Adam Scott: From Step Brothers To Severance

28:49I couldn't quite, didn't feel like I was, you know when you're doing it and you're just like something isn't slotting in. It's just not. And then finally, by the time they got to me, I felt like I had at least found the shape of it. And afterwards, we were just hanging out chatting and Walken was walking behind me just to get by. And as he walked by, he grabbed under my elbow and just gave it a squeeze and a shake as he walked by, which may have just meant would you please move out of my way but to me it meant alright good job you got it

29:30Dana Carvey:absolutely it meant that I'm getting chills from that I want less like that I want those compliments after we did a sketch at SNL he got me in a headlock between the slaps and it was painful what are you doing? ruined it we all have stories I have a very quick one I've told before, but you might appreciate it because it's very Christopher Walken. So we're playing aliens on SNL and it's a Jack Handy sketch. Every time our trap door comes down to say hello to the earthlings, we kill one of them accidentally, but we don't know. So we come out and there's farmers. What are you doing? We try to go.

30:09Dana Carvey:We come in peace. And then he has a line where he says like almost like a cartoon. He goes, let's get out of here. and then we run back up into the cardboard spaceship and he's in my face laughing so hard he's almost crying because he said let's get out of here so last fall when I was hanging out with him I brought that up let's get out of here and he was like just kind of like yeah I remember that so then when we're saying goodbye he's like 20 feet away and I say see you Chris and then he turns and he goes let's get out of here and then he did his head back and laughed his ass off. Oh, that's great.

30:49Dana Carvey:Laughing his ass off as he walked back. Oh, God, I love him no more. I just want to insert something here because you're an incredible actor. I just heard you tortured about that scene. I mean, you're Big Little Lies. I mean, you are - Oh, thanks, Dana. You're like an A-plus actor. I mean, that's why you work a lot. I got exhausted reading your Wikipedia page. This guy's been in more movies than Chaplin during the World War II era. It's like Oswald and the prison transfer. See, I can't do it. I can't do it. Yeah. Christ sakes. Give me a topic. I'll try to fill it in. I've been choreography like that since the Oswald prison transfer.

31:31That's right. That's what it is. Okay. Here's the guy who owns a local strip club. He's got a gun. Who let him through? Who are they turning away? Yeah. That's right.

31:40Dana Carvey:You're bringing the Scott kid into the fly in the wall perennial. He's done a couple little chunks in that career. Getting up in Reese Witherspoon's face on occasion as the grumpy husband. All right. Oh, my God. That's incredible. I remember the Off-White album. Yeah. He's a genius. That album was everything. Talking about the big gulp and 32 ounces of any fluid. Like you could only, you would only have that if you walk directly off the surface of the sun. Would you need that much fluid in your life? 44 ounces. You can park your jet skis. That's right. Only drink with an undertow. That's right.

32:29Dana Carvey:If you talk to him, we'll have these conversations on the phone and he is just like that. Really? yeah he doesn't have to practice it's reference city that's special he did i opened for him did you really and i was there was that ended up being an off-white album there was black and white i think was one uh-huh yeah what was that the one was the off-white album recorded i don't know an album and a special but black and white and mr miller goes to washington is that one that's one yeah and uh so i opened for one because he's my favorite comic at the time yeah uh just mostly from the writing and then i and he was nice to me and then he had schneider open one and and then after that i started going on the road with dana oh how fun that must have been so well i got to watch these guys fucking crush it all the time and i'm like yeah it's into a research paper of all of them.

33:29Dana Carvey:Well, it's just, you get into these when you're on the road or even a movie set or something, you get punchy and you get into these rhythms, but Dennis Miller and I both hated flying, so I'd be in front of him, he's behind me, he goes, Carvey, if you see or hear anything, I want to be the first to know. And then he had this thing that he would do, you know, I want to tell you guys without a doubt, you're the reggiest muffin bunch of knuckleheads I've ever had the pleasure to command. You know, that trope from movies. And he would do that endlessly. But we would laugh at the driest, weirdest stuff.

