Creed Bratton

An enigma wrapped in a riddle... Creed Bratton is full of surprises as always when he sits down with Brian. Creed tells tales from his rock-n-roll days and reveals the name that is actually on his passport, PLUS a special bonus interview about writing our Deep Dive theme song, Bubble and Squeak.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
I'm Creed Bratton and I played Creed Bratton on the Office.
It's so amazing. It's so amazing. None of those have
been funny before. Hello everyone, this is the Office Deep
Dive and I am your host, Brian Baumgartner. Today I

(00:27):
am pleased to present to you America's favorite weirdo, Creed Bratton.
I know the Dozeks guy thinks that he is, but
Creed truly maybe the most interesting man on earth. Seriously,
if you don't know Creed story o, buckle up, folks.

(00:50):
Creed was a professional musician before the Office, like a
legit toward with the doors musician. And of course he
is still a musician to this day, though as far
as I know, he's no longer doing cocaine with Jim
Morrison put more on that shortly. Needless to say, every

(01:14):
time I get to see Creed is a is a
total delight. In fact, the night before this interview you're
about to hear, Creed invited myself, Angela Kinzie, Rain Wilson
and others to participate in a benefit concert that he
was giving for the wildfires that were ravaging Australia at

(01:39):
the time. And let me tell you I'm sure I
was terrible, but Creed was awesome. It was so amazing.
I felt transported back in time as he is playing
to an absolute packed house on the Sunset Strip at
the Roxy. It was so fun. Anyway, Uh, sitting down

(02:04):
with Creed for this conversation was strange and wonderful, and
I hope that it will be for you as well,
both strange and wonderful. And be sure to stay tuned
at the end of this episode because I brought Creed
back in for a second interview the first time that's happened,
because I wanted to talk to him about his song

(02:27):
Bubble and Squeak and why we chose it to be
our theme song, the song you're about to hear, So
please welcome to your ears, Mr Creed Bratton, Bubble and Squeak.
I love it, Bubble and Squeak and Bubble and Squeaker,

(02:52):
cooking it every month, left over from the night before. Hey,
what's happening? Hot stuff? My voice? That done? You know? Yeah?

(03:15):
You guys rocked, rocked, Thank you man, And it was
a good guy that the people loved it. Yeah, yeah,
oh yeah, yeah, here we go. Yeah, I do the
guy on yours is your volume? Hi, thank you sir,
Do do do do one two one two? Hello, Hello, Hello,

(03:36):
he's gonna start singing you guys. Uh, there we are. Hi. Hello, Brian, buddy,
how are you good? I'm good. Yeah, that was very
fun last night. It was great. Thank you so much
for coming. Yes, well you know anything for the animals
or for you indeed, and for you right right back
at you VI a V. Yeah. So it's been so

(04:00):
amazingly fun just talking to people. Um, you had for
four hours. You said I had Greg for four hour,
but it has come to our attention that he talks
really slow. So I think it's more like an hour
and forty minutes. It's where there's a train passing through. Ye. Well,

(04:21):
he's smarter than all of us, without a doubt, without
a doubt. Okay, So I want to I want to
take you back back. Okay back you started in music,
you started where you want to go back back to you.
I want to go back. I want to know. I
want to hear a little bit wob that. I want
all the uterous kind of back. Yeah, all back there,

(04:43):
um okay um born in Los Angeles. Yes, at the
age of two. If you really want to go back
to this, William Charles Schneider, William Charles Schneider, just like
it said on the thing when I had the passport thing,
It's all true. All this stuff is true. All this
stuff about killing people. I'm sorry to say, is there
a statute of limitations on murder? I think that's the

(05:05):
only thing maybe I shouldn't discuss. I don't discuss that. Probably. Wait, um,
do you go by William Charles Schneider at all? My
passport says it doesn't. Really, Yeah, my passport says it. Yeah,
because you've never officially changed your name. Well, it's my
My lawyers and everybody says, it's just a house. You
have to go to court and do it. I've been
trying to do it, but say just it's say, it's
really a lot of hassle. So my passport says William Charles,

(05:28):
I fly over to Europe under that you know name.
What about your license here it's Creed Bratton. Yeah, and
then he goes, he goes back and forth. You know,
I haven't running from the law for years, you know that. Well,
that's that joke. It's not surprised, you know exactly. Um, okay,
so was your was your first big year, I mean,

(05:49):
was your first band the grassroots? No, my goodness, gracious, Okay,
so my my I was born in l A. My
father died in the war. Moved up to course school, California.
By the age of third teen, I started playing guitar.
I mean I had played trumpet for years, and I
was first chaired all the way through grammar school and
high school and stuff like that. And I read music.

(06:10):
And then my grandfather, Charles, he played guitar in a
country and Western man and my grandmother played drums called
the Happy Timers. Then I had a band called the
tour Case. We played seventeen. I was working professionally with
this band, playing lead guitar, playing all songs from the
fifties and stuff. Yeah, up in bass Lake, California. And

(06:30):
then I had a band called the Leanders, which means
Greek Lovers. I was in college and I and I
always played to make money, you know. That's how I
got got through school to play guitar. And that was
a drama major at Sacramona State and I had another
band there. But right at the end of college, I
went off to Europe and then I got joined a
group called the Young Californians, and that was the band.

