(2008, on The Office) I didn't have to audition. NBC showed [Steve] Carell a list of people they were thinking about, and he saw my name, and he goes, "Yeah, get Tim." They called and asked me to do it, and then I said no, because it was one day of work, and it really wasn't the kind of money I'm sort of used to getting for those kind of roles. So I was like, "Nah. I love the show, but I can't sell myself short just because it's NBC." My manager was actually out of town. This is really kind of weird, but my manager's assistant said, "I don't know a lot about show business, but I think you should do this." And I went "All right, yeah, it's just one day." So I went and did it, and I had a great time. [Co-creator] Greg Daniels was very cool, he was a really nice director. We improvised a little, but not a whole lot. The writing was really good. Show less «

(2008, on SNL) It is the best training for a first show-business job. There's no job like that. The other thing is, coming from SNL, you totally get spoiled about having control over your sketches. When you leave there, unless you're producing or writing, you never have as much power as you did there. You learn how to produce and direct, you learn how to work with actors, and you learn how to work with writers. You learn how to talk to people to get things you want done. You learn to compromise to get something done. If Friends had been my first sitcom, I don't think I'd have had that kind of-you just show up, learn your lines. That's not to say those guys don't have any directing stuff or producing stuff, I'm sure they all do. They're obviously more successful than me. But I think as a first job, it's a great job to have. Show less «

(2008, on The Bill Engvall Show) I've learned to be very appreciative of these kinds of opportunities. After leaving SNL, I learned-it's like the NBA. They say the young guys don't know how hard it is to get to a championship. They think if they do it once, they can do it again. In show business, you don't know how hard it is to get a sitcom to be on for more than five episodes, no matter how good it is... It's getting harder and harder. Yeah. So I'm very grateful this opportunity came. And I'm happy to be in a position [where] they trust me to make my part better, or improve on the stuff they give me. Even though it's a family comedy and it's not exactly what I came up watching, or even what I watch now, I can still be happy with the stuff that I do. Show less «

[on his career] I would love to only be doing David Mamet movies, but that's not the career I have. I'm a journeyman. I work. If you need a good doorway made, then you call Tim Meadows. If you need someone to come in and make a character that's not really funny in the script, or if you need somebody to improvise on the set and make it better, then I'm your man. Show less «

(2008, on having panic attacks working on SNL) I don't know if it's something that everybody goes through. I know I was going through the same thing he was going through. Mine would start when I would get on the train to go to work. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. I would end up getting off the train before I got to work, and walking until I felt better... Then I talked to my doctor, and he said the thing to remember about panic attacks is that nothing is going to happen. You feel like you're going to have a heart attack or can't catch your breath, but it's just your mind. Once he told me that, I was able to deal with it better. I stopped taking the train to work, and I started taking cabs or walking. After a certain point it didn't bother me any more. Show less «

[on The Michael Richards Show (2000)] Well, that was a very disappointing experience in my life. The great thing about that year is, my first son, Isaiah, was born. We moved out to Los Angeles for [the show]. But everything about it was the worst experience; to go from SNL to go to that... To go from working at a show where you had hands-on creativity to working on a show where you were working with somewhat of a dictator...I'm not naming names. He has since apologized to me. We ran into each other on the street, and he apologized. This was before his big comedy stand-up breakdown. Show less «

(2008, on Mean Girls) It was a really fun shoot to be on. It was the first time I had worked on something where I was the oldest person on the set, for the most part. It was the first time I really felt like an older dude. One night, I took the cast to see Chris Rock, who was performing in Toronto-I got everybody tickets, and we all met there, and I felt like a group leader or something, because it was all the girls and myself... I felt like I was a chaperone. I was making sure everybody had their seats and their tickets, and there was a little panic, because everybody had tickets but me. Lindsay [Lohan] was trying to get her publicist to get me a ticket, and I just called Chris, and I just came in and sat in the back with the sound people, and watched it from there. Show less «