34:08Dana Carvey:When you get punchy on those road weeks. So you guys would, was it just on your off weeks, you would go on the road? Is that, or was it just summer break? Kind of, or summertime, summer, mostly. You know, I don't, you know, for us, I did a tour with him and Kevin. Did a lot of dates with David. Kevin Nealon's great, man. Kevin, Dennis, Dana did the swatch sponsored tour. And I was so fucking jealous. I'm like, how fun. These three guys go hang out and they play like three watches. I'm from in Arizona. Really cool watches. I go. I'm sorry. I go watch swatches, get a bad rap, but they're really, but, um, actually, so they were killing it and making good money.

34:49And I was like a summer you're on SNL and then your summer is fun. I couldn't believe. situation 20 cities but also you guys were just like that was in the midst of snl so people must have been going nuts everywhere you went not that they don't still but it must have been so

35:10Dana Carvey:fun and and electric yeah that was right after my first season so we did 20 20 cities and i remember we were getting$5 ,000 or something. When we finished 10, we had made$50 ,000. So we threw a little party at the hotel. We called halfway to a big bill because to make$100 ,000 over a summer was unbelievable. We're halfway to a big bill. Carvey, the way we're going, just remember show business is one thing. It's all about securing rectangular greenbacks. sorry is that real is that that's dead real even if he said it once he said it a thousand times why are you turning down this commercial why aren't you doing this car yeah this town will eat you up and spit you out nobody cares about you all right it's all about securing rectangular all right back to this good advice uh yes i would just i said it to marcello i said make sure you have a wall of money that can spit out passive income at a certain point so you're still working but you don't do anything for the money anymore you know right you do it because you want to yeah sure you go yeah but he was on parks and rec there's any any way you can make fun of rob low how good looking what was rob low better good looking when he came out of the makeup trailer or it didn't matter.

36:42Dana Carvey:No, they had to, they had to, when he went in the makeup trailer, they had to somehow, somehow take it down. Take it down a little bit. 10 % rub. That's right. Give him some rub. It's a different trailer. Tommy boy, I'd say bring it down about 30. I'd whisper to the makeup. Yeah. If you could take the handsomest. A little ruddy would be nice. He really is a beautiful looking person. Unbelievable. Yeah. Yeah, he is. He's he's. Yeah. And he loves comedy. He would love to put prosthetics on and play some weird character. You know, he loves everything we do. He loved being on SNL all those times. Yeah, and in Wayne's World, I love being in Wayne's World.

37:30He was so perfect, and he's just fun to hang out with.

37:33Dana Carvey:He reads a lot. He wrote that great autobiography. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was great. I love his line in Wayne's World when he's kicking you out of the office and telling you you can validate your parking.

37:47Just what such an asshole. But also, speaking of the prosthetics, remember him in that Soderbergh Liberace movie? he's so great oh he plays the plastic surgeon and i don't know how what they did but they pull his face back and he can barely speak because his face is pulled back so tight yes i like that instead of going to makeup where they try to make me look better and then i take it off the end of night and start crying what i look like rob gets to go make me ugly but only for eight hours and then i get to take it off and go whoo that's right my beautiful self I was like a normal person for a while.

38:28When you have makeup on and you kind of catch yourself in the mirror throughout the day, you can convince yourself that, oh shit, you know what? I actually, I don't have like those red spots. And then when you wipe it off, you're like, oh yeah, fuck.

38:47Dana Carvey:Didn't Ben Stiller, I think I read this somewhere, uh ben ben stiller said about you that you can with your physicality and your act you can play the regular guy or you can play kind of the sexy handsome guy you can just through your you can change the way you look and carry yourself and transition from those two types of roles did you do you remember that no no that's very kind of him to say yeah if he did indeed say that um yeah I don't I don't know I don't I maybe that's a very generous statement for sure pretty stout range you've done a lot of things you know and you know sure you know terrific to just we want you to play the sexy I don't know why I'm punchy it's early here Wait, wait, wait.

39:50The Carson, can we talk about Carsonio really quick? Sure. Because Carsonio, that was deep into your run. But I remember being like, holy shit, this is like a brand new angle. You'd been already doing Carson for a few years and it always scored. I mean, it was always, and then Carsonio with the fingers. And that was a brand new angle. And yeah, that was a comment. And he got pissed off. Is that right?

