The discomfort starts strong right out of the gate in the first episode, in which Galifianakis basically molests Michael Cera. There is a common thread of one-sided sexual tension in many of the episodes, and certainly not just with the female guests, though it may be strongest in the episode featuring Natalie Portman. It is a testament to her skill as an “acteress” that this episode is one of the most authentic, as if she were actually just in the midst of a nightmarish interview set up by the most incompetent agent imaginable. Other episodes are more clearly staged, and perhaps the weakest is the one with Will Ferrell, if only because the two are generally too chummy with each other, at least until the end.

The series is at its best when Galifianakis is openly hostile to his guests, like the episodes featuring Ben Stiller and “Brad Lee Cooper.” Though this hostility is common throughout the series, only “Conan O. Brien” gets an explanation, which is that Galifianakis thought he had a shot at “The Tonight Show.” Another especially convincing episode features Galifianakis’ “twin brother,” Seth, interviewing a wooden-faced Sean Penn, who really seems like he might haul off and punch Galifianakis at any moment. As with Portman, it is Penn’s acting skill that pulls off the joke so well.

A pitch-perfect spoof of bad, desperate public access talk shows, “Between Two Ferns” is easily one of the best offerings from the always enjoyable Funny or Die. Even the opening and closing theme music feels authentic, though it is actually lifted from Bernard Herrmann‘s “Taxi Driver” score, which adds to Galifianakis’ creepy, angry vibe. I’m not sure how well it would work as a full-length show on television, but in the small segments available online, it is hilarious.

This week’s Hidden Netflix Gem: “Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie” (2012)

Everyone who’s kept up with Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim comedy block over the past few years has heard of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, the masterminds behind “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” And everyone who’s watched the show knows that after seeing it you’ll a) never be able to watch commercials the same way again, and b) notice how much influence these two fellas have had over what is now considered “mainstream” comedy.

“Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” was a sketch show that ran from 2007 to 2010. It was freakin’ weird, to say the least, and its surrealistic, satirical humor mocking advertisements, public-access television, and everything in between has since spawned a spin-off, “Check It Out with Dr. Steve Brule,” which stars John C. Reilly, and the full-length feature “Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie” (B$M).

Here’s the thing about Tim and Eric: you seriously don’t understand what I mean when I say “weird” until you’ve seen their work for yourself. Their brand of humor takes some getting used to, and there’s a reason each episode of the show only ran for 11 minutes. I’m about to wow you with a brand new saying, but sometimes, less is more. As a result, I’m somewhat skeptical of recommending “B$M” as your first dip into the T+E pool. You really should get your feet wet first with sketches like “Griddleman,” “Prices,” “Free House for You, Jim,” Tairy Greene’s Acting Seminars for Children, and some of Brule’s Rules, and maybe even watch a few full episodes of the show (there are always a couple streaming on the Adult Swim website) before committing yourself to 94 minutes of this stuff. That said, there’s a reason Tim and Eric were the best kept secret in American comedy for so long. And a lot of the best-known names in the genre, guys like Ben Stiller, Paul Rudd, Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly and, Zach Galifianakis, made appearances on the show (the last three went on to star in the movie). The full list of cameos is certainly jarring, you might look at it and wonder how the hell you’d never heard of a show with that many big names before.

Tim and Eric are hilarious, but certainly not for everyone, and their humor is almost unexplainable until you experience it firsthand. If you watch a few sketches and find yourself enjoying them, then check out the trailer for the “Billion Dollar Movie.” But their stuff is often hate it or love it, so don’t say I didn’t warn you if 30 minutes in you feel like you’re watching the worst film ever made. The thing is, anti-humor is part of the shtick. Tim and Eric’s work (but the film especially) is meant to provoke a strong reaction one way or the other. They were actually trying to repulse just as many people as they entertained. And in that, they’ve inarguably succeeded. Just look at the Netflix user reviews, they’re nearly all five stars or one, with very little in between.

“Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie” was released earlier this year through on-demand TV and web services—which I believe is the future of movies, why pay $10 each to sit in an uncomfortable theater when you can pool the money together without leaving the couch? But that’s a story for a different day. Anyway, I’ll give you the synopsis, but it’s really irrelevant. The fact that the guys could even string together a semi-coherent plot line to go along with their “jokes” is nothing short of amazing. What you need to know is this: It’s Tim and Eric. It’s a movie. Great job!

Tim and Eric are given a billion dollars to make a movie, but squander every dime… and the sinister Schlaaang corporation is pissed. With their lives at stake, the guys skip town in search of a way to pay the money back. When they happen upon a chance to rehabilitate a bankrupt mall full of vagrants, bizarre stores and a man-eating wolf that stalks the food court, they see dollar signs-a billion of them.

