Greg Daniels says Fred Willard got a standing ovation on the Space Force set

By Marah Eakin  |  May 27, 2020 | 2:30pm
TV Features Greg Daniels

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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.

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