(06:52):
I traveled around for almost two and a half years
in Europe, North Africa, the Red Curtain countries, Israel. We
worked on a casting shout a movie there with Frank Sinatra. Yeah,
I did. I I still remember Frank Sinatra coming to me.
I was just like a early twenties kids, you know,
working on the set and I had my hand on
this board which I didn't know it was going to

(07:13):
be exploded with with the squibs and stuff. He comes
up and said, hey kid, and he's spoke in a
cigarette and he said, kid, you can blow your hand up,
put your hand on the thing. I said what. He
just moved me away. It was my only Frank Sinatra movement. Movement,
that's true. He saved your life, He saved my hand.
That's what this is? What right, Frank Sinatra saved Yes,

(07:35):
you're you're right, you're you're you're good at this promo thing.
So then, uh, Then I got back to Europe while later,
and I had a band called the Umte Floor not
to be confused with the Austin Man the thirteenth Floor Elevator,
which was a big band. It would have confused me,
well confused to most people. And we were playing at
the London Fog right next to the Whiskey Go Go,

(07:56):
and we've been playing over a year and we had
a chance to become the Grassroots. First song, Live for
Today goes right up the charts and they were off.
That was your first song. That was the first song
was Live for Today, and I was I played guitar
worn that and they played guitar on that. My friend
Bobby Ray played bass, and the Great Session Drumber hal
Blaine played drums on it. Wow. Yeah, the Wrecking Crew

(08:18):
and I used to play with the Wrecking to a lot.
You know, they'd be hard, they had hope kind of things.
They bring in different people and we play with them.
That's one of the reasons I left the band is
because we came back from tour about the third album
and they'd cut some tracks without me, you know, and
I went and they said, well, this is the way
they do it. I said, well, no, I don't. I
don't like this at all because I play so I
didn't like. Yeah, that was the deal. Interesting and so

(08:41):
you were with the Grassroots for how long? Four albums
from sixty seven sixty sixty six to seventy. Okay, yeah,
so you you were the biggest star on the set
of the Office. Before the Office, you were kind of
the only least well, I would say that about the

(09:01):
time arrived there with Steve Carrill on the four year
Old Virgin. He was it starts after we started. I
think you were the biggest star. Well, I I like
you like the thing about you know me? Yes, I
like the way you put you putting this Are you
did you well? No, but it's true. I mean it
might be technically true as far as pop culture. Yeah,

(09:22):
you had. I mean you had lived a rock star
life for yeah years, yeah, for years likely to be alive.
My friend, I remember in a very Creed Broughton way,
meaning you and your character on the show John Krasinski
and I talked about this all the time, you walking

(09:43):
in and beginning to tell a story and truly going
that story is so outlandish it can't possibly be true.
But maybe it is. And I think you did both.
I think you told stories that I might have embellished
a movement. Brian, do you know? But I know I
don't have to be much you don't. But my son

(10:04):
parted with Jim Morrison of course. Yeah. The Doors by
John Densmore, the drummer was my best man at my wedding.
I hung out with that band all the time we
toured together. Yeah, of course. Yeah, that's all real. I mean,
that's that's all real. Yeah, it's all real. So you
become an actor and you um studied with the method.

(10:27):
Charles Conrad. I did a bunch of stuff before the Office.
People just think that that was my first thing. But
if you look at IMDb, I've done a bunch of
stuff twincies and eight is Enough, and a bunch of
TV movies and things. You know. John Crosby and there Will,
the famous agent, saw me at the Odyssey Theater. I've
done a play with bow Bridges, you know, and I

(10:48):
had my hair, you know, it's kind of kind of attractive,
you know, and very very confident. So he signed up
and I didn't have to go out anything. He just said,
you got a job over here. Back in those days,
they we just said you got a job over here.
And I was just working for a couple of years
wow with him. And then immediately prior to the Office,
you were working with Ken Kappas and I met Ken

(11:09):
on Bernie Matt Show. He came on the show and
he was a big Grassroot fans. So he sent out
to Amibre Records for me to sign some albums for him,
and I found he was like encyclopedia of pop knowledge.
Ken knows all that stuff he does, he does and
I healed it off. He's such a sweetheart. We know
we love Kim. So I heard from Joe that he

(11:30):
was directing uh the Office in American Workplace, and I went,
I loved the Ricky Gervais things. So I did something
I've never ever done. Brian. I called. He gave me
his number. I called the director up and he was
he wasn't that starting? Oh? I said, look, I just
heard you were doing the show. I loved the Ricky
Gervais show so much. I said, is there any way

(11:50):
I could come and read for something over there? And
he went, you know what? He said, where can let
me talk to Greg? He calls me back? He said,
I told him we were a very interesting guy, and
he said I think I think he said. He said, well,
if he's that interesting, let's see if we can work
him into the mix. His words were work him in
the mixer. There. I mean, you know, in the background
at the desk the first season, and I read right away.