Follow the writer on Twitter @NateKreichman.

The first episode features Mark Gagliardi recounting the story of Alexander Hamilton’s famous duel with Aaron Burr after drinking a bottle of Scotch. Though it is unclear how large the bottle was, it was clearly quite a bit of liquor, as he spends most of his segment reclined on a couch with a bucket nearby, just in case. Hamilton is played by a suitably innocent-looking Michael Cera in the reenactment, but the real show-stealer is Jake Johnson in a brilliantly shifty-eyed performance as the loathsome Aaron Burr. In episode 2, Eric Falconer takes on the famous story of Benjamin Franklin‘s discovery of electricity, expounding upon his theory that it was actually Franklin’s “bastard son,” William (Clark Duke), who actually flew the legendary kite with the key tied to it. This is also the series’ first instance of vomiting in the midst of the storytelling, but not its last, so be warned that the series is not for the weak-stomached. Jack Black portrays Franklin again in a special volume 2.5 episode, in which Falconer tells a hilarious tale of Franklin’s sexual deviance.

Episode 3 features Jen Kirkman‘s account of Oney Judge (Tymberlee Hill), a female slave of George Washington (Danny McBride) that is especially funny because of the way the actors incorporate Kirkman’s frequent hiccups into their performances. The fourth episode features J.D. Ryznar‘s unwise decision to drink vodka and beer together, which obviously leads to more vomiting, and his account of the U.S. president William Henry Harrison (Paul Schneider), who died after only 32 days in office. Jen Kirkman returns for episode 5, in which Don Cheadle gives a hilarious performance as Frederick Douglass; there is something especially funny about Kirkman’s slurred words coming out of this revered actor’s mouth. Finally, in episode 6, Duncan Trussell follows six beers with a half-bottle of absinthe, and more vomiting ensues. He also tells the story of Nikola Tesla (John C. Reilly) and his contentious relationship with Thomas Edison (the always intensely weird Crispin Glover).

These are the only official episodes of the series (plus a very special Christmas episode included below), so beware of the unofficial knockoffs, most of which are pretty terrible. In fact, the one I linked to there is pretty much the only one that’s watchable, and it’s still nowhere near as good as the real thing. In addition to the recognizable stars, look for Waters’ name and also that of series director Jeremy Konner to avoid being duped.

Hopefully you’ve realized that this is Father’s Day and you’ve already picked up some cool gifts. If not, check out our guide for some last minute gift ideas, and you can always go with booze, though in some areas you can’t buy it on Sundays.

Looking back on the week, season two of “Game of Thrones” came to an end, and Nate Kreichman took at look back at the highlights of another excellent season. Tyrion Lannister (played by Emmy Award winning actor Peter Dinklage) is probably our favorite character on TV these days, as his approach to life in many ways mirrors that of our staff.

You might remember the lovely Génesis Rodríguez from her season 7 appearances on Entourage, and Bob Westal caught up with her in connection with her role opposite budding Latin American leading man Will Ferrell (pronounced “Wheel Fer-all”) in the over-the-top Spanish language Mexploitation/telenovela spoof, “Casa de mi Padre.” Check out our 5 questions interview with Génesis.

You can also check out our review of the Entourage Season 8 DVD. It wasn’t the best season for that show, so you might want to check out Season 8 of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” instead.

It’s hard to believe that “Dallas” has been revived with Bobby and J.R. Ewing coming back with a new crop of young soap-opera styled actors and actresses. This naturally inspired Will Harris to take a look back at some other famous and not-so-famous TV revivals.

Joe Gustafson has a great piece on the Triumph Bonneville and how it brings 60s cool to the new millennium. You can find stories on more bikes on our new motorcycle channel.

For our car review last week we had the BMW 335i Sedan, which naturally put a smile on our reviewers face. Also, publisher Gerardo Orlando flew out to Salt Lake City this past week to drive the 2013 Mustang Boss on a race track, so check back next week for that story.

Meanwhile, in theaters, “Rock of Ages” is a dud according to David Medsker.

“Casa de mi Padre”

Will Ferrell’s Spanish-language comedy “Casa de mi Padre” is exactly what you’d expect from the “Saturday Night Live” alum; although it’s good for a few laughs, the one-joke concept results in more misses than hits. Ferrell plays Armando Alvarez, the eldest son of a Mexican rancher in danger of losing his land. When Armando’s brother Raul (Diego Luna) returns home with his new fiancée (Genesis Rodriguez) pledging to save the ranch, he inadvertently thrusts the family into a war with a local drug lord (Gael Garcia Bernal). Essentially a telenovela done in the style of a grindhouse film, “Casa de mi Padre” is amusing at times, but it never amounts to more than a few chuckles. This is one very odd movie – even more than the typical Will Ferrell comedy – complete with musical numbers (“You No Se” is not only funny, but catchy as well), painted set backgrounds and talking animal puppets. Ferrell handles the challenge of acting entirely in Spanish remarkably well, but it’s a gimmick that loses its charm pretty fast. Fans of the actor will enjoy his latest in a series of bizarre career moves, but for everyone else, the film’s quirkiness only goes so far.

