I had just fucking moved to New York after being in L.A. for nine years and spending every minute of those nine years going, “Okay, when can I get out of here?” I just knew, “If I don’t leave now, I’ll start working on something else again, and I’ll never get out of here.” So I packed up a moving van and moved to New York … I can’t remember how long I was here before I got the call — maybe a year, having a blast, and loving it, loving it. But it’s a good thing I did get work because I wonder, in a very real sense, not a dramatic maudlin sense, if I would have survived. I was really burning the candle at both ends. So the idea that there was this character who was recurring was very attractive to me. And I loved the character. When I was shooting the first episode after the pilot, I remember calling my girlfriend and going, “I’m so sorry. I think I have to stay and do this show full-time because it’s really something special.”
Vulture had David Cross walk through all of his major roles in his career and talk about each one. It’s very interesting! Here’s what he had to say about getting cast in Arrested Development:
