's sort of a

little blade, and you can kind of, yeah, like a beard groomer thing.

You can, but but you can cut it really close, but not have to use like an electric razor.

And oh, everyone's tuned out.

No, they're not.

Yeah, no, everyone just changed.

No, changed to a different steam.

I want to listen to some music.

Go back to pizza.

If you anyway, the pizza.

The sweet spot.

If you are in charge of cooking dinner, what's your go-to dish?

Spaghetti bolognese.

Okay.

I make a pretty good bolognese sauce.

What skill would you like to master?

I'd love to learn how to play the piano.

Never going to happen.

Do you play the piano in any way?

No, not in any way.

So we'd be starting from zero.

Totally from zero.

Okay.

Do you play any instruments?

I'm embarrassed.

I play the fife and I play the baritone horn.

What's the fife?

Yeah.

Oh, God.

Is that like ye oldie, ye oldie flute?

Yeah.

It's exactly right.

It's like a

flute from the 1700s.

Pittsburgh, the fife.

Not only am I sort of an ordinary guy,

but super boring.

Stop it.

No.

Stop it.

Okay, right?

To really lean into the boring.

How early do you get to the airport before a flight?

Like two hours early.

That tracks.

You were 10 minutes early today.

I knew you would be early.

And I actually circled the block a few times.

I was ready to go, but I'm like, I don't want to seem too eager.

Nancy and I get, we get to the airport so early.

And we just, we were just going to be.

But it's both of you, though.

You're in sync.

That's good.

Totally.

Okay.

Yes.

And she's, she's often said, if, if she had been married to someone who was like always late, she would have gotten a divorce because it would have been a good thing.

It's very important to her.

Very important.

Punctuality.

But for both of us.

Yes.

And I would rather sit in the airport for an hour and a half than be like getting all worked up in the car that we're going to not make our flight.

All right.

What is your favorite cocktail or adult beverage?

I don't drink a lot.

I will occasionally have a glass of wine or something, but I can't say that I have a cocktail.

I'm not, I'm just not a big drinker.

We would like to recommend Michael's drink, which is the Scotch and Splenda.

We're tried here on the show.

Steve, it is excellent.

It's very good.

Really?

Yes.

Jenna brought it in.

As a joke, like as a joke.

And I was like, this is going to be disgusting.

What are we doing?

We made them for everybody and we were like, damn, it's actually pretty good.

I want to order one at a bar, but I'm scared to because.

Well, you have to come up with a name for it instead of scotch and splenda do you call it a scotch da i know didn't didn't um michael have a name for it and we can't remember what it is i don't know a splotch yeah he does have a name for a splotch wasn't it a splenda and scotch he a splotch a splotch maybe a splotch oh that's it doesn't sound delicious it's very good yeah i'll take a splotch please you know what i'll try a splotch at some point great all right okay next time three of us are going to get together and we're going to have one splotch We're going to go splotching.

Last question.

When was the last time you had to get out your toolbox and what tool did you grab?

About three days ago.

I was putting.

I am so embarrassed.

Are you about to say you're putting together a bird feeder?

Worse.

I bought a vacuum,

an outdoor leaf vacuum, which also mulches the leaves.

And

I had to go to my toolbox to put it together.

I ordered it and it arrived and I had to assemble it and put the little bag on it.

Do you blow leaves?

Well, I have a leaf blower too.

What I do.

What I do is

I use the leaf blower to blow them into a pile.

And then I take my vacuum mulcher and I

vacuum them up and mulch the leaves.

And then I take the leaves and I put them in our planting beds.

Oh my God.

And so that's so the fife.

Pizza, plain,

chocolate ice cream.

And that's that's me.

Yeah.

And we all do it in Pittsburgh.

Barrel of laughs.

Oh,

I'm in love with you.

Well,

clearly the bar is low because

there's not, I can't even believe that Nancy decided to marry me with like that as a track record.

