The early impetus behind the Peacock comedy “Rutherford Falls” started with Michael Schur (who created “Parks and Recreation”) and actor Ed Helms “being kind of surprised and disturbed by the ways that people were clinging to historical narratives and using them really as an excuse to mistreat each other, as opposed to something to learn from,” said Helms. “So we started kicking around the idea of: Is there a character we can create that has these blind spots in spite of himself? And what does a good person do when confronted with their blind spots?”
The resulting show, which was co-created by Schur, Helms and showrunner Sierra Teller Ornelas, centers on a character named Nathan Rutherford (Helms), who is a descendant of the town’s white settler, and his best friend Reagan (played by Jana Schmieding), who is Native American and whose tribe is less than thrilled with Nathan’s stubborn efforts to idolize his not-so-honorable ancestor.
“That was a really good framework for the first season, there were some really big ideas and some larger cultural satire,” said Helms. “For Season 2, we’ve been able to move on from that a little and lean into this incredible ensemble and the town dynamics, which we thought we could have some fun with, although there’s still a lot of social satire.”
Helms became a household name thanks to his role as Andy Bernard on “The Office” and as the straight-laced, bumbling Stu in the “The Hangover” trilogy. He’s had so many high points since, including the indie surrogacy dramedy “Together Together” last year.
When asked about a worst moment in his career, it was a “Hangover”-related story that came to mind.
My worst moment …
“This is on the set of ‘The Hangover Part II,” most of which we shot in Bangkok, Thailand, which is an incredible city. We were there for almost five weeks or so.
“I remember I was a little skittish about food poisoning because I can be sensitive while traveling. But I also just sort of decided that I’m not gonna be precious. I wanted to have an experience and do things and be engaged with this incredible city and I didn’t want to be fearful and trepidatious the whole time. So I made the decision to just be confident and have a confident posture moving through my time in Bangkok. And that applied to culinary exploration as well (laughs).
“And about a week in, maybe even less, I think we just stepped off the set one evening to grab a bite. It was Zach (Galifianakis) and Bradley (Cooper), me and our first AD (assistant director) Jeffrey J.P. Wetzel, and we went to this little joint, a noodle shop kind of place. I think someone had recommended it to us. It was kind of tucked away and not touristy at all. So we had this fun meal, no big deal, just a quick thing.
“And then that night, my body revolted and just went into a full-on war with itself.
“And I very quickly realized that bacteria doesn’t give a (crap) how confident you are (laughs). I had every symptom simultaneously — both ends. Like a bomb went off. Every orifice was like an outlet for that explosion.
“I was the only one who got sick. I have no idea why I got sick and they didn’t.
“Not to get too graphic, but I’m going to give you a visual: We’re staying at the Four Seasons in Bangkok, which is a lovely hotel, and the toilets are in their own little closets in the bathroom. And I am having to switch between standing and sitting very rapidly, and on a moment’s notice. And at one point, I switched too rapidly and I was probably lightheaded anyway, and I bashed my head on the door jam as I was spinning around to switch from sitting to standing (laughs). And when I say sitting to standing, I mean (pooping) to puking.
“I now am in a state of deep sickness — with a head injury. It’s a good thing I didn’t blackout. And I just started having the darkest thoughts. I really went to this place of: I’m not going to survive this. I’ve never been this sick before in my life. I’m far away from all the people who love me and I’m going to perish alone in this bathroom.
“You go deeply irrational. And I did. I really thought that I was going to die.
“So I’m getting kind of scared actually and I called J.P., our first AD. The first AD is really the foreman of a production, they really run everything — they’re sort of the director’s execution arm. So I called J.P. and I said: ‘I don’t know what to do. I think I might need to go to the hospital. I’m in really bad shape. I’m starting to get dehydrated and I’m really scared.’
“J.P. is one of the best ADs in the business. And he goes: ‘So, your call time is 6:30 a.m. tomorrow. We’ll see you in the lobby.’ He comes from the old school where you just get things done and you don’t stop production for anything just because your tummy hurts (laughs).
