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Jenna Fischer
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Angela Kinsey
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Jenna Fischer
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Angela Kinsey
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Jenna Fischer
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Angela Kinsey
And I'm Angela Kinsey.
Jenna Fischer
We were on the Office together and we're best friends. And now we're doing the ultimate office lover podcast just for you.
Angela Kinsey
Each week we will dive deeper into the world of the Office with exclusive interviews, behind the scenes details, and lots of BFF stories.
Jenna Fischer
We're the Office Ladies 6.0. Hello.
Angela Kinsey
Welcome to Office Ladies 6.0. We have a special guest today in the studio. Yes, it's my possible Cousin.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. Clark Duke. That's right. Joining us today is Clark Duke, who played Clark Green on the Office. He joined the show in season nine, episode one, titled New Guys. Clark Green is the new customer service representative at the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin. And yes, Angela, a possible cousin of yours.
Angela Kinsey
We'll get to that with him.
Jenna Fischer
We did speak about it in more detail. I love this little tangent.
Angela Kinsey
But first, here's a little bit about Clark. He is an actor, writer, director, producer. He is originally from Arkansas. How cool is this? When he was in college, Clark created, wrote, directed, and produced the web series Clark and Michael with his friend Michael Cera, in which he plays a fictional version of himself.
Jenna Fischer
In our conversation with him, he talks a lot about how that project that he did, that was his college thesis, actually really informed his role on the Office.
Angela Kinsey
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. Now listen, you guys might know Clark from his other acting roles in Greek, Superbad, Sex Drive, A Thousand Words, Kick Ass, one and Two, Hot Tub, Time Machine, one and Two, Bad Moms, Identity Theft, and I'm Dying Up Here, which.
Angela Kinsey
He stars in with Jake Lacey.
Jenna Fischer
He is also a writer and director. He wrote, directed, and starred in the feature film Arkansas and the upcoming Strangehold, which reunites him with Jake Lacey.
Angela Kinsey
And of course, we all know him from the Office, and he joins us in the studio today to talk about his time on the Office, plus so much more. But before we play his interview, I think we need to revisit some fan favorite moments of Clark. According to fans, this is one of the best one liners Clark ever said on the show. It's from Moving on part one.
Clark Duke
It may not seem like it, but this really helped. So thank you. Cool. I'll give you $100 to wear that sweater to work tomorrow.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. That was so funny.
Angela Kinsey
That's right. This is when Andy is starting to put together that maybe Aaron is seeing someone.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. And maybe she gave his sweater to this new person who is. Who is Pete. Yeah. Yes. Well, other fans wrote in to say that they love this bit of Clark sass to Jim in Living the Dream. We talk about this in our interview with Clark. Here it is.
Clark Duke
Oh, Clark, I'm actually here today. Surprise. So I was wondering if maybe I could have my desk back. Right. Yeah. But, you know, I've actually been working pretty hard here on a daily basis, so I kind of feel like I've earned this. I mean, you know, totally have. You have earned it. But maybe I could be with my wife. That's kind of the whole reason why I'm here. Right. Well, I'm here to sell paper burn.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. That is my personal fave.
Angela Kinsey
Well, we both have a lot of favorite Clark moments and it's so fun to talk to him about it all.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. I think he also may have my favorite call sheet questions answers yet they were like stay tuned for his call sheet questions is all I have to say.
Angela Kinsey
Absolutely. I mean call sheet question number one. Wowzers.
Jenna Fischer
Wowzers. Well, let's take a break and when we come back, it's our interview with Clark Duke.
Angela Kinsey
So one of the hardest parts about business to business marketing. Do I have your attention now?
Jenna Fischer
Yes, you do. What are you going to say?
Angela Kinsey
Well, it's about reaching the right audience lady.
Jenna Fischer
So I believe a bad example of business to business marketing would be when I get served like an ad online for something that's clearly not for me. For example, when I was getting shampoo ads and I had no hair.
Angela Kinsey
Oh yeah, right.
Jenna Fischer
Bad.
Angela Kinsey
Not great.
Jenna Fischer
Bad marketing.
Angela Kinsey
Bad marketing.
Jenna Fischer
You can target your buyers by job title, industry, company role, seniority, skills. I mean look at all these little categories. All the professionals you need to reach in one place.
Angela Kinsey
So stop wasting budget on the wrong audience and start targeting the right professionals only on LinkedIn ads.
Jenna Fischer
LinkedIn will even give you a $100 credit on your next campaign campaign. So you can try it yourself.
Angela Kinsey
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Jenna Fischer
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Clark Duke
Your.
Jenna Fischer
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Clark Duke
Hi.
Angela Kinsey
How are you?
Clark Duke
I'm great. Welcome. Thank you. It's so great to be here. It's nice to see you guys.
Jenna Fischer
It's really nice.
Angela Kinsey
So good to see you.
Clark Duke
Besides the Christmas cards.
Angela Kinsey
I know.
Clark Duke
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
I love getting your mom's Christmas card.
Clark Duke
We haven't done one in a while because it's like, you gotta plan it in, like, June.
Angela Kinsey
But I got one. I had it. I taped it up in the dining room, walked past your family.
Clark Duke
But we didn't. But we didn't do, like, a. Like a full, like, shoot, you know? No, like a planned photo shoot.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, but you need to tell your mom she needs to get back on it because she slacked off last year.
Clark Duke
I agree.
Jenna Fischer
Could you guys please share with people how this Christmas card thing came about? It's because you're maybe, like, distant relatives, right?
Angela Kinsey
Well, this is our. Our joke. Okay, so we were chatting on set one day, and I was like, wait a second. We have a lot of the same family names. And then you're from North Carolina. There's this lore that my family's from North Carolina. I mean, are we related?
Clark Duke
Well, you probably are if they're actually from North Carolina. Like, confirmed. Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
I don't know, guys. I could be sitting across from my eighth cousin twice removed.
Jenna Fischer
Well, you're family enough to send a Christmas card every year, even after all these years.
Clark Duke
I thought at first you met the history of Christmas cards in general. And I was like, I have no idea.
Jenna Fischer
I know. I want to Google that.
Clark Duke
I know.
Jenna Fischer
You've put that in my head.
Clark Duke
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
All right.
Angela Kinsey
Cousin let's get to it.
Jenna Fischer
Let's kick things off with the question we ask everybody. The first question. How did you get your job on the Office?
Clark Duke
So I met Greg Daniels. I forget what year it was at least a couple years or a few years before I got on the Office. And it was. He was making a different show. And I don't. I don't remember if the show. Anyway, I ended up not doing that show because it just. It just wasn't for me. But I like Greg so much and I like the Office very much, obviously. And then just kind of years later, out of the blue, I got. My manager called me one day and said, like, basically, like, Greg wanted to know if he would be interested in joining the Cassidy Office. And I was like, well, yeah, that would be great. Because, I mean, for me, I went to film school at Loyola Marymount out here in la, and my thesis project was a mockumentary called Clark and Michael, Me and Michael Cera. And our main influence was. It was two things. It was this thing called Stella with David Wayne and Michael Showalter. And the other thing was the British Office. I mean, mainly the British Office. So I was. I had been a huge fan since the British Office. So for me, it felt very, like, full circle and neat for me personally, just to, like, get to be on the show. Yeah, so that was it. I mean, it was. Yeah, it was not a lot of deliberation or anything. I was like, of course I would love to be on the Office.
Angela Kinsey
What a great phone call to get.
Clark Duke
Yeah, yeah. I haven't had a phone call that good in a while. Yeah, that was a good one.
Jenna Fischer
How did they talk to you about the character you would be playing? Were you part of the development of this character? Did they tell you at the time, oh, you're going to be paired with this other new guy? Did they give you any of those details?
Clark Duke
I knew we were going to be paired with another new guy. As far as, like, you know, the characterization. I don't recall there being a lot of specific notes about, like, how to play. I mean, I think it was sort of like.
Angela Kinsey
Like, do your thing.
Clark Duke
Yeah, I think it was sort of like acting as casting, you know what I mean? I think it was just like, kind of me and I mean, that was why, you know. Cause a lot of people said, like, oh, did they want to name you Clark? And, like, that was my idea. And it was sort of also in the back of my head too. Like, maybe this is Clark from Clark and Michael, like, 10 years later or Whatever.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Clark Duke
And I mean, that was just like the lore in my head. Like, not like, you know, anybody else, but I also thought it was fun, you know. Cause there's a lot of people on the show that use their real name.
Angela Kinsey
Right.
Clark Duke
I don't think there was a lot of specific, like, you need to play it like this. It was more like, I think they kind of just wanted my, you know, me, whatever that is.
Jenna Fischer
I have one more, like, follow up question to your casting process. At the time, weren't you told that this could possibly be like the beginning of a spinoff show? Like, that you and Jake were gonna be the two new guys for the final season of the Office and that your characters might carry the torch into the next iteration?
