TVGuide.com: ... the elusive John Krasinski.John Krasinski: Hello! How are you doing?
TVGuide.com: I'm good! I've had Jenna and B.J. talking about you ad nauseam in their TVGuide.com blogs, but I have yet to actually talk to you.Krasinski: Oh, man. Well, I'm very excited to talk to you then!
TVGuide.com: You should know that Jenna's been talking all kinds of smack about how Brian [Baumgartner, Kevin] has been beating up on you in PlayStation 2 football.Krasinski: That is just garbage. It was a really back-and-forth season there. We had some ups and downs, but it was fun. I think Brian and I called it even.
TVGuide.com: I believe Jenna once reported that your defense was "weak."Krasinski: Wow! I... don't even think she knows what she's talking about. She's still asking what color our teams are, so I'm not sure she's necessarily the best person to talk to about that.
TVGuide.com: Now, you and B.J. went to high school together?Krasinski: Yeah, we did, and he actually wrote the first acting thing I was ever in, which was basically a parody of the high school. Even back then I thought it was so funny and in a way that I like to see. It wasn't slapsticky, it was smart and well put together. It's so funny that he even approached me to do it because I was nowhere near being an actor. I don't know what he saw in me but thank god he did, because here we are!
TVGuide.com: Let's face it, he needed "someone tall."Krasinski: Exactly! I'm sure that's the truth, too.
TVGuide.com: Did you guys keep in touch, or was The Office the first you'd seen each other in a while, like: "Hey, I know you."Krasinski: The truth is, I went to the call-back audition in L.A. and was reviewing the sides they had given me when I looked up and saw he was doing the same thing. It was one of those surreal moments your brain can't comprehend. It was fantastic. Now, after working with him for so long, I have to say that he is everything people say he is. He's one of the best new voices in Hollywood.
TVGuide.com: You always hear stories about how Office cast members pass the time on the set, blogging or playing games on their characters' computers. What do you tend to do?Krasinski: I check e-mail here and there, and maybe read some articles online, but I'm in an awkward position because when they shoot outside of Michael's office or from any angle, because of where my desk is located, you can always see my screen. [Laughs] Right before every shot, it's like, "John, [put up] something we can use, buddy!"
TVGuide.com: In a recent episode, when Jim was e-mailing Pam, you could see her "Dunder-Mifflin" e-mail address. What happens if I send an e-mail to it?Krasinski: I have no idea. Check it out, man!
TVGuide.com: Where do you stand on the Pam-Jim hookup timetable?Krasinski: I don't know. It's funny, people always want to know when the "big moment" is going to happen, and the coolest part about being a part of this relationship as an actor is that we have a number of big moments. Sometimes the big moments are really good, sometimes they are really tense.... I can't say enough about the writers and how real they've stayed with our relationship. "Booze Cruise," that was one of the biggest moments yet. That I wasn't able to speak or say anything, to me that's the best drama you can have. That's so real.
TVGuide.com: When did your counterparts get together in the original British version?Krasinski: I think at the very end, in the last episode of the whole thing, she walks in and just kisses him.
TVGuide.com: Jenna said you didn't tell her what Jim wrote on the card he put in her Christmas-present teapot. What'd you write?Krasinski: I can't tell you! No....
TVGuide.com: Have you ever ad-libbed something that didn't make it in?Krasinski: Everything! No, I'm kidding. Once you've done what the writers have written, there is a lot of opportunity to go off. One of the things we have improve[ise]d, and this is hilarious, was when Rainn and I started arm-wrestling, and it turned into a full-on, tackle-to-the-ground and fighting-like-8-year-olds-on-a-playground thing. Part of me wishes that made it in, even though it would have been completely ludicrous.
TVGuide.com: What's been your favorite episode to date?Krasinski: I really loved "The Secret." I thought it was really done. It was so funny when Steve [Carell, as Michael] took me to Hooters, it provided a lot to do for the other cast members, who are so funny, and it did a really good job of pushing the love story forward, too.
