Ed Helms Might Be Growing Into More ‘Maturing Adult’ Roles, but He’s Still Ready for That ‘Vacation’ Sequel

Things were, let’s say, a bit fraught leading up to this interview with Ed Helms.

In the minutes before it was supposed to kick off, the maître d’ of the Toronto hotel restaurant where this interview was initially supposed to take place informed the film’s publicist there would be a $75 fee per person, just to sit down. What made this comical was it was 2 p.m. and the restaurant was almost completely empty. An explanation that we just needed a small table for an interview with a famous actor fell on deaf ears. In fact, this seemed to result in the maître d’ digging in his heels even further, no doubt already counting that lucrative $150 windfall.

The restaurant idea was abandoned and, instead, an extremely small table was located on the floor below the main lobby. I was told to hold the table while the publicist found Helms. This was a pretty desolate floor of the hotel, so I assumed it was safe to get up for a few seconds to throw something away. I was gone for maybe 15 seconds when a man started to sit at this table. “Oh, sorry, we are using that,” I said. He looked at me, looked around, then made that, “what do you want me to do about it?,” gesture in which there’s both a shrug and an incredulous head shake.

I said, “But I was told to hold this table for Ed Helms!” He made the exact same gesture.

Eventually, properly annoyed enough, he got up. At this moment, a smiling Ed Helms walks up and I say to the man, “See, look! It’s Ed Helms!” The man made this same gesture for the third time.

Helms asked what that was all about. I said, “He had sat down at our table.”

Helms replied, “That’s bold, this is a really small table.”

I said, “Well, I wasn’t sitting at it.”

Helms concludes, “I think this one might be on you.”

Helms had three films playing at the Toronto International Film Festival this year, which kept him very busy and unsure of just which of these three films we were talking about. The answer is “The Stunt Driver.” Directed by Michael Dowse, it’s the true story of Ken Carter, a Canadian stuntman (played by Jay Baruchel) who, fueled by his competitiveness with American stuntman Evel Knievel, attempted to jump a car a full mile over the Saint-Laurent river.

Based on the documentary “The Devil at Your Heels,” Helms plays Dick Keller, an engineer who is also the “guy who gets things done” and “knows what he’s talking about.” It’s interesting to listen to Helms talk about his career and how it’s progressing, in that he looks at this role as both a way to branch out — Helms is well-aware he usually doesn’t play the character people are listening to — and to play a role he finds grounded, in a way he aspires to be.

Also there’s the matter of his “Vacation.” John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein’s film was met with pretty harsh reviews when it was first released, but over the years (and after the critical success of “Game Night” and “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves”) has gained a dedicated following. Helms has a lot of thoughts about this movie.

The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

Ed Helms: We’re talking “Stunt Driver”?

IndieWire: We are.

OK! I have three movies here.

That’s busy.

It’s bonkers.

You walked by us on the street yesterday and you looked like you were in a hurry.

I have been nothing but hurry for the last 72 hours. Were you at the premiere?

I had to watch it before the premiere for this interview.

I had a very emotional experience at the premiere, because I hadn’t seen it yet. Michael Dowse was like, “I can just send you a link.” And I’m like, “I’m coming to TIFF. I’ll just see it on the big screen!” And I’m really glad I waited because I was bowled over by the movie. I was very emotional. It really kind of hit me, spoiler alert, in that final crash scene — it just hit me in a totally different way.

‘The Stunt Driver‘Mongrel Media

You play that scene so well. It’s like Dick almost knows what’s about to happen, but it also has to happen this way.

Hmm, yeah, that final kind of, “Are we doing this?” Yeah I think our goal in that moment, on set, was just to be as neutral and ambiguous as possible.

It comes off really touching.

I really appreciate that. I couldn’t even compose myself in the Q&A. Also just the joy of seeing this grand symphony of collaboration with people I love. And a process that I love. Depending on the project, that can be a very emotional experience, too.

Now I don’t know if you’ve heard, but in the United States, where we are from, caused some strife with Canada…

[Laughs] I haven’t heard.

And Jay has a line, “I eat Americans for breakfast.”

He has this whole rant when he confronts Evel Knievel! Where he’s like, “We are God’s people! This is God’s country!” The crowd reaction in downtown Toronto was psyched.

Were you an Evel Knievel fan? I feel I just kind of missed that era. There was still merchandise around, but I don’t remember watching any stunts.

