Tim Meadows on parodying typical “straight man” characters

Some of Tim Meadows’ best comedic performances are parodies of archetypal characters. Ron Duvall in Mean Girls is a jaded high school principal who’s desperately in love with Tina Fey’s character, Sam in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is the world’s most persuasive drug addict, and Caleb in Brooklyn Nine-Nine is the prison confidant who also happens to be a friendly cannibal. According to Meadows, this is 100 percent intentional. In the video above, he talks about adding unexpected comedic elements to typical straight characters.