(12:13):
I felt very comfortable with everybody, you know. So when
I saw what I had to do, I wrote a scene.
I wrote a bunch of talking heads and shot about
hours where the stuff ad lebed a bunch of stuff,
wrote all this crazy stuff and cut it down to
about five or seven seven minutes or so, gave it
to Greg. You did this yourself, Yeah, yeah, I did
it all myself, did all myself. Okay, no, wait, all right, wait,

(12:35):
christ hold on. So you're in your in the back,
in the background. You're in the background season one, right,
but you're like, I want to people, I want to
play with you. I want to play with these people exactly.
So you when when we're done with those first six episodes,
you put together essentially a reel for yourself. I did, yeah,

(12:56):
and submitted it. Now. The thing is what what gave
me the impetus was on diversity day. I don't. Can
you remember the name of our first assistant director, the
woman she was with us that first season? Remember her?
I can't. So we're in diversity day. She comes up
to me and Phillis and we have the name tags
on her foreheads and stuff. And she says, okay, now

(13:16):
you guys just start ad living and Phillis goes, oh
way he's I said, that's okay, and she looks at
me and I just give her the eyes and she said,
all right, fine, your your funeral, you know. So we
started talking and stuff, and later on they come back
and we said, you were talking and and they asked
her and said, well, I just thought he was part
of the group. You know. That's because that's the way

(13:36):
I was reacting acting And they said they said no.
So they paid me off the side, but they wouldn't
give anything after. I also did the voice for the
elevator the thing. Yes, I did the voice and that
went over really well. But the coal of the coalma
her yeah. And so they saw that I could that
I could do the funny stuff, you know. And so
I had two things happening already, kind of like doing

(13:57):
some little level, little fulk rooms as it were, or
to kind of give me segue me into this thing.
And then you're right, I wrote, I wrote all this
stuff down. He Creed was psychic. I had a scene
where I said, Krazynski comes up behind me, and I'm
in acquisitions and I just flip a staper over my shoulder.
I already know what he wants. I think it scared
the cast, scared the crew. I like the scaring people,

(14:20):
he said, And this is the guy, you know. And
then of course they took it. They took it far
beyond I could ever I could ever think it would
how crazy he would be. But they still incorporated a
lot of the weird stuff that because I would tell
him about rock and roll stories, you know, and the
crazy stuff I've done. Yes, so you submit this tape
to give it to Greg gig Daniels and and I

(14:42):
think I gave it to maybe it was it was
greg Or Ken Ken Siborne. And before I know it,
they throw a six and half page scene on my
desk and say, Okay, here's your big chance with Steve Carrell.
Make it or break it the Halloween episode. Halloween episode.
And then that was it. Man that I told the
story before. When they came in, I met had this
thing memorized backwards and boards, absolutely memorized, and I could

(15:05):
in the middle of and I could go, but I
kept that back in my head anywhere I wanted, I
could go in on that on that scene and know
it right away natural, you know, it goes Bran. They
come and say, okay, well we've changed the thing around.
It's going to be in this order here, and we've
changed that some new stuff. And Steve goes, yeah, fine,
I'll just plant it over flop sweat. I go outside.

(15:25):
I'm shaking, I'm absolutely shaken, and I said, okay, look,
I've come this far. I'm just gonna wing it. You know.
So a lot of that stuff that that that, that stuff,
a lot of that stuff is improv too. You know.
It just worked, just work. I was I was fighting
for my wife. Wow. Ye that is amazing. That is amazing.
And and from then on I am a guest star.

(15:48):
But right away I heard talk. When I talked to Greg,
he said, once he heard me do which one pam
and someone making soup, he knew, he said, he knew
at that time that was it. And then that just
you know, it was off. And and lucky es ye,
lucky me to get to play with you guys. And
you said you were a fan of the British first
you'd watch I'd watched them all and I thought it

(16:09):
was the best. I remember the first time on that
old place where we were shooting their own in Las Area,
Could City in studio and Greg said, look, we're going
to try to do this thing. We're gonna have a
laugh track, we're gonna have a lot of uncomfortable pauses,
you know. And I looked around everybody and everyone's nodding,
you know, sage like like we all knew it was cool.

(16:31):
We didn't know if it's gonna work in that yeah,
and it did. It's interesting now that I'm thinking about it,
because you know, I don't think I was aware until today,
like how actively you were trying to get in I diversity.
I knew, and I didn't know obviously. I couldn't know

(16:51):
the show was going to be that show. I just
knew that was my little voice was saying this feels right,
this is what you want to be a part of.
And I was very comfortable with everywhere. You know, we
all laughed, we enjoyed each other's company. I mean, I
certainly did I know that I'd get feedback from everybody.
So I said, you know what, I think I could
just be very very happy here. So I did everything

(17:12):
I could. I worked hard. I don't think I've ever
ever shot a thing like that and submitted it before,
you know, And if I had told anybody, they tried
to talk me out of it. You know, damn well right,
because you just don't do stuff like you don't do that. No, no,
but I wasn't gonna let anybody know my maca alien
clad when as you're watching the first episodes unfold and

(17:56):
certainly being a part of it, like you talked about
in Diversity Day, But when when did you feel like
we might have something cool? Was it right away? No? No,
some people say that I didn't. I didn't have a
clue and I knew, well right for the first we
know we were gonna thought the possibly would be going
to be canceled. We thought we were going to be
canceled there and then he called us back. Um, I

(18:19):
guess I think it's one day driving in there to
work and it's seen Steve's four year old virgin right
there on Woodman right before before SADIKOI and I saw
the post journey went okay, wow, this is this is
kind of interesting. And uh, I think if we'd been
on a lot it would have been different. Been being
off and that little micro caused him that we were

(18:41):
we which was great to be by ourselves like that.
You know, we didn't we didn't really we were in
a bubble. We didn't really see it. I I think
it probably took two took me maybe to the end
of the second season or the third season it realized,
Wait a second, you know, this looks like this could
be something serious, you know, right, yeah, but you but
you said before, are like in terms of not necessarily

(19:02):
becoming a hit, but that we were doing something cool. Yeah,
we're doing good work. And I know I laughed because
I watched shows all the time, and most stuff doesn't
make me laugh. But I see and I knew what
these shows were, and I would still laugh. So I'd say, well,
if I'm laughing and I already know what's happening, there's
got to be pretty good. That's that's the criteria. Yeah, right,
what do you think that it did for the show? Right?

