'I Loved Directing & The Cast Is So Awesome': Clark Duke On 'Arkansas' & 'The Office'

(CBS Local)-- Clark Duke is known in Hollywood as actor from movies like "Hot Tub Time Machine" and TV shows such as "The Office," but he has always had a passion for directing.

Duke got the chance to do both in his new film "Arkansas," a movie about how a series of mistakes leads to a collision between two criminals and a drug kingpin in Arkansas. The cast is stacked with names like Liam Hemsworth, Vince Vaughn, John Malkovich, and Vivica A. Fox. The actors made life easy for Duke, who was directing his first feature film and also acting.

"I loved directing it and the cast is so awesome," said Duke in an interview with CBS Local's DJ Sixsmith. "It really makes directing a lot easier when the actors are that good. I loved it and that's what I've always wanted to do. Acting and directing in the film at the same time was a bit challenging because you have to compartmentalize a lot of different stuff in your brain."

FULL INTERVIEW:

Duke is an Arkansas native and while he's bummed the film won't have a theatrical release because of the spread of COVID-19, he's excited for people to watch his movie at home. Although Duke is only 34 years old, he's had a few different chapters to his career. One of the biggest influences on his journey was "The Office." Duke was inspired by the British version to create "Clark and Michael" with Michael Cera and was a fan of the American version before he joined the last season of the series.

"I was a big fan of the show and the British Office came out when I was in college," said Duke. "Basically, it gave us the idea of what we wanted to do and it became Clark and Michael. The Office felt really full circle to me because it had helped start my career as an adult in a big way. I loved being on the show and I was a big fan of the show and I thought it was going to keep going. I wish I was still on there right now."