“Sleepwalk with Me”

Most stand-up comics probably only dream about making a movie as funny and honest as Mike Birbiglia’s “Sleepwalk with Me,” let alone one that marks their directorial debut. Based on his one-man show (which was in turn inspired by actual events from his life), Birbiglia stars as a fictional version of himself, an aspiring comedian who hasn’t had a whole lot of luck in life apart from his amazing girlfriend Abby (Lauren Ambrose). When their eight-year relationship hits a standstill after Mike expresses his objection to marriage, he hits the road to improve his act, all the while growing farther apart from Abby and dealing with a dangerous sleep behavior disorder. Reminiscent of Woody Allen’s films in a lot of ways, “Sleepwalk with Me” is a witty and consistently funny human comedy about the fear of commitment. Much like his character’s stand-up in the film, the story is entertaining because it’s so personal, and he makes it even more so by narrating the movie with brief snippets of POV segments littered throughout. It’ll be interesting to see how the general public receives “Sleepwalk with Me” when it’s finally released in theaters, because the movie is so good that if you weren’t a fan of Mike Birbiglia beforehand, you will be afterwards.

“Intruders”

There wasn’t a lot of horror on tap at SXSW this year, which is probably why Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s “Intruders” feels like such a big letdown. More than anything else, it’s just not very scary, with Clive Owen starring as the father of a young girl who believes she’s being stalked by a faceless bogeyman named Hollowface. Though he writes it off as a nightmare at first, he soon becomes a believer after witnessing the menacing figure try to abduct his daughter. Meanwhile, in Spain, a young boy is having the same terrifying visions, prompting his mother to seek help from the local priest. While the first act does a pretty good job of setting up the two stories and building tension, however, it never really goes anywhere. Instead, the audience is forced to sit through a number of supposedly frightening situations without so much as a scare, and it quickly becomes repetitive to the point that you lose interest. But where “Intruders” really drops the ball is in the final ten minutes, dragged down by a flimsy twist ending that is not only predictable, but requires Fresanadillo’s to cheat a little to get there. I admire the attempt at creating something original, but when a horror film can’t even play by the rules, there’s no point in watching.

Be sure to check out our interview with the “Casa de mi Padre” cast and crew, including Will Farrell, Diego Luna, Génesis Rodríguez, Nick Offerman, and writer Andrew Steele!

If you’re a regular viewer of Telemundo telenovelas such as “Prisionera,” “Dame Chocolate” and “Doña Bárbara,” it’s a bit odd you’re reading an online men’s magazine. If you have watched them, however, odds are you are already a fan of the beautiful young woman whose full name is Génesis Rodríguez Pérez. A second generation Latin American TV star — her father is Venezuelan legend José Luis Rodríguez, aka “el Puma” — Ms. Rodríguez (“La Pumita”) is Miami born and bred. She is, to say the least, equally loquacious in both Spanish and English and, in the nicest possible way, just a bit wacky in her approach to chatting up the press. So much so, in fact, we expect her to conquer Hollywood shortly.

A seasoned veteran with plenty of onscreen gravitas at the shockingly young age of 24, she makes a entirely credible romantically conflicted leading lady opposite budding Latin American leading man Will Ferrell (pronounced “Wheel Fer-all”) in the over-the-top Spanish language Mexploitation/telenovela spoof, “Casa de mi Padre.” “Casa” however, is not Ms. Rodríguez’s only recent brush with the big time. After a relatively small part as one of Turtle’s bevy of attractive drivers on “Entourage,” she has also appeared in her first really big American movie as Jamie Bell’s girlfriend in the hit thriller, “Man On a Ledge.” The high profile production also gave her a scene with thespian living legend Ed Harris (see a photo from the film below, before question #4). Her next gig is “Hours,” an intense drama set during Hurricane Katrina and co-starring Paul Walker.

Clearly, Génesis Rodríguez is more than holding her own in the world of Yanqui entertainment. She certainly gave much better than she got when it was time for us to ask her five questions.

1. Who’s more intimidating, Ed Harris or Will Ferrell?

Ed Harris, because Will Ferrell’s a teddy bear. Will Ferrell’s the sweetest individual you could ever come across. Ed Harris is very method, so if he plays a villain, good God. You’re going to be scared. You’re going to be very scared.

