I was a political junkie, and it just exhausted me, and after Obama won, I just kind of unplugged from all of that for a while.
No, I don't regret doing anything, and, you know, at the time, 'Monster-in-Law' was... I was so excited to get that part. I got to be in a big movie for a few months. I got work, and everybody on it was really nice, and it was a fun experience.
David Wain just texted me and asked me if I wanted to do 'Wet Hot.' And I just said, 'Yeah, sure.' And he said, 'You want me to call you and tell you about the character?' And I was like, 'Not really. Just tell me when, and I'll do it.'
I grew up right in Santa Cruz, right across the bay from Monterey. I would go to Monterey all the time.
Dr. Bronner's is the best. My mom had Dr. Bronner's around since I was a little kid, and I've used it in the shower as soap ever since.
Journalism classes would have been interesting to me.
I think 'Party Down' found its audience primarily on Netflix and stuff like that, and primarily after it had been cancelled.
I love the people I work with and the stuff I've found and that's found me.
Growing up, I did not have many friends with parents who were together.
I worked at Johnny Rockets. For one day. I had to quit because they said that anytime a particular song comes on the jukebox, all the servers have to stop and do this special sing-along and dance, and I just knew that I wouldn't be returning.
One line on a Tom Selleck sitcom does not a career make.
'Step Brothers' itself, when I did it, I don't know if I had any idea that it would become a defining moment in my career and life like it has, and I'm really happy that that's the one that ended up being that for me.
The great thing about New York is that you don't have to set out to do anything. Whenever I go without the kids, I walk all day and see the most interesting stuff. There's always some kind of drama playing out.
'Parks and Rec' is definitely a mainstream show - the group that watches it on TV on Thursday night is small, but the audience that watches it on things like Hulu, Netflix, and Tivo is enormous.
I remember, the first time I played a parent was - I did a guest spot on 'Veronica Mars,' and they were like, 'OK, and this is your daughter,' and there's this little girl standing there. And I remember thinking, 'OK, this is weird... I guess I'm old enough to have a daughter.'
I like having a beard. What's funny is when you shave a beard, you realize how freezing cold your face is! The primary purpose evolution-wise is to keep you warm, to grow hair on your face. You shave it off, and your face is freezing for a few days.
If I look at it and feel there is someone who can do it better, I won't do it. Whether it's 'Party Down' or 'Piranha 3-D,' I'm going to bring something to it to make it special.
I think when you're on a network show, it's crazy how different it is... just being on a network show that reaches that many people. It's not like I'm very famous, but seemingly overnight, I would get recognized more, and it was really weird.
I like having a duty. I'm a terrible cook, but when people come over, if I'm falling between the cracks socially, I can always run away to my job.
There was a lot of improvisation on 'Step Brothers.' I remember it being really frightening, and it took me a long time to get used to it and grow to be able to hold my own. But I remember when it was done feeling like, 'I don't know if I ever want to go back to working another way.'
I was an extra in a Tia Carrere music video.
When you blow an audition that you have a lot of importance on, it haunts you for years.
I did just about anything to pay the rent for a while.
I used to be into the Grateful Dead, so I understand the Phish thing.
AirPods have squirmed their way into my life. I use them every day, and I always know where they are and if they're charged or not.
I love working with friends; it's my favorite thing to do. I've found over the years that that ends up being the best way to spend my time.
I focused my life on things that are a little more dependable, like my family and things that actually make me happy, rather than momentary flashes of success or anything like that.
If I had gotten the parts in 'Scream' or 'I Know What You Did Last Summer,' I would not have been very good in them, and I would've squandered whatever success I had gotten because I wasn't ready for that sort of thing. So I feel grateful for all of the years that I have behind me trying to get traction and a career.
I love hearing about bad behavior. It's just so funny to me. Especially, grown ups acting like weird, inconsolable babies over really stupid things, to me, is really funny.
You know, it looks like I have a varied resume or a varied career, that I've made interesting choices, when the truth of the matter is, in a way I've just kind of piece-mealed a career together, you know?
I know that I am not entitled to anything, and when somebody thinks they are, that's a step in the wrong direction.
And if you get caught up in combing the Internet for what people think of you or how people perceive you, I think that's a slippery slope.
After a long day at the beach, a hamburger and fries usually does the trick.
Ever since having kids, napping is something that I'm prone to do and very easily could do but rarely get the chance to.
If I'm going to be away from my family, I'd rather it be working with my friends.
I'm glad that I didn't get a part in 'Scream 2' and become a star in 1995.
Sometimes people's behavior is seemingly unexplainable.
I'm a big consumer of media and content online.
My upbringing was healthy and terrific.
There's certainly harder things in the world and the country to do than being an actor, but it's a particularly emotionally humiliating thing to do, that you don't really anticipate when you choose to do it. You don't really think that it's going to be quite so soul-crushing at times.
I love a good, poppy chorus.
I was a chubby kid.
I think 'Piranha' won't be in the guilty-pleasure category, because it's gonna be - well, yeah, maybe for some people. From what I've seen, it has a sense of humor about itself, and it's also really scary and really, really violent. I would call it a popcorn movie from the planet Popcorn.
It was just really fun doing 'Step Brothers,' and then 'Party Down' came a year later. I was having so much fun. I loved the people and the comedy community.
I got really into Martin Scorsese as a teenager, so then it was kind of the whole reason I wanted to be an actor. Just like tons of young actors, I think, get freaked out by the Scorsese/DeNiro movies. I loved all his movies in the '90s, too. Then I got a part in 'The Aviator' and couldn't believe it.
My parents were pretty cool about letting me listen to whatever I wanted. The only objection might have been playing music too loud.
I guess I'm used to TV where we don't really rehearse. You block it out, and then you just start shooting.
I did a couple quick things with Nicole Kidman, and I really loved that. She was a really cool person to chat with and had a really lovely presence on set. I'm a big admirer of her work. It's amazing the volume of work she does.
I mean, the acting school I went to, we did have a social experience, but you know, when it's a bunch of actors, it's everyone self-consciously having a social experience rather than just having a social experience.