40:25Dana Carvey:It was later, you know, that one, he was like, they're making fun of our scene as much as they're making fun of us. So he kind of was OK with that one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Good. Hey, do you know that a crib is called a bed and a bed is called a crib? Did you know that? All right. That was what might be my favorite thing I've ever done because I had no sense of trying to be funny. I was just inhabiting the earnestness of you at home. And Phil was just this hysterical laugh button. Oh, my God. Those kind of things. And that was at the time, you know, this is a great escalatory chapter for Carson. And call him Carsinio and do the Carsinio thing.

41:10What a funnier matchup name to fit perfectly. I know. Michael or someone to go Carcinio. And everyone's like, oh my God. And the title card and more to come, except it's all like neon and, and like they're trying to hip everything up. There's no desk. Yeah. An oil painting of a, of a mongoose. Neon lights and stuff.

41:39Dana Carvey:the one that got him upset was when um susan day was on and it was i didn't think it landed anyway i tried to get it cut but he johnny didn't know that the partridge family was off the air and that kind of bothered really so how many seasons what she well we've been off for 10 years yeah you never know but over time that's so weird i didn't like that it dinged him you know because he loves Johnny, but I think for the most part, he liked it. For most of them, he thought it was fun. Oh, that's great. Now, is Reuben Kincaid a regular cast member now? No, it's over. He died five years ago. We don't do that show anymore.

42:21Okay, and now you have the bust.

42:25Dana Carvey:Gentleman joins us. Adam Scott. He's had success with a show called Separance. I don't have any paid channels. anyway back to our incredible guest and then we'll get the hokum yeah let's talk about hokum because is it called hokum hokum yeah yeah hokum I watched the trailer of course it's good when it says nightmare fuel yeah of course that just gets you running out to the theater well it does because the people that like scary movies are getting immune and they got a goose a little bit. I got scared when it goes deep in the woods. I go, uh-uh. I don't know. I don't know. Yeah. Why is someone walking in the woods more than 10 feet?

43:15Right. Anything in the woods is scary. It really is frightening. And I'm in it and I found it super scary. When you read it,

43:26Dana Carvey:do you get scared? While you were shooting, you got scared? Yeah. Two questions. When you read a script that's a horror movie, I don't read them. Is it scary? And you kind of like the idea. Of course, it's got to all kind of come together. And if you picture it the way you read it, you probably go, this will be great. If we can do it like I'm picturing it. Yes. When you're reading it, it's more an intellectual thing like, oh, I can see how that would be super scary if all the pieces come together. But I had seen this guy, Damian McCarthy, the filmmaker, I had seen his previous movie called Oddity, which is super weird and super scary.

44:05So I knew he would be taking a side door into it and making it scary in a strange way or a different way. So that really helped kind of ensure that this was going to be interesting and scary.

44:23Dana Carvey:By the way, right before we came on air, I saw it's at 97 % on Rotten Tomatoes. Oh, that's great. Already. yeah and I think the byline is the kind of movie I'd want to see I love the idea of a writer is mourning his parents death and he's going to Dublin right Ireland yeah I mean just that feels like interesting you know yeah that's part of what's cool about it it's a real story and a real kind of character piece but then it takes a turn and it and it's super scary and uh so yeah i think it's i think it's a it's a really fun ride it's it has a lot of you know jokes and stuff too so it's great it came to you because again there's a lot of people out there and you get like a guy luckily i mean a horror movie fun for me if i just read it and go if they just did it like this i think it'd be work but when you already see a blueprint this guy's already done this now he knows what he's doing yes so you're half more than halfway there and then you read it you go i like it too and then you so it's not like you're an odd choice it's just it's got to be someone then you do fit kind of a writery that kind of thing so good casting good setup and then you've seen it and it's good that it's scary i mean that's what everyone's looking for these i would predict that right now in hollywood there's people in rooms uh working on projects and someone is saying, hey, do you think we could get Adam Scott?

45:59Dana Carvey:Oh, fuck. That'd be great. He's really busy. I'm just saying, if you look at all your stuff, the range of it, and you're hitting it between all these shows. I mean, obviously, Big Little Lies was a smash. It was one of those. Yeah. Everyone has to see it. It was so well done. And your character was just kind of heartbreaking. and it's just, it's, uh, you know, human, human. Yeah. That was one where I was parks and rec had just ended and I was having trouble even being considered for anything that wasn't comedic. And I just wanted to try something different. So I heard about that and, and just went and auditioned and really wanted to, to be a part of it.