Clark Duke
Yeah, that was my understanding of it. Not even like a spinoff, but like, er, you know, where it was like just new cats, some of the existing cast would stay, and then you'd bring in, like, new people too and kind of be a mix. But, yeah, that was my understanding of it was. It would be. Yeah, like, er, yeah. And they would keep the show going. So I was. I mean, I was looking forward to being on the show for, like, years, you know, potentially.
Angela Kinsey
I remember when we watched the finale, there was all of this extra footage of you and.
Clark Duke
With Dakota. Dakota Johnson. Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And like, you were gonna be each other's love interest.
Clark Duke
Right. We shot like this whole. I remember for like a week or two, we shot all this stuff.
Angela Kinsey
There's tons of footage.
Clark Duke
Yeah. All gone.
Angela Kinsey
I wonder if they'll put it back in the Superfan episode.
Clark Duke
Maybe.
Angela Kinsey
Maybe.
Clark Duke
Well, it was so funny too, because I saw like. Or somebody sent it to me on Instagram a while ago when she was doing the press for a movie. She kept talking about how, like, oh, that was like the worst week of my life. Like, I sat around and then they never used any of it, which made me laugh really hard.
Angela Kinsey
Well, Dakota, it might be in a super fan. It might come back.
Jenna Fischer
It might live again.
Clark Duke
Yeah, but that was. Yeah, that was my understanding of it and my hope, you know, to be honest.
Angela Kinsey
Well, we have a fan question for you from Joanne K. In Cape May, New Jersey. She says, what was it like coming into the Office so late in the run? It seems like it would feel like being a transfer student senior year.
Clark Duke
It was a little bit like that. But, you know, the thing is, it wasn't hard because it was such a, like, smooth running machine. You know, you're joining, like this thing that like, runs like a clock at that point. And Everybody was so nice. And I will say you guys specifically, you two were the nicest of. And I'm not just saying that because the podcast, you guys were very sweet to me and I've always appreciated it.
Jenna Fischer
We were very excited when you and Jake joined the show. When we spoke with him, we told him that it was like we needed new people. We were. You guys were so funny, you were so nice, you were so talented. You had new stories to tell.
Angela Kinsey
Well, that's. I think that's the thing too is like we were like a family where like soon as John started doing a bit, I'm like, that's his boom operator bit. We've seen it for nine years. It's still funny. But you guys came in with all this new energy.
Clark Duke
Well, it is very much like a family because I mean, when you, you know, just from doing so much TV over the years, over the course of my life, like, you know, you spend more time with those people on set than you do like your actual family in a lot of cases, you know, for like six or nine months a year, like 12 or 14 hours a day, like it does. It is really like a family atmosphere. So yeah, it was sort of. I thought it was gonna be intimidating, but it ended up being kind of just a pleasure. Cause it was just so easy and everybody could go, you know, like I remember, I think the first scene I ever shot was. It was me and Rayn at the snack machine.
Angela Kinsey
Oh my gosh.
Clark Duke
And it was sort of like a feeling out thing of like. Cause I wasn't sure how much, you know, like how much improv to do. Like you didn't want to show up and be like that guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You don't wanna like come in super.
Angela Kinsey
Hot, be like, I got jokes guys. I know you've won some emm, but hey, here's my stuff.
Clark Duke
And you know, it never needed a lot of improv. Cause the scripts were so good too. But I remember being a little bit nervous like that day. But then it was just, you know, rain is so funny. And me and him had a good. I felt like had good chemistry together too. So that was so easy.
Angela Kinsey
I can't believe that was your first scene. I'm pretty sure, yeah, you guys cracked up a lot. And it's in the bloopers and I actually was gonna play it. Ready? Are you ready? This is. You guys are so tickled. So. All right, here we go.
Clark Duke
You want a coffee? No, I'll probably just finish the bag of chips again. You don't have to give me stuff. I appreciate it, though. I got some noodles in my car. Sorry, I'm cracking myself up. Thank you. I mean, I got some noodles in my car, so we could just. Just go get in your car. I got some noodles in my car. We could just hang out and have some noodles. Jayne, if you're more hungry, I got a big tub of noodles in my car. Just get it out. This goes on super professional.
Angela Kinsey
This goes on for a few minutes. Literally, every time he said, I got some noodles, you guys would start breaking.
Clark Duke
Well, we basically just met.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. That is so fun, though. You could already see the chemistry between the two characters.
Clark Duke
Yeah. The hardest I've ever laughed. And the one that's still, like, if I catch it on tv, like, on. I don't know if you guys know this, but the show airs a lot on cable.
Jenna Fischer
It does.
Clark Duke
So I see a lot. Yeah, yeah. Like, on Comedy Central and every channel. It seems to be on every channel. It's on a loop. But if I ever see the one where we're trying to move Stanley's body down the stairs. Stairmageddon that, to me, like, I, like, even, like, shooting that. I, like, could not hold it. Like, none of. I could not hold it together. I was like, this is the funniest. Like, when his head launches into the wall.
Angela Kinsey
To the wall.
Clark Duke
Because I was.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, my gosh.
Clark Duke
Because it was. But that was. That was the great thing about the show and about, you know, and about Mockumentary is the. You know, the formula and the format of the show being so grounded. With the mockumentary, you can get away with really big, broad stuff. Because I was like. At first, I was like, this is really silly. I don't know if this is gonna work at all. But then you watch it, and it totally works, because the mockumentary thing grounds it. But, yeah, I still think about that and laugh. Just trying to shoot that and get through it because nobody could keep it together.
Jenna Fischer
I love that you brought that up, because I feel like we were afraid to do that mix of, like, a broad concept and then, like. But keeping it in the mockumentary world. And it was Mindy's episode the Injury, where Michael grills his foot, which is just such, like, a broad, ridiculous idea. And after that episode worked, I felt like that the writers were like, oh, okay, okay. We see what we can do here.
Angela Kinsey
Meredith can have a bat attack her head.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. Or get hit by Michael's car.
Clark Duke
It really does, though. It gives you a lot of freedom, because, I mean, just think, I Mean, even think of the. Like, Spinal Tap.
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Clark Duke
You know, like, it's. Yeah, that's the great. That's the thing that I love about mockumentary, and I really only got to do it twice because it doesn't come up a lot. Like, I did it in Clark and Michael and then did it in the Office, but, yeah, I'd love to do more mockumentary.
Jenna Fischer
Well, you're a writer. Director now.
Clark Duke
That's true.
Jenna Fischer
Would you ever go that route?
Clark Duke
I actually have a script I'm working on right now that I would like to try to shoot this year. That's a mockumentary. Yeah, but I don't know if I'm going to be in it, but. But, yeah, definitely. Just because I miss. I miss. Like, it's such. And it's such a fun way to shoot, too. You know, you can move so fast. Like, that was the other crazy thing about the Office is how it felt like we shot a ton of pages today.
Jenna Fischer
We did.
Angela Kinsey
We did.
Clark Duke
Yeah. Like, compared to other stuff, like, so much, like.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Clark Duke
Like 10 or 12 plus pages a day, which is a lot. I mean, I don't know if people know, like, that's a lot. It's a lot of pages.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, it's a lot of pages. And also, you know, we didn't move our lighting once we were in that main bullpen, so we didn't have to wait for a lot of setups so we could move really quickly, which was.
Jenna Fischer
Great, because as an actor, you kept the energy up.
Clark Duke
Yeah, totally.
Jenna Fischer
You wouldn't have that sort of slump, as they would take forever to light. But I remember after being on the Office and going through, like, 10, 12 pages a day, going to shoot a movie, and I would look at the call sheet, and I'd be like, we're doing seven eighths of a page today.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Clark Duke
Like one or two pages. Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. I was like, oh, okay.
Clark Duke
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
It's a lot of sitting around one page for 12 hours as opposed to 12 pages in 12 hours.
Clark Duke
It's great. As an actor, I mean, the mockumentary thing, too. Cause you're shooting with two or three cameras, usually at all times, too. So you can kind of like a Robert Altman thing, like, talk over each other and not have to worry about that. Yeah, I loved it.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Well, looking back on the Office, is there a particular moment or episode that stands out to you as one of your favorites?
Clark Duke
I mean, Stairmageddon. I already answered this one, but that episode and the first one. The first one where you Meet us was obviously a really special thing for me. Well, you know what? The one where Dwight takes me on the sales call, we go to the Father Son.
Angela Kinsey
Is that Suit Warehouse.
Clark Duke
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
Yes. It's so good. That episode is so good.
Clark Duke
That might have been. That was a really fun one to shoot for me, just because the stuff with Rain was so fun. I mean, the most surreal one, or the one that maybe sticks out the most was the finale. Just because that was a little surreal. Talk about the transferring senior year somewhere. And me and Jake Lacy have talked about this. It was. It was kind of surreal because, you know, you guys had all been together so long, and everybody's, like, crying and hugging. We kind of felt like two guys, like, standing around. Like, you feel kind of like, you know, you feel a little like. Like, weird. Like. Like you're at, like, the funeral of someone.
