David Koechner, who plays the loudmouth sports-caster Champ Kind in the enormously anticipated Anchorman 2, was simply stunned by the passion of Dublin’s fans at the premiere. Paul Rudd, who portrays clueless womanising reporter Brian Fantana, couldn’t quite believe it either. “That was insane!” he exclaims. “None of us had ever seen anything quite like that!”

Sitting in the Merrion Hotel the morning after the big night at the Savoy, the actors reflect on last night’s dizzying Irish reception, gush about their time with Anchorman and Anchorman 2, and discuss what it’s like to work in the spontaneous, creative and hilarious environment on set.

Directors Judd Apatow and Adam McKay, Rudd explains, share is an ability to create a space of safety and playfulness where on-set ad-libs and improvisations are invaluable to the comedic process. “All of us can add whatever and wherever we want. It usually doesn’t work like that. The scripts are always the best scripts I’ve ever read, but we never feel like we have to say what’s on the page. They encourage us to play and improvise whatever we want in the moment. That sense of playfulness just makes it such a great place to work, and makes everyone better, too, because you’re feeding off the brilliance of the people around you.”

The same playfulness which made Adam McKay’s outrageous 2004 comedy about a 1970s news team so perfectly memorable outrageous runs through the sequel, which is set to become as timeless as the first. The chemistry between Rudd, Koechner, Will Ferrell and Steve Carell is undeniable, and the actors agree that their unique four-way bromance is an inexplicably powerful entity.

“Making the first one, we knew we were having a special experience,” says Koechner. “It felt so good doing it that we almost didn’t want to talk about it, because we didn’t want to jinx it. We all just respect each other so much and push each other to be as funny as possible. With Will Ferrell, you almost have to ignore everyone else in terms of comparison, because he’s just that good. If you’re trying to calculate a mean and figure out where you stand in the pantheon of comedy, you just have to take Will out of that mean! He ruins the curve for everyone! He’s truly unique and special, as are Steve and Paul. And we’re lucky that when we do this work, there’s a particular brand of chemistry that ignites. And I know that’s not always the case, so we’re blessed.”

Read the full interview in the next issue of Hot Press
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is in cinemas now.