Spoilers for Season 1, Episode 3 of Rooster are ahead! Read with caution and stream the new comedy with an HBO Max subscription.
One of the shows on the 2026 TV schedule that’s really been making me laugh is Rooster. The new HBO comedy led by Steve Carell also stars a lineup of Bill Lawrence regulars, like Scrubs’ John C. McGinley, Ted Lasso’s Phil Dunster and Spin City’s Alan Ruck. So, you best believe these comedic geniuses have me cracking up constantly. However, I was wondering how often they make each other break. Well, I got to ask Ruck that question as we spoke about a funny scene he shared with Carell in the third episode.
To recap, during the scene in question, Ruck, who plays Dean Riggs, was unconscious in a hospital bed after having a health scare on campus. So, while his character was passed out, Ruck had to pretend to be unconscious as Carell’s character, Greg, awkwardly tried to pretend like he was closer to Riggs than he really was. He also had to get through The Office star being forced to hold his hand, in, again, an awkward manner. Then, in another scene, Greg stormed out of the hospital room as he realized he was late for class.
Overall, I figured it’d be hard to pretend like you couldn’t hear any of that, so I asked Ruck about it. In response, he told me how he got through it all without breaking, saying:
I just had to really stay under, you know, because I didn't want to be the reason we had to go again. I didn't want to be the one who broke, so I was just, you know, I was lying flat on my back, and I was just like, ‘Just stay here. Let them do their thing.’ So, I don't really know what he did, because I was out of it.
In Rooster, Carell’s physical comedy is on point (just watch his falls, and you’ll know what I mean). He also delivers his lines in this awkward yet charming way that is irresistible. So, if I were Ruck, and I heard him performing and then awkwardly grabbing my hand, I’d likely break.
However, the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off star is a pro. So, he made sure not to ruin any takes by embracing his characters’ unconscious state and zoning out completely. According to Ruck, he just let Carell do his thing, and he stopped paying attention. As he told me, he’s not really sure what even happened beside him, because he was “out of it.”
Overall, this makes a whole lot of sense. Following Riggs’ collapse in his office, he’s 100% unconscious in the hospital as Greg speaks with his colleague’s wife. He also has tubes down his throat. So, if the Succession actor could just zone out and pretend like he really wasn’t aware of his surroundings, it’d make not breaking a whole lot easier.
Like a great SNL cast member who won’t break, Ruck did get through this scene with Carell without laughing. And in return, we got a funny moment where he just had to lie very, very still while his co-stars performed.
Now, to see if he gets to come back and share more funny scenes with Carell and co, you can watch new episodes of the critically acclaimed Rooster every Sunday at 10 p.m. on HBO or with an HBO Max subscription.