2. You obviously did just fine in the movie, but since this was your first big, funny movie with some pretty major comedy talent, are we going to see your cracking up all over the “Casa de mi Padre” Blu-ray?

I really tried to keep it together. There were moments. I don’t take myself very seriously, as you can see; I’m kind of a goofball. I kind of get nervous when people are extremely intense. So I tend to crack. I just start laughing for no reason. If someone has an accidental fall or something, and they’re hurt, I can’t help it. It just happens out of nervousness. So, I really had to learn how to keep it together. I didn’t want to be that jerk that Will hired that’s a newbie that can’t hang around the comedy people.

I had to say different, random things in my head, like, “This isn’t funny, Génesis, why don’t you just come on?” “He’s not funny.” “This is not funny, come on.” I would think about my grandmother and what I was going to eat later and just random things to keep my mind occupied — as well as thinking about my acting. It’s a very complicated thing to do!

3. Since this is for an online men’s magazine, I am forced to ask you about “Entourage.” What was the best thing and what was the worst thing about your stint there?

The best thing was just the people who do “Entourage.” They’re so very respectful. They’re a very nice group of guys to hang out with on set.

The worst thing about it is that I was hired to be a driver and I didn’t know how to drive. I had to drive the car and I didn’t know how to do that. They said, “Hey, Gen, this is a $500,000 car. Are you okay with this?”

And I said, “No, see, I don’t know how to drive.” So, they had to get a stunt [person] for my little part in “Entourage,” which I find to be very ridiculous.

4. And what’s the best and the worst thing about being a telenovela superstar?

Telenovelas have a stigma to them but it’s part of our culture. People don’t know how hard it is to be in a telenovela. It’s 18 hour workdays, Monday through Saturday, for eleven to [16] months straight. No breaks. We only had Sunday off. We really became vegetables by the end of it. It was extreme hard work.

The good thing about it was the audience that we got. We were on the air five days a week and we were in prime time. People were watching us when they were cooking, or putting the kids to bed, or eating dinner. You really became a part of their home. When people recognize me, they hug me, they kiss me, and they love you because you’re part of their family.

The same thing. When I see someone from a telenovela that I love, I kind of melt. I kind of melt because I adore them. You don’t even know the person but you feel like you love them. That’s the beauty of a soap opera; it’s a very special fan, a very special audience.

5. Speaking of your telenovela work, Will Ferrell has publicly marveled at your ability to cry on cue. What’s the secret?

This is something you learn doing a soap opera. It’s something that you automatically know that you just have to do. People get scared when they hear that, especially men. They’re like, “Ohhh — this one; she knows how to cry on command. This is kind of scary.” But you kind of can tell when I’m faking it.

You can tell because when I really cry, my face just completely distorts and morphs into another ugly, ugly face. My chin starts trembling and that’s when it really hurts to cry. The tears thing — it’s just technique. It’s just like anything else, for me. Which is a gift, I know. I know, it’s a gift. Do you want me to do it right now?

[We were initially startled, but of course we did!]

You don’t have a camera, but you’ll see.

[At this point, Ms. Rodríguez took a gulp of water. An intense, but not particularly disturbed, look crossed her face as she began the tearing up process. Her voice got noticeably more quiet, but she continued talking.]

It’s coming…You get glassy. You just start getting watery. I’m not thinking about absolutely anything. It’s coming. You see it? You can’t see it yet? It’s going to happen.

[And sure enough, the waterworks flow. Very impressive.]

It’s nothing. I could talk about cupcakes and dogs. I can talk about happy things and rainbows.

Be sure to check out our 5 Questions interview with the beautiful and talented Génesis Rodríguez to read how she learned to cry on command!

Everyone in show business knows that comedy is hard. Apparently, however, it’s not hard enough for Will Ferrell. The SNL-bred all around comic superstar decided sometime ago he wanted to make a film in Spanish. He didn’t know what the movie would be about, but one thing was clear, the far from fluent Farrell would need to learn his part semi-phonetically, which by all accounts is every bit as difficult to do as you might imagine.

With the help of writer Andrew Steele and first-time feature director Matt Piedmont, that movie evolved into “Casa de mi Padre” (“House of My Father”). A broad but reasonably affectionate and detail-oriented spoof of telenovelas and Mexican and American exploitation movies, the film stars Farrell in one of his best performances yet as the 100% virtuous Armando Alvarez. Armando’s unwavering good guy nature is tested by the disrespect of his wealthy patriarch dad (the late Pedro Armendáriz Jr.) as well as the fact that his beloved brother, Raul (Diego Luna), has become a powerful narco at war with the ultra villainous La Onza (Gael García Bernal). Even more challenging is the increasingly melodramatic mutual attraction betwixt Armando and Raul’s fiercely stunning fiancée, Sonia (Génesis Rodríguez).