Angela Kinsey
Like, just like, should I go hug you? What do I do?
Clark Duke
Like an acquaintance's funeral, you know?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Clark Duke
So that was. That was the most surreal thing, probably. But, yeah, funniest one is Saramageddon for me, like, just could not keep it together. And then, yeah, the first episode of that season where they introduce us, and then, yeah, probably a Suit Warehouse.
Angela Kinsey
Well, you have one of my favorite talking heads. It's when Clark is talking about his weekend with Jan, and it's one of my absolute favorites, and I want to play it.
Clark Duke
Okay. Hey, guys.
Angela Kinsey
Clark. Hey.
Clark Duke
Hey, look who's back. Dwight Jr. Hey.
Jenna Fischer
So how was it?
Clark Duke
I mean, the sex with Jan? A gentleman doesn't discuss such matters, especially when the feelings of a lady are involved. Women reach their sexual peak at whatever age Jan was last week. I mean, it was like making love with a wild animal, but not like a cougar, like you might think. It was like a swarm of bees. Bees that just find something wrong with every hotel room. That's a good one.
Angela Kinsey
That is so good. Your delivery's so great.
Clark Duke
Yeah, I did not write that line. I wish I did. That's excellent. That was a funny storyline in general, because I think, if I remember right, I think that was sort of the me and Jan thing was sort of written in because I had to go shoot a movie. And it was one of those deals where, like, I was committed to that before I came on the show. So, like, we had to carve it out type of deal.
Angela Kinsey
Sure.
Clark Duke
I think that was why the Jan thing was how they wrote me off. But, yeah, what a great, funny way to do it for, like, three weeks.
Jenna Fischer
Do you have any, like, offset behind the scenes Memories. Like, when you look back at that time on the Office, what do you think of?
Clark Duke
I mean, it was. I don't know, it was an interesting time. Like, I mean, I'm trying to think of stuff that would not be interesting to talk about. Cause, I mean, for me, it's like. I think about, you know, like, it felt like kind of a transitional moment in my life. Like, I was moving. Like, I literally just moved from. So where they tape your. The podcast. I used to live across the street in this building. And I had moved out of there and was like, living in this, like, this house I rented and.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, we should share with everyone. When you walked in, you were like, oh, my gosh. From the windows where we record, he can literally see the window of his old apartment.
Clark Duke
Yeah, I could see my old apartment across the street here. Yes. I don't know. So for me, it was an interesting. It was such a fun, weird kind of year because it was like, just being on the show felt like this fun gift that was just put in my lap that I got to do for a year. So it was just kind of pure joy. Because, I mean, you know, like I said earlier, a lot of shows are not that fun to shoot. Like, I mean, especially now that everything is kind of just like a lot of TV shows now are like movies that never end. Like, single camera stuff. It's like, you know, you can go shoot a movie for like two or three months and do like the crazy hours. Because it's only for, like, you know, a couple of months. But doing that, like nine months a year, like, really, like, wears on you after a while.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Clark Duke
So, yeah, it was such a fun year. You know, the main thing that kind of took me aback. Cause I'd never done. I'd never done a show that did that many episodes a year. And so it was really interesting for me just to watch the kind of, like, ebbs and flows of like. Everybody's got so much energy, you know, at first. And then by, like, I remember there's like a hiatus, like, midway through, and it's like you need it because everyone's about to die, you know, from, like, exhaustion. And then it was like the scripts after that, like, in everybody's energy, like, okay, everybody's got way more energy again, you know, to kind of, like, carry you through. It was interesting for me just to watch the sort of endurance and the kind of rhythm of the thing and how you had to kind of pace yourself a little bit and also just how fast stuff would come out. Like, we Would shoot an episode and it'd be on tv. Like, was it like two or three weeks later? Like, really fast?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, the turnaround was really quick.
Clark Duke
Yeah, the turnaround blew my mind.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Clark Duke
Because I'd also never been on anything that turned around that fast before.
Angela Kinsey
Well, we'd get a script and we'd read it midweek and then we'd shoot it the next week.
Clark Duke
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, yeah, I think for me, just the process of it was really interesting to watch. As far as the offsets, well, I guess that's still on set. But that was cool to me. I mean, one thing that I liked about the show so much and was so excited about when I initially got the offer was the idea of eventually being like BJ or Mindy and being a writer, producer kind of role on the show too. Had it went on longer.
Angela Kinsey
I'm so curious because over in the little accounting nook, we had our different bits that we would do with one another. Did you and Jake, back in the annex, sitting across from each other, did you have bits that you did? Did you have the Zen garden?
Clark Duke
No.
Angela Kinsey
Remember how there was that little sand Zen garden when that left?
Clark Duke
I don't recall a Zen garden.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, it used to be back in the antics.
Clark Duke
I don't think we did because you. We didn't film. It feels like we didn't film a whole lot of stuff back there. Like, I remember filming way more stuff with you than I do back there. But, I mean, Paul would always crack me up. Paul makes me laugh really hard. I ended up doing a. Paul directed a movie that I was in a few years after called Song and Neck and Back.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, right. Yeah, yeah.
Clark Duke
And then we did During. Paul called me during. During, like the lockdown part of COVID and I ended up doing this. It was like an audible.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Middle space. Yeah, yeah.
Clark Duke
It's so funny. Yeah. But it was. It was. So that was then that most surreal part of, like, Covid in la. So they delivered like a sound booth to my house. And like, I built this. Like, they sent like a kit. They didn't even build it. This is like when nobody would even like, come in your house. No, no, it was like, we're gonna drop this giant refrigerator sized thing outside, like, in your driveway. And so I built this thing of, like, PVC pipe in my garage.
Angela Kinsey
You built it?
Clark Duke
Well, I mean, it's like.
Angela Kinsey
It's like Legos.
Clark Duke
Yeah, yeah. It's not that elaborate. I don't want to oversell. Like. Yeah, it had, like, instructions and you Know, it's literally just.
Angela Kinsey
You basically had to do an IKEA build.
Clark Duke
Yeah, yeah, exactly. You had to do an IKEA build of this thing and build a little, like, soundproof booth with the, you know, the blanket over it and the whole thing and the mic and the stand and.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, that's crazy.
Clark Duke
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
I was gonna ask you if you took anything from the set when we wrapped, because Jen and I took a bunch of stuff.
Clark Duke
I took a bunch of shirts and a couple ties.
Angela Kinsey
You did for your real life, like.
Jenna Fischer
That you would wear in your real life.
Clark Duke
Well, I could, but I really don't. It was more keepsake.
Jenna Fischer
It was. Yeah, that was my question.
Clark Duke
Cause I didn't really have any other props to speak of. You know what I mean? Cause I never had a desk I'd been at for a long time or anything. I took this very specific tie. Cause I feel like I only had, like, two or three ties that rotated a lot. Which was one thing that I liked about the show is it was kind of a real thing, is you'd see clothes repeat.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Clark Duke
Because, you know, normally on TV shows, you'll, like, never see the same outfit.
Angela Kinsey
Same outfit ever again.
Clark Duke
But I had, like, two or three ties. So I have one or two of those. And one. And I see those on TV all the time and cracks me up.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, I love that.
Jenna Fischer
You mentioned how you didn't really have a desk necessarily so much that you sat out a lot. And that reminded me of one of my favorite episodes, which is when you won't leave Jim's desk when he comes back. And your showdown with him is so good.
Angela Kinsey
It's really good.
Jenna Fischer
I love it.
Angela Kinsey
You're like, oh. Cause I'm here to sell paper.
Jenna Fischer
I would love to sit by my wife.
Clark Duke
All business.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Do you still get recognized from your time on the show?
Clark Duke
Oh, my God. To a degree that, like, blows my mind. Only. Only because I was, you know, only on the show for the one season. But no, the Office is like. I mean, it's. It's. It's like. I don't know. I've never been a part of anything like that is this big, you know, like now with, like. It feels like it's so much bigger now than when the show was on, too.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, yeah.
Clark Duke
Like, with, like, the conventions. I mean, there's people. I know people that are. People come up to me and tell me this. That they just, like, watch the show on loop.
Jenna Fischer
I think it is bigger in a sense, because there's all the people who watched it when it was Originally on. And now there are these additional generations who have found it and love it, but that first generation is also still watching it. So it's just this cumulative fan base. And it's.
Clark Duke
No, I would say like at least once a day somebody in real life will say like, oh, my God, were you Clark from the Office?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Clark Duke
Which is another reason to use your real name when you're on a TV show.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, it's good times, isn't it? I have this story that Jenna knows that I had lunch with Rain. We were leaving this little cafe and someone drove by and they yelled, Angela. And I was like, what? Oh, wait, sorry, Rain, I might know them. And then they yelled, Dwight. He goes, oh, no. They yell your name. I was like, they do. And every time I turn around and I think I might know someone.
Clark Duke
Yep. My favorite story that's similar to that is when after I had. This was like, like 2007 or something. I think the only thing I'd done was Clark and Michael. And it was just on the Internet. And I remember being at. We were at San Diego Comic Con, like promoting some movie that hadn't come out yet, and somebody drove by in a car and yelled Internet at me, which was one of my all time favorite. But the weirdest thing is I turned around, I went like. Like, I knew, I knew it was directed at me.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, that's pretty great.
Clark Duke
But no, like, no, the getting the office thing is really like, like I said, it continues to blow my mind. But I mean, you're also, you know, it's so cool now with kind of. And I sort of knew this at the time, but even more now, like, you got to be part of one of the all time shows. Like, I mean, this was like my generation. Seinfeld or Cheers or just a classic.
Angela Kinsey
Show that everyone you knew watched at some point.
Clark Duke
Yeah. I remember one time Greg Daniels said something to me and I'm gonna paraphrase it and butcher it, but he said something along the lines of, in life you don't get that many really big bites at the apple. And that was one of them for sure. That show.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Clark Duke
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
I mean, Jen and I definitely felt that when we started the podcast, we were like, well, we don't wanna get anything wrong because the show move means so much to everyone and they will correct you, they will let you know. But they're always, usually they're very kind. I have to say.
Jenna Fischer
They are.
Angela Kinsey
They will say, ladies, that cold open actually was a tag and you got it wrong. Like, oh, sorry.
Clark Duke
Yeah, I think it's because, you know, it's sort of that thing that, like. I mean, the only thing I compare it to is, like, you know, like, Stern show or something that you listen to, like, every day for hours on end. Like, it almost. It feels like they're like your friends, our family members. And I mean, I think people have, like, watched the show and live with the show for so long now, especially the people that have watched it, like, you know, over. Like, straight through, over and over. You know, you feel like, you know, the people.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Clark Duke
And it feels like. It feels like hanging out with friends, I think.
Jenna Fischer
Well, we did an entire rewatch of every single episode of the show, and you are a complete delight. You're a breath of fresh air when you come on in season nine. So funny. I really enjoyed season nine. You and Jake were a big reason.
Clark Duke
Why I had a blast. I thought as just a viewer and a fan, I thought season nine was really strong in general.
Jenna Fischer
Agreed.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Yeah, I did, too.
Jenna Fischer
Where'd you get those shoes?
Angela Kinsey
Easy.
Jenna Fischer
They're from dsw. Because DSW has the exact right shoes for whatever you're into right now. You know, like the sneakers that make office hours feel like happy hour, the boots that turn grocery aisles into runways, and all the styles that show off the many sides of you, from daydreamer to multitasker and everything in between. Because you do it all in really great shoes. Find a shoe for every you at your DSW store or dsw.com I've been.
Angela Kinsey
Working with a nurse dietitian for the last six months and it's been life changing. I've lost weight, healed my relationship with food, and have way more energy. Working with a dietitian online to create a personalized nutrition plan was so easy. Thanks to Nourish. The best part, I pay $0 out of pocket because Nourish accepts hundreds of insurance plans. 94% of patients pay $0 out of pocket. Find your dietitian@usenourish.com that's usenourish.com what is Dax, Are you tracking all our cars.
Jenna Fischer
On Carvana Value Tracker on all our devices? Yes, Kristen, Yes, I am. Well, I've been looking for my phone for. In Dax's domain, we see all.
Clark Duke
So we always know what our cars are worth.
Jenna Fischer
All of them? All of them. Value surge trucks up 3.9%. That's a great offer.
Clark Duke
I know. Sell.
Jenna Fischer
Sell.
Clark Duke
Track your car's value with Carvana Value Tracker.
Jenna Fischer
Well, Clark, you have transitioned now into writing and directing and acting. You had your film Arkansas, which was based on a novel. It is amazing mix of crime and dark humor and drama. Angela was very impressed by your cast.
Angela Kinsey
I really was. I was looking at it on IMDb and I was like, holy moly. Liam Hemsworth, Michael Kenneth Williams, Vivica A. Fox Eden Brolin, Chandler Duke, your brother John Malkovich and Vince Vaughn.
Clark Duke
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Wow.
Jenna Fischer
What was it like working with that cast?
Clark Duke
It was great. I mean, it was sort of the same thing as the Office. It just makes your life as a director really easy. Like, somebody said, like, oh, what was it like directing, like, John Malkovich? I'm like, it's really easy.
Angela Kinsey
John Malkovich, he gets it.
Clark Duke
Yeah. He knows all of our lines. I'd look over and he'd be like, putting a mat over a loose cable and, like, I mean, helping the crew out. No, literally. He's just a delight. Yeah. I love John Malkovich. I still email with him every now and then. Yeah. I mean, it just makes your life really easy, like, more than anything. And again, I mean, I think a lot of it just comes down to chemistry. Like, I felt like me and Liam had a good. Like, we had a good back and forth with each other, and we're friends and have stayed friends. Yeah. I mean, that was what I. You know, I really. I came out here to go to school to be a writer, director. Like, that was really what I wanted to do more so than the acting. And then, like, you know, kind of by virtue of being in Clark and Michael, kind of got the acting career and did that for a nice long time and had a blast. But I always, you know, I was always, like, making shorts and I was always writing. And, like, I mean, I had the option of the book, Arkansas for, like, probably almost like a decade. And then finally I was like, all right, you get, like, now or never. Like, so it didn't feel. It doesn't feel like an abrupt, like, change to me.
Angela Kinsey
Right. Because it's always been part of you.
Clark Duke
It's like. Well, yeah. And I was always, like, wanting to do it and kind of trying to do it, but. But, you know, like, it was hard because I. I mean, thank God, you know, I got to work a lot as an actor, and that takes a lot of time if it's a full time job.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Clark Duke
So it was sort of a matter of like, after. Like, after the last show was on, which Jake Lacey was also on, called I'm Dying Up Here on Showtime, we also did this other TV show together. That's wild. Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
And now he's in your Next movie.
Clark Duke
He is. Yeah. No, me and Jake are, like, on, like, these parallels. Yeah. But it was kind of like after. After that show, I'm Dying Up Here ended. I finally got to get to make Arkansas, which I'd been trying to make for, you know, a few years at that point. And to the degree that, like, you know, it had, like, different producers and a completely different cast at one, like, multiple points. And then, like, somehow it just, like. And so much of it is just, like, scheduling and timing. Like, you know, like, Malkovich had, like, a week in October or whatever, and.
Angela Kinsey
We'Re like, oh, my gosh, we gotta make it happen.
Clark Duke
It's like, all right, we're shooting in October.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Clark Duke
But it was. Yeah. Like, after that show wrapped up, I really just threw myself into that and worked on that for, you know, like, a couple of years. Like, making a movie takes a really long time.
Jenna Fischer
It does.
Clark Duke
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
It really does. I remember when my husband and I, we made this indie, the Giant Mechanical Man. Like, from our first meeting until it came out, we fell in love while we were making this movie, by the way. And so from that first time we met, where I was like, here's the pitch meeting where you're pitching me the movie, and I say yes. And then we go off. We're gonna try to get it made. We fell in love, we got married, I got pregnant, and I had a baby. All of that happened before it came.
Clark Duke
Out, before the movie 3 came out, before it came out.
Jenna Fischer
It was like five years.
Clark Duke
Yeah. No, and that's sadly. I mean, especially with independent movies, like, that's kind of the norm. So. Yeah, like I said, I've been trying to make that movie for years and then spent two plus years or whatever making it. And then it finally came out right as Covid started. Like, the movie came out May of 2020. So that was, like, right when all the, like, you know, lockdowns and everything started.
Jenna Fischer
So did you get to have the big premiere?
Clark Duke
No.
Jenna Fischer
Or anything?
Clark Duke
No.
Jenna Fischer
Was it in theaters?
Clark Duke
No, no, we were gonna be.
Jenna Fischer
Of course we were gonna be.
Clark Duke
We almost made it.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Clark Duke
We would have been, like, the last independent film in theaters.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, man. No, that. As an artist, I know. Just because of how long it takes to push the boulder up the mountain.
Angela Kinsey
And then not to get to celebrate it in that big way.
Clark Duke
It did. Yeah. It felt really anticlimactic. I mean, I didn't want to feel too, you know, like, sorry for myself just because there was such, like, real life, you know, horror going on with everybody, for sure. But no, it's tough. It's kind of a tough pill to swallow because, like you said, you spend, like, years and years on it. But it ended up doing great on vod. It was one of the first, like, you know, like, I feel like movies that got moved to vod, like, so I think it felt like we were, like. It was like, us and like, Sonic the Hedgehog, like, the only movies even available to watch type of thing.
Angela Kinsey
Right.
Clark Duke
So it ended up doing really well. And, yeah, now I'm in post right now on my second film that me and my brother Chandler wrote. And he's in. He acts in this one too. And he was in Arkansas as well. But I'm not in this one. I just directed this one.
Angela Kinsey
But what's it like to have a project like that with your brother? How do you guys work together?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. Do you have a ritual when you're writing?
