We essentially spent our college years together [with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg], so those were the kind of lasting friendships and the bond you form during those years, and those friendships last a really long time.

The rest - all the hoopla, the acclaim - doesn't really matter a lot to Joel and Ethan [Coen]. They just want to get the chance to continue to work. And that blew my mind. To be at that level and to have that humility, it was eye-opening and inspiring.

I did a pilot for Judd Apatow when I was 20 years old, so 18 years ago. The same year that he did that pilot, he made another pilot called Freaks And Geeks.Judd felt bad for me because I was living in L.A. by myself. Not only did he put me in an episode of Freaks And Geeks, but he was like, "Hey, just come hang out. I'm on set, getting to know everybody." I started hanging with everybody, and they were all either my age or a little younger. Seth and I just got along really well - Jason Segel and I, too - and before you know it, it was a really strong, solid group of friends.

What happened was that none of that [Emmy nomination] really happened. Numbers flew under the radar, and so around the fourth season, I got really jaded and I wanted to quit.

[the Ghost Team] is an ensemble comedy. It's about people who are searching for meaning in their lives, and they end up doing this stupid thing after they're inspired by one another.

Obviously [Can't Hardly Wait] wasn't in American Pie, which was a movie about some teenage boys.

I remember at the time, there were all these teen movies being made. It was this resurgence of John Hughes-esque teen comedies. I was sent a lot of them to audition for, and a lot of them at the time didn't really impress me. I remember I was sent one called East Grand Rapids High, which ended up becoming American Pie, and I didn't like it. Although I think I did audition for it.