Bullz-Eye was fortunate enough to meet with several members of the cast and crew one day earlier this month. Along with comedy superstar Ferrell, we met with Latin-American heart-throb and respected U.S. actor Diego Luna, who may still be best known stateside for co-starring in 2001′s hyper-sexual “Y Tu Mamá También” with real-life lifelong best pal and “Casa” co-narco Gael García Bernal. Also along for the ride was fast rising comic actor Nick Offerman of “Parks and Recreation,” who portrays a bigoted DEA Agent. To discuss behind-the-camera matters we also spoke with screenwriter Andrew Steele (“The Ladies Man”). Also present at the event was the beguiling Génesis Rodríguez, who is the subject of a separate “5 Questions” feature.

Below are some highlights of the rather freewheeling discussions.

Will Ferrell on how “Casa de mi Padre” came to be.

I had always thought that it could be interesting to put myself in the middle of a Spanish language movie and fully commit to speaking Spanish. That heightened world of the telenovela meets the bad Mexican spaghetti western — all of that seemed like it could be a recipe for a type of movie you hadn’t seen before.

Diego Luna on his opinion of Will Ferrell’s Spanish.

He sounds perfect. You understand everything, basically. I was very worried. Forty days before we started shooting, I sat down in a bar with him and the director and he knew no Spanish at all. He couldn’t speak it.

He said, “Yeah, well, I’m gonna try.” Thirty days later he gave this two-minute monologue and, in fact, he makes sense. He understands what he’s saying. That was impressive, and [it was also] very impressive that two weeks after he forgot everything.

Will Ferrell on learning his lines in Spanish

Patrick Perez, who translated the script from English into Spanish, I kind of got to know him and he said, “Hey, I’m willing to work with you on your Spanish if you want.” I said “That’d be great.” We just started working about a month to six weeks out in front of the movie, meeting three or four times a week. Once we started filming, we would drive to the set every day and drive home every day. In the morning, [we'd] work on the scene or scenes for that day. On the way home, [we'd] start to work on the next day, to try to just embed it into my brain.

Every day I finished I felt like I’d wrapped an entire movie. It was just “Groundhog Day.” Diego and I laugh about because he improvised every take and I had no idea. “Okay, he’s finished? Now, I go.”

Farrell on the efficacy of Rosetta Stone language learning software.

I actually got it, believe it or not, but it was so frickin’ hard to set up and figure out how to use, that I [gave up on it]. Someone had written something like, “You’re a walking advertisement for Rosetta Stone.” I want to blatantly put out there, do not use Rosetta Stone. It’s really hard to use.

Writer Andrew Steele on absorbing the necessary South of the Border pop culture.

I did a lot of watching of ’40′s, 50′s, and 60′s Mexican cinema, which to me is the real Mexican cinema. They all turned to shit in the ’70′s and ’80′s. I got a lot of those videos. Those are fun to watch because it’s fun to watch low-budget filmmaking. We didn’t want to just parody that style, but there’s a lot of great things you can learn watching. I remember one Mexican movie where they didn’t even have enough money to have fake boxes. They had two boxes — they were taking off drugs from the back of a truck — and they kept cutting to the same two boxes.

Nick Offerman on getting the “Casa de mi Padre” gig

For years I’ve been friends with Will and I often wondered if he knew I was an actor, which is true. I got to be friends with him when my wife [Megan Mullally of "Will and Grace"] hosted SNL. I was Megan’s husband.

We’d enjoy each other’s company but, unless you’re a douchebag, if you’re friends with somebody like Will, you don’t go out to dinner and [say] “By the way, you know I’ve done Chekhov, right? I’m quite funny. Could you pass the butter, please?”…So [getting the part] was a crazy surprise, and I cried.

Will Ferrell elaborating on how it felt to know that his co-stars were improvising en Español, even though he couldn’t understand what they were saying.

Ignorance is bliss. When you don’t realize people are improvising, it’s okay.

There were a couple of moments I was able to do something physically or in terms of a reaction. I just put all my faith in the fact that speaking Spanish for an entire movie was enough.

Diego Luna on the fact that Will Ferrell would not always know when he was improvising.

That was cool, but you know what was even better? Not even the director knew what I was doing. I would say, “You liked it? I just changed a few words.” I could say anything I wanted.

It was fun. It was weird, you know. Because, at the beginning I thought, “we’re doing a film with Will Ferrell.” Suddenly, Will Ferrell was this guy who was attached to a piece of paper and a dialect coach talking to him. He looked like a monk in a corner just praying these weird mantras….

