[Laughs] So after doing that shoot, are you starting to see yourself as a sex symbol?

Jack McBrayer: Oh definitely. In fact, I’m in front of a full-length mirror right now thinking, Who am I going to conquer today?

[Laughs] It's good that you’re embracing it. So how similar are you to Kenneth, your character on 30 Rock? Are you really that innocent and wide-eyed?

Jack McBrayer: Well, I am very naive to a lot of things that go on, but I’m not dangerously gullible like Kenneth [laughs]. I don’t think I would ever endanger my life with my naiveté. But in terms of being a people pleaser, and being excited to have a job, we're very similar. But I would never seduce anyone’s wife to make them jealous [laughs].

It seems like Kenneth keeps getting corrupted in every way possible, yet somehow he remains this innocent youth at the end of the day. How does he do it?

Jack McBrayer: [Laughs] I guess Kenneth just assumes it’s all part of the job. I’m waiting for the day when I get the script or chance to snap and crawl up into a bell tower. [Laughs]

Well, in the episode where Kenneth got hooked on coffee, he came pretty close. Do you drink coffee in real life?

Jack McBrayer: I don’t. In those scenes, they had to give me chocolate milk with Cool Whip on top [laughs]. I just never liked it. But with that being said, I am addicted to Coke Zero and Diet Mountain Dew.

...Which is probably worse.

Jack McBrayer: I know, I can just feel my my guts rotting out, but man, I need it. I need it! That’s my funny juice. [laughs]

You're a country boy, but you got your start in comedy at Second City in Chicago. How did that transition happen?

Jack McBrayer: I went to the University of Evansville in Evansville, Indiana, where I studied theater administration. So if you ever need any tickets sold at a Lowes Cineplex, I’m you’re man. [laughs]. For four years I did that, friend. I didn’t really dig college too much, and I was really excited to try something new. So I moved to Chicago, because I wanted to move to a big city, and I didn’t want to go back to Atlanta. So I just started waiting tables, but I didn’t know what the heck I was going to be. And then I saw a Second City show, and that’s when I had my epiphany of, “Oh, people make their career out of being silly.”

Were you kind of a class clown? Were you the shy goofy kid?

Jack McBrayer: I mean, I did enjoy making people laugh. But I was never disruptive. I’ve always been quite fond of being the butt of the joke—as long as I’m in on the joke as well. As long as they're not just being malicious.

Were there any comedians you looked up to when you were younger?

Jack McBrayer: Oh sure. We just had Tim Conway come on the show as a guest star. And they were talking about The Carol Burnett Show, which of course I watched when I was a kid. I think that might have been like my first exposure to sketch comedy. Actually, I think it was Electric Company. Then eventually when I got to high school, I watched SNL and I really dug that.

Was this the late ’80s, Dana Carvey/Chris Farley era?

Jack McBrayer: Yeah, exactly. Dana Carvey, Jan Hooks, Phil Hartman—that era. I'm embarrassed to say that, as a comedian, I was so late getting on that train. But any of the actors involved in any of those shows were pretty inspirational to me.

Right. Do you get a chance to do improv on 30 Rock at all?

Jack McBrayer: It's pretty stick to the script, for a couple reasons. One, the writing is dead on. If you have a great recipe for cake, you don’t want like, “Also let’s put in some pepper.” Also, it's such a tight time thing that there isn't much breathing room. Which is fine by me. Less work for me!

Tina Fey is also a Second City veteran. Is that where the 30 Rock connection came from?

Jack McBrayer: She was on the Second City main stage back in ’96 or ’97, I believe. And that was when I was getting started with the training center at Second City. But my real connection with her is that her husband, Jeff Richmond, was my director at Second City. Of course we all admired her work, but we really didn't get to know her until she was hanging out with Jeff while he was directing. Home // CELEBRITIES // WEB EXCLUSIVE // Jack McBrayer