The 2008 comedy co-starred Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly
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NEED TO KNOW
- Adam Scott is sharing more about landing his role in the 2008 film, Step Brothers
- In a new interview, Scott says another actor was originally slated for the role, but “had to bail”
- Scott plays Derek Huff, the successful and arrogant younger brother of Brennan, played by Will Ferrell
Adam Scott is pulling back the curtain on how he landed one of his most memorable early comedy roles.
Speaking on a recent episode of the Big Bro With Kid Cudi podcast, the Severance actor, 52, revealed that getting cast in the 2008 comedy Step Brothers hit comedy alongside Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly came down to unexpected timing.
The film, directed by now–Oscar winner Adam McKay (The Big Short), tells the ridiculous story of two middle-aged man-children: Brennan (Ferrell) lives with his mom Nancy (Mary Steenburgen) and Dale (Reilly) is still at home with dad Robert (Richard Jenkins). The two butt heads when Nancy and Dale get married, merging the two families under one roof.
Scott plays Derek Huff, Brennan's successful and arrogant younger brother,
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“Man, that was so exciting getting Step Brothers. Oh my god. I did not think I would get that part,” Scott said on the podcast. “And I think that's probably part of the reason I just went into the audition and just kinda went for it is because I was like, ‘There's no way.’ ”
As he explained, he wasn’t the original choice for the role.
“Someone had the role and then scheduling, they had to bail, so they had to cast it pretty quickly,” he explained. “So I got the part, and suddenly I was like, ‘Holy s—-, I'm in this like Will Ferrell movie.’ ”
The comedy was a hit thanks in large part to its absurd humor and heavy reliance on improvisation — something Scott admits he was not prepared for at the time.
“And John C. Reilly and Adam McKay [were] directing, it was a big deal. It was so fun,” Scott said. “It was kind of terrifying because those guys … they improvise a lot, and they're like the best improvisers in the world.”
He continued: “And I didn't know what I was doing. I never really even been in a comedy before. I couldn't get auditions for like sitcoms and stuff. Like, I just had no kind of comedy credentials whatsoever.”
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Thrown into the deep end of improv comedy, Scott said he had to learn on the fly.
“So I was there, and so kind of had to learn to figure it out, figure out improvisation on the set of Step Brothers,” he said. “So I equate it to, like, learning how to do the high jump at the Olympics. You know? It was crazy.”
Despite the initial nerves, the experience ultimately became a turning point.
“But I felt like, I went from having no idea what I was doing to, by the end of the four months or however long the movie took, I felt like I was starting to get the hang of it,” Scott shared.
He added that moment in particular felt like something of a breakthrough.
“I think it was like the dinner scene, and John Reilly and I started improvising about something — I don't think it's even in the movie, but we just started kind of going back and forth and kind of just flowing,” he recalled. “And you're not even thinking about it, you're just going.”
He added: “And towards the end of the shoot, and I remember after cut, John C. Reilly was like, ‘Alright. That was fun. Like, wasn't that cool? That was fun. Right?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, man.’”
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