Just a few minutes into the new movie Primetime, To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen — played to eerie perfection by Robert Pattinson — finds himself seated next to an older man on an airplane who clearly just had a few cocktails. “It is so cool to meet
a real celebrity,” he says. “What you’re doing matters, like, really fuckin’ matters… If I was you, I’d just fuckin’ kill those guys, beat the living shit out of them, bare hands. Don’t you ever just want to bleed ’em?”
Not all viewers will recognize the actor, but true fans of The Office will immediately realize that it’s Creed Bratton, Dunder Mifflin’s head of quality assurance who smells like mung beans, can’t tell the difference between an apple and a potato, and also happens to be named Creed Bratton.
Bratton’s career has been a series of absurd ups and downs, going back to his time as the founding guitarist in Sixties folk-rock group the Grass Roots, through the lean years in the Eighties and Nineties when he took on bit roles in films like Mask and The Wild Pair, making ends meet with catering work and other odd jobs. Everything changed in 2005 when he landed an unspeaking, background role on the U.S. adaptation of The Office. Through the sheer force of his will and his brilliant comedic timing, Bratton was elevated to a cast member by the second season.
The only downside is that he’s seen as a purely comic figure by some in the industry. Thankfully, Primetime director Lance Oppenheim isn’t one of them. “One of my favorite moments in the film and favorite moments making the film was getting to work with Creed Bratton,” he recently told GQ. “I always thought there was something menacing about Creed in The Office. I was surprised no one had ever cast him as kind of an intense, seriously intense person.”
Pattinson was also impressed. “Creed is an extraordinary improviser,” he told GQ. “He was just coming up with stuff with absolute ease.”
We hopped on a Zoom with Creed to hear how he landed a role in the buzzy film, the experience of working with Oppenheim and Pattinson, his upcoming touring plans, and his thoughts on the legacy of The Office.
How did you first hear about Primetime?
My manager sent over an audition and said they were interested in having me read for it. I knew it was an A24 film, so that kind of got me excited, and it was a scene with Robert Pattinson, so that got me more excited. So I really did my due diligence. I played it pretty drunk, actually, because the character was written as a drunken airline passenger.
How did you get into the mindset of the character?
The guy obviously doesn’t like pedophiles. And since I have children, and now granddaughters, I’m of the same ilk. So, when it came to the part about saying, “Do you ever just want to just beat the living shit out of them with your bare hands?” I embraced that. My dark side embraced that. So that was not hard. That was just me thinking about if someone was hurting my family, what I would really like to do to them.
Walk me through the audition process.
I read with this person they called “the actress concierge.” She read Rob’s lines, and I just sat there in front of a camera, kind of like I am right now, but it’s a house where they have cameras set up with lights, and it looks very good. I just said the lines to the camera like he’s standing right there. And I’m off-book, meaning I’ve got it memorized.
How long after that did you learn that you got it?
Two days.
How did you feel?
I was elated, absolutely elated. I thought, “Oh my God, this may be…” But I’ve said that on Terry, I’ve said that on The Sisters Brothers. I’ve said that on numerous things that I thought this was going to be the one. And maybe this is the one. Who knows? The jury’s not out yet on this performance. It’s pretty good, though.
How much did you know about Robert Pattinson before filming began?
I probably watched one of the Twilight movies with my daughter. I thought he was charismatic. Oh, and I saw The Lighthouse with Willem Dafoe. He was tremendous in that. I absolutely knew how good he was.
It’s tough for some people to find an adult career after being a teen heartthrob. He’s really pulled it off.
Well, he’s got chops. And he’s grounded. He’s not full of himself when you meet him. He’s just genuinely a good guy.
Tell me about getting to know Lance Oppenheim.
Lance was hands-on. A couple of days after I got the part, he called me. That’s almost never happened after I got a part. We talked for quite a while about the character, about how he saw me. He was picking my brain about what I wanted to do.
He told me, “This guy is pivotal. He’s the Greek chorus.” That made me very happy since it means I had a better chance of not getting cut out. This is the man who’s going to give the exposition explaining what the general American public feels about these guys. And he said, “This is an important thing that needs to be said.”
Where was it filmed?
They flew me out to New Orleans for a couple of days. We worked about a half a day, and I walked on the soundstage and they had a full-size jet airplane cut in half with cameras, dollies going alongside the seats, so the camera could come in and see me looking over at him. I wake him up and get his name wrong, but I’m obviously a huge, huge fan.
Tell me about meeting Robert Pattinson that day.
We talked for a little bit. He said he liked my work on The Office, which is obviously a nice way to break the ice. I told him that I thought he was great in The Lighthouse.
His speaking voice and everything about him is so different than the character he’s playing.
I first heard him in character when the cameras started rolling. Once he started talking in that voice, my body went, “Where’s this coming from?” Because he wasn’t talking like that a minute earlier. He’s a very delightful young English guy. And then he starts talking in this weird, stilted cadence.
How many times do you think you shot the scene?
Oh gosh, we shot a lot of stuff. We got all the stuff that Lance wanted. And Rob is a producer on the film too. So Rob left me and he went over with Lance to look at what they shot. And then they invited me over to look a little bit. I went, “Oh, OK. Wow, this looks really good.” I thought the way they shot it really looked good. And Lance said, “OK, I think we’re very happy. We got what we want. Why don’t we just play with some stuff?” And then I got Rob laughing.
How?
I turned to him and said, “You know what you ought to do? You should just fuck them and see how they like it.” And Rob’s eyes get like this [super wide and shocked]. I said, “I can help you.” [Laughs.]
Lance said that working with you was one of his favorite parts about making the movie.
Lance told me that after we were done shooting and I got back to L.A. I thought he was just being nice. Come on, people say nice things. But, apparently, when I heard it coming from Rob, then that makes me feel fantastic, I got to say.
