I was cast in 3rd rock from the sun
because I had just been fired
off of another show.
When I first read it,
the first thing that I thought was--
oh, this is really great.
This is really spectacular.
And then the second thing that I thought was--
this will never get on Tv.
Never in a million years will this ever be, you know,
viewed by the public.
And, uh, so I went in, and I auditioned,
and just kinda kept working my way up the chain,
to, you know, producers, on up.
And, uh...
then it was just a matter of testing,
and, you know, for a network to get it.
But it was, you know, it was sort of great.
I remember at one point when I was almost there.
I was really close to getting this job,
and john Lithgow came out, and he said,
"look, there's a little concern about,
you know, your eyes.
They can't see your eyes.
It's the--the squint.
Would you try doing it without?
And so I went back in, and I did it without,
and it was just, it was-- it was creepy.
There was something odd about it. I don't know.
It just didn't-- it was really creepy.
And so, they, uh, they said, "no, no. Put it back.
"Put it back, put it back."
And uh, you know.
That's kind of, uh, kind of how it started.
Whoa! That's the place where we landed!
Ok, all right,
we have nothing to worry about.
Sally cleaned up the landing site.
You said you were
gonna clean up the landing site.
No, no, no, no, no.
I said I was gonna clean up
the landing site.
And so you cleaned up the landing site?
No.
[All scream]
Uh, Harry is an idiot.
I know you're waiting for something else.
What kind of character is Harry? He's an idiot.
I passed my G.E.D!
You are looking
at a high school equivalency diploma guy.
I guess what appealed to me about it was that...
you have this character
that's sort of a traditional Gilligan
or a traditional squiggy or a screech.
You know, somebody who's just, you know,
an idiot, and they're gonna be bumping into things,
and they're gonna be messing everything up,
and they're gonna be the reason
that nobody can get off the island.
Better check the bottle, Dick.
Some of this stuff's over a year old.
I think he's, uh,
he really can be classified more as a pet...
than anything else, you know.
A pet with a job, you know,
like a seeing-eye dog.
You depend on him, but at the same time,
you don't want them,
you know, doing your finances.
No television for a week!
Now that's final!
A week! No Tv! What'll I do?
Why don't you try
using your brain for a change?
Well, what good could come from it?
[Telephone rings]
Hello?
Uh, no. You have the wrong number.
I'm going to transfer you,
but if I lose you, try again.
John Lithgow?
Hmm.
Oh, gosh.
All right, there are 2 answers for this.
Working with john Lithgow
in reality is just a living, breathing, screaming hell.
Shut your foul mouth!
He's egomaniacal.
He's petty. He's mean.
Blah, blah. You made your point.
I said I agree. Now get out!
Selfish, greedy...
wait your turn!
Stinky, evil, uh...
just bald.
You know, and that would be sort of
the one that probably won't make it to the dvd,
so, I'll give you the other one.
John lithgow's a joy, he really is.
I mean, he's sort of this delightful character,
and anybody who works in sitcoms know
that as goes your star, so goes the show,
and if you have a star that's a tyrant and a creep,
then you're gonna have a tyrannical creepy time,
and if you have one that's, you know,
lovely, then it's going to go lovely
and I just--he's got this spirit about him
that's sort of a joy for life,
and he's always the smartest guy in the room,
but you don't necessarily feel that way. You know?
He's just this sort of spectacular leader
and this wonderful talent,
and I think he was really the one
who made that show a family, you know,
this great sort of parental figure,
this very fatherly figure
that you could actually trust and rely on,
and you knew that he was gonna have your back.
It's a magnificent experiment.
I intend to prove
that a nurturing family and a solid role model
can turn a man's life around.
And who would that role model be?
You're looking at him, sass mouth!
Sally, I'm ready.
Ok!
The lady. Working with Kristen Johnson--
she's a force of nature, is the main thing.
Personality disorder!
I'm gonna go kick his ass!
She sort of seems like
this big, boisterous broad from another time, you know,
like she should have a cigarette holder,
and she'll come in and she'll stomp on everything
with her great big muddy shoes, you know?