Clark Duke
A little bit. So it was sort of, you know, that was probably, like, one positive thing that came out of, you know, the kind of long quarantine of everybody is I had rented an office space literally, like a month before all that started, like, and everybody got, you know, locked in their houses. I had rented these two offices. So me and my brother and his writing partner from college, Billington, just started going there every day. And so, you know, just to kind of keep from going crazy and just to have somewhere to go and, you know, it still felt very safe. It's just the three of us, and we don't want to see anybody else.
Jenna Fischer
Like, a second quarantine a little bit.
Clark Duke
Yeah. But it was at least, like, a second location.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Clark Duke
So thank God, like, you know, we had that and we had each other to kind of, like, talk to. But we started going over there and we just started writing every day. And we wrote, you know, over a couple of years, like, I don't know, like, four or five or six movie scripts. So we got.
Angela Kinsey
Wow.
Clark Duke
Yeah. So we have. We have some material now, and this is the first one. And then after all the lockdowns kind of died down, like, this movie stranglehold was going to get made. And then it was, like, gearing up, and then the strikes happened. So then we had to take another, like, 18 months off or whatever. But anyway, we finally shot the thing, and now I'm starting. Well, not starting. We're onto the, like, the point now. We're about to start the music. The.
Angela Kinsey
You're in post production.
Clark Duke
We're in post production. Like, most of the editing is done, but now we got to do all the color and sound and the music and all that. All that kind of stuff. But the movie will probably come out. It's a Christmas movie, I was going to say.
Angela Kinsey
Can you tell us a little bit about it?
Clark Duke
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
I love a Christmas movie.
Jenna Fischer
She loves a Christmas movie.
Angela Kinsey
I'm very excited already. Can I come to the premiere?
Clark Duke
Yeah, I hope. Yeah. There's a premiere. Yes, of course.
Angela Kinsey
Yes, the Christmas movie. I have a red plaid dress I can wear. Okay, go on.
Clark Duke
So it's set at Christmas, and it's about a stripper and her alcoholic veteran husband who decide to rob the strip club she works at at Christmas.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Clark Duke
So Merry Christmas. Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Who else in it?
Clark Duke
Ashley Benson and Jake Lacey. Oh, nice.
Jenna Fischer
Are they the couple?
Clark Duke
They're the couple.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Clark Duke
Justin Long.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Clark Duke
Ron Perlman is the owner of the club, and Justin Place, his son, which is very funny. David Arquette is in the film. Brian Posein's in the film. Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
We got another great cast.
Clark Duke
Yeah, Another great cast.
Angela Kinsey
So cool.
Clark Duke
Yeah. But I am not in it.
Angela Kinsey
Did you like not being in it? Did you like. Did you prefer.
Clark Duke
I wanted to try it.
Angela Kinsey
You wanted to try it?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. Is this your first film you've directed that you've not been in?
Clark Duke
Well, I've only made the two, so. Yes.
Angela Kinsey
Well.
Jenna Fischer
And I guess.
Clark Duke
But. Yeah, but even, like, Clark and Michael novels. Yeah, I was in all those, too. Yeah, you're right.
Angela Kinsey
So this is your first time strictly being behind the camera?
Clark Duke
It was. Because now that I think about it, even, like, the shorts and stuff I'd made over the years, I was always in those, too.
Jenna Fischer
So.
Clark Duke
Yeah, it was. How'd you like, Was a mix. I mean, we had so few days. Like, we shot the whole movie in, like, 17 or 18 days or so. So, I mean, I couldn't have physically done it.
Angela Kinsey
Right.
Clark Duke
Like, I would have collapsed. You know, it was sort of more out of necessity. Cause I did like the part that Justin played. I wrote for myself, you know, initially. But it just became, like, a logistical thing. But I also wanted to try it and just see what the difference was. And if I did feel like it improved anything, honestly, I kind of miss being in it, though.
Angela Kinsey
Right.
Clark Duke
I don't know. I think I might go. I don't know. I'm on the fence. It depends on what day you ask me.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, I know. I always think about that, too. I had written this short film one time, and I was gonna direct it, and then I decided, no, I want to. I need someone else. I need that third eye. So my Friend stepped in to direct it, but then I kind of micromanaged him. But then I was also in it, so I don't think I could not be in it. I want to do bits. I want to be in there.
Clark Duke
The thing for me that I found on Arkansas, because I was in, like, 80% of that movie, but I kind of found a lot of times it was sort of just one less person to deal with. It's kind of like one person you don't have to direct. And I mean, like, when you have really good actors, that's sort of not much of an issue anyway. But I was like, you know, I knew what I wanted the character to kind of be and do, and I knew what I wanted the line reading to be type of thing.
Angela Kinsey
One less note to give.
Clark Duke
Yeah, kind of. So I didn't really mind it. But I also didn't really know any different because I'd only ever acted in the stuff that I directed. But so I don't know, going forward. I miss doing comedy. Like, acting wise, I miss doing comedy. And they just don't make, like, theatrical. Like, they don't. They don't exist.
Angela Kinsey
It's not a lot.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, it's weird, right?
Clark Duke
It's very weird. Like, I don't understand it. Cause I know people. I mean, I guess it just moved the tv. But I miss.
Angela Kinsey
I miss, like, a good, funny movie where you're, like, laughing so hard.
Clark Duke
I know. And I was very blessed. I got to spend a bunch of years acting in those. And it was so fun. So I miss that.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, that used to kind of be. There was always a couple. There were these big, like, summer blockbuster comedy, and there were no superheroes in them. And there were no, like, giant car chases either.
Clark Duke
Right.
Jenna Fischer
There were just, like, awesome jokes.
Clark Duke
And now those are exclusively.
Jenna Fischer
Exclusively, I guess, streaming theatrical releases or.
Clark Duke
Car chases and horror films. And horror. Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And like, superheroes.
Clark Duke
Yep.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Clark Duke
I don't know. You know, everything cycles.
Angela Kinsey
It does. It does.
Clark Duke
I was. I was listening to. I listened to this podcast, this film history show called you'd Must Remember this. Do you know the show?
Angela Kinsey
No, no, but I'm writing it down.
Clark Duke
It's very good. You know, it'll just give you, like, a reminder of, like, how, you know, like, the parallels between, like, in the 50s, when television came along and the studios were collapsing, you know, and this, like, there's a lot of parallels between that and now. And just as a reminder that, like, you know, everything cycles.
Jenna Fischer
Well, what will happen is someone will make a great comedy It'll be an outlier and it'll hit big. And then we'll go into the season of comedy again. Yeah, I think we're due or something like that.
Clark Duke
Yeah, I think we're due for like a whole new group of people, a whole new style of like, you know. Cause it kind of felt like, you know, like I had like one line in, like, super bad, and it was like. It feels like everyone in Superbad got a career. It felt like that was like a graduating class a little bit. And we're all still kind of still around. And I don't know what the equivalent movie to that since then is. It felt like there was a scene like ucb. And I don't know. Cause I feel like you said you've been around long enough. I feel like I still know and see everybody from 20 years ago, whatever that was.
Angela Kinsey
I still hang out with my friends from Improv Olympics, you know, so it's like that group you kind of come up together with. All right, Clark, it is time for our call sheet questions.
Clark Duke
Okay.
Angela Kinsey
What was your first entertainment job that.
Jenna Fischer
You were paid for?
Clark Duke
I believe it was a commercial when I was like five or six years old.
Angela Kinsey
Come on.
Clark Duke
It was either a commercial or it was. I did a pilot that Carrie Fisher wrote and produced and Debbie Reynolds starred in.
Angela Kinsey
What?
Clark Duke
When I was like six.
Angela Kinsey
Were you a child actor?
Clark Duke
Yes. What?
Angela Kinsey
I did not know this. Did you know this?
Jenna Fischer
I did not know this.
Clark Duke
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
First of all, I need back my.
Clark Duke
SAG card says like 1991 on it.
Angela Kinsey
Okay. Wait.
Clark Duke
Yeah. That's not a joke.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
Member since 1991.
Angela Kinsey
I need you to back up.
Jenna Fischer
The year I graduated from high school.
Clark Duke
I was already. I already had a full time job.
Jenna Fischer
You did.
Clark Duke
So.
Angela Kinsey
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I need to know. I have so many questions. Now you are living in Arkansas.
Clark Duke
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And you became a child actor in Arkansas?
Clark Duke
No, no. My mother had a childhood friend living in LA that we came and visited that was working as an actress.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Clark Duke
And her manager saw me and was like.
Angela Kinsey
And was like, this kid's gotta be in show business.
Clark Duke
We gotta get this kid out. We gotta send him out. And like, sent me on, I think, a commercial. I mean, my mother could answer this better than I could. Cause I was, you know, like five years old. But yeah, booked a bunch of commercials.
Angela Kinsey
And then do you remember then any of the commercials? Like, what were the products like?
Clark Duke
Like Toyota, Kellogg's. There was a Pop Tartson that was. And they were all like, big national spots.
