“With the tiger you're always on edge, and you always have to keep your distance. The monkey is far less threatening so you're more relaxed around the monkey, and I think that's actually hazardous.” ThinkingDistanceEdgesMonkeysTigersThreateningRelaxed Author:Ed Helms
“When you're in New York City or Los Angeles, even if you're not dealing with show business, there's still this sense that it's the center of the universe. And I think that's a really dangerous, limiting mindset.” IfsThinkingStillsShowsUniverseCitiesDangerousNew YorkMindsetLos AngelesNew York CityShow BusinessCenter Of The Universe Author:Ed Helms
“I happen to think singing is hilarious, especially when it pops out at the wrong time.” ThinkingHappensSingingPopsWrong Time Author:Ed Helms
“I think that music at inappropriate times with inappropriate volumes can be the funniest thing ever.” ThinkingVolumeInappropriate Author:Ed Helms
“I told personal stories the way [Bill] Cosby would spin a yarn for ten minutes. I think in hindsight it works better as a long story than as a condensed monologue.” ThinkingWayLongStoriesMinutesTenBillsHindsightMonologuesYarnLong StoryPersonal Stories Author:Ed Helms
“[I read news] because no one's going to tell me what they really think of something.” ThinkingNews Author:Ed Helms
“I found myself often asking the question, "Who deserves to be made fun of?" Depending on your mood, the answer can be no one or everyone. It took me a while to understand the math of how those field pieces came together. I don't think that ridicule is ever funny, but there are times when that gets the biggest response.” ThinkingMadeTogetherFoundFunAnswersPiecesFieldsDeserveAskingResponseMathMoodRidicule Author:Ed Helms
“I worked as an assistant editor, actually, for a few years. That was right when I was just starting to get out at night and do a lot of stand-up, improv, and sketch work in New York. It really is invaluable. I think it pounded into me an awareness of what an editor wants and needs, in terms of clarity of a moment, where and when to start and stop a line.” ThinkingWantNeedsYearsMomentsNightTermLinesAwarenessNew YorkStartingClarityEditorsAssistantsInvaluableWants And Needs Author:Ed Helms
“What's cool is that in the story of the movie [The Hangover] our characters are also really kind of getting to know each other and bonding over the course of the movie. And I think you're seeing a real, a literal sort of friendship growing both in us as actors and on screen as characters.” ThinkingKnowsKindRealCharacterStoriesCoursesActorsGrowingSeeingScreensLiteralBondingHangoverGetting To Know Each Other Author:Ed Helms
“This word gets overused in describing actors but I think it applies to Mike [Tyson] in this case - he was totally fearless. He jumped in and played with us comedically and improvised a lot. A lot of jokes in those scenes with him are from him improvising.” ThinkingActorsCasesSceneJokesFearlessMikeDescribingImprovisingTysonOverused Author:Ed Helms
“They [Mike Tyson and Todd Phillips] actually struck up a really pretty incredible chemistry, those two, and I think they really trusted each other.” ThinkingTwoIncrediblesChemistryTrustedMikeTysonReally Pretty Author:Ed Helms
“We played around and improvised a ton [in The Hangover], and I think it's hard to say at this point what's what. Gosh, I wouldn't even know how to take a stab at it. The script was so good that we really didn't need to improvise very much, but I think we just found a lot of moments on the set. It's really cool when you get onto the set of a movie and you start shooting the scenes and you start to actually incorporate the environment.” ThinkingKnowsNeedsHardMomentsFoundKnow HowEnvironmentSceneScriptsShootingReally CoolHangover Author:Ed Helms
“I grew up in Georgia and I think if you're raised in the South it's where a lot of the war was fought, and it's just more present in the sort of psyche of the South. So I've always just been interested and sort of fascinated by [Civil War].” IfsThinkingWarGrewGrew UpSouthRaisedCivil WarFascinatedGeorgiaRaised In The South Author:Ed Helms
“I think the culture of Civil War re-enacting is also incredibly fascinating.” ThinkingWarCultureCivil WarFascinating Author:Ed Helms
“It's a fascinating culture [the South in the Civil War period] and so rife with comedic possibilities. And not in a way that...I have no intention of making fun of re-enactors. I think it's more just a celebration of their passion and enthusiasm, which is so infectious and maybe at times a little misguided.” ThinkingWayLittlesWarCulturePassionFunPossibilityPeriodsIntentionSouthEnthusiasmCivil WarFascinatingCelebrationComedicMisguided Author:Ed Helms
“[Chickens] are very frenetic. So if you think about it and you look back in other movies, like if someone's taking a crazy bus ride somewhere and it's like, 'Oh, what makes this bus ride crazy?' There's a chicken in the aisle, or like there's a chicken in a crate. So I just think the presence of chickens makes things crazy.” IfsThinkingLooksCrazyChickensBusAisle Author:Ed Helms
“Almost everything is in the movie [The Hangover]. I think the fun little Easter eggs on the DVD will be sort of the gag reel stuff. There's a lot of takes we just couldn't get through.We were laughing.” ThinkingLittlesFunStuffLaughingEggsEasterDvdsHangoverGagsEaster Egg Author:Ed Helms
“A lot of kind of like the way that Andy [Bernard] talks, you know, the writers pick up on those things - little moments that I inject and then they start to write it in later. It's hard to say if a whole storyline is spun out of an improv. I feel like it has happened on The Office, I just can't think of it.” IfsThinkingKnowsWayFeelsWritingKindLittlesHardWholeMomentsHappenedOfficePicksSpunStorylineLittle Moments Author:Ed Helms
