Ed Helms, best known for his roles in The Office and The Hangover, discusses the often-unseen downsides of fame. He shares hilarious behind-the-scenes anecdotes, including his grueling filming schedule and quirky antics while shooting. Ed emphasizes the importance of family over fame, explaining how his priorities have shifted over time. His new book unveils humanity's epic failures, showcasing our resilience through history's blunders. With a blend of humor and insight, he illustrates how these experiences shape personal and professional identities.
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insights INSIGHT
Success Is Luck plus Effort
Ed Helms reflects on success as a blend of his hard work combined with luck, privilege, and opportunity.
This awareness helped him develop gratitude and a humble view of meritocracy.
insights INSIGHT
Fame Reduces Personal Control
Fame drastically reduces your control over your environment, making privacy elusive.
Ed Helms explains how even small public places become arenas where anonymity disappears.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Office Cast Jam Sessions
On the set of The Office, Ed Helms and Creed jammed musically off camera to relieve stress.
Ed sometimes hid behind plants to avoid laughing during Steve Carell's hilarious scenes.
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In 'Outliers: The Story of Success', Malcolm Gladwell examines the often-overlooked factors that contribute to high levels of success. He argues that success is not solely the result of individual talent or hard work, but rather is influenced by a complex web of advantages and inheritances, including cultural background, family, generation, and luck. The book delves into various examples, such as the success of Bill Gates, the Beatles, and Canadian ice hockey players, to illustrate how these factors play a crucial role. Gladwell also discusses the '10,000-hour rule' and the impact of cultural legacies on behavior and success. The book is divided into two parts: 'Opportunity' and 'Legacy', each exploring different aspects of how success is achieved and maintained.
Ed Helms dishes on fame's hidden costs, his Office-Hangover filming marathon, and why historic blunders might be humanity's most reassuring legacy.
At 17, Ed Helms knew exactly what he wanted: to be an actor/producer for TV and film. This rare clarity gave him a massive head start, though he now recognizes success wasn't just hard work but also luck, privilege, and opportunity — a constellation of factors for which he's deeply grateful.
Ed says the strangest part of fame is that friends claim "you've changed" when they're actually projecting their own discomfort. Fame also strips away your ability to control public spaces — no more escaping the awkward stranger at baggage claim.
At his career peak, Ed filmed The Office Monday-Tuesday, then The Hangover Wednesday-Sunday — chartering flights from Vegas for 6 a.m. Office call times. He even removed his actual dental implant for The Hangover's missing tooth scenes while shooting Office episodes with a flipper tooth.
Young Ed naively thought he'd balance being a traveling dad with non-stop film work. But reality hit hard, and now he declines projects that would separate him from family — even hypothetical Spielberg films. His former ADHD-fueled hyper-focus has given way to prioritizing presence.
Ed's book chronicles humanity's epic blunders — from dropped nukes to CIA cat-spies — revealing our enduring resilience. These absurd mishaps offer perspective: we've always faced ridiculous challenges and somehow survived. Next time anxiety strikes, remember we've been falling on our faces — and getting back up — throughout history!
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