Angela Kinsey
Wow.
Clark Duke
Yeah, I did that. Pilot and then CBS signed me to a holding deal.
Angela Kinsey
How old were you when you had a holding deal?
Clark Duke
Like six or seven. Like something like that. Oh, my gosh.
Jenna Fischer
How was that for you? Did you.
Clark Duke
It was fun.
Jenna Fischer
Like, there. No pressure. You didn't.
Clark Duke
There was no pressure. You're a child, you know.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, yeah.
Clark Duke
Cause I was a very, like, gregarious, you know, like, talkative, like.
Jenna Fischer
But would you have to leave school to do these projects? And how was that socially? You were like the guy who was going to LA from Arkansas.
Clark Duke
Yeah, but I mean, you're like, such a little kid. I feel like it's before you're like, that's true.
Angela Kinsey
It's before anyone's really aware of it.
Clark Duke
It's like neurotic stuff sets in. Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
You know, they're just like, clark's back. Okay. Hi, cl.
Clark Duke
And then I ended up on this sitcom called Hearts of Fire. John Ritter and Marky Post and Billy Bob Thornton and Ed Asner. Crazy cast. And Billy Bob's also from Arkansas, as most people probably know, like, the same place that I'm from. And did that for, like, three years. And then after that, went back to school in Arkansas because my mom, you know, wanted me to have a normal, like, school and childhood experience. And it was like, she was insistent that I, like, go to school and go to college and all that stuff. So then. Yeah. Went through high school in Arkansas and then came back out here for college.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, wait.
Clark Duke
And then started working again.
Angela Kinsey
I have a question. So when you go back to school in Arkansas, do you still have that acting bug? Like, are you doing theater in high school? Are you doing the plays?
Clark Duke
I wasn't. I did very much have, like. I knew I wanted to come back, but I. Since I was about 12, I really wanted to be a movie director. That was really what I always wanted to do. And, yeah, of course that was from, you know, being out here, like. Cause those were like. Like, thank God. Like, I don't have any, like, child actor horror stories. Like, those are like, really fun years for me. Like, when I think back about, like, childhood and stuff, like, I have just like, really fond, you know, kind of bizarre memories. Oh, man. Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
So fascinating to me.
Clark Duke
So that was. Yeah, that was one of my many lives I've lived.
Jenna Fischer
I mean, Question number one.
Angela Kinsey
I know.
Jenna Fischer
Mind some ghosts there.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Question number two. Do you speak any other languages?
Clark Duke
No. No, I wish. You can move on quickly. Question number two. You know, I took Spanish in high school and college, but it's like, if you don't Use it. You forget it. And I wish.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Well. Do you play a musical instrument?
Clark Duke
I can play guitar. Not like excellently or anything, but yeah, play guitar.
Angela Kinsey
All right.
Clark Duke
I had a phase when I lived in the building across the street. We DJ'd for a while, which was fun.
Jenna Fischer
I guess. DJing is a type of instrument really.
Clark Duke
It really was. I mean, it was in the, like. It was in the, like when there was like a. It was the last time there was kind of a real scene. It was right before, like, camera phones, basically.
Angela Kinsey
Did you have a DJ name?
Clark Duke
Yeah, actually. Me and my friend Chris Holmes, who's still a huge DJ. He's Paul McCartney's opening act.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, my gosh.
Clark Duke
But we called ourselves Show Business, which I thought was pretty good business.
Angela Kinsey
With an S or a Z?
Clark Duke
With an ass?
Angela Kinsey
With an S. Show Business. Taking the stage.
Clark Duke
We had. Chris made business cards one time and they said show Business, and then on the back it just said no request, which I thought was funny. With no contact info either. Just.
Angela Kinsey
Just that.
Clark Duke
Just that.
Angela Kinsey
What's a place that you've been to that you absolutely loved?
Clark Duke
I mean, I've been a lot of places I liked. I really enjoyed getting to film in London just cause the. And get into, like live there for like an extended period. Because I did all the touristy stuff, like the walking tours and all that. Like the Jack the Ripper Historical Walking Tour. The group. It's like me and the other group walking around with a little map. So that was pretty fun. Cause, I mean, it's one thing, you know, to like visit somewhere, but to get to, like, kind of like live somewhere for a while. You know what was bizarre about that? When I left that season of the Office to do Kick Ass two, that was in London. And I was living at these furnished apartments like the Oakwood. I don't know if people know what the Oakwood is. Well, it's not even the Oakwood anymore.
Angela Kinsey
But yeah, it's furnished apartments that a lot of people stay in corporate housing.
Clark Duke
And the only other person that I ever saw every day in like the gym or the lobby was John Malkovich. And we never spoke. And I didn't like. Ow. I mean, I think I said like, hello to him. I'm pretty sure I told him this because that was like years before I worked with him in Arkansas. But yeah, getting to spend a lot of time in London was really fun because I hate long flights. So I don't know if I'll. I'm not somebody that travels for fun because a 12 hour flight is my nightmare. And I feel like I spent so many years traveling for work a lot, which was great because you get to see a lot of places. You get to work in Miami and Atlanta and Vancouver and Toronto and London. And I don't know when the next time I'll get back over there is. So I'm happy that I got to. That someone paid me to go on an extended vacation. Over there was pretty good.
Angela Kinsey
It's such a special place. Jenna lived there, too, for a job I did.
Jenna Fischer
And it's one of my favorite memories, too, because it's like you said, I really.
Clark Duke
The city's like 2,000 years old.
Jenna Fischer
It's just, I mean, amazing. And also, there's little things about. Like, I do love to travel, but I like to stay places as long as possible, so I can do things like, what's their grocery store like?
Clark Duke
No, totally. I agree.
Jenna Fischer
You know, like, how do they sell their fruit here? I love details like that. The day to day.
Angela Kinsey
Jenna left me a message one time while she was over there. We would leave each other messages, and she was like, well, today I went to buy a microwave.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And you had it like it was in your book.
Jenna Fischer
Well, it was very strange. I had to purchase a microwave for the flat that I was renting. And the store, you walked in and there was just a guy behind the counter. And then there were like, three catalogs.
Angela Kinsey
There weren't items out, no items.
Jenna Fischer
And then you would point to it, and he would go, like, deep in the back bowels of beyond this door behind the counter. And then he would come back with the microwave. It was like, it's like when you.
Clark Duke
Order food and they have the picture.
Angela Kinsey
Yes, yes.
Jenna Fischer
Or if, like, Amazon was a store was just a dude, and you just, like, pointed and then they brought it out to you. It was so interesting. And that was when I asked the production, where does one go to buy? How do you buy a microwave here? They're like, oh, you go to this catalog man. Yeah, catalog man.
Angela Kinsey
She left me that message years ago. I think about it all the time. I don't know why, but it really stuck with me.
Jenna Fischer
Well, another thing was they don't do drip coffee. Like a drip coffee maker, where you just make like 12 cups of coffee at once. And I wanted one. And I asked them, where does one get a drip coffee maker? Catalog guy didn't know what I was talking about. Everybody was like, what is this machine you speak of? Because they just do, like, pour over French press. They make one great cup of coffee in the morning, and then they drink.
Angela Kinsey
Their tea, and you're like, I need 12 cups.
Jenna Fischer
I'm like, no. I'm like, Want to make 12 at a time?
Clark Duke
I want a thermos of coffee.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. I want tons of coffee all the time. So they had assigned me a driver for the show, and they said he could also help me get settled. And I remember one day. I'll never forget it. Oh, man, I love this guy so much. He pulled up, and he had the biggest smile on his face, and he was holding a drip coffee maker in a box, because that was the other thing. Like, it has to have the right plug, you know, in their outlet, so I couldn't just bring mine. I guess I could have done a converter, but then, I don't know. I always worry I'm gonna start a fire, so I. So he found one. He found one, and when we got to set, he was so excited. He read the directions. He set it up in my trailer. I made us a pot of coffee, shared a cup of coffee with him. He was like. He'd never seen it before.
Clark Duke
He's like, this was $1,200. I know this coffee maker.
Angela Kinsey
I drove five hours to get it.
Jenna Fischer
It was also.
Angela Kinsey
You guys.
Jenna Fischer
It was also red. It was red. It was like a shiny mixer. KitchenAid mixer, but it was a drip coffee maker.
Angela Kinsey
And how happy were you to have it?
Jenna Fischer
So happy to have it.
Clark Duke
Do you still have it?
Jenna Fischer
I don't, because when the show ended, they took all the things that I had bought for my apartment, and they put it in storage for me. And then the show got canceled, and they said, what do you want us to do with all this stuff? And it was like, well, they had given me a budget to buy most of it, so I thought, well, I don't need it. And they said, well, what we could do is we could put it out, and we could just let the crew take whatever they want. And I said, that's fine, but you need to give my driver two things before you put everything out. One is that coffee maker. I just want him to have it.
Clark Duke
Oh, that's nice.
Jenna Fischer
And also the TV that I bought, because he carried it up four flights.