(19:24):
So the office comes out of you know, for lack
of a better phrase, like the Friends era. You know,
people were expected to look a certain way on television. Um,
what do you think that that did for us? That
that Alison Jones and Ken and Greg, that that they

(19:44):
cast people who didn't necessarily look like primetime TV stars.
I think that was the genius of it. I think
it was the beauty of it because people the average
joke and could could relate to it, you know, and
I mean the average Joe, not except deprecating way at all,
just your basic person on the street. They're not glamour pusses,
you know, not everybody was a glamor pus. You know,

(20:05):
these are average people. And as you know, a lot
of people thought it was a documentary and they really
didn't know it was a show for a while, which
which is that's brilliant if that happens. That It's really
not about the way the characters looked, but it was
the specific way that the characters were written, the specific

(20:26):
traits that they had, um that I think made people
respond to it. Right, I think everybody is trying to
find lightning in a bottle and they're they're trying to
to say, how did how did this happen? How did
this thing become? Or the zeitgeist? But well, it's the
synergy between us as as a cast, the writers, the directors,

(20:48):
the crew, and when you throw it all together, you're
you're trying to go Okay, where is this little spark
that makes it work? It's it's up in the it's
up in the air. You know. It's like treads now.
Blowing with these fingers is a profession. I don't know
what it is thing, but we'll know. But it's it's
it is. It was magic. It was a little bit

(21:09):
of magic. Yeah, And I I think the writing was
so brilliant. You know, I don't know about you, but
I get scripts all the time sent to me to
you know, to try to do that Creed character again,
and I look at it. It's not not anywhere near
those writing. The writers we had come on. The writers
are so important, so we just had to be ourselves
and in character and then say I say the lines

(21:32):
without adding anything to it. And it worked. They saw
the big picture. Yeah, there was something about the construction
of the writing staff and the actors and the crew
and really everyone involved. That everybody cared. Yes, Yes, that

(21:53):
was it that we cared. Yeah that that there wasn't
It wasn't about so often it's about self motion or
about you know, well I do this, then this will
get me to this other show, or you know, I
want people to see that I can do this or
that or whatever. But I felt like, really, at its core,

(22:13):
the people on this show, we're just trying to make
a really good show. Yes, I totally agree. When we
were there on the set in those days, it was
all about just that was the office, and everybody there
was part of the office, the crew and the cast
and the writers. And I think we've all mentioned before
having the writers in the in the cast and having

(22:34):
them take their ear on the street and then going
back to the writer's room, and then that's that parlayed
into that brilliance too. Yeah. Well you talked before about
you telling stories. Yes, and they hear and they come
around and pick my brains sometimes, you know. Um, I
think I told the story about Live for Today with
the grass Foot hits. There was one of the lines

(22:56):
in Live for Today was baby, I need to feel
you inside of me. I need to feel you deep
inside of me. Billboard magazine came out with an article
and said, regarding the band the Grassroots and the hit
song Lived for the Day, we assumed that The Grassroots
are a heterosexual band, and we went what we were
freaking out because we're also from you know, uh, Warren

(23:19):
and I had been the rhythmic tire, and I had
been to Europe and college. The other two had never
been out of California, I don't think. So they were
freaking down. I'm saying, chill, chill, it's okay, relax, and
I said, but I had this seriously after that article.
For a year, I had this reoccurring dream and I'd
wake up in the middle of the night and all
my ex girlfriends were coming at me in a circle, angry,

(23:41):
naked with strap ons, and I'd wake up in a
cold sweat, a cold sweat and a little titillated too,
I gotta say. But but I told that story to
the thing, and then of course they did the the
the gay witch Hut story. This is what I'm talking about.
I don't know how much of that is true. I

(24:03):
don't know how much of that. You don't know either.
The one I always know it is that's true. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
so I remember, I remember just I mean, I think
this is when you used a lot. But the one
that I always tell was us in the conference room

(24:23):
one day. This is really early on, and um, I
don't even know if we can use this or not,
but I'm gonna at least tell you now, I remember
you something happened and you go, yeah, yeah, that reminds
me snorting cocaine off of Booker's ass at the Playboy
Mansion with Jim Morrison. It's looking around. What did he

(24:50):
just say so many words together? It sounds wrong. Yeah,
And we'll never know. Now, we'll never know that is true,
certainly don't know anymore in adult as I am. So
what combination is the character Creed Bratton? How much of
the character of Creed Broton is you? Well, you've known

(25:13):
me long enough to know that that I am not. Actually,
it used and we used to play him up to
I wrote him as because I did write the character
at the beginning, so he was um. Think of myself
as a as a crack tuning fork. It's a it's
a it's filibrating and it's all marated to break and
it's it's and I wrote the physical comedy is from

