Off The Beat with Brian Baumgartner

Brian gets to catch up with the legendary Linda Purl, whose acting, music, and baking credits are vast, but you might know as Pam’s mom on The Office. She talks about growing up in Japan, her two roles on Happy Days, and starting a new business in the bread industry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lio Tipton joins Brian to talk about their ice skating days in The Minneapple, their experience on America’s Next Top Model, and what it was like to learn from Steve Carell on set of Crazy Stupid Love. Lio also dives into BJ Novak's Vengeance, and Jake Lacy's A Friend of the Family… you won’t want to miss this one! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paul Walter Hauser (I, Tonya, BlaKkKlansman, Richard Jewell, Cobra Kai), talks to Brian about finding the specific behaviors of his character, surprising little kids on the street as Stingray, and his story of running into Tony Hawk (we know everyone has one of those) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fellow actor, podcast host, and human person Busy Philipps joins Brian to talk about the golden age of teen television, wishing she were with her boyfriend instead of on the set of Dawson’s Creek, and creating her talk show with the help of Merv Griffin’s ghost. Listen to Brian’s episode on Busy Philipps is Doing Her Best here . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Actor, comedian, and poker shark Kevin Pollak, currently starring as Moishe on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, tells Brian all about starting stand-up as a child at his family Seder, taking a chance on a little script called The Usual Suspects, and the best acting advice he ever got: do less. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brian’s new BFF Michael Rosenbaum (known for his role as Smallville’s Lex Luthor) joins him to discuss his relationship with his mother, being kind to everyone because you never know who they might be, and the stunt he pulled in his Lex Luthor audition that he doesn’t recommend (even though it worked). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Sopranos’ very own Drea de Matteo goes off the beat with Brian this week to talk about the shocking reason she became an actress, the art of truly committing to your character, and the moment she realized she was going to become a series regular as Adriana La Cerva. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brian flies solo for this week’s episode, answering fan questions and diving into everything you wanted to know about The Office fan theories, Off The Beat, Sports, and of course, what Kevin Malone might be up to in 2022. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hi, Off the Beat fans! We're excited to tell you about The Offical Game of Thrones Podcast, which takes a deep dive into House of the Dragon - the new Game of Thrones prequel from HBO. We think you'll want to hear this as you watch each episode of the TV show. Check out the trailer to see for yourself! About the Podcast : Welcome to the Official Game of Thrones Podcast: House of the Dragon. This s...

12 year veteran for the New England Patriots, 3x Super Bowl champion and Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman joins Brian to share his ultimate underdog story - from fighting his way to the NFL to meeting Bill Belichick and running into Tom Brady for the first time… almost literally. We also get some breaking news about his brand new podcast, Games with Names. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...

Known for her roles on Entourage and Superman & Lois, Emmanuelle Chriqui joins Brian to talk about everything from stagefright to Entourage reunions to defying her own expectations and working an Adam Sandler movie. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Actor Leonardo Nam of Maggie, Westworld and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants tells Brian what it’s like to be an international man of mystery, using opera as his pump-up music, and performing Shakespeare as a drag queen on roller blades. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Off the Beat: Sports, Brian is joined by the President of Programming for NBC Sports, Jon Miller. Jon tells Brian all about the last 45 years of sports television, the unlikely origin story of the National Dog Show, and reveals the secret trophy room for NBC failures hidden inside 30 Rock.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Comedian Adam Conover of Adam Ruins Everything and The G Word stops by to share his fountain of knowledge with Brian. They discuss everything from whether alpha males exist to how a punchline is born - before Adam proceeds to ruin perfectly good topics like puppies and The Office. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Danielle Fishel joins Brian to talk about being a hyper-confident child actor, growing up on the set of Boy Meets World and then returning to Girl Meets World as an adult, plus her love of Brian’s work on Trash Truck. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Basketball legend JJ Redick joins the podcast today to muse with Brian over the many ways our decisions impact our futures. They talk about the influence his big sisters had over him, the pinch-me moments in his career, and his podcast, The Old Man and the Three. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brian sits down with show biz veteran Tate Donovan - whom you may know as one of the worst TV dads in history, Jimmy Cooper, or Rachel Green’s multimillionaire love interest, Joshua Burgin. They talk everything from finding Tate’s passion for acting at four years old to why it’s not a good idea to work with your ex and the time he was told to “SHUT UP!” on set. See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

Brian heads to Lake Tahoe for the American Century Championship in today’s extra special episode. Partnering with Airbnb, he talks with some of sports and entertainments’ greatests - Adam Napier, Jerome Bettis, Jimmy Roberts, The Miz, Marcus Allen, and Vince Carter - about what brings them back year after year, and what gives them the confidence to play.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

Brian’s friend and Green Bay Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb sits down for a special sports edition of Off The Beat. He talks about selling hot dogs at his hometown college football games, the first time he visited Green Bay, and how sometimes running the wrong path can still get you the touchdown. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s an SMU reunion this week as Khary Payton AKA King Ezekiel from The Walking Dead shares his journey to the throne with Brian. They discuss how Khary painted rocks to start his first theater company, his epic tenure as Cyborg from Teen Titans, and why Kevin really should have been the (next) World’s Best Boss. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Legendary NFL running back and Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson joins his good friend Brian to kick off the Off The Beat: Sports Edition! Eric sets the record straight on his football beginnings, the infamous Pontiac Trans-Am controversy, and how his mother was the guiding force behind it all. Check out Eric’s new book, Watch My Smoke: The Eric Dickerson Story, today: https://a.co/d/738FLGM .    See o...

Brian sits down with his old friend Kevin Rahm to reminisce about the greatest movie they ever made - Moosecock. Plus, he’ll talk about working on legendary shows like Desperate Housewives and Mad Men, being mistaken for James Spader, and his namesake golf tournament that has raised $1.7 million for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital - visit therahmgolf.org for more information. See omnystudio.com/lis...

In today’s episode, Brian goes even further “off the beat” and interviews his good friend and legendary sportscaster, Joe Buck. This is the first of some sports guests to come - Joe dives deep into his career from becoming Fox’s youngest NFL announcer to his favorite baseball and football calls to signing on to broadcast for ESPN.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do graphic novels, the Boondocks and the LA Lakers have in common? Winning Time ’s Writer and Executive Producer Rodney Barnes, of course! Rodney joins Brian to talk about how he slid his way into his first Writers’ Room, the way comic books prepared him for the world, and what it’s like to write about a living history. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Actress and creator of the term “LA-ien” Anne Winters joins Brian to talk about performing live with a cucumber, how she builds an emotional arc for her characters, and joining the cast for the new season of The Orville: New Horizons, now streaming on Hulu. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.