The Surprising Way Ed Helms Came Up With His Character For The Office
Actor and comedian Ed Helms has been working in Hollywood for a couple of decades now, with his earliest role dating back to 1999. Helms appeared in a few supporting film roles here and there, such as in 2007's "Evan Almighty" before co-starring in "The Hangover" trilogy. Most recently, he starred in the film "Together Together," as well as the Peacock series, "Rutherford Falls."
Of course, by and large, Helms' breakout role was his portrayal of clueless and obnoxious Andy Bernard on the ultra-popular sitcom, "The Office," which he remained a main cast member on from Season 3 through the final season. Andy is introduced when Jim (John Krasinski) transfers to the Stamford branch, where Andy is the Regional Director in charge of sales. When the Stamford branch eventually closes, Andy moves with Jim back to the Scranton branch.
In a recent interview, Helms revealed the part he played in the characterization of Andy Bernard — but how did Helms help come up with his character for "The Office?"
Helms enjoyed collaborating with the writers to create Andy
During an appearance on Hot Ones, host Sean Evans mentioned that he heard Ed Helms say that bringing Andy Bernard to life was "one of the most thrilling creative endeavors of [his] life." He asked what it took for Helms to "crack the code" on the character.
Helms began by expressing that he loves the character and is "so proud" of the work he did on the show. He then delved into how the most thrilling aspect of the characterization was the collaboration — or "tit for tat," as Helm describes it — with the show's writers "They would endow Andy with something really funny, and then I would put some top spin on it when I was improvising during a take or something," he explained. "They would see that, like that, and add more to that, and so it really was this feedback loop. And in that first season we just — he became a very rich and complex, nuanced character very quickly because we were just having so much fun kind of psychoanalyzing this guy."
Evans then referenced the fact that Helms ended up staying on for longer than was intended for the character, saying, "That's how the eight episode deal turns into six seasons, right?" To which, Helms responded, "That's right, yeah."