Clark Duke
Of stairs for me, so he gets.
Jenna Fischer
Both those things, and then everybody can have anything else.
Clark Duke
I bet every time people come over to his house and they see the tv, he's like, you know whose TV that is, right? Maybe, like, Jon Voight's pencil on Seinfeld. You know, this is like somebody like that show, that other show, me and Jake Ron, I'm dying up here. Robert Forster.
Jenna Fischer
The great Robert Forster.
Clark Duke
The great Robert Forster.
Jenna Fischer
I had the pleasure of knowing him.
Clark Duke
Oh, then you probably have this also. He gave us all letter openers. Do you have the Robert Forrester letter opener?
Jenna Fischer
No, I never worked with him. I knew him, like, as a friend. He would come. He and I would both lecture to acting students, and he had this great spiel that he would do. And so that's. I knew him through a mutual friend, and we would speak to aspiring actors, and he is a gem.
Clark Duke
He was awesome.
Jenna Fischer
Great stories.
Clark Duke
Jackie Brown is one of my favorite movies.
Jenna Fischer
Same.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. And you have the letter opener.
Clark Duke
He gave us each. Each of the cast members. He gave us each this nice little box, and you open it up and it's this beautiful silver letter opener. And I use this thing every day.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Clark Duke
And every time I see it, I start. And if anybody ever sees it, I tell them, I go, you know, it's Robert Forster's letter. It's like Jon Boyd's pencil in George's car.
Jenna Fischer
Totally.
Clark Duke
Yeah. But apparently he gave these to literally. I mean, he said this. He's like, I give these to everyone that I work with. So, like, I've met other people that, like, worked with them, and they're like, oh, yeah, I got the letter opener.
Angela Kinsey
It's like his thing. It was his thing. He had his guy.
Jenna Fischer
I want to get a thing. Is it too late? Is it too late? I want to get a thing, too.
Clark Duke
I know. I want a thing, too. It's so classy.
Jenna Fischer
I just turned 50, and I think 50 is when you get a thing that you then do. Because otherwise it might be, like. Might be condescending if you're like, 23 and you're like, here's your. Here's your gift for working with me. Right.
Angela Kinsey
That's pretty ballsy, though.
Jenna Fischer
Once you're older, you can hand out a thing.
Clark Duke
Oh, totally.
Jenna Fischer
To people asking for work. You have gravity. Oh, I'm starting that. I don't know what I'm giving away, but I'm going to start it.
Angela Kinsey
I want to do it with you.
Clark Duke
I thought you.
Angela Kinsey
We have to do different things, though.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, we'll come up with something.
Clark Duke
Yeah. I don't know what it should be, but I thought the letter opener was such a, like, classy thing because it's, you know, it looks nice. It's silver, it's beautiful. And it's so functional.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Clark Duke
You use. Well, I mean, I'm saying it's so functional. Like the kids watching the TikTok are not opening letters. But. But they'll get. They don't know.
Angela Kinsey
They don't know what paper mail is.
Clark Duke
They don't know what paper mail is. Yeah. Again, for the listeners, this is Clark. I am 75 years old, and that.
Angela Kinsey
Means Jenna and I are.
Jenna Fischer
Okay, we have two more call sheet questions for you. Here they are. Number four, what do you like to do on the weekends?
Clark Duke
I don't know that my weekend activity is that much different from my weekday activity because I don't have a 9 to 5. I like to go to the comic.
Jenna Fischer
Store with the comic book store and physically hold all the comic books. I love that. I used to be into comics.
Clark Duke
I like to see all the comics to rummage around.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Do you have one that's like your favorite store?
Clark Duke
My favorite is House of Secrets in Burbank. That's my favorite one. And it's partially my favorite because I literally went there as a child when I was a child actor. So it's got the nice nostalgia for me. Plus, it's also just an excellently ran store and the guys that run it are very nice.
Jenna Fischer
What's your favorite series of all time?
Clark Duke
Like Uncanny X Men, like the prime, like 1980s Chris Claremont, uncanny X Men. That's pretty tough to beat. I think that's like a seminal thing for so many creative people my age. Like that and Watchmen. Yeah, those are the two. I feel like those are the two biggest, like. Cause like the old, you know, the 80s X Men I think is basically like the template of kind of like what, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer was like that kind of formula. I feel like it's. It kind of went out and had a much bigger impact than people realize.
Jenna Fischer
Did you ever get into the comedic autobiographical comics?
Clark Duke
Yeah. Like Markrum and Peter Banag and that kind of stuff.
Jenna Fischer
Or like Joe, Matt or whoever.
Clark Duke
Yeah, yeah, totally, totally. But I mean, for me, the childhood thing was definitely like the X Men, Spiderman, the superhero stuff. But no, I mean, there's really great work being done now in comics.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. All right, final question, Angela.
Angela Kinsey
All right, Clark. What is your favorite midnight snack?
Clark Duke
Ooh, I think my favorite midnight snack is probably. It's either Fruity Pebbles or the Cocoa Pebbles.
Angela Kinsey
You like a little cereal?
Clark Duke
I like a little cereal. And I specifically like those too. I like the Post brand cereals.
Jenna Fischer
Did you do commercials for that?
Clark Duke
No.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, no, no.
Clark Duke
Kellogg's. But I love. I love the. The. The two Flintstones branded cereals.
Angela Kinsey
Milk.
Clark Duke
The Rice Krispie versions are good too. The Cocoa Krispies Are also good. Oh, yeah, I do. Full milk.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Clark Duke
I still. This is another, like, I am 75 years old. I. I still buy milk. Like, regular milk. Not.
Angela Kinsey
No fancy milk.
Clark Duke
No. None of these fake milks. Full milk.
Angela Kinsey
I see a milk commercial in your future.
Clark Duke
Not even like, 2%. I want the whole.
Angela Kinsey
The whole.
Clark Duke
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Well, Clark, thank you so much.
Clark Duke
Thank you, guys. It's so nice to see you hanging.
Jenna Fischer
Out with us today. This was a pleasure.
Clark Duke
Yeah, this is so fun.
Angela Kinsey
So wonderful to see you.
Clark Duke
By the way, your email that you sent back. Oh, my God, this is great.
Angela Kinsey
This is so funny. Wait, you have. We have to tell.
Clark Duke
Yeah, I should tell this. So when I was. When my. My first movie, Arkansas, the first movie I directed was. Was coming out, it was in the midst of, you know, all the COVID stuff. And so I texted and emailed all the people I knew that had, you know, like, big, like, Instagram or social media followings. I was like, hey, you know, I'm just, like, trying to get the word out people to watch this movie. And I sent this email. I sent it to you amongst, you know, a bunch of other people I know, and you emailed me. You responded to the email like a month ago.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Clark Duke
And the emails. The emails from, like two months ago.
Angela Kinsey
The emails from 2,020.
Clark Duke
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And I went. I was like, looking for. Your email had gone, I don't know, maybe to my spam or whatever, but I was like, oh, my God, Clark. I go, this is great about your movie. So sorry I missed it. And then I was like, do you want to come on the podcast? I'm so sorry. And this is like, one of the things Jenna knows that Sam and Cassie, they all know that my inbox unusual says about. I don't know, what's it say today? 3,000, 814.
Clark Duke
That physically hurt me just now. I know I have to zero mine out.
Jenna Fischer
I do as well.
Clark Duke
I have to zero it. I cannot. That would give me.
Angela Kinsey
I have whittled that down. You would not believe.
Clark Duke
I wouldn't be able to function. What's in there? Is it just like, from, like, Michaels, like, $5 coupons from Michaels and home goods and stuff?
Angela Kinsey
Yes. And I need to go through it. But anyway, so I missed your email, but now I have put little.
Clark Duke
But the fact that the funniest thing is you didn't send a new. You responded to that one. That was what I love. You're like, clark, so sorry I missed this.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, my gosh. I was doing, like, I was trying to Open up emails. I hadn't opened up. I know. It was so ridiculous.
Clark Duke
Do you worry you may have missed, like, other, like, way more important emails?
Angela Kinsey
I'm sure I have. I'm sure I have. I just have to let it go. It doesn't keep me up at night at all.
Jenna Fischer
It keeps me up at night.
Clark Duke
It bothers me.
Jenna Fischer
In our business partnership over this last five years, Angela has had to create so many strategies to open your emailing. And I've said to her, too. I've said, like, how do I contact you? Like, most reliably?
Clark Duke
Are you better on text?
Angela Kinsey
Yes, I'm so much better on text.
Clark Duke
Noted.
Jenna Fischer
But I'll send her an email. But, I mean, sometimes you can't. An email is necessary for business. So I will send her an email, and then I will text her and say, I just sent you an email.
Clark Duke
I'll tell you what you need. You need to get a fax machine.
Angela Kinsey
I'd love a fax machine because I would hear it dingy. I'd be like, jenna needs me.
Clark Duke
No, it'd be like the bat phone guy.
Angela Kinsey
It would be.
