Charlie Day Tried Guillermo Del Toro’s Directing Style On “Sunny” | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

what was it like for you to go from. you're making this very handheld like. it's a mod pod shop and you're making. your comedy and then you get you get. into something like Pacific Rim which is. one of those movies where I can't even. imagine because I can relate to you uh. in the world of It's Always Sunny in. Philadelphia and then when I think about. and and even playing a comedic role in a. movie but when I think about you in. something like when that first Pacific.

Rim came out and you realize oh my God. it's such a good movie and you realize. that. your. um. you're part of an apparatus that is so. massive and you are it's the complete. other end of the spectrum yeah from the. kind of work that you were doing. and you did it really well thank you. well I think um I was lucky that I got. to have that transition working with. Guillermo del Toro so uh as massive as.

that movie was. he has a way of working that makes it. feel you know super personal and. specific and uh. I had some green screen work but most of. the things that I was doing he had built. some kind of practical prop that was. like animatronic that I was you know. reacting to so. it wasn't quite like getting stuck into. like the Star Wars remakes where you. know maybe it's just all green screen. right right you're always acting to a.

green sock or a green tennis ball yeah. and Gamo had a very very specific way of. working I was huge fan so I just wanted. to do a good job for him and I still. admire him so much and look up to him a. lot but uh you know in the beginning of. the film. he was saying he's like I want you to do. it I never do this I want you to be. loose and uh out of control and wild and. messy uh and by the end of the filming. it was like uh on thick one your aunt. was here on take two it was here.

but that's just I mean I really enjoyed. getting to work within his parameters. sure yeah uh every now and then he I'd. be doing a take and he wouldn't be. liking what I was doing he'd be telling. me what to do and I'd be thinking oh boy. not giving him what he wants and then I. would throw it away and just do whatever. I wanted and be like yes like that you. know which is always sort of the case. that you have to make it your own but um. but it to me it was eye-opening just uh.

the way he used the camera and I'm a big. movie nerd so I was just geeking out on. on his techniques he he was saying. he was like I like to scratch the lens. for the CGI shot I'm like scratch the. lens he's like I want you to see I don't. maybe it's wrong to do an impersonation. of him every time but he was saying I. want you to see something imperfect. before you see the Perfection of CGI the. way his mind was working. uh I was just eating it all up and then.

I would go back to Sunny uh and we'd be. shooting I remember we did a uh episode. where we're in a police station and it's. a flashback and we're talking about this. wedding Massacre that happened with. people were high on bath salts and I was. saying okay when we shoot it you know. we'll we'll do the coverage uh that. Richie Keane great director had sort of. um blocked out but I said hey Richie. after we get that can we do a few. Guillermo takes and just circle the. camera around the actors and just. started using more as I would call them.

Guillermo takes throughout the show. and um. it just getting more and more inspired. to do more filming and make more things. the only uh the thing that would be. dangerous there is I know that in a. comedy environment you can take for. that like you just came back from your. Guillermo del Toro Blockbuster and. you're back with your friends and you're. like you know what we did on Pacific Rim. you know and then suddenly you're right. back in Rhode Island yeah yeah yeah.

exactly. uh fortunately I think Robin Glenn our. relationship is not like that so uh you. know pretty much best idea wins in a. pretty open environment for let's try. all sorts of things so I everyone was. was game for it.