(25:36):
Jacques Tati and the way he physically walks, the facial
expressions are Jack, Benny, George Gobel, Bob new Heart, and
it's it's in a juxtaposition of all those characters that
I loved. And that's that's how my comedy came around
and then I then I so I tried to write
a character. Uh. My original premise was that Creed, a

(26:00):
rock star, had an over overdose. He passed out on
a Greyhound bus, ended up in a dumpster in Scratton,
and Ed truck brought him in and gave him a
job as in the stores, a salesman in the in
the dunder Mifflin, where he was horrible at and then
they were frightened of him and stuck him over. That
was the premise basically, And so he was just Yeah,

(26:21):
he's an extension obviously extension of this rock and roll guy.
But I mean I would be worn out if I
had to be him all the time because because he's
he's operating out that higher he's what to name, get
that kind of he he's hyped up. You know, was
there something physically you did in terms of getting that character?
Like what what was? It was almost like getting myself

(26:42):
a hiccup, a physical hiccup. It's just almost a nervous
twitch to be him. Yeah, And even and I had
and they thought he was joking sometimes said wait a minute,
I'm not I'm not ready. I'm not ready. Well, what
do you mean, you're I'm not. I'm I'm a I'm
a rock guy. I'm a musician, you know, I'm right
right these soulful songs, and that's that's who i am.

(27:03):
You know, I'm more much more serious and thoughtful than
that character. But when I'm in the behind the desk,
I'm the chicanery involved. There's escaping from the law. There's
there's always been one step somebody in my eyes and
just thinking that they're gonna find me out. That was
always my backstory. Are they going to find me out?
So that's when every time we look at anybody, the

(27:23):
thing in the back of my mind was going to
see that I'm just faking it here and I'm cheating
them and stealing from them. We were there so much
that after a while just it becomes ingrained in your
behavior and you keep it sometimes in between when saying,
when Creed is leaving the office, oh, sorry, that's been
a murdic im in it here. Oh I'm Steve. I
got well, I'll be right back, and you see my body,

(27:44):
my body head out. That's that's very Jacques Tati. You know,
when I was in Europe, I watched a lot of
this that his comedy and I just loved his physical movement,
you know, So I would emulate emulate this and that's
very cool. Yeah, yeah, because it's funny. It's it's half
Charlie Chaplin and half Jacques Tati. Yeah. What was your

(28:07):
job in the office? Uh? Quality? Ashlan's quality, quality, quality assurance,
which he never did. He never did. Was there any
the one time he didn't go he gave He came
in one time in a year and missed up on something.
That's when the cart characters rabbing sex on the Yeah,
and then and he frames Debbie Brown. He finds she's

(28:29):
the only one not at work that day, and so
he blames on her. Then he collects money at the
end and pockets and himself. He's such a scump, scummy guy.
What what exactly is the job of quality? Oh? I
don't know. That's the thing. I didn't want to be

(28:49):
found out because they didn't do any work. Push papers,
literally pushed papers round on the desk. Yeah, I'm not
sure Kevin did either. He in betted the Clevin he
did invent then did that. So that's you have that
to live with. Yes, Um, so you talked about season two,
you know, the end of season two. Um, we win

(29:12):
the Emmy. Casino Night, last one we had in the
Casino Night, such a fun episode we had gotten, you
know shortly before that, after like getting six episodes and
two and four and one and three and in season two,
you know, we get a full season pick up first
season three and we win the Emmy after season two.

(29:34):
What do you remember about those I've never I always
I'm I'm almost a mystoic philosophy Gu'm ryan, and I
just I live in the moment. I know predict that
anything's gonna happen. I just do the work as a
day comes, and so I didn't look too far ahead.
I just, you know, I just tried to be there
and be there now. As they say when we go
to the red carpet events in the Limos. That was
the first time that I felt a little like and

(29:56):
it felt like back in the grassroot days kind of
something you and going to a big show or something
like that. Okay, I kind of remember this this energy,
it's a rush. It's kind of great. Yeah. When did
you start getting recognized as being creed brought in from
the office. I think about the third season I was
in Trader Joe's and walking along and a woman pulled
her child away from me and I and I was alarmed,

(30:18):
but I was kind of pleased that my character did
that to someone, you know. And then she looked apologetic
and I did say to her, said, I'm just an actress, said,
I said, I'm not. I did, I'm not that guy.
And she's like, she just sugar and said she just
pulled ahead child's eyes moved away, and I took it
as a compliment. I remember my U. I did this

(30:41):
movie years ago, Peter mcdani's film called Mask with Eric
Stoltz and Samuel and Share. I was the ticket taker
in that in that movie, and my daughter was studying
at the Performing Academy in Manhattan and she went with
her friends to see the movie and they she didn't
tell them that I was in it. And when I
did my scene with Samuel, you know, yeah, whatever the

(31:03):
line was, you know, like that day, Oh, what an asshole.
And she said, Dad, I was so proud of you,
and I felt really good that they thought it was
an asshole. Yes, yes, that's awesome, so great, that's so awesome.

