Diedrich Bader Talks 'Better Things,' Looks Back at 'Napoleon Dynamite' and 'Office Space'| In Studio

Hollywood Journal

The 'American Housewife' star opened up about the 15-year anniversary of 'Napoleon Dynamite,' as well as the 20th anniversary of 'Office Space,' and the cult following around the films.

Transcript

00:00Hi, I'm Diedrich Bader. I'm in the studio with The Hollywood Reporter.

00:06You're here to talk all things American Housewife.

00:08Yeah.

00:09Better things and Veep.

00:10That's right.

00:11First with American Housewife, though, what stood out to you about the script when you first joined me?

00:14You know, it has a very distinctive voice.

00:16Yeah.

00:17It's Sarah Dunn, our creator of the show.

00:20She managed to create a character that was sympathetic and awful all at the same time.

00:26She, the Katie character, says things out loud that a lot of moms think.

00:32So some people, and it's more people than not, resent the fact sometimes that they have kids at all.

00:38That their life has completely changed, that they have to give up their career,

00:42that they're now saddled with this incredible amount of responsibility.

00:46And, you know, it's a slog.

00:48And you can't say that kids are always grateful for the amount of work that you have to do.

00:52They're not.

00:53Because they just assume you're the mom, so you're going to be doing that work.

00:56So she voices all of those things that a lot of women just feel.

01:00So to me that, I could, when I read it, as a dad, I thought, yeah, that's right.

01:05That's totally right.

01:06So from her voice, also super interesting, and also I love the interior monologue.

01:11But one of the things that really appealed to me about Greg was that he really loves his wife.

01:15Yeah.

01:16And not in a snarky sort of way.

01:19Not that he takes a backseat, but he kind of loves her.

01:21He doesn't take a backseat.

01:22He lets her handle the household.

01:23Yeah.

01:24And he stands up for himself.

01:25But he also just really genuinely loves her.

01:27And wants to contribute to the family.

01:29He wants to be responsible for the kids.

01:31He's not trying to see his friends or go play golf.

01:35Or he doesn't make any kind of snide remarks about being, you know, saddled with his family.

01:41He really loves it.

01:42And that was really hard to find.

01:44Yeah.

01:45Because that's how I feel about my kids.

01:46I'm really happy to be a dad.

01:47Like, it's the best thing that ever happened to me.

01:49I'm very grateful to my wife.

01:50I give her as much support as I possibly can.

01:53To find comedy in that is difficult.

01:56Because it's an easier get, an easier thing to hang your hat on, to have somebody go,

02:01I don't want to do this.

02:02Or, yeah, you do it, honey.

02:05Yeah, I have nothing else to do.

02:06I'm at work.

02:07I'm getting out of things.

02:08But that's not Greg's case.

02:09Now, you're on, obviously, American Housewife is on ABC broadcasts.

02:12Yes.

02:13And you're also on Better Things and V, which is more cable.

02:15What are the biggest differences, would you say?

02:17Well, I would say there's a lot of differences and there's also a lot of similarities.

02:21Okay.

02:22One of the similarities is that a strong woman is in each lead.

02:25Yeah.

02:26And in their own way, they're telling a kind of feminist tale.

02:30For Housewife, it's that she, while taking the mantle, sort of resents it of being a parent,

02:35which is understandable.

02:37Yeah.

02:38In Pam's case, she is a single mom and also a functioning human being.

02:43She goes to the bathroom.

02:44Yeah.

02:45So there's...

02:46A lot.

02:47Yeah, a lot.

02:48But she covers things like that.

02:50And that, in its own way, is kind of a groundbreaking sort of feminist tale.

02:53And then the other, of course, is the first female president.

02:56And also an almost unsympathetic lead.

03:00Like, Selena's really awful.

03:02At the same time, you understand her.

03:04So I would say all three have different ways of approaching feminism in their own category.

03:14What separates them is, I think, the idea of network television casting the widest possible net.

03:21Yeah.

03:22So we're trying to appeal literally to the biggest audience that we possibly can.