TVGuide.com: What can you tease about the "Casino Night" season finale?Krasinski: It starts out like a simple run-of-the-mill event that the office is hosting — we're all playing these casino games for our favorite charity — and it turns out to answer a lot of the questions that people have been wondering — about Pam and Jim, Michael and Jan.... All these things are addressed in a really cool way. The characters find themselves in situations they never would have imagined. And that's the best way to finish a season.
TVGuide.com: Of course there's a cliff-hanger where someone tries to cheat at cards, a gun goes off, and the screen goes to black.Krasinski: Wait, did you see it already?! [Laughs]
TVGuide.com: Let's finish up with the movies you have in the pipeline. In License to Wed, you and "fiancée" Mandy Moore get premarital advice from the counselor-from-hell, Robin Williams.Krasinski: He's the priest at the church that she grew up at. We shoot that next week and I'm super-excited. I am one of Robin Williams' biggest fans.
TVGuide.com: Man, talk about ad-libbing!Krasinski: I know. It's going to be a clinic for sure. And Mandy Moore, I just think that she's so talented and a fantastic new face. She's doing a great job.
TVGuide.com: Smiley Face: Are you a stoner in that?Krasinski: I'm not, actually. Anna Faris is the stoner, and when she eats a plate of pot brownies and goes to another planet virtually, I'm her roommate's friend who ends up having to basically baby-sit her all day. I'm a really nerdy kid who's secretly in love with her.
TVGuide.com: The Dreamgirls movie: I take it you're playing James "Thunder" Early?Krasinski: How did you know? No, [writer-director] Bill Condon called one day and he had this idea for one scene where Beyoncé gets to the point where she wants to give movies a try, and I'm a director who's interested in casting her. It's me basically saying nothing because John Lithgow is the very loudmouthed producer. It's a very fun scene, and I'm honored to be a part of it.
TVGuide.com: What else do you have in the works?Krasinski: I finally finished the script that I was writing, and I'm going to be directing it in November — Brief Interviews with Hideous Men.
TVGuide.com: That's a great title. Krasinski: Yeah! I think it definitely leaves people wondering what it's about, so it will be interesting to see what people think. It's based on the book by David Foster Wallace, and my goal is to bring his work to a different medium and expose more people to what I thought was an incredible book.
TVGuide.com: At the end of the day, do you envision yourself as 50 percent actor, 50 percent writer-director?Krasinski: No, not right now. I love acting so much. This is more of a one-time thing and if it happens that I write something again, that would be great. But for right now, this is it.
TVGuide.com: Well, John, I'm glad we finally had the chance to talk!Krasinski: I know, right? Thanks very much!

TVGuide.com: What's the reaction been like since your elimination episode aired?Shane Powers: It's been positive. The [reaction] I cared most about was my son's, and we had a really nice conversation [after last week's episode]. He had a bunch of his friends over to watch, but he didn't know I was getting clipped. I think he was stunned.
TVGuide.com: Your supposed allies, Cirie and Aras, really stabbed you in the back — and then twisted the knife for added effect, didn't they?Shane: Cirie, definitely. Aras... tries not to be responsible for his behavior, which is a big reason he's probably not looked upon as an adult yet. I think that bothers him in a big way.
TVGuide.com: Cirie's game play was extremely surprising, beginning with her lobbying a few episodes back to send Courtney packing. Did you notice her drifting from the alliance at any point?Shane: Just like you, I've been watching it, going, "My lord, this woman really worked herself into a phenomenal position." She might have been carried by Aras and me, but has definitely been working the entire time, since Day 1. She has definitely been the best social player of the game by far.
TVGuide.com: Was the relationship between you, Aras and Cirie portrayed accurately on television?Shane: We [started out] all together, and then I put all my eggs in Cirie's basket and said, "Cirie, we're going to take out Aras at the [final] four," and she went and told Aras. Cirie gravitated toward him because he was very nurturing and understanding. I definitely will never speak to her, but I can absolutely appreciate how she [played the game].