(31:37):
You talked about the magic and it is unexplainable. It is,
why do you think that the show connects so well
with young people? You know, like it's a show about
I actually looked this up. I mean, this is a
side story last night because we did the thing for

(31:59):
your birthday that but then, by the way, thank you
guys so much. Just blew my mind. I didn't see
it coming. Yeah I didn't. By the way, everyone it's tomorrow,
it's his birthday, because I looked it up because I
was like, is it actually today? And nobody knew, so
I looked it up. And this is a very weird
story that I'm saying this because I'm I'm pretty sure

(32:19):
you're the oldest. But I was looking at it and going,
other than John and Jenna and b J, I'm the
youngest likely yeah, like all those guys and so but
even I, you know, when the show started, I was
thirty one. Oh my god, I thought you were older
in there. Yea, that's what you're such. You're a kid there, Yeah,

(32:42):
well anymore a long time. Um. But my point is
was that, you know, we were still like, you know,
early middle age to upper middle aged group of people
who worked in an office. And I always thought, oh, well, this.
You know, if everyone works in an office or everybody
goes to work, like thinking, those are the people that

(33:05):
it would really appeal to, not and not that it doesn't,
but it has such a young audience base. Why do
you think that, man, Brian? I I used to think
it was because of the sweetness of the show, and
and there was a heart. That the show has a
heart without a doubt, it's undeniable. And how how does
that happen? I don't know. But I also think now

(33:28):
that in retrospect um there's so much anguish. There's only
so much vampires blowing up and and threats of all
this stuff, and the angst, the existential angst of whatever
we're experiencing. Own to my god, there's a cartoon there
to Day where guys looking at his dog, he says,
I'm so glad you don't have to know what's going
on right now. It's kind of that thing. Our show

(33:51):
didn't really torture people with the immediency of our demise
as and so it relaxed them. It relaxes people. I
think it's one of those shows that relaxes people, and
they go to it to make themselves feel happy. And
I think we also came in at a time where
it doesn't look that dated for an office. You know,

(34:11):
there were cell phones, there were computers. You know, if
you go back a little board, you don't see that stuff,
so kind of dates. We just came in at that
sweet spot, I think too. And it's and it's it's
definitely funny and people can relate to it, not even
if you're an office or not. The interpersonal relationship of
all these people and who do it so well? You know, yeah,
well it's I have to give credit because I'm not

(34:32):
the smart But I was speaking to um, this woman
who's a television critic, and she was talking about some
of the you know, political, economic things that are going
on in our world. And you know, it was a
show about a small paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. But

(34:53):
what what she was talking to me about is those
businesses now they don't exist now, and there's a nostalgia
in a way, like like who would have thought that
would actually be a good job right now? If you're
in that industry, you work at Staples or Office Max
or Target or Walmart, you know, like you're working for

(35:14):
Superstore like that television show. Now, like if that's the
progression from the office, it's a big box store humanity
or heart. I think that's a very interesting idea. I agree.
And if you wanted to work with people and make relationship,
you'd want to be at dunder Mifflin, not an impersonal staples,
you know, because you get lost and you might might happen,

(35:37):
and people want to kind of where we need that
stuff in in our lives. We're losing a lot of it, unfortunately. Yeah.
Like the concept of the show the conceit, right, is like, oh,
here's a boring here's a boring office job in a
paper company, right, But if you look at the alternative,

(35:58):
it's slinging paper. It target like that's not no, yeah, no,
this is much better. Yeah, we're a little we're a
little biased too though. Well yeah, I know I certainly.
Um when Greg left to go start Parks and Rack,

(36:18):
Mike and Greg laugh and John Slotta and Paul were there,
did you notice any any change really because Greg was
still around. Yeah, I know, he's around for a while.
I think I think it. It took me a while
to to feel that there was more of a I
don't know, a Hodgepodgy Hodgepodgy feeling after he left for

(36:38):
a while. I don't know, I couldn't I couldn't even
actually put my finger on if there was a cohesive
thread that there was missing. But I think there was
to some degree. And maybe it's just my hindsight that
I know that now so that I can, you know,
superimposed those feelings over it. But I kind of felt,
I did feel for sure when he came back, that

(37:00):
the ship was righted to it at some degree. Yeah,
I have to say that. But I'm a big, great
fan obviously, you know, we all are, but you know, well,
because he just seemed to always support he was he
had my back, you know, and he'd he allowed me
to play music, allowed me to play music in the show,
which is a huge thing, you know, and he gave me.

(37:20):
Remember one time, I was did some ad lib stuff
and I thought maybe I was right in the beginning,
and I thought maybe I was usurpre in my position somewhat.
I came to him and said, do you think I
should have thrown that thing? And they said, no, no, no,
I don't want you to center yourself every creek. Just
just say it out there, patted me on the back,
and I went, Okay, this is he gave me the
carte blanche to continue on being my insane self sweetness. Yeah,

(37:45):
and he's so damned smart, it's ridiculous. Yeah. Um, Steve
basically becomes a giant movie star. Yes, in season two,
talk to me a little bit about either any recollections,
not even recollections. How was he like to work with
you know, you started that first scene in Halloween. It

(38:05):
was six and a half pages with him, right. Well,
he was very giving and gracious, you know, and uh,
he allowed me the space to to jump up and
just do do stuff, you know, and uh and and
we just kept going, which a professional just kept going.
It was a long day. We were in that office
for a long time. But I had so much respect
for him. And later on, I think it was season two,