46:45So I had to kind of prove that I could do that to, to get the role and was happy I did.

46:53Dana Carvey:So were you typecast after Step Brothers or anything? We're like, he's a comedian. He can't act. Well, it was funny because before Step Brothers, I hadn't really done a lot of comedy. I was a comedy nerd since I was a little kid, but I always kind of thought I would be a dramatic actor or whatever. But then Step Brothers and the way those guys work, after that finished, I kind of felt like I never wanted to go back. It was so fun. And Will and Adam and John C. Reilly and those guys. So that kind of changed me. And it also kind of gave me a career. I was able to finally piece a career together after that.

47:40Well, that's a big one in the all-time comedies. It comes up a lot. But do people know you a lot from Step Brothers or is it more Severance and other stuff? These days it's Severance, and there's always Parks and Rec, but definitely Step Brothers a lot. People love, they just keep watching it. On a lot of tour buses, athletes and musicians watch Step Brothers a lot. Yeah, yeah. That's up in the rotation for sure, yeah. I feel like if I wasn't in it, it would be one that I had seen like 30 times, you know?

48:17Dana Carvey:How much did they allow you to be playful? Obviously, Will, they'll put a camera on Will and he'll go for 10 minutes or whatever. Were you given some license to try things? Because that is pretty heady stuff on film, you know, that playful. Completely, and they gave that license to everybody. And that's part of what freaked me out is I had never really done that before. So it took me a while to fit. I remember I would come to set with like jokes written on a piece of paper that I had in my pocket and I would pull it out during scenes and during my coverage, just because I wanted to get, and just didn't know like, and then, you know, after like three months or so towards the end of the shoot, I remember shooting a scene at a dinner table and John C.

49:10Reilly and I kind of started improvising and going back and forth. And it just started sort of flowing and it was really fun, really funny. And after Cut, I remember we looked at each other and he was like, see, that was fun, right? Like I had finally kind of at least started to figure it out. And so, like I said, after that, I just kind of didn't really want to go back. And then Parks and Rec, there was improvisation and stuff too. A lot of people stick to the word of the script and they just say, that's it, cut, move on. And it feels like you're being greedy. I've been on comedies where I don't even want to be greedy.

49:49Even something like Grown Ups, when it gets to your, you don't want to go, I'm not trying to take over here. You know, everyone's kind of throwing each other jokes. But especially if you're new to their situation, you don't want to go, here's my 18 things I'm going to say when you cut to me. But at least you start to be prepared going, if they cut to me, I guess I'm allowed to try stuff or at least say, do you guys mind if I say this on this one or whatever? And then you get more relaxed about it. Yeah. And then also Adam McKay would be yelling jokes from the monitors. Right, right, right. If there was anything, they would always have a bunch of great jokes to throw you and alts and yeah.

50:29Dana Carvey:I would just say that, you know, before digital, it was kind of, you know, it's hard to, you know, can I do more takes or can I do a five minute take and it would run out and stuff. It seems like 1922. Once digital came in, you could, I just think that, and I don't know if Brando created a way for him, the greatest ever, I suppose, to discover it while the cameras roll. In other words, you're not rehearsing over there and you go, oh, I nailed it. You're like, no, right now when you were improvising like that, it's new to you. And how do you like the high of that right now? It's happening. You don't have to act in a way.

51:11Dana Carvey:Totally. Yeah. So that was the thing that turned it all upside down for me. Shooting Step Brothers was watching these guys and their lack of preciousness that they're just they'll do a take or two scripted. and then they'll just screw around. And the thing that clicked for me, I was like, oh, these guys, they don't have to use all of this. They're just gonna play and use all the good parts. That's all it is. Yeah. For whatever reason, that hadn't, I was so like dead set on getting it right. And probably because I had such limited time and small roles where I was always like wanting to. So watching these guys, it was like, oh, you just fuck around and then cut together all the stuff that works, all the great stuff, and then you have the great thing.