As he soon as they would say “action,” though, something happens, because the guy is so intense and also so funny. I would be struggling to stay serious until the end of the takes. Also, the director would leave the reactions for a minute like they do in soap operas. So, you finish the sentence and you have four seconds of us looking at each other. It was tough to stay in control.

Writer and non-Spanish speaker Steele on the vagaries of having your screenplay translated into another language.

I wrote a script that has a lot of areas that are purposefully very bad. Bad English. Bad writing. It’s a style that I really enjoy. The translator has to understand…he can’t fix it. He has to try to get my style. So I got a translator, Patrick Perez, who ended up understanding what we were trying to do — for the most part. I’m, of course, in the dark here, but Diego seemed to understand it. Gael seemed to understand it. Interestingly, [recently deceased septuagenarian film legend Pedro Armendáriz Jr.] said, “this is a shitty translation!”

Nick Offerman on playing the Spanish-mangling DEA Agent

It was fun, especially the way Agent Parker disrespects the Spanish language. He knows enough to speak it grammatically, because he needs to for his job, but I feel like he shows such a lack of respect in his pronunciation. “I’m gonna speak your shitty language, but I’m not going to be happy about it.”

[As for myself, however] I would take some Latino street cred from drinking a lot of Jarritos soda and I know what the suffix “ito” and “ote” mean. For example, I would prefer you call me Nicolasote [Big Nick] to Nicolasito [Little Nick/Nicky].

Will Ferrell on how the heroic Armando Alvarez fits in with his other characters.

He is not in the overconfident, cocky mold. He is very sweet and super earnest about his beliefs. It’s almost cliché how he is the moral center of the movie. He only wants to do good, despite the fact that his family thinks he’s a little slow and dumb and speaks funny [and are drug dealers]. He’s not someone who has that confidence and you’re thinking, “Why is he so confident?” He’s just an earnest guy.

Diego Luna on his approach to playing the amoral, yet beloved, Raul Alvarez.

Behind that character there was another character, which was this terrible actor who was allowed to do anything he wanted. You know what happens with actors? With the same line they want to cry, smile, make you cry. It’s like everything needs to happen to me all the time so I can show you how much I can stretch my emotions. This actor allowed himself to do the weirdest choices; this actor would allow himself to stay in the frame too long in order to make sure he’s in the film…that’s just complete fun.

Nick Offerman on whether he modeled the bigoted Agent Parker on any particular person or character.

I based him, pretty specifically, on this nun that taught my catechism in school, named Sister Jesuinna. She hated the Latinos. She would beat them. [Laughter in a room that was roughly 3/4 Latino.] No, Sister Jesuinna was super cool. We had her in eighth grade and she brought Playboy magazine to Sunday school…she loved Latinos, and all people.

Will Ferrell on being the onscreen lover in two recent films of two Latino mega-beauties, “Casa” co-star Génesis Rodríguez and Eva Mendes of “The Other Guys.”

If you can create those kind of situations fictionally, why not? [Laughter] I think that’s just coincidence. In “The Other Guys” it was a running joke that it would be funny that my straitlaced character had this hot wife, “like an Eva Mendes.” Then, sure enough, we were able to actually get Eva Mendes.

In this case, we knew the heroine was going to be, hopefully, the type of leading woman you’d see in one of these soap operas. The amazing thing about Génesis was, she was the first actress to audition and we saw a ton of talented actresses. She kind of blew us away. We found out later that she worked on a telenovela for like six years.

Without even giving her a note, she was super serious with the material, she got herself to cry at one point…[I said] “How do you do that?” She said, “You just learn to cry on cue.”

She was sitting there [thinking] “why are they laughing so hard?” It was the first time we’d heard it read and you’re doing it so real and committed. We couldn’t get her out of our mind.

Diego Luna on filming his alcohol and nicotine loving character’s final scene.

It was very tough. They said there are all these elements that we’re going to blow up — like a bomb here, gun shots here, the fountain was going to explode. They said, “Well, you might be safe if you go through here.” And I said, “through where?” They didn’t even draw [me a picture] or anything. They had four cameras and just one shot. They said, “We cannot reload these and there’s no money to do it and no time. So, please, go to the end. No matter what happens, get to the end.”

I took it very seriously and I said, “I don’t care what happens but my drink and my cigarette are going to stay with me until the very end of this shot.” It was so much fun. So stupid, oh my God.

Will Ferrell on his next, politically themed, comedy.

I just finished “The Campaign” with Zach Galifianakis. That’ll come out in August, right before the conventions, I think. It’s the story of a small congressional race in North Carolina. I’m a four-time incumbent who usually runs unopposed. I only have aspirations of becoming Vice President, that’s it. Zach is a member of a big, prestigious political family. He’s kind of the black sheep and they run him against me. It’s basically just a vehicle for us to make fun of how insane this political season has been.