My memories of Evel Knievel as a kid fall under the rubric of hero worship. I lived on a street with a ton of kids, a lot of them older than me and we all raced BMX bikes.

His name is an adjective.

Yeah! The kid culture on the street where I grew up was all about jumping dirt bikes, racing dirt bikes, jumping over things, ravines, people, each other. This is, of course, pre Red Bull, pre X Games, all that stuff. It’s just kids on bikes and building ramps and listening to Van Halen trying to get pumped up to do big jumps. I never broke anything, but a broken arm or leg was just routine. So, Evel Knievel was a part of that.

Your character reminds me of Robet Duvall in “Days of Thunder.”

Oh, cool! Oh, wow, that’s really flattering…

He’s the guy who “knows what he’s doing.”

And knows what he’s talking about.

I love that kind of character. And you get to play it in this.

You’re right!

This isn’t the kind of role you’ve played in the past.

No, you’re right. I’m usually the guy who has no idea what’s going on. You’re right, and I hadn’t thought of that comparison. It’s very flattering and, I think, apt, from a character standpoint. I wouldn’t be presumptuous enough to assume from a performance standpoint. But I did approach that character with a sense of he just doesn’t fuck around. It’s a really interesting dynamic between Ken and Dick, because Ken needs a grounding force.

Ken is a wild man.

He’s insane. The psychology of that man is so complex. The forces working within him are so powerful that no one can really control it, including him. But he needs Dick Keller as something pulling him back to the ground. But Dick needs Ken, to be a dreamer. Ken helps him be more of a dreamer.

There’s a scene in which Ken has a fire safety suit on that’s too small and Dick is like, “You can take that off, if this doesn’t work, you’re going to die anyway.”

The scene with Dan Bakkedahl where I call off the jump and he’s screaming at me, I love Dick Keller’s response, which is simply, “I won’t be spoken to that way.” I loved performing that because that was a bit of aspirational behavior for me. You know, I’m not that composed in a conflict. I’m not that thoughtful in a conflict. But Dick Keller is and I loved being that. I love when a character or a scene allows me to sort of be something I want to be. Or be better in some way than I may actually be. Because it’s almost like practice. Training. It’s sort of exercising. It’s cool to see yourself on camera being a way that you think is actually healthy and cool and smart.

So as an actor, what’s that like for you to watch with a crowd? Especially, since you haven’t gotten to play this kind of role before. Everyone in the theater now looks at you as “this guy who gets it done.”

It’s very fun to watch myself branching out in that way. It weirdly reflects my path as always kind of learning and, hopefully, maturing adult over time. And just getting a little bit more control over… I don’t know. Moving through the world with a little more intention and feeling a little more collected. And to play a character who also is that, it feels like my career is meeting me where I am, in a way. Even though I don’t think I’m quite as grounded as Dick Keller. I can hope.

‘Vacation’©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

We last spoke in 2020 and I tried to tell you people had come around on your “Vacation” film, after John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein had a big hit with “Game Night.” OK, by now you have to know this. Especially after their “Dungeons & Dragons” film…

Yes! I do.

Back then you basically said you had not heard that, that it was nice of me to say, but also I was full of shit.

Yeah, every once in awhile it will ratchet up on Netflix to number two or three. And it’s like… honestly, it’s so gratifying.

To be fair, I was on board from the beginning.

You’re an OG!

There are like five of us.

The critics, I don’t know? It was low. It was in the teens. And we were very sad, but not broken. We were sad that critics didn’t like it because that affected the business of it. But none of us questioned the movie we made. Sometimes you make a movie, you think it’s pretty good, it gets terrible reviews, and you kind of re-evaluate. You’re like, ah, maybe we made some bad choices. This is a movie where I told John and Jonathan, after the sort of disappointing rollout, that I wouldn’t have changed a thing. I’m so proud of every part of it…

Chris Hemsworth talking about faucets.

The rat on the guy’s shoulder…

That is still one of the funniest scenes I’ve ever seen. “I like your pet rat.”

“I don’t know him!” Oh, it’s so good.

I’m just glad you know. You didn’t know in 2020.

Correct.

But now you know people love this movie.

I am aware! I need to get to a point where Warner Bros. or New Line is saying, “Guys, it’s time for a sequel.” If there’s any franchise I’ve just wanted to keep going, it’s the Griswolds. It was such an honor to do it, I think we made something special, let’s build on it.

“The Stunt Driver” premiered at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival. The Independent Film Company will release it in theaters on Friday, September 25.