51:56Dana Carvey:Yeah, I never got to do that. I think it's such a great thing. No, not really. Not like that. Because I didn't do a movie on digital where there was time to just let it run. But yeah, you can really feel it. And comedy is exciting in the way that what you think is just a throwaway and then you go to the preview and it gets this gigantic laugh. Totally. A year after it's released, you go, now I'm hearing that these are their favorite jokes. Because now they've seen it 10 times. Right. And they like the minutia and all these throwaways. But I agree. It's so much fun to do that. It's very hard for the director like McKay.

52:36The harder thing is what to throw away because you're throwing away a 100 % great joke. There's sometimes when it's like there's three and you go, this is funny for this reason. This is better. This is more of a weird one. Two of these got to go. and that's must kill you it's tough well i remember i went to a test screening of stepbrothers which was a couple months before it came out and it didn't totally work yet like this the singing in the car scene wasn't in it and it was just different and different jokes and they were just trying different things out and then a few adjustments and it it totally works david i'm curious with it like with the wrong missy which is so great um was it were you guys improvising a lot on that yeah especially lauren who played missy because so great there's schwartz and there's all these people and it's a sandler movie so at least we're all from that world of let's do we can and the best is just she's more the crazy one so i always have to be more restrained but I would try to pitch her jokes to be, and she didn't need much help.

53:46I mean, honestly, to get someone to come in sort of out of the blue. She'd done a lot in LA, a lot of them probably really helped when the first day we shot, we're in the first scene of the movie, really we're on a date and she's yelling at this guy, quit. I fucking me. And it wasn't in the script, everyone. And then we all laugh and then we go, how about a little drunker? And then she goes, uh, okay. but that's where you have to be good because it isn't a line it's just play it like you're more now defend spade now she goes he'll come over there and beat the fuck out of you that's right i wouldn't i don't even know this girl like but it's always fun because it's a fun way to react against a crazy person so there's like two things going on but thank you for saying that ed that was really fun all those movies hopefully uh especially with happy medicine just you try a lot when you can and like dain is saying i'd been there in movies where they go can i try something like we have 30 seconds of film left you know everyone's like if you want and you're like sucks yeah i got to cram it in that's different than just going sure you know let's just keep going and but we got to move on at some point that's you know i think that stood out because you know people say

55:01Dana Carvey:well you know if you look back it's uh step brothers and uh tropic thunder and the hangover and there was sort of a shift and that R-rated comedy with her just popped and sometimes it just happens. It's great. It's great. How many R-rated ones out there, yeah. It was really fun watching you play the straight man in really, really well. We is so, you're able to be the straight man and really score and be hilarious, but also let her have all of this room to just destroy. I appreciate it. Really good movie. I went off of the Ben Stiller, Jason Bateman, overwhelmed guy. You know what I mean? They're very good.

55:42Dana Carvey:Meet the parents, Ben Stiller. That's right. What's going? Yeah. It's like, so it was fun to do something that was that because usually I'm a fucking ham bone. All right. Thank you. Anything else for this young man, Dana? Because he's got to get back to. Just research. I like these podcasts that you do bands. I did want to mention that because I found that you and Scott Ackerman do these podcasts. Are You Talking R.E.M. was, I guess, the first one. The first one was U2. Oh, U2. Okay. And are you guys deciding together? How did that happen? Like, I love U2. Let's just do a podcast where we just talk about U2.

56:28Yeah, it was because we had, on one of his podcasts, I was just a guest on it. I made a U2 reference, like as a joke. And he was like, oh yeah. And we realized we were both big U2 fans and no one else really wanted to talk about it with us. Like our wives were sick of hearing about U2. so I was just like maybe we just go through their discography together and uh and right up to because they were supposed to have a new album coming out so and then end with their new album so we just started doing that and then eventually had the actual band on a couple of times oh really yeah it was crazy we went and saw them in New York and interviewed them in their dressing room and then And then another time interviewed them at a, like the recording studio.

57:22It was wild. Yeah.

57:25Dana Carvey:I remember hearing in the name of love, just probably FM radio, early eighties and went, okay. That's how I felt when I first heard the police as well. It's just like, Oh, this is new. Yeah. You know, and the theatricality and, and, uh, you know, that, you know, we're cold play. They have people influenced sort of by that loose bass line they would do. You know, it was kind of a new sound. I love Coldplay, too. I think they're brilliant. I'm at the beginning of Sunday Bloody Sunday. It went da-da-da-da. Yeah.