Diego Luna on whether he thinks “Casa de mi Padre” will go over in the Spanish speaking world.

I have no idea. I hope it does. They’ve been asking me a lot: What do I think? [Are] people going to get offended in Mexico? What I’m saying, because I truly believe it, is I think they’re going to be more offended here. The few lines [Will Ferrell] says about Americans — whoa.

I have a line I love which is where my character, the drug dealer, is trying to explain to his brother. “Look, I’m not a bad guy. I would sell chocolates if America wanted to buy chocolates, but they want drugs, and they want a lot…” I would love that to go out and make people laugh in the States. Then, there might be a chance that, at the end, they’ll think about it and say, “Well, yeah, probably this amount of violence happening [in Mexico] has something to do with us.”

Bullz-Eye: So this is a pretty sweet gig you’ve got here.

Jon Heder: Uh…doing all these interviews? [Laughs.]

BE: Well, not necessarily that. I really meant you’ve got a gig where you don’t even necessarily have to wear pants.

JH: Oh, right! Which is appropriate, since Napoleon hardly ever wears pants on the show, either. [Laughs.] But, no, you’re right: this is a sweet gig. And I’m hoping that it continues and finds success. That’d be awesome.

BE: Well, I watched the first two episodes, and they were fun.

JH: I mean, it could possibly be the best job ever, because I love the work, I love the material, it’s, not, like, “Oh, all right.” I love “Napoleon.” And you’re going in, you’re recording, it’s easy scheduling…it could be the best job ever.

BE: Obviously you know the character pretty well. How much in terms of voice acting did you learn from doing films like “Surf’s Up” and “Monster House”?

JH: I’ve learned a lot, but…I don’t know if they necessarily prepped me for this, because…I was trying to create new, different voices and things for “Surf’s Up” and “Monster House.” This was a character I already knew and I knew what I was doing. I suppose doing all of those days of ADR on those films helped.

BE: Was it any trouble to find the Napoleon voice again?

JH: It took maybe five seconds. [Laughs.] It wasn’t too bad. I mean, at first, I definitely felt like one of the many college students who’ve done impersonations that I’ve seen on YouTube or whatever. Or just heard. Like, “Eat your freaking tots!” And as soon as I said it, it was, like, “Oh, uh…” And then I went, “No, no, no, I can own this. I mean, this is me! I am him!” [Laughs.] So it wasn’t too bad.

BE: How many horrible impressions of Napoleon have you heard over the years?

JH: Well, I was telling my wife the other day, “Is this horrible to say?” And it must be because it’s me, because it’s my voice, but…they’re all horrible. [Laughs.] I mean, it’s funny, but if you’re talking in terms of how good they are, none of them come close. And I would know, because it’s me! [Laughs.] But if I tried to take a more objective point of view, then, yes, I’ve probably heard a lot of good ones, too.

BE: When I talked to Diedrich (Bader) earlier, he said the moment he realized the movie was starting to become a phenomenon was when he was doing a recording session, a kid came in, and the kid’s jaw just dropped. And then the kid started reciting lines from the film, saying that he’d seen it, like, ten times already.

JH: Oh, my gosh.

BE: Did you have a similar moment, where you were, like, “Hey, this is a thing”?

JH: Oh, there were so many moments like that. You know, every single time a moment like that happens, you’re, like, “Oh, my gosh…” And then another one happens! Aaron (Ruell) brought up one earlier, talking about when we were body-scanned for “Napoleon Dynamite” figurines. [Laughs.] For me, though, I think it’d have to be when we were at the MTV Video Music Awards, because it’s such a pop cultural…the significance that it has in pop culture, saying, “This is the coolest of the cool, this is what kids of this young generations loves and thinks is awesome and kick-ass.” And “Napoleon Dynamite” won that year. It was, like, “Really?” None of those big-budget movies. No “Spider-Man,” nothing like that. And when we won it, it was, like, “Geez, okay, I guess people like it!” [Laughs.]

BE: And yet it’s a film that inspires a love-it-or-hate-it mentality. You’ve got people who swear by it, then you’ve got people who simply do not think it’s funny, no matter how many times they try to watch it. Does that surprise you, or can you see that?

JH: That they don’t understand it? Yeah, I can see that. I mean, it feels naïve to say, “I don’t know what they’re talking about, because you can’t argue with millions of Americans.” But I have met a few of them. And I’m sure there are more of them who are keeping their mouth shut. [Laughs.] But I guess it makes sense. It’s like with any comedy or character. Not everybody’s going to connect. If you grew up and had a completely different childhood and upbringing, then I could see it not making sense at all.

