ZOMG!! Does Anyone Want to Road Trip to Atlanta Next Weekend?

Ed Helms will be playing the banjo at an Atlanta fundraiser on the 28th. Fortunately for you, the info also came with an interview:

Q: Is it hard to play the banjo?

A: The banjo is a (pain). That’s part of why it’s so rewarding. You work really hard. When I saw Tom Key in ‘Cotton Patch Gospel,’ I was already into bluegrass. It’s a really extraordinary production. My high school did a production. No one could play the banjo, so I picked it up, learned the songs and that was the beginning of my long, torrid love affair with the banjo.

Q: Most guys play the guitar in high school to pick up girls. How’d the banjo work for you?

A: I just completely misread girls in high school. This is just one example of how. I’ve been trying to press X-box to make “Banjo Hero.”

Q: What do you enjoy most about coming back to Atlanta to visit family or participate in events like ATLexis?

A: I love being able to feel attached to the creative community in Atlanta. That’s a real privilege for me. A year or two ago, I did a benefit for the Horizon Theatre. I feel like Atlanta has such a vibrant creative community. Any chance I get to reconnect is exciting for me.

Q: What do you miss when you’re in L.A.?

A: You don’t really know until you leave the South how beautiful it is from an aesthetic standpoint. Atlanta has changed immeasurably since I moved around, not necessarily in ways I’m thrilled about. But it’s lush. I love the organic smells in springtime. L.A. is not lush. It’s an irrigated desert.

Q: What would you be doing right now if you weren’t acting?

A: I have no idea. I don’t know what else to do. I never even saw an alternative. I think I would just be miserable. This is a very tough career. It’s hard on your constitution. It’s hard on your ego. It’s not stable. But it is sort of the only thing I could do.

Q: Your character works for a nutty boss in a fairly monotonous job. What’s the worst job you ever had in Atlanta?

A: I didn’t work in Atlanta much except summer jobs. I was a lifeguard at Brookwood Hills community pool. I loved that job. It was awesome. When I became assistant manager there, the responsibilities took some of the fun out. The lack of bodily function control that children have in swimming pools is far more than what you would imagine. The clean up duty falls on the lifeguards.

Q: Did you ever wish someone would get into trouble so you could perform a daring rescue?

A: I never wished anyone would start to drown or anything, but I did sort of wish a beautiful woman would get into the deep end over her head. I could give her a hand and then she would become completely smitten with me. Until she learned I played the banjo.

Perhaps I can go, find a pool with Ed standing nearby, jump in, and pretend to not know how to swim...

And, ZOMG!!! I found some Ed pictures (taken by Jason Odell) who also took some adorable pictures of John Krasinski a while back:



Did you get your tickets to the gun show?