(38:28):
he was doing some scenes and oh it was at
the end of is that wonderful, wonderful scene where the
children come up at the ind of Halloween and you
see what heart this guy has, you know, and remember
some other scene you could see it. And I came
up to him one day and I told him, I said,
you are really really good dramatic actor, Steve. And I
think it was a little embarrassed and take h because
he's shy in a way, you know he is, And

(38:50):
I said, no, it really needs to I think I
embarrassed him just a little bit because I had such
a great respect for the guy. And also, you know,
as you know, how hard it is not to laugh
when he's doing when comes in his prison mic or
and in the big overweight suit. You know, I think
it's so hard to lapse my cloth, so so brilliant,

(39:10):
you know, just great to watch it. I learned a
lot from watching him too. I learned a lot from
everybody that came on just you know, uh Spader. When
I watch Spader work, I was picking his nuances and
stuff like crazy. I pay very close attention to that stuff.
People that I respect and watch didn't file it away
for characters for later. Yeah, when did you find out

(39:31):
that he was leaving? I basically that scene in there
when I say see you tomorrow, boss, I thought he
was still staying. No. No, we all knew, and uh,
that was hard. That was hard. I wasn't sure, you know,
I think I probably voted it with a few people.
I said, you know, when I think it might be

(39:52):
time to just stop. You know, I really felt that.
I thought, you know, without him, how can this? How
can it possibly go on? How can I go on?
And I would have understood, you know, really, I'm glad
obviously we got to go on, and obviously the finale
redeemed us in a way. I believe that finale just
kind of like pull the thing together. There were some

(40:12):
great moments too, but I don't think they ever came
up to his stuff with Steve. I just don't think so,
do you. I am tremendously proud, quite frankly, of the
entire ninth season. I feel like it's a little underappreciated
in a way. I think that we were continuing to
try to find the right formula in terms of who

(40:34):
was the boss, but I think the show just started
functioning differently. I feel like not a whole lot of
shows gets to end on their own terms and and
tell the end of a story that they wanted to tell.
And the idea of you know, Greg wanting to finish
the story in that way, I felt like he was
able to do it and and and I thought did

(40:54):
it very effective? Well? That was like I said, that
finale was so But did you feel at the time
that when when Steve left, that you would have been
happy saying, okay, let's just call it no no, now
you want to to continue on. Personally, I think the
show could still be on right now. It would have
turned into like E R and people would have laughed,

(41:14):
and new people coming in. My character would be dead,
you know, although I don't think Greg would ever let
anybody die. Who was there, I don't know, but maybe maybe.
Um before the finale, did you have a conversation with Greg? Yes, yes,
he he called me, and you know, he'd asked everybody.

(41:37):
He said, I want to know what your your feedback is,
how do you think the character Creeds should leave? And
I told him I thought it well, and I said,
I think this is this song of mine. All the
faces I could be at, poor Richards playing my guitar.
You guys, the cast all walks in and I'm singing
all the faces and the camera comes in on each

(41:57):
of you. And he said, I like that idea. That's
the last I heard of it until the table read,
and then I saw it at that time and I
almost cried, I literally and Brian, I want oh my God.
Looked around there was my guitar. I didn't know I
was going to sing that song until the table read.
That's the first time I heard about it. They kept
they kept it, They kept it just as a surprise.

(42:17):
It was emotional. Wait, they they had your guitar. Now,
the p A went and got my guitar and had
it there. And I looked around like this, and I
went on, I see reading the script and but oh
my god, I'm gonna sing this song. And what there is?
Greg's letting me sing my song. And look around, they're
they're all. They're standing back, they're smiling, and they got
my guitar. They planned this. You know, will you play?
Will you play a little bit for me? All right? Okay,

(42:43):
I gotta tear my phone on just for second, guys,
to tune up this acts. This is the guitar I
used actually on the on the show. This this old
Martin and John. It's a good story. John. We couldn't
get the microphone on the think and then the shot
so Krasinski said he'd hold the shotgun. He had it
under his arm when we were recording. You couldn't hide him, mind,

(43:06):
I couldn't hide the mic for the guitar itself. And
then John said, well, I'll just hold the shotgun mic
under my arm because he was the closest. He was
the closest to me, and and he was sitting there
talking to looking over Pampit all the time. He's holding
him right there on the sound hole. He's a team
player like boy. We know that all right for you.

(43:46):
I saw a friend to day. It had been a while.
We forgot each other's name, but it didn't matter because
deep inside m feeling still remains. We talked of knowing

(44:06):
one before you've met, how you feel more than you see,
and other worlds that lie spaces in between angels. We
can see all the faces that I know have that

(44:30):
same familiar glue. I think I must have known them
somewhere once, beeful. All the faces that I know, and
all the faces were seeking chen eirvery day. When we

(44:56):
get home at night, there's one face me. And when
my mind's absorbed on my private little screen and I'm walking,
climbing through a sea of unknown men, I heard a

(45:17):
voice reminded they're across the street, walks an old forgotten friends.
We don't have to say a word. It's really better
left unsaid, just light through as that recognize all the faces,

(45:45):
all the faces I know, and all the faces we
see each in air when we get home at night.