Robert said you were an extraordinary improviser that just left him stunned.
Well, my friend, maybe the stars are finally lining up for the old man here. You never know.
I love Lance’s casting choices. Phoebe Bridgers hadn’t really acted before in anything.
Yes. And she was so good. He said he knew her personally, and it was her low cadence. He said, “I think she could do the woman and the boy.” That’s really amazing that he thought that.
What was it like seeing the finished cut for the first time?
I was knocked out. I just appreciated Rob’s work. My goodness gracious, what a talent he is.
Lance said one reason he cast you is because the Creed character on The Office is more menacing than people realize.
Well, very astute, Lance. Very astute. He’s right, of course. The proof is in the pudding, as they say.
You show up covered in blood in one episode.
Well, The Office fans already knew that I had killed some people. I don’t think it’s a big surprise for them to see me do this. I don’t think so.
I think odds are pretty high Pattinson is getting a Best Actor nomination for this one.
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Without a doubt. I really think that they should. There’d be something wrong. It would be like they didn’t, it would be like how I used to feel with Steve Carell not winning the Emmy. Just, come on, please, folks.
Do you think after this comes out, and people see you in a different sort of role, and your phone is going to start ringing with more parts?
It’s like that superstitious thing. You don’t want to talk about it. It’s like saying break a leg, and so you don’t. One can hope. But I think it’s best just to do the good work, do the good work, and next time I do something, do as best a job I can. Always do the best work you can, try to raise the bar with your professionalism, and hopefully I’ll be rewarded. I find this is a big reward, just getting on this movie. It’s huge for me.
What else have you been working on?
I’m writing my biography with John Tyler Allen, who did that article about me in Esquire. We have an agent, and we’re starting to talk to publishers.
That’ll be amazing.
Oh, it’s pretty crazy. I’ve had a crazy life, there’s no doubt about it.
I was really happy to see Greg Daniels get a star on the Walk of Fame. Most people don’t quite realize how much he did to make The Office what it was, along with King of the Hill and everything else he’s done.
Yeah. We get together about twice a year to have lunch, just to talk, because he’s a friend of mine now. I said to him. I said, “Congratulations on the Walk of Fame. I don’t want to bust your bubble, but there’s another producer I know who just got his second star.” [Laughs]
Steve Carell gave a really moving speech.
He’s the best. I was invited, but I was in Florida with my son and granddaughter. I would have loved to have been there.
Are you watching The Paper?
I’ve watched about three or four episodes, and then I’ve been working and touring and stuff like that, so I’m not all caught up on it.
Might Creed stop by for a visit at some point?
Creed would love to. I asked him the other day about that. He said, “Cool beans, bring it on.” I don’t know about that. I think that there was a thing they were only going to have Oscar. If they did ask me to make a little cameo, well, I would love to, of course.
We’re going to run a video of you playing “Mose Was a Runner” from a recent show you did at The Baked Potato in Los Angeles. What can you tell me about that?
OK, seventh season of The Office, Mike Schur and Greg left us to go do Parks and Recreation. So I thought it would be a funny idea to write a song called “Mose Was a Runner,” a showrunner, and try to put the whole thing together and throw him under the bus in a funny way, and do it at the wrap party. I couldn’t get a handle on what it should be until I was jogging up on Mulholland Drive, and I saw a woman in a white Cadillac Escalade hit a guy because she was doing her makeup in the mirror and yelling at her kids. I’m going, “Oh no, that poor guy. No, this is great for my song,” because instantly I knew exactly what the song was about.
You’re playing some West Coast dates soon. What will those shows be like?
They’re going to be different from anything I’ve done before, because they want to have a Q&A during the show. I said, “Look, if that’s what I have to do to tour, I guess that’s what I will do.” So in the middle of the show, I’ll take my guitar off and I will field questions from the audience. It might be fun.
What’s the secret for staying so fit and healthy in your 80s?
It’s a lot of work and a lot of stem cells. No joke. Stem cells, peptides, testosterone, pills, mounds of supplements just to keep everything balanced. And I’m pretty sure that once I stop this stuff, I will look like a melted Shar-Pei [dog]. I’ll be Dorian Gray, just shriveled up.
What’s your diet like?
Lots of salads, meats, lots of lean meats, turkey, chicken, steaks, eggs, not a lot of starch, not a lot of bread, not a lot of sweets. I’m gluten-free. I’ve also been cutting down on caffeine. My blood pressure was getting up there for a while, and so I’ve had to knock it down. I still drink a little, but a minimal amount. So right now, I feel about as healthy as I felt in many, many years.
What’s your favorite Creed moment from The Office?
That’s a rough one. I guess it has to be the one that’s had the most clout, and the one that got me most emotional, was singing “All the Faces” [in the series finale]. I mean, I laughed a lot being the interim manager [at the end of season seven]. That was a lot of fun. Also, the many, many scenes with Steve, the many scenes with [John] Krasinski made me laugh a lot. But that one [in the finale], playing my guitar and singing that song, and seeing the cast tear up too. It was emotional, and still is.
I’m always amazed at how young people respond to The Office. My nephew is 14, and it’s his favorite show. His friends love it too.
We hear this from all the cast, and I think it’s absolutely true. There’s a lot of snarky stuff out there. There’s a lot of violent stuff just to get your attention. There is a sweet communal thing on The Office that doesn’t get very ugly. And even when Michael Scott gets ugly with people, it’s always a very bighearted, sweet thing.
When I used to go to the fan conventions, which I haven’t in a couple of years, people always come up and say someone had an illness, someone had just died, they lost their dog, and The Office got them through when no other show would help them calm down and make them feel that life is going to be OK. It was just The Office. That’s a tough one to top.
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