Adam Scott has revealed he felt completely out of his depth while filming the 2008 comedy classic Step Brothers, admitting he had never improvised before joining a cast of heavyweight comedians.
At a Glance
- Scott, 52, said he “didn’t know what I was doing” acting alongside improv legends like Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly
- He resorted to writing jokes on paper and pulling them out mid-scene
- The experience pushed his career toward comedy, leading to Party Down and Parks and Recreation
- Why it matters: Shows how a intimidating break can redirect an actor’s entire career trajectory
Speaking on the Jan. 20 episode of Hey Dude… The 90s Called! hosted by Christine Taylor and David Lascher, Scott recalled the surreal experience of being cast as Derek, the younger brother of Ferrell’s character Brennan. The film follows two middle-aged stepbrothers forced to live together when their parents marry.
“Learning the High Jump at the Olympics”
When Lascher asked what it was like walking onto set with “some of the biggest heavyweights in comedy,” Scott didn’t mince words.
“Not at all. Not in the least,” he said. “I didn’t know what I was doing. I had never really improvised before.”
Scott compared improvising with comedy veterans to “learning how to do the high jump at the Olympics.” His castmates were “well-oiled improv machines,” while he struggled to keep up.
His solution? “I remember I used to write jokes on a piece of paper and I would pull it out in the middle of scenes,” he admitted. “Like I didn’t know what I was doing.”
The Breakthrough Moment
Despite the early struggles, something clicked by month three of filming.
“By the third month, I felt like I had sort of clicked in a little bit,” Scott said. He began to understand the rhythm of improv comedy and how to contribute meaningfully to scenes.
Scott landed the role after the original actor dropped out. He first read with the casting director and director Adam McKay, then auditioned with Ferrell.
“And I just thought there was no way I’m gonna get this,” he said. “It’s like the classic thing, like when you think it’s not going to happen you sort of let go a little and maybe that’s what helped me get it.”
Career Transformation
The Step Brothers experience proved transformative for Scott’s career trajectory. Taylor noted that from that point forward, Scott seemed to work in comedy “nonstop.”
The timeline shows the direct impact:
| Year | Project | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Knocked Up | Tiny role that helped him get Step Brothers |
| 2008 | Step Brothers | Derek, breakthrough comedy role |
| 2009 | Party Down | Main cast member |
| 2020 | Parks and Recreation | Major mainstream comedy role |
“It ended up being kind of a trifecta,” Scott explained. “Maybe it was like Step Brothers helped me get Party Down and Party Down kind of led to Parks and Parks was kind of the first like real mainstream thing that I got to do.”
The Comedy Bug
Before Step Brothers, comedy wasn’t even on Scott’s radar as a career focus.
“Comedy for me hadn’t been a focus or even like a career intention of mine until Step Brothers kind of happened,” he said.
The experience changed everything. “I just kind of loved working in comedy. I never wanted to go back. It was just so fun.”
Scott found comedy acting uniquely challenging: “As far as sort of acting is concerned, there is nothing more challenging than being able to land the jokes but also land the character stuff.”
He drew inspiration from watching his costars “try a bunch of stuff” and work through material that wasn’t working to find the “great” stuff.
Full Circle Moment
During the podcast, Taylor revealed that Step Brothers remains a favorite in her household. Scott responded with genuine appreciation.
“If I wasn’t in that movie, it would be a movie I would watch a thousand times,” he said.
Scott currently stars in Ben Stiller’s Apple TV series Severance, bringing his career full circle from that early conversation when Taylor and Stiller first approached him about the Step Brothers role nearly two decades ago.
The conversation highlighted how a single intimidating opportunity can completely redirect an actor’s career path, turning someone with no improv experience into a sought-after comedy performer.