BE: I like that you own the fact that Napoleon’s voice is not so terribly different from your own.

JH: Uh, yeah, it wasn’t a stretch. [Laughs.] I definitely felt like I was putting on a voice, but it wasn’t like a crazy cartoon voice or anything. I so remember clearly when I read the script for the very first time, and it was, like, “This is my younger brother. This is how I when I was younger.” Just that angst that you feel when you’re younger. And when you’re a younger brother, and you feel that your older siblings are the world, and the world is against you.

BE: At one point during the panel, you commented on how you get to stretch your emotional range with Napoleon in the series. I think several people were surprised to hear that. [Note: I was one of them. I actually Tweeted it at the time.]

JH: [Laughs.] Yeah, I mean, I’m surprised to see it again. All through the recording…I mean, it’s all done on a sound stage, and you forget about a lot of it, but it was very weird at times where it was, like, “Okay, he’s got to laugh or giggle here. How do I do that? Let’s work on it a little.” Or, like, having him cry. These moments, they’re so quick, but it’s, like, we never did anything quick in the movie. Everything was so thought out and so important, and it was, “This is this, this is that.”But even in the last recording session we did, which was earlier this week, there’s a scene – it’s a joke, really – where he’s coming out of a theater and he’s crying, even though it’s, like, “Three Amigos” on the marquee. But he’s crying, and I was just, “Oh, you guys are probably used to telling Dan Castellaneta or the rest of the ‘Simpsons’ guys, ‘Okay, we just need a quick cry.’” [Laughs.] But I’m, like, “Wait, this is a serious, emotional moment? Napoleon’s crying…?” I didn’t know he could cry. Or would cry. So, yeah, that was fun.

BE: Had you ever considered what happened to Napoleon after the movie?

JH: Uh, yeah, we’ve been talking about that a lot today. [Laughs.] And it typically went pretty depressing. But then I came up with a good scenario. I could very well see him, like, maybe doing a little bit of community college and not having a lot of success with finding satisfying work there, just always, ‘Oh, this is lame.’ So he moves to the jungle. Maybe the Congo. Or South America. Somewhere like that, either with Greenpeace or some non-profit organization. Or becoming a cryptozoologist, hanging out with these underpaid guys, working off of government or city grants. He’s, like, “Okay, we’re going to catch the next giant fish monster that lives in this lake. We’re going to prove it exists.” I could see him doing that.

BE: Have you been back to Preston since you shot the movie?

JH: Well, we went back there a year after we originally shot the movie to shoot Kip and LaFawnduh’s wedding. But that was it. I mean, I know they were doing some “Napoleon Dynamite” festivals, and I was always curious to see one. I’d love to go back, though, festival or no. I’d just like to see the town, see what’s changed and how they reacted to the movie. It’d be cool.

BE: I know I’m going to have to wrap up in a moment, so I just wanted to ask you about a couple of your other films, the first one being “Benchwarmers.”

JH: “I love beef stew.” [Laughs.] Working with those guys was great. That was probably…I mean, next to “Napoleon,” it’s one of the most fun films I’ve made. It was all outside, and…it was a treat. Because it was easy. I mean, it was very laid back. But they had a big enough budget that they could treat us right. We played hacky-sack all day long. If we weren’t on the field throwing balls, we were playing hacky-sack. We joked around a lot, too. David Spade and Nick Swardson I became pretty close with. And just working with these guys who’ve been in the business so long…they were humble and so easy to work with. It really felt more like I was giving to the kids. There were kids in it, and kids loved it. It was great.

BE: What’s your next favorite film beyond that?

JH: “Blades of Glory.” In fact… [Hesitates.] It’s probably my favorite film since “Napoleon.” It was fun to make, but it was hard work. And I absolutely loved working with Will Ferrell. That was a dream come true. I love making films where you learn a skill. I love learning to ice skate.

BE: Did you learn any magic for “When in Rome”?

JH: I did take some magic training. Magic was harder. [Laughs.] You know, I learned enough for the film. But ice skating definitely became more of a passion. It’s not the easiest hobby to keep up. But I went roller skating the other day, and what I learned on the ice has served me well. [Laughs.]

BE: Lastly, how was the experience of hosting “Saturday Night Live”?

JH: I loved it. Again, that was a dream come true. I’ve had a lot of dreams come true. [Laughs.] But, I mean, “SNL”? It still boggles my brain that I did it. I thought it was going to be nerve-wracking, and it was, but, honestly, although I thought my feelings afterward was going to be, “I never want to do that again,” but I would totally do it again. I was worried I’d be scared, but I had such a blast that I’d totally do it again.