Transcript: Featured Session: Cast and Creators on HBO's ROOSTER with Steve Carell, Matt Tarses, Bill Lawrence, and more

Key Takeaways

1Great television happens when writers let actors take ownership of their characters rather than rigidly enforcing their original vision.
2Characters that were conceived one way can transform into something better when talented performers bring their unique style and perspective to the role.
3Supporting roles can become integral to a show when the right performer brings unexpected depth and humor—Roy Scoble's character went from a one-off cop to a recurring presence.
4The chemistry between cast members can be so authentic that their real-life interactions mirror the show itself, creating organic storytelling opportunities.

Full Transcript

I love hearing about how things evolve every single step of the way. So can the two of you maybe tell us what the biggest difference is between how you pictured this show turning out when you first came up with the idea and the finished show that everyone is starting to love right now?

I didn't think Matt would get as much credit. No, look, the coolest thing about the shows that I like to write is Steve and I talked about this, and Matt and I talked about this, is that we very quickly want the actors and actresses to kind of get ownership of their characters, and then what we do is we walk around and take credit for their work. And so for us, the shows of mine over the years that I think have struck a chord with people, the performers kind of embody their characters and take ownership of them so quickly. And on this show, the thing that was so different is these people aren't just playing what we had in our heads. Every one of them has taken this stuff and kind of made it their own. So for me, you know, that's 99% of the fun of television. You can tell the actors and actresses are kind of embodying the characters, and the core is real. Y'all went to dinner last night, and it could have been an episode of the show, just the way people talk and interact.

I'll give you one follow-up. Can you tell us which character changed the most from script to screen based on what the actor brought to their life?

I got one. You go first. She hasn't been in the episodes yet, but the character that Annie Mamolo plays was conceived very differently. And because she has this really specific, incredibly hilarious style, we sort of let the part change a lot for her, and it's so much better than what we had thought of. And I was going to say there's a stand-up comic on the show named Roy Scoble that plays a cop, and that was supposed to be, you know, what we call a one-off. And watching him work with each of these guys, it was impossible to not use him a lot, because he's so funny.

Two people well worth highlighting. All my last questions, though, because you had so many people in your cast that I want to be able to highlight. Let me backtrack just a little bit to ROOSTER itself, because you both are very busy. I have to imagine you have a whole bunch of story ideas. Is there anything about the ROOSTER story that felt like the perfect thing to do now? Why this project?

Unknown Speaker 00:00 We're after some harder, hard luck. Speaker 1 00:03 I love hearing about how things evolve every single step of the way. So can the two of you maybe tell us what the biggest difference is between how you pictured this show turning out when you first came up with the idea and the finished show that everyone is starting to love right now? Speaker 2 00:19 I didn't think Matt would get as much credit. No, look, the coolest thing about, I hope, about the shows that I like to write is Steve and I talked about this, and Matt and I talked about this, is that we very quickly want the actors and actresses to kind of get ownership of their characters, and then what we do is we walk around and take credit for their work. And so for us, the shows of mine over the years that I think, I hope, have kind of struck a chord with people, the performers kind of embody their characters and take ownership of them so quickly. And on this show, the thing that was so different is these people aren't just playing what we had in our heads. Every one of them has taken this stuff and kind of made it their own. So for me, you know, that's 99% of the fun television. You can tell the actors and actresses are kind of embodying the characters, and whether the core is real. Y'all went to dinner last night, and it could have been an episode of the show, just the way people talk and interact. Speaker 1 01:27 I'll give you one follow up. And can you tell us which character changed the most from script to screen based on what the actor brought to her life? Speaker 2 01:36 I got one. You go first. She hasn't in the episodes have been on yet changed so much. But the character that Annie mamolo plays was was very conceived very differently. And because she has this really specific, incredibly hilarious style, we sort of let the park change a lot for her, and it's so much better than what we had thought of. And I was going to say there's a stand up comic on the show named Roy Scoble that plays a cop, and that was supposed to be, you know, what we call a one off. And watching him work with each of these guys, it was impossible to not use them a lot, because he's so funny. Speaker 1 02:12 Two people well worth highlighting all my last novel questions, though, because you had so many people in your cast that I want to be able to highlight one of a backtrack just a little bit to reverse though, because you go very busy. I have to imagine you have a whole bunch of story ideas. Is there anything about the rooster story that felt like the perfect thing to do now? Why? Maybe this project was green lit before.

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