TVGuide.com: During last week's reward challenge, you were the first to bow out of the endurance competition. How hard was it to step down, knowing that you may sacrifice precious time with your son, Boston?Shane: When we got the tree mail that morning, it was worded in such a way that we knew family would be there. I was very not into it, because I couldn't imagine doing the challenge and not having it go my way. Knowing my son was in Panama, the possibility of my not being able to see him was a little too much to take. I was very wary about the challenge. Thank god Terry picked me [to spend time with my son].
TVGuide.com: What do you hope Boston gleans from your time on Survivor?Shane: He can definitely look at his father on that show and go, "My dad is a crazy person. He's extremely charismatic, colorful, vivid and fun." I'm exciting to a 13-year-old kid. We're like brothers, except I get to tell him what to do. It's the most amazing scenario ever for me.
TVGuide.com: Following that reward challenge, Terry adamantly explained that he thought contestants with children or spouses present should get precedence over those with mothers there. Where did you stand during this discussion? Was there any animosity toward Terry?Shane: I think that there was animosity on Aras' part, but Terry is a very traditional guy. I was going to get the reward — in his mind — because I hadn't been on any, and the story line of me and my son was so prevalent. That was what I was always talking about, and when he had the opportunity to give me that, I think he really wanted to. For whatever reason, Terry, in his throwback mind, thought wives were more important than mothers, and Aras had a hard time with it. [Aras] felt like his feelings for his mother were being marginalized, and that's when they got into it. People can think Terry is a chauvinist, but he's just a guy who is probably not well versed in dealing with anything outside of his element of suburbia.
TVGuide.com: As this season's fifth jury member, are there any specific interactions or conversations, positive or negative, that you'll take with you to Sunday's selection of the sole Survivor?Shane: It obviously comes down to who's there. If it's Terry and Danielle, neither of them stabbed me in the back. If it's Aras and Cirie... I'd rather cut my head off than vote for one of them.
TVGuide.com: Have you thought about your final questioning?Shane: I've definitely thought about my questioning, and you should all tune in, because what happens when I get my shot at them will be quite interesting.
TVGuide.com: Are you going to be the male Sue Hawk, by refusing to offer the contestants so much as a drink of water if they were stranded in the desert?Shane: Sue's [commentary] was fun, but it was far too emotional to be taken seriously. Mine is pretty articulate, and it's [going to be] hard for them to get out of it, so they just have to suck it up and take it. What I do when it's time for the final two Survivors to answer to me is very barbaric, because there's nothing worse than using the truth to hurt someone. There's no way out of the truth. I can't imagine that's going to be too much fun for either of them.
TVGuide.com: Other than yourself, of course, which Survivor was voted out too soon? And who would you have liked to see go in their place?Shane: I think Dan has an ax to grind with Terry, who conveniently figured out a way to disalign himself from Dan. Although Dan was ready to go, I feel like he got a bit of the shaft from Terry. It would have been interesting to see him come a bit further.
TVGuide.com: You provided some of the best comic relief this season, between communicating on your wooden "Blackberry" and spending time perched on your coveted "Thinking Seat." Were there any other funny moments you wish viewers would have seen?Shane: I had a "summer house" that I bought [on the island], and no one else was allowed to go up there. The summer house consisted of a blanket, but it was up on the ridge away from everybody. During the last five to eight days of the show, I had made my bed with Cirie and Aras, and I just wanted to stay out of everyone's way. I was divorcing myself from most of the tribe, which probably was a bad thing, because I might have been able to see that Cirie and Aras were doing something with Danielle. But there was nothing I could do, because I had given them my word and I wasn't going to back out.
TVGuide.com: Speaking of humorous moments, what happened to your famous acid-wash shorts?Shane: My shorts were very "1975 guy working on his Trans Am," and I loved 'em. I'm really bummed out that they're gone, because I didn't take anything with me to tribal council. Most people take all their stuff. They're somewhere gone [in Panama] with the "Blackberry." It's all just a myth now.
TVGuide.com: In all honesty, you are the contestant this season whom fans love to hate. Are there any misconceptions about yourself that you'd like to clear up?Shane: I'm very comfortable with the beginning, middle and end that I had on the show. I'm sure there's a huge section of America that would never get me, and even though they may not get who I am, as a result of how I went out on the show, they can at least relate to my integrity and my keeping my word. I did everything that I could and worked hard. But if people want to hate me, they can hate me. That's their opinion and their option.