“So I was like: J.P.’s right, I’m not gonna let this get in the way. This is obviously a huge movie, I gotta step up and deal. The next day, I’m in the lobby for pickup and I’m still just feeling so miserable. I’m dissociating and I’m outside of myself. I’m just a shell of a person trying to get to set and get through the day.
“The scene we were shooting that day was a riot in the streets of Soi Cowboy, which is one of the red light districts in Bangkok. In this scene I take my shirt off and I’m swinging it around and screaming ‘F the police’ with crowds of people around me. It’s a very high-energy scene. If you’re a ‘Hangover’ nerd you’ll know this as being the footage we see on the tattoo artist’s cellphone the next day that he shows us and we’re horrified to find out that we started a riot in Soi Cowboy.
“So now it’s nighttime and it’s a pretty gritty part of town and I am curled up on the sidewalk in between takes, shivering. And Zach and Bradley took such good care of me, it was so sweet. They were trying to keep me hydrated, and just patting me and soothing me and sitting there with me getting me through this.
“And then J.P. would pop over and be like, ‘OK, we’re ready for another take,’ and then they’d set off all these fires and pyrotechnics and all the background actors would converge for this riot scene and I would step out shouting.
“I was still throwing up between takes. But I think I have a powerful adrenaline response and that’s how I got through it. I’ve been in lots of situations where my adrenaline got me through things where I look back and think: I can’t even believe I did that. And that was the case that night. So much so that it wasn’t until a couple of days later, when we were kind of laughing about it, that our director of photography Larry Sher was like: ‘Wait, what? You were sick the night of the riots?’ And everybody was like, ‘Yeah! Helms was curled up shivering between takes!’ And Larry was like, ‘I had no idea! You did great that night!’
“And that was the greatest compliment I had probably ever gotten as a performer. Acting!
“But that was one of my lowest points at work.”
The scene sounds like the perfect storm of bad for an already nauseous person — a lot of noise, a lot of smells, pyrotechnics, a crowd of people …
“Oh my gosh, yes — so overstimulating. The sensory overload! There were these narrow alleys and tons of neon and we had a lot of practical effects going that night with real fire and just people screaming and shouting. By the way, being in a red light district, there’s nowhere that feels kind of clean and quiet and calm. So that’s why the sidewalk was where I posted up. It was as good a spot as any.
“The anxiety and the fear that comes with such a fast onset of an illness, I was convinced that if I kept getting sick at this rate, I would die. Like, I’m not going to survive this. And I really credit Zach and Bradley. Their kindness through that was so sweet. The irony is that the scene we were shooting was the opposite of sweet — it was these characters at their most aggro, worst behavior. And yet these guys were really nurturing me.
“The one upside is there weren’t pages and pages of dialogue I had to deliver. And also, because it was a heightened moment, as opposed to something intimate and poignant, it was probably easier to obscure how I was feeling.
“We were in Bangkok for about a month after that and I probably had a little culinary PTSD. I basically ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the rest of the time. Our schedule was so intense, it probably took me a month or two to recover. I wasn’t getting enough sleep and I wasn’t eating great. It wasn’t until I got home and got over my jet lag and had some quiet time that I started to feel like myself again.
“But I want to be clear: I loved Thailand and I loved being in Bangkok. It’s such a cool, vibrant city. And I loved the experience of making that movie.”
The takeaway …
“I kind of surprised myself. I really needed that push from J.P. to keep going and I was surprised with how much I could keep going.
“And Zach and Bradley nurtured me through it, so the lesson there is: How meaningful it is to support each other in a really tough circumstance. In all those ‘Hangover’ movies, we shared the sense that we were a team. These productions were really fun but also really demanding and intense and it was important to show up for each other.
“There was just a deep shared respect and team spirit. There was an intense professional ethos on those sets that I really appreciated and learned a lot from. It pushed me to rise to the occasion.
“Those movies were such a life-altering experience for us all that we felt this kind of brotherhood forged in a shared crazy experience.
“I’ve seen the best and worst of Hollywood productions, but I feel pretty lucky to have been part of some special stuff with special people.”
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