Greg Daniels says Fred Willard got a standing ovation on the Space Force set
TV Features Greg Daniels
When Fred Willard died earlier this month, fans and friends everywhere mourned his comedic genius and his kindhearted nature. He could turn any scene into a knee-slapper with a few minutes of solid improv, adding moments of shine to even the most middling productions.
As it turns out, one of Willard’s last on-screen performances was in Space Force, which is due to hit Netflix later this week. In the Greg Daniels and Steve Carell-helmed comedy, Willard plays the latter’s doddering father, who exists mainly to phone into the action from 2000 miles away in order to place added stress on the situation. It’s remarkably effective, especially accompanied by a series of sight gags behind the actor. Though Willard isn’t on-screen for a lot of Space Force–and presumably wasn’t on set all that much either—Daniels said he made quite the impact on the cast and crew, even earning a standing ovation for a bit of riffing that made it into the show.
You can find that story and a bit of talk about the actual Space Force in the clip above.
8 Comments
What a life Mr. Willard led! He was at the top of his game at 86 and gave a long, list of legendary performances in classic films and tv. He deserves all the credit he’s been getting, and it’s just a bummer that he’s no longer in this world.
Just because … Fred Willard in a very different (and not good) Space Force from 1978. I have not watched it all the way through – what I did watch is dreadful – but I think Mr. Willard’s first appearance starts around the 5 minute mark.
Reminds me of Quark from the same time period:
QUAAAAAAAAARK!
Wow, I did not know about this. Last week the SNL rerun at 10PM was Fred’s in 29178. I was wondering why he was on the show, and a new series explains it.Devo was also on. But only one song made the one-hour cut.
1978, I mean.
OMG, that was horrific. It’s like if Hanna-Barbarra made live action television.
I’ll give ‘em credit – the unitards are the same for both men AND women.