Ed Helms Says 'Massive Jump into Fame' After Hangover Caused Him 'Turmoil': 'Total Loss of Control'

Paul Morigi/Getty Ed Helms

Ed Helms is recalling the "tornado of fame" he experienced after the success of The Hangover.

Speaking with Conan O'Brien on Monday's episode of the Needs a Friend podcast, the 48-year-old actor and musician said "it was very overwhelming" to get the recognition he received after starring in the hit 2009 film with costars Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis.

About his time before The Hangover, "My public persona had risen gradually," said Helms, who began starring on The Office during the series' third season in 2006 and also previously served as a correspondent on The Daily Show from 2002 to 2009.

Helms admitted to O'Brien, 59, that he "really was reeling a lot of the time ... in the aftermath of The Hangover," and "getting scripts for all these different kinds of projects."

At the time, he thought, " 'What do I do? I dunno,' " he said. "I was kind of spinning out and panicking about different things. Like, 'Well, what kind of a career do you want?' "

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Frank Masi/Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection Ed Helms in The Hangover (2009)

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Helms said he was at a similar "level" of fame at the time as costars Cooper, 47, and Galifianakis, 53, and that they were "going through it together."

"If it wasn't for those guys, I don't think I would've stayed sane," he said. "But we all had each other to kind of commiserate and measure ourselves … and I think we kept each other [from] drifting too far, and being too unprofessional."

Helms admitted he "definitely felt a lot of anxiety" and "turmoil" around that time in his career, and said he wishes he could "go through it again with what I know now."

"One of the craziest things about a massive jump into fame like that — and what I think people who have never dealt with that or been close to it just can't understand — is the just total loss of control of your environment," he said.

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Helms played Stu in The Hangover, which became a box-office hit and spawned two sequels: one in 2011 and another in 2013. Helms, Cooper and Galifianakis all reprised their roles as Stu, Phil and Alan, respectively, in both follow-ups.

But despite his popularity from the film franchise, the role Helms still gets recognized for most is probably that of Andy "Nard Dog" Bernard from The Office, he told PEOPLE last year.

"That show has had such ridiculous staying power," the actor said of the hit comedy, which ran from 2005 to 2013 on NBC and has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity on streaming. "So many more young people are watching it, people that weren't even born when that show was on the air. It just seems to always be bubbling up."