(46:07):
There's one face we need all the faces I see
eachin every day when I get home at night. Face
I need when I get home at night. You're the

(46:33):
only face I need. So great. There we go, so great, dude,
Yeah it Um that gets me every time. Um, we're

(47:00):
six years since you sang that song in the finale, right,
do you feel like the show is bigger now than
it was then? Without a doubt, without a doubt. And
I can tell because I'm always out on the road,
play in front of people. And I started out on
the show with two people. Now it's eight hundred of

(47:21):
thousand coming to see my show. And they come up
to me and they're younger. And the kids that watched
the show then are grown up. They turned their younger
symbolis onto it. Their children. Oh my god, there's young
people who were born by that time who've already have
seen the show and and know the show. It's Dones,
It's Dones. It's crazy, right it is. And I don't
know how long how long this thing will last, but

(47:43):
it seems to me that just keeps growing, you know,
went away. Why do you think I think all this
stuff we talked about before the Heart the Heart, I
just think we should just enjoy it and you just
try to try to figure out why. I mean, if
somebody can figure it out, sure that would be great,
But I don't think you can articulate exactly where where

(48:03):
the magic occurs and how it occurs. Yeah, just accepted
and being grateful. What are you most thankful for waking
up in the mornings from your experience from the off? Um,
Oh my gosh, so many things, Brian, so many things,
you know, just to to find that you can actually

(48:25):
get together with a bunch of people in a community
effort and and make make a wonderful thing, you know,
and get like like you said, without the backbiting, without
the egos and stuff like that, for everybody pulling together
for a purpose. It's that it's that sixties thing. And
we grew up. We thought we could change something, you know,
and we did with that show as a game changer.

(48:46):
And to find that you can work and in a
harmonious environment is pretty rewarding stuff. We all got to
laugh every day, so it wasn't like work to get
to be. And that's the thing for me. I get
to go to just something that I just enjoy. It's
never like were it's a it's a blessing. It's an
absolute blessing. Yeah, it's too out a head end. But

(49:08):
if the good things have to all good things, we gosh,
we had a song. All good things come to an end.
It's true, you know, create we were a family, but
I think we still are anyways, you know we still are.
Can't take that away. It's it's rained in us now. UM.
I love you. I love you man, and thanks for
coming in and talking. Come on, it was my pleasure

(49:29):
offering well not just your song, but you're your your
sense of humor, thoughtfulness. So thank you, thank you, thank you.

(49:50):
Is this now? Are you recording right now from your
home studio? I'm going to turn the recording on right now,
thank you fording me. There we go. I'm recording from
my home stud Yes, indeed, you're recording from your home studio.
It's so good to talk to you. Um. So, when
I was putting together this podcast, we started talking about

(50:13):
oh what music, and I was like, WHOA, what if
we go to Creed, Like, let's let's look at some
of Creed's music, some of his new stuff. And I
hear your song Bubble and Squeak, and I just fall
in love with it, Like I just it was like
the perfect vibe for me. So where did Bubble and

(50:34):
Squeak come from? Where did the inspiration for that come from?
Bubble and Squeak? I? Um, it was a year last
year or the year before. I it's been so long now,
which seems like we have been held held up, you know,
held for ransom in these in our homes. Um. I
went to Romanian shot this movie called The Sisters Brothers,
and UH came back and I was spent spending some

(50:57):
time in London, staying at hotel. They're just kind of
cruising around owned and I this is my fun to third,
third or fourth time there. And I went to have
dinner or a lunch or something and they're on the
menu had said Bubble and Squeak. And all these years
that I've been there, I never had it. I never
I was always curious. So I finally asked the wait
I said, what does this mean? They said, oh, it's

(51:19):
when you take a bunch of stuff, you know, and
you just from from lunch or dinner the day before,
and next morning you throw it all in a pan
and you had some eggs. So I said, well, I
do that all the time, and I do. I keep
my dinner leftovers, and a lot of people do just
toss me with eggs. It's a great way to have
a breakfast that way. So, um, it's kind of like

(51:41):
your show. And I commented, I think this is just
kind of like your show because you're taking all these
bits and pieces and stuff and you're not really sure
what's gonna you hope it's going to turn out great,
and you throw you throw it in the pan and
you see what's what's gonna happen. Yes, we're taking what
everybody said, whatever is left, and we're gonna put it
in a pan and cook it up and try to

(52:02):
deliver something fun and good. Well, Creed, thank you so
much for coming back on and talking about the song.
Thanks for letting us you bubble and sweet, and thank
you for you, thank you for using it. I do
appreciate my friend now absolutely I cannot wait for people
to hear the rest of Mr Creed Broughton. So thanks
so much, man, I really appreciate you. Love you too.

(52:24):
All right, Well, folks, I don't know about you, but
something about that guy, just I don't know, it just

(52:44):
tugs at my old heart strings. He is truly one
of a kind and I am a better person for
knowing him. So thank you so much Creed for joining
me in the studio and again for letting me use
your fantastic song that works so perfectly for this podcast.

(53:08):
You rock, and thanks to all of you for listening.
You rock as well, I guess, and uh, I will
see you all right back here next week for another
episode of the Office Deep Dive. The Office Deep Dive

(53:32):
is hosted and executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner, alongside
our executive producer Langley. Our senior producer is Tessa Kramer,
our producer is Adam Macias, our associate producer is Emily Carr,
and our assistant editor is Diego Tapia. My main man
in the booth is Alec Moore. Our theme song Bubble

(53:53):
and Squeak, performed by my great friend Cree Bratton, and
the episode was mixed by Seth Olanski. Kay