Clark Duke
You'd be like, this is serious.
Angela Kinsey
It is. But I have.
Clark Duke
It's either a doctor's office or Jenna. Yeah, either way, the kids school. Yeah, either way, serious.
Angela Kinsey
But I did create all these little folders now, and you can tell the folder what emails to put in it. And so I have my business folder. So that only has, like, 12 emails.
Jenna Fischer
Since she did that, she's been a different person business wise.
Clark Duke
I think she should think about the.
Jenna Fischer
Fax, though, personal email wise.
Clark Duke
But I think I should buy two fax machines. One for your house, one for your house.
Jenna Fischer
I kind of want to do this.
Angela Kinsey
I do too.
Clark Duke
If you get one, I'll get one.
Angela Kinsey
You have to get a landline. What if it's a sign?
Jenna Fischer
I have a landline.
Angela Kinsey
It's my passion, you guys. I had a landline, and then my husband was like, we never use the landline. I should get it back.
Clark Duke
I'm not getting rid of mine.
Jenna Fischer
Never.
Clark Duke
It's like the physical newspaper. I'm gonna try to enjoy it as long as we can.
Angela Kinsey
I get the physical newspaper. Wait, are you. Jenna has the landline because she's worried about a zombie apocalypse, and that way she will have a landline.
Jenna Fischer
Hey. I mean, when the fires hit, the first thing I did was get out my little boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop phone and plug it in the wall. Because I was like, if I need to alert Someone of this exact place. I'm calling 911. And they immediately know your address.
Clark Duke
Yep.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, I don't know.
Clark Duke
It's basically free with my cable and Internet too, I think. Or it's like 10 more dollars a month or something.
Angela Kinsey
All right, so if we each get a fax machine.
Clark Duke
I'll fax you guys. Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, my God.
Clark Duke
That we could send each other, like, the gag faxes, you know, like the funny drawings. Memes, basically. Memes.
Angela Kinsey
Memes. But we'll fax.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, the first memes.
Clark Duke
That really was. That really was the original meme. It really was.
Jenna Fischer
Aw. Well, this was a delight. Clark, thanks so much.
Clark Duke
My pleasure.
Angela Kinsey
Email me when your movie comes out. Fax her, Text me.
Clark Duke
I'll just come over here.
Angela Kinsey
All right. You know where we are now?
Jenna Fischer
Well, that was absolutely amazing. And were we right about the call sheet questions?
Angela Kinsey
Clark is so interesting. He's so layered.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, my goodness. Well, thank you all for writing in your questions and comments. And thank you, Clark, for coming in the studio today.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. I am really loving having these sit down one on ones with the cast members of the Office.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. And getting to reconnect.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Now we're going to get fax machines, so we're going to be in touch all the time.
Angela Kinsey
We hope you guys have a great week.
Jenna Fischer
See you soon. Thank you for listening to Office Ladies.
Angela Kinsey
Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey.
Jenna Fischer
Our executive producer is. Is Cassie Jerkins. Our audio engineer is Sam Kieffer, and our associate producer is Ainslie Bubaco.
Angela Kinsey
Odyssey's executive producers are Jenna Weiss Berman and Leah Reese. Dennis.
Jenna Fischer
Office Ladies is mixed and mastered by Chris Basel.
Angela Kinsey
Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.
Office Ladies Podcast Episode Summary: "An Interview with Clark Duke"
Introduction
In the March 19, 2025 episode of "Office Ladies," hosts Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey welcome special guest Clark Duke, who is best known for his role as Clark Green in the ninth season of "The Office." This episode delves into Clark’s experiences on the show, his career trajectory, and personal anecdotes, providing fans with an in-depth look behind the scenes.
Clark Duke’s Journey to The Office
Clark begins by sharing his diverse background in the entertainment industry. Originally from Arkansas, he has worn many hats as an actor, writer, director, and producer. Prior to joining "The Office," Clark created the web series "Clark and Michael" with his friend Michael Cera during his time at Loyola Marymount University. This project, which he describes as his college thesis, significantly influenced his approach to his role on "The Office" ([03:36]).
Notable Quote:
"The project that I did, that was my college thesis, actually really informed my role on The Office." — Clark Duke ([03:36])
Landing the Role on The Office
Clark recounts the serendipitous phone call that led him to join "The Office." After building a rapport with Greg Daniels, the show's creator, Clark was unexpectedly offered the chance to join the cast as Clark Green, a new customer service representative. Excited and honored, he accepted the role without hesitation, feeling it was a "full circle" moment given his admiration for the British version of the show ([11:24], [13:00]).
Notable Quote:
"I was like, of course I would love to be on The Office." — Clark Duke ([13:00])
Character Development and Early Impressions
Discussing his character, Clark emphasizes the autonomy he had in shaping Clark Green. The lack of restrictive guidelines allowed him to infuse personal elements from his web series into the role, creating a seamless blend between his real persona and his character ([13:31]).
Notable Quote:
"It was more like, I think they kind of just wanted me to be me, you know, whatever that is." — Clark Duke ([13:32])
Behind the Scenes: Casting and Potential Spin-Offs
Clark touches on the initial discussions about a potential spin-off that would feature him and Jake Lacy’s characters carrying the show forward. While much of this footage, including scenes with Dakota Johnson, was ultimately not utilized, Clark remains hopeful that some of it may surface in future Superfan episodes ([14:03]-[15:32]).
Notable Quote:
"It was like the last week of my life because we shot all this stuff and then they never used any of it." — Clark Duke ([15:03])
Integration into the Office Family
Joining "The Office" late in its run, Clark likens the experience to being a transfer student in senior year. He found the transition smooth, thanks to the supportive and family-like atmosphere fostered by the existing cast ([15:42]-[16:17]).
Notable Quote:
"It’s very much like a family because... you spend more time with those people on set than you do with your actual family." — Clark Duke ([16:17])
Favorite Episodes and Memorable Moments
Clark shares his favorite episodes, highlighting "Stairmageddon" as particularly memorable due to the uncontrollable laughter it evoked during filming ([19:06]-[19:46]). He also expresses fondness for the introductory episodes and "Suit Warehouse," where his character’s interactions are particularly engaging.
Notable Quote:
"I couldn’t hold it together. It was the funniest episode to shoot." — Clark Duke ([19:46])
Adapting to the Fast-Paced Production
Clark discusses the rigorous shooting schedule of "The Office," noting that they often completed 10-12 pages a day without the need for frequent lighting changes. This efficiency kept the energy levels high and allowed actors to maintain their performance consistency ([21:22]-[22:32]).
Notable Quote:
"It was really easy. Everybody had way more energy again, you know, to kind of carry you through." — Clark Duke ([22:32])
Transition to Writing and Directing
Post-"The Office," Clark transitions to writing and directing, successfully completing his feature film "Arkansas." He reflects on the challenges of indie filmmaking, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted the premiere plans but ultimately led to successful VOD releases ([37:04]-[42:27]).
Notable Quote:
"It felt like an anticlimactic... but it ended up doing great on VOD." — Clark Duke ([41:19])
Collaborating with Family and Future Projects
Working closely with his brother Chandler, Clark discusses their collaborative efforts on the film "Stranglehold." They established a dedicated workspace during lockdowns, which facilitated their creative process and enabled them to draft multiple scripts despite external challenges such as strikes ([42:27]-[43:07]).
Notable Quote:
"We started going over there and we just started writing every day." — Clark Duke ([43:07])
Call Sheet Questions
In a lighthearted segment, Jenna and Angela pose several fun questions to Clark, revealing personal tidbits:
Notable Quote:
"Uncanny X-Men, like the prime 1980s Chris Claremont, Uncanny X-Men... like Watchmen." — Clark Duke ([63:14])
Conclusion
The episode concludes with heartfelt thanks as Jenna and Angela express their admiration for Clark’s contributions to "The Office" and his ongoing creative endeavors. They humorously discuss the idea of using fax machines for staying in touch, emphasizing the strong camaraderie shared among the hosts and their guests.
Notable Quote:
"This was a pleasure." — Clark Duke ([65:05])
Key Insights and Takeaways
Versatile Career: Clark Duke exemplifies versatility in the entertainment industry, successfully navigating roles in acting, writing, directing, and producing.
Positive On-Set Environment: His experience on "The Office" was enhanced by a supportive, family-like cast, which facilitated a smooth transition despite joining late in the series.
Creative Ambitions: Transitioning to behind-the-camera roles allowed Clark to pursue his passion for storytelling, though he expresses a longing for the comedic elements of acting.
Personal Anecdotes: Through engaging stories and memorable quotes, Clark provides a personal glimpse into life on "The Office," highlighting both humorous and heartfelt moments.
Notable Quotes Summary:
This comprehensive interview not only celebrates Clark Duke’s contributions to "The Office" but also offers valuable insights into his multifaceted career and personal experiences within the entertainment industry. Whether you’re a longtime fan or new to "The Office," this episode provides a rich and engaging exploration of one of its beloved characters.