03:26And create a family show that everyone can sit down and watch.

03:29And I'm really proud of that.

03:31There have been a lot of fun moments on American Housewife.

03:33What has been, I guess, your favorite moment?

03:35And you recently had George Hamilton on.

03:37How was that as a guest star?

03:38George Hamilton.

03:39I didn't know what it was going to be like having him on there.

03:43He's a legend.

03:44He's a legend.

03:45And I thought, is it going to be cheesy?

03:47Is he going to be...

03:48What's it going to be like?

03:49And the single greatest raconteur I've met in Hollywood, and I've met a lot, is George.

03:57Okay.

03:58He tells the best stories.

04:00And you're totally wrapped.

04:01First of all, he's extremely charming.

04:03Yeah.

04:04But also, he has, in one form or another, known everyone that you want to hear a story about.

04:10That's so true.

04:11From Imelda Marcos to Elvis.

04:13He had the same manager.

04:14The colonel was his manager.

04:16Crazy.

04:17Right?

04:18I was like, seriously?

04:19He goes, I was Elvis' pallbearer.

04:20One of them.

04:21That's a great start for a story.

04:22So, I was Elvis' pallbearer.

04:24It's not like you're going to go, alright, I'm going to get some coffee.

04:27You're not going to drop out of that story.

04:28You're like, okay, hold, hold, hold.

04:30Yeah.

04:31What's the story you think he's going to tell about you?

04:33Is there one?

04:34I don't know.

04:35That's interesting.

04:36No, I don't know.

04:37Tender lover, maybe?

04:38Okay.

04:39What has been your proudest moment on Better Things?

04:42You've said once that it's been the honest you've ever been on screen.

04:45Yeah.

04:46How has that experience been for you?

04:48Better Things is a really cool experience.

04:50Yeah.

04:51It's a set like no other.

04:52So, it has a very laid back, hipster vibe.

04:55Everybody is very hangout.

04:57Like, it's really cool.

04:58You basically barely know that the camera's rolling.

05:01She wants the rhythm of life.

05:03So, you take time to come up with what you're saying.

05:06And she leaves that time in, which is fascinating.

05:08Everybody else just cuts, like Veep for example, super fast paced.

05:12So, you talk right on top of somebody else's.

05:14And you have a joke all ready to go.

05:16No one actually thinks that quickly.

05:18But on Better Things, she allows that time to happen.

05:21And that's where the comedy really comes from.

05:22It's a tone and it's kind of like a genuine comedy.

05:24Totally.

05:25I didn't get it at first.

05:26The first scene that I did with her, I sold my jokes like I do all the time.

05:30And then I watched playback.

05:31It's rare that a director lets you watch playback.

05:33Because it loses some sense of control.

05:36So, she was, but check it out.

05:38And I watched it and I thought, oh, I'm missing it.

05:41I'm totally missing it.

05:42So, I need to slow down and really mean what I'm saying.

05:45And that built up to the moment where I was genuinely honest.

05:51My father had just passed away.

05:54And I was afraid of dying.

05:59Yeah.

06:00And my character said he's afraid of dying.

06:03Dying.

06:04And the fact that life and apart coincide, it happens very rarely.

06:09You're supposed to always try to get to that depth.

06:12Yeah.

06:13But a lot of times, it doesn't happen.

06:16And in that moment, I was being as honest as I have ever been.

06:21I was, at that moment, very afraid of dying.

06:24Next up is Veep.

06:25Yeah.

06:26What are you going to miss most about the show?

06:27And what do you think other people will miss most?

06:29Everything.

06:30Yeah.

06:31Veep changed my life.

06:32You know, this is a show that has a lot of people in show business that watch it.

06:37So, I can actually talk about show business.

06:39No.

06:40A lot of show business for everyone is about the nature of perception.

06:45So, I felt like, before Veep, I was considered to be a broad comedy guy.

06:52So, Office Space, big character, Napoleon Dynamite, Beverly Hillbillies.