57:59It's amazing because it's all pretty simple. You know, kind of the post-punk, kind of simple. No one's like shredding. No, no. It's just really disciplined. but you put it all together and there's a magic to it.

58:14Dana Carvey:Do you remember the bass and the drums are such a great. I'll let you go after this. Yeah. Go ahead. I don't need to go. You guys, I'm fine. No, you've got to go. They told us he gets. Ben Stiller is on. But I went to U2 in Arizona. I was going after police Academy four came out. Dana. Thank you. Oh, Well, it's answered all the questions from Police Academy 1, 2, and 3. And so, I... Was that your first movie? That was my first movie. Yeah. And I went and saw it in a day with my friends in Arizona. Yeah. And then we... A little sparse in the theater. Then we drove to Utah at Arizona ASU Stadium.

58:58And two trivias. They canceled. Rattling on? Oh. They canceled because it was the governor didn't have Martin Luther King holidays. oh so they we the show was canceled they wouldn't go on i remember that then they came back and did rattle they did rattle and hum okay so i was in the audience yeah for rattle and hum yeah as sun devil stadium part of it like they did like maybe streets have no name or they i don't know what they did but yeah i think they jumped around and rattle and hum is that possible yeah but it ends with that big sun devil stadium yeah yeah yeah as far as i remember the uh can i

59:36Dana Carvey:I mentioned this before, but we rarely talk about U2. But when I was hosting the MTV Music Awards, where David was writing on the show, we did a remote. And you were playing drums? Yeah, played along with them. I didn't even know if I was staying on the beat, but that was quite a thrill. Even better than the real thing. That was right, yeah. Bucket list thing. I know. That was incredible. That was amazing. I got to have a pre-call with Bono, and I kept calling him Bono accidentally. What a fucking moron. Just so nervous. It's Bono, man, because we were doing jokes like Lucky Charms and all that kind of thing.

1:00:19Dana Carvey:Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm not booged about it. I'm not booged about it at all. I'm not booged about it. Booged? Is that something? You mean bugged? No, I'm not booged about it. Oh, don't boog me. I go, should we do a sequel to Wayne's World? I wouldn't touch it. Hey, fuck you, man. We'd love to have him on the book. That is crazy that you were able to stay on beat via satellite. Via moon landing. I had a monitor, and it was just on a wing and a prayer. It was kind of just a basic in-the-pocket thing, but I don't know if I ever was really in sync with him, but I guess it appeared like I was. I remember watching it over and over again.

1:01:01It was cool.

1:01:03Dana Carvey:She's a week. I'm going to watch your stuff over and over again. Big little life. Even it out. Watch that again. Stepbrothers tonight with the wife. There you go. So Hoko, it sounds like a great film. I know that, you know, they're going to be like, did you mention the movie? Yeah, we did. Thanks you guys. Thanks for mentioning it. It's been a pleasure. I was so thrilled when I saw your name come up. Thank you. I just like what you do. I like the way your job as an actor. Thank you. You are and seem like a perfectly centered, nice person. Thanks. Well, I'm such a massive fan of both of you guys.

1:01:41So I'm really flattered to be on.

1:01:57you can share an episode that you've loved with a friend. If you're watching this episode on YouTube, please subscribe. We're on video now. Fly on the Wall is presented by Odyssey, an executive produced by Dana Carvey and David Spade, Heather Santoro and Greg Holtzman, Mattie Sprung-Kaiser, and Leah Reese Dennis of Odyssey.

1:02:16Dana Carvey:Our senior producer is Greg Holtzman, and the show is produced and edited by Phil Sweet-Tech. Booking by Cultivated Entertainment. Special thanks to Patrick Fogarty, Evan Cox, Maura Curran, Melissa Wester, Hillary Schuff, Eric Donnelly, Colin Gaynor, Sean Cherry, Kirk Courtney, and Lauren Vieira. Reach out with us. Any questions to be asked and answered on the show, you can email us at flyonthewallatodyssey.com. That's A-U-D-A-C-Y dot com.