But she's like, uh...
she's got a barometer
for comedy and for what works
that--that not a lot of people have.
She knows when something is wrong,
and she's unrelenting about getting it fixed.
Harry, tell me if this milk tastes bad to you.
And she knows when something is working,
and she's unrelenting about protecting it.
Look, you know, being your roommate
is not as much fun as it used to be.
You've only been here an hour and a half.
Yeah, it's an hour and a half too long!
All right, this is it.
The last box of shoes.
Well, load it up, boys,
'cause I'm moving out!
No!
Absolutely not!
Sally, for the first time in my life--
do it or I'll kill you. Ok.
A taping could go 6, 7 hours, 8 hours,
so, you know, you want somebody in there
who's really rock solid, and that's Kristen.
I mean, she's--she's...
you know, she's really-- she's a spectacular talent.
Are you thirsty?
Oh, I know you.
You wouldn't say anything if you were.
You must be bored out of your mind.
No, not at all.
I was talking to the plant.
Working with Joseph Gordon-Levitt is awesome
because he is that character.
He was this really smart human being
in a really young body.
Tommy was a little tense, that's all,
and he said some things that he didn't mean.
Trust me, he is not going to retire.
Hey, guys. Look what I found in the basement.
Hogans, eh?
Tommy, you can't be serious!
Well, actually, Dick,
I've been thinking about it for a while,
and you know, this was never my dream job.
So are you gonna go back to the home planet?
Nah. So drafty there,
and there's that film in the air.
You know, I like it on earth.
There's women, gravity. You know, it's nice.
Joseph was genuinely smart and genuinely sort of soulful,
and genuinely sort of knew who he was
from the very get-go,
and he was just really fun
because he also, like Kristen,
sort of has a B.S. Meter,
and he can tell when something doesn't work
or when something does
or when we're doing something to please other people
and, you know, he, uh--
I have a great fondness for him, you know.
Tommy, what's with the moustache?
Well, guys, I've made a little decision.
The moustache stays.
Oh, that's muy macho.
If you're doing a sitcom,
you're gonna end up doing physical humor,
but for this, I think the whole idea of it
was that the Marx brothers
have come down to study earth and its culture,
and that's the basis for it,
and so, we sort of went from there.
This place is so creepy, Don.
I knew jails had bars,
but I didn't know they were so confining!
That's kind of the idea.
Don, I can't get out!
Don, Don! Get me out of here!
Dick! Turn your head.
A lot of the time I was on
what they call the "b" or "c" storyline,
and that's where you really get your ass handed to you.
You get bumped into stuff, and, you know,
"we'll throw him off this, we'll throw him off that."
I understand completely.
And if you--if they discover that you can do it even a little bit,
they're gonna--you're gonna take a beating
for the rest of your life.
Ok.
On a count of 3, deep breath.
1, 2, 3.
[Gasping]
What are you doing?
I'm becoming thin again!
I thought you were gonna exercise.
Sally! What?
Help Harry.
What is that?
It's called "the shatner."
Now, go on, pull it.
Pull it, pull it.
1, 2, 3, go! Ah, got it.
Thank you, lieutenant.
Oh, but, no, Dick! Dick!
It was just sort of like being in an old silent movie
or having this great opportunity to--to--to...
you know, exercise this art form,
and it's--it was-- it's really fun.
I mean, you know, people have got to be pretty smart
to do stuff that stupid.
This can't be happening.
This cannot be happening!
It's got to be another crazy dream!
It's not a dream, Dick!
I don't believe you!
I still don't believe you!
I'll never believe you!
All right, all right!
It was sort of like this nice privilege to be there,
and to have been lucky enough
to slide in on something like that
and ride it from wall to wall.
I mean, that's 6 years of just really having a good time.
So, uh...
you know, I-I-I miss it,
but, uh...
but I also felt like the way it started
all the way to the way it ended,
it was just, you know, sort of a perfect experience,
so you don't want to mess with that.
Hello?
I'll check upstairs.
I'll check the basement.
There is no basement.
Ah, then my work is done.