06:56Also, Oswald on the Drew Carey Show.

06:58These are all very broad characters, so they're not like me at all.

07:02And I had gotten to a point where all that I was offered were these really broad roles.

07:06And I was, for lack of a better way to put it, sick of being me.

07:11Yeah.

07:12I was tired of me.

07:13And then Veep came along, and I did one guest star spot.

07:19And, you know, at the end of the scene, Julia patted me on the shoulder and went,

07:26good job.

07:27And I said, well, thanks.

07:28And then the cameraman went, hey, you're coming back.

07:32Yeah.

07:33And I went, what do you mean?

07:34That one tap?

07:35She goes, yeah.

07:36It was basically like being called over by Carson.

07:37Yeah.

07:38You know, but I didn't know it at the time, because it just felt another actor just giving

07:41me a nice thing.

07:42Yeah.

07:43And she brought me back.

07:45Office Space recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.

07:47Yeah.

07:48Can you believe it's been 20 years?

07:50I rolled my eyes because I missed both screenings that were the 20th anniversary because of

07:54work.

07:55And it really disappointed me.

07:56Yeah, yeah, yeah.

07:57Like, I really wanted to go.

07:58Because, you know, when I first saw it opening weekend, it was me and my wife.

08:05It was a total bomb.

08:06Like, the whole, there was no one there except one other person who left about halfway through.

08:11So, it was really just my wife and myself.

08:13I loved the movie, but it's also, being in show business, I saw it through the eyes.

08:16It's a bomb.

08:17Yeah.

08:18It's going to do nothing for me.

08:19I spent all that time, and I really loved it, and I was like, I don't know anything about

08:24America's taste.

08:25I'm the worst tastemaker probably in Hollywood, because I love every frame of that movie,

08:31and it's a colossal bomb.

08:33Then, like, two years in, I caught on to it.

08:36Yeah, I caught on to it.

08:37I never watched it when I was on Comedy Central.

08:39And then, at the 10th anniversary in Austin, where we shot it, I went to the screening

08:43at South by Southwest, which sold out in, like, seconds or something.

08:46People paid, like, a ton of money to scalping for the office space.

08:50And then it was, like, Rocky Horror Picture Show.

08:53People knew every line, and the waves cascaded off of the screen.

08:56And it was like, oh, it is funny.

08:59Yeah.

09:00Even strangers like it.

09:01It's also 15 years since the release of Napoleon Dynamite.

09:04Yeah.

09:05Another anniversary.

09:06Yeah.

09:07What do you think Rex is up to now?

09:10Right?

09:11He's probably still in the octagon, you know, but a lesser version, like a smaller octagon

09:16for older fellas.

09:17Yeah.

09:18Yeah.

09:19But, you know, he's still got the moves.

09:20But I was doing a voiceover, and this kid that I was working with goes, oh, my God,

09:25you're Rex Guando.

09:26And I was like, oh, yeah, right.

09:27Yes, no, I am.

09:28I hadn't seen it.

09:29Yeah.

09:30And he started quoting, like, do that part where you say this.

09:33I had learned the lines the night before.

09:34What was the part?

09:35Oh, it was like, you know, the bad boys, like, you know, Stella.

09:40Oh, like all of the lines.

09:41I was thinking he knew every single line of Rex.

09:43I didn't remember them.

09:44No.

09:45I learned it the night before, and then I did it two takes, and then I left.

09:48Yeah.

09:49I totally forgot, but then I never saw the movie.

09:50Well, I saw it years later, but not before I saw this kid.

09:53And he knew, I was like, wait a second.

09:56Because it creeped up on me, like, how do you know every line?

09:58How many times have you seen the movie?

09:59He said ten.

10:00And I thought, wow, this is going to do pretty well.

10:03This might be actually my one hit that I've ever had.

10:06And, yeah, it turns out, yeah, it really did well.

10:09Thank you so much for being here.

10:10This was great.

10:11It was a real pleasure.

10:12I really appreciate it.

10:13Yeah, thank you very much.

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