1146: Ed Helms | Fame, Family, and Finding Joy in Failure

Ed Helms dishes on fame's hidden costs, his Office-Hangover filming marathon, and why historic blunders might be humanity's most reassuring legacy.

Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1146

What We Discuss with Ed Helms:

At 17, Ed Helms knew exactly what he wanted: to be an actor/producer for TV and film. • This rare clarity gave him a massive head start, though he now recognizes success wasn't just hard work but also luck, privilege, and opportunity — a constellation of factors for which he's deeply grateful. Ed says the strangest part of fame is that friends claim "you've changed" when they're actually projecting their own discomfort. • Fame also strips away your ability to control public spaces — no more escaping the awkward stranger at baggage claim. At his career peak, Ed filmed The Office Monday-Tuesday, then The Hangover Wednesday-Sunday • — chartering flights from Vegas for 6 a.m. Office • call times. He even removed his actual dental implant for The Hangover • 's missing tooth scenes while shooting Office • episodes with a flipper tooth. Young Ed naively thought he'd balance being a traveling dad with non-stop film work. • But reality hit hard, and now he declines projects that would separate him from family — even hypothetical Spielberg films. His former ADHD-fueled hyper-focus has given way to prioritizing presence. Ed's book chronicles humanity's epic blunders — from dropped nukes to CIA cat-spies — revealing our enduring resilience. • These absurd mishaps offer perspective: we've always faced ridiculous challenges and somehow survived. Next time anxiety strikes, remember we've been falling on our faces — and getting back up — throughout history! • And much more...

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