That is the, that is, that's pretty bad.

Like when you do interviews like this and you say things and you hear yourself reflected in the words, how you're describing yourself, I think I'm like more interesting than that, but clearly I'm not.

I don't know how to play the piano.

No.

What would you like to do?

I'd like to be smart and play the piano, but instead I'm mulching leaves and playing the fife.

So,

okay.

Is there anything in your career that you haven't done that you'd like to do or in your life?

Because like Jenna, for example.

Yes, you know, it is my dream to one day do theater and win a Tony Award.

Yes.

This is my, I would love to do this in my life.

My dream is I really want one of those hats that has big flowers on it that hummingbirds eat out of.

So that's, Jenna wants to work towards a tony.

I want to work towards a hummingbird eating out of my hat.

Where do you live?

Those are very disparate dreams.

Well,

I don't even know how to top that.

Honestly, boy, I'm so content

with Certainly my professional life.

It's been, I've been so lucky.

I can't maybe do a play.

Yeah, would you ever do theater?

Yeah, yeah.

And, and I've, you know, I've been talking to a couple of theaters about maybe doing something.

Um, yeah, maybe somewhere down the road.

I haven't done a play in, well, since Nancy and I got married, it's been 27 years since I've done a play.

So, but you are a classically trained actor.

Oh, yes.

Yes.

You, you were, you were of all of us.

We always talk about how like there were a bunch of the people who were the theater nerds and then there were the like comedy, sketch, comedy, improv nerds on our set, but you were both.

You studied theater and also studied improv.

I was just a nerd.

You double-nerded it, is what I'm getting at.

You, you did both.

Yeah, I mean, I, it was, yeah, I, I would like to do, I, I'm with you.

I, I'd like to do some.

Maybe we should do some together.

Let's do it.

Oh, I do some Broadway.

I would come and watch it with your hat.

And finally, Steve, you you just worked with Mr.

John Krasinski on his movie If.

How was it to team up with him again?

Really fun.

Was that great?

Well, I'm supposed to contractually.

I'm supposed to say that.

That's right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Do you need to get out the piece of paper?

Do you want to read directly from it?

John Krasinski is the most wonderful.

He was great.

He's, and he was such a good director.

I mean, obviously, since the office,

boy, has he really shown himself as a fine director.

But did you know Janus Kaminsky is his DP on this movie?

No, who is Steven Spielberg's DP?

Like, he is

the best director of photography in the business.

He's a legend.

And so, you know, wow, that's it.

It's a huge deal.

And I think such a sign of respect to John that

this person

wants to, you know, wanted to work together with him.

So that's, I, I, yeah, he's, he's, uh, he's an amazing, he's a big deal, amazingly talented guy.

And so, yeah, and just great to see him.

Like you guys, it's like, wow, it's exactly like the last time we saw each other.

There's like, no time has passed.

We definitely felt that too.

Like when he zoomed in, we were just cracking up.

We had to like stop laughing so we could do.

like our interview with him because we just got so tickled.

I love that.

This is, you know, BJ was on and he said to us, he was like, You guys, office family forever.

And that's absolutely how I feel.

Like,

family.

Thanks for coming, Steve.

Yeah.

Whatever.

Oh, sorry.

You got to get back to your leaf mulching.

Geez, got a busy day there.

Oh, man.

You don't know the half of it.

Oh,

well.

Truly, thank you.

Yes.

Thank you.

So good to see you guys.

Thank you for listening to Office Ladies.

Office Ladies is produced by Ear Wolf, Jenna Fisher, and Angela Kinsey.

Our show is executive produced by Cody Fisher.

Our producer is Cassie Jerkins.

Our sound engineer is Sam Kiefer, and our associate producer is Ainsley BubbaCo.

Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.

For ad-free versions of Office Ladies, go to StitcherPremium.com.

For a free one-month trial of Stitcher Premium, use code Office.

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