TVGuide.com: Lastly, viewers may or may not know that you've appeared in bit parts on My So-Called Life and even some creepy flick called Bloodfist VII: Manhunt. Any plans to continue your acting career now that your stock has shot up?Shane: You are more than likely never going to see me again. I was an actor when I first got to Los Angeles, and I gave it up in 1998. I did a movie in 1993 that came out in 2002, but I haven't worked in seven years. That whole life has been over for me. If there was something that was clever and witty that I could have control over, and there was a lot of money involved, I'm definitely interested. But that's not why I went on Survivor. The casting people really spend hours figuring out why you're going on the show and [when my acting background came up], I think it intimated to people that I was some sort of a plant. I was there to win and absolutely there to play the game. There will definitely be no "Shane Powers guest-starring on The O.C." They would have to pay me a lot of money.

TV Guide: You're so informed. How do you prepare for a show?Bill Maher: Well, I spend all week preparing. People are always surprised to hear that I work a lot harder on this show than when I had an everyday show [Politically Incorrect]. When you do an everyday show, you can only make it so good. [Laughs] I think Dave and Jay would say the same thing. You can't work on the news before it happens. That's the charm of those shows.
TV Guide: You often assemble quite a surreal panel — pairing Ben Affleck with Salman Rushdie springs to mind. What's your criteria? Maher: What the audience constantly tells us is that they want a smart panel. They don't care as much about celebrity. The Ben Afflecks in show business — celebrities who can sit there with a Salman Rushdie and a Joe Biden and not look like they're a kid at the adults' table — are few and far between. Ben is really good. He really knows his s---. He obviously has ambitions in [politics].
TV Guide: You think so?Maher: I do. I'm not the first one to say that.
TV Guide: What other celeb panelists have impressed you?Maher: Affleck is certainly in the top 10. Jason Alexander and Martin Short are awfully good at it.... D.L. Hughley is terrific.
TV Guide: When politicians appear on your show, do you think they're apt to speak more freely than on, say, Meet the Press? Maher: Yes, they definitely are, because they understand what they're getting into. They wouldn't show up if they didn't. I mean, most politicians don't show up here. [Laughs] It's a free-flowing exchange of ideas. That's what scares politicians, that they might actually be confronted or challenged. They're always good when they're recently out of office. It's while they're holding a job in Washington that their sphincter starts to tighten.
TV Guide: You started out seeming much more conservative, but now you appear to have drifted toward the left, or at least left of center. Maher: I don't think that's necessarily so. I don't look at issues as being liberal or conservative. I don't see global warming as a liberal/conservative issue; I see it as a survival issue. I like to paraphrase Barry Goldwater: Extremism in the defense of survival is no vice. If that makes me liberal, then fine. I'm liberal on living.
TV Guide: If you could ask President Bush one question, what would it be? Maher: It would be about the environment. I would say to him, "Don't you just feel awful about selling your fellow countrymen down the river to please your buddies in the energy industries? I mean, the air is noticeably worse in this country since you became president. You've literally made your fellow citizens sicker. Don't you feel any remorse?"
TV Guide: Do you think energy is the biggest issue facing us right now?Maher: It wouldn't have to be if we were still the country that could get something big done. Brazil made a commitment to become energy independent, and they did. They yanked their country away from the oil teat. Prove to me that America can do something big, the right thing, like we used to. Like when Kennedy said, "We're going to go to the moon." I really feel like we don't have the chops anymore.
TV Guide: Every empire eventually falls. Have we started our descent? Maher: I hate to say it, but I think we have. And it's OK. We don't have to be No. 1. That's a bunch of macho nonsense. But we have to be able to survive. And we do face problems now that threaten our very existence.
TV Guide: Do you have a place in mind to flee when the ice caps melt?Maher: I'm 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean, and I'm hoping it only gets to Brentwood.