T.J. Miller on Yogi Bear, Justin Timberlake and That Notorious Viral Video

I watched your Yogi Bear audition tape again...

That thing's great because I sent it in as a joke. Online, a lot of people said, "Oh, get a bear and act terribly, that's what you have to do to get into a movie in Hollywood?" I'm going to talk about this on Conan tonight, but I want to be here to tell everybody that I have worked for years and years as a comedian doing open mics, traveling the United States, acted in over 10 studio films. I want to tell everybody who saw that video that, yes, that all you need is a bear. If you hire a bear, you will get a movie. I have very little talent, so to speak, outside of my ability to rent a bear.

Did you hire a bear for My Idiot Brother?

No, I didn't. The part was too small.

And you weren't scared?

A lot of people ask that. I wasn't scared. It was a trained bear, and the animal trainer made it clear that his main job was to make me feel bad about the fact that anything I do could end up having me mauled. He would always say, "No, don't touch the bear; he will rip at your face." So I became scared, but they fed me some marshmallows and I felt a lot better.

How big is your part in Gulliver's Travels?

I mean, it seems like it's big from the previews, but I'm only in about the first 15 or 20 minutes. I'm sort of the catalyst for [Jack Black] to go to the little people land.

So you're his friend before he leaves?

Yeah. I got to be regular size which is the only way I would have agreed to do the film.

Why is that?

I just don't want to be little. I don't want to be in a movie where I'm little.

Is this something we should see?

Yeah, definitely. I mean, it's always fun to watch a Jack Black film.

Have you seen it yet?

I haven't seen that yet. I'm in two movies that I wouldn't necessarily rush to go see, but I think Gulliver's Travels is going to be a great movie for a Jack Black film where he goes and visit little people. Rob Letterman is a really good director, really funny. I thought Monsters and Aliens was hilarious. So I feel good about that film as well. And Yogi I've seen several times. So I know that's really enjoyable if you go into it with an open mind... and an open heart. An open heart is much more important.

Most moviegoers still know you as Hud, the guy who was eaten by Cloverfield. That was a big role considering where you were in your career. How did that happen?

Well, basically, I was in this television show called Carpoolers for a little while.

Was that the one with Jerry O'Connell?

Yes, totally. Which was canceled, so I auditioned for Cloverfield, which I was told was top secret and I couldn't talk about it. And so I basically was like, "All right, let's do it, let's see what happens." And it ended up being pretty great. I thought it was some dumb teenage romance thing, [but] they offered me the film and explained what it was, so I said, "Let's see what happens."

I know you're about to do Conan, but I was hoping to get your reaction to that video before you go.

Oh, yeah, I just loaded it. Let me watch it real quick. [Some moments later] Hey, I love that thing, it's hilarious. But they cut out right before my name would have come up, but that's OK. I just Tweeted it, I think it's hilarious. The idea is that Yogi Bear has a sense of humor about itself and I like that other people have a sense of humor with it. And I'm a comedian, so my thing across the board is that I'm much happier when people don't take something seriously then when they do. This is a great example of people not taking the movie seriously, and we're fine with that. I obviously take the movie very seriously because my performance in it is layered, dynamic and methodical...

Right.

But I'm happy an audience can enjoy it in a way that isn't as devoted as I am. You know, that animation looks pretty dope.

Did they get the end credits song correct?

No, no. They're just making up a full final fake ending. I think it's good and really funny. And I may or may not have funded it from an offshore Cayman Islands bank account, and I may not be allowed to talk about that.

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