Facebook Twitter Instagram
    • Services
    • Aircheck for Actors
    • Demo Reels
    • Audition Prep/Self-Tape Reader
    • Website Design
    • Mailing Labels
    • Contribute
    • Industry Links
    • Advertise
    Daily Actor
    • Acting Tips
      • Actors on Acting
      • Advice Columns
      • Acting Quotes
      • Audition Tapes
      • How To Become An Actor
      • How to Memorize Lines
    • Monologues
      • Monologues from Plays
      • Monologues from Movies
      • Monologues from Musicals
      • Comedic Monologues
      • Dramatic Monologues
      • One Minute Monologues
      • Monologues for Women
      • Monologues for Men
      • Monologues for Teens
      • Monologues for Kids
      • All Monologues
    • Acting Resources
      • Acting Resume
        • Acting Resume Template
      • Acting Classes
        • Los Angeles Acting Classes
        • Las Vegas Acting Classes
        • San Diego Acting Classes
      • Acting Schools and Colleges
        • Los Angeles
        • New York
        • BFA Acting Schools
      • Casting Websites
      • Headshot Photographers
        • Los Angeles
        • New York City
        • Headshot Printing
      • Acting Techniques
        • What is Method Acting?
      • Stage Directions
      • Demo Reels: Everything You Need to Know
    • Interviews
      Featured

      Interview: Jeremy Davis on Playing Olaf in ‘Frozen’, Costume Mishaps and Making the Role His Own

      January 19, 2023
      Recent

      Interview: Jeremy Davis on Playing Olaf in ‘Frozen’, Costume Mishaps and Making the Role His Own

      January 19, 2023

      Interview: Casting Director Kim Coleman on ‘Five Days at Memorial’, Self-Tape Tips and Portraying Real People

      January 11, 2023

      Interview: David Christopher Wells on His Role in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, Being an Understudy and Getting His MFA

      December 27, 2022
    • Actor Blogs
    • Reviews
      • Movies
      • Theater
      • Books
      • Products
    • Actor Services
      • Airchecks
      • Demo Reels
      • Website Design
      • Mailing Labels
    Daily Actor
    Home » Film » Ed Helms: “I think it’s a really flawed notion that you have to be in a bad place to play a bad character… It’s called acting for a reason”
    Film

    Ed Helms: “I think it’s a really flawed notion that you have to be in a bad place to play a bad character… It’s called acting for a reason”

    Sarah LuomaBy Sarah LuomaMarch 26, 2012Updated:September 16, 20181 Comment3 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Share
    Tweet
    Pin

    With the upcoming release of directors Jay and Mark Duplass’ new comedy Jeff Who Lives at Home about to arrive in theaters on April 19th, Vulture caught up with actor Ed Helms who stars in the movie as the titular character’s brother Pat. 

    A guy The Office star refers to with a laugh as a “dick-y douche bag”, who thinks he has his own life under control, Pat is the polar opposite when compared to Jeff (played by Jason Segel). He’s the movie’s hilarious pot smoking, directionless, thirty something year old living in his mother’s (Susan Sarandon) basement, looking for omens and answers from the 2002 Mel Gibson flick Signs, and who isn’t afraid to admit that he has no idea where he is headed.

    In real life Helms had been coined a sweetheart by the Duplass brothers.  Flipping the switch from nice guy to bad, Helms shared that you don’t have to be evil to play the part.  “I’ve worked with people who are manipulative like that. I think it’s a really flawed notion that you have to be in a bad place to play a bad character, or a damaged character. It’s called acting for a reason.”

    A jokester even when cameras aren’t rolling, Helms says that he had to wear the same underwear and tie for six weeks while filming the movie that chronicles one day in the life of Jeff Who Lives at Home.  “I think it was probably the same tie, but the shoot lasted six weeks or something. There were a few different shirts and pants. But I didn’t change my underwear the entire production.”

    Helms, who is also well known for his role as The Office‘s Andy, was also asked about his alter ego who seems to have morphed into a nicer guy, somewhat of a “simpleton” in the actors opinion, now that he’s the boss of the NBC long running series.  “The season wraps up in some fun, unexpected ways. It’s a journey. You always have to just roll with it and try new things and see what works and what doesn’t.  Adding, “we lost some of the complexity that I think makes Andy a flawed and interesting guy. But that’s not to say — like I said, I think it’s all forward momentum. I shouldn’t use words like “lost” or say “we lost our way.” It’s more like we just went down different avenues and I’m just excited about how it’s rolling forward.”

    Watch Ed Helms as Pat in Jeff Who Lives At Home in a clip below.

    Related

    Share
    Tweet
    Pin
    Previous ArticleIMDb Errors and Revealing Personal Information Remain Issues for Actors
    Next Article Bryan Cranston Speaks Out Against ‘Detachment’ Director Tony Kaye: “I don’t believe that I’ll be working with him again”

    Related Posts

    ‘Ted Lasso’ Star Phil Dunster on How He Got the Role of Jamie Tartt

    January 18, 2022

    David Harbour on Building a Character, Finding Contradictions and Mastering an Accent

    September 3, 2021

    Nicolas Cage on Using a “More Quiet and Measured Performance Style” in ‘Pig’

    August 17, 2021
    View 1 Comment

    1 Comment

    1. Ben Leasure via Facebook on March 26, 2012 2:02 pm

      higher place, not lower!

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Popular Pages
    Become An Actor | Acting Tips | Acting Quotes
    Acting Resume | Resume Template
    Headshot Photographers
    Los Angeles | New York
    Print Your Headshots
    Acting Schools & Colleges
    Los Angeles | New York
    Monologues
    Movies | Plays | Comedic | Dramatic
    Men | Women | Teens | Kids
    • Contact
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Resource Listings
    • Write A Column
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy

    Disclaimer: Daily Actor at times uses affiliate links to sites like Amazon.com, Masterclass, streaming services, and others. Affiliate links provides compensation to Daily Actor which helps us remain online, giving you the resources and information actors like you are looking for.

    Daily Actor Facebook Daily Actor Twitter Daily Actor Instagram Daily Actor Pinterest Daily Actor YouTube Page
    © 2023 Daily Actor

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.