I'm ten minutes late to my interview with Tony Hale, and he refuses an apology as soon as it begins to tumble out of my mouth: "We have time," he says. "It doesn't happen often that I get a free moment, so let's enjoy it."

His firm but kind serenity is a far cry from the Hale I've been watching on TV for half my life. In another world, he's Arrested Development's Buster Bluth, the neurotic mama's boy with one hand, which was bitten off by a seal during his first attempt at parental rebellion. In another world, he's... the neurotic mama's boy Gary Walsh, the eternally devoted sidekick to Veep's titular vice president (and later president, and later than that, former president).

Hale has thrived as an actor and comedian within two of the most significant, most manic comedies in TV history, and now that both are coming to an end, it might be time to slow down. Hale sat down with me to talk about his career, his new project as a form of therapy, and, of course, his favorite Arrested Development joke.

How did you feel about the decision to end Veep?

It was really bittersweet. It continues to be bittersweet. And it's not just because I love the material so much. I really care about these people. And a lot of it had to do with the first four years when we shot in Baltimore, we were all away from our families. And so, we kind of became our own little tribe. After set, we'd go out for drinks, and we'd talk about the day, and we'd go over to Julia's and play cards. As much as I'm going to miss doing the work, I'm really going to miss the relationship.

Tell me about the instincts you developed with your cast members.

The great joy of being with Julia is they would give us the script and they would give us what was happening. And then she and I could be like, "How can we make this as funny as it can be?" So, obviously the lines were set, but she's like, "Okay, I'm going to drop my purse here, and then you're going to catch it here. You're going to get your arm stuck in your coat, and we're going to be doing that while doing these great lines that they've given us."

You're almost developing Laurel and Hardy bits the entire time.

Exactly! Which was a dream. If you can find it in an honest way, then it's so much fun to do. You obviously don't want to push the comedy. You don't want to be too broad. If you could find that honest place with the physical comedy, it's like it becomes its own comic dance.

Let's dive into Gary.

[Laughs] Ohhohoho, let's.