Rob Huebel on Childrens Hospital, Life as We Know It and Playing George Clooney's Best Friend

You've also got a supporting role in Life As We Know It.

It was really fun. The movie is a total girl movie. If you have a penis, you will probably not see this movie; if you have a vagina, this will probably be your favorite movie ever. It's really good. It's Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel and they're raising this baby they sort of inherited. I'm with a group of other comedians as the annoying neighbors, giving terrible advice. I'm gay in the movie, but I don't play it as a stereotype; I play it as me. So it's basically me-as-Rob Huebel hitting on Josh Duhamel. It's funny and everything. I just feel like if you're a dude, you don't want to see a movie with a baby in it; you want to see a movie with a car chase, which leads into a crash, which leads into a shark attack, which leads into another car chase.

I must say, I was a bit surprised to see you starring...

That I would do a mainstream romcom...

Yes, exactly. What made you take the part?

What I wanted to do was cockblock myself for the next ten years. I figured if I could get myself into a movie that only girls will see and then I'm gay in the movie, girls will think I'm gay in real life and stop bothering me. No. Come on. I looked at my part and I thought I could do it and be funny. I had a phone call with the director -- Greg Berlanti, who's great -- and he was all for getting really funny improvisers in the movie. So it's me, Andy Daly, Will Sasso, Jessica St. Claire, Melissa McCarthy. He wanted us to riff a lot of the time and improvise. So even if it's not a movie that is not necessarily my taste, as long as I can be funny in it, that's all I really care about.

And you have another surprising movie on your resume: The Descendants.

I shot this movie that Alexander Payne directed -- and there's this other guy in it that you may have heard of named...George Clooney? Yeah I think that's right: George Clooney. But yeah, I shot a part in this movie in Hawaii which was just amazing. Alexander Payne is one of my favorite directors; he is the man.

It's based on the book by Kaui Hart Hemmings and deals with some pretty serious stuff. What's your role?

In the movie I play George's best friend. So all my scenes are with him. It's really terrible what a cool person he is. It's off-putting. He has everything in the world going for him. He's super good looking, politically involved and super smart and also hilarious. So you meet him and you're basically like: "OK buddy, what the f**k? How did you get everything in the world?" He's just the coolest guy. That was a great, great experience.

Was it a nerve-wracking experience for you to be involved with what will undoubtedly be a high-profile, Oscar-bait-y type film?

It is sort of intimidating. It's not a comedy movie. There are some funny moments, but it's a fairly serious story. I come from a comedy background, so first I was a little bit concerned about it. But those guys -- people at that level, Payne and Clooney -- they know what they're doing. When you get there, they make you feel so comfortable that you don't have to worry about anything. Alexander said something like the first day we were on set. Like, "I don't want anyone to be nervous or remotely uptight about this, because I cast you and you're in the movie because you're a great person and I see you as this character in this movie. So from here on out let's just have fun and enjoy each other." So nerves go away then. You don't think, "Whoa, this could be really great!" You don't worry about what might be with the movie, you just try to enjoy yourself and do a good job.

How did you get the part?

I had to audition a couple of times. I originally read for a different part and then I got called back for the part of like Clooney's best friend, who lives down the street. Then I got a call on my phone from Alexander Payne and -- I saved the message, of course, because eventually when my life bottoms out and I become addicted to crystal meth and I'm a prostitute on Santa Monica Blvd., I'd like to have that message. It was really the high point of my career.

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