Ed Helms is excited -- at the moment, he thinks he is. It's been a bit of an emotionally schizophrenic time for the Atlanta-born comic. He finished filming the sequel to one of the biggest box office comedies of all time, but Helms also had to bid adieu to a longtime friend and fellow cast member on a sitcom he's not even sure who the new fictional boss is going to be. "I'm happy one minute and sad the next," Helms half-jokingly admits. "So many things have been happening to me, both great and some not so great. But, overall, I don't think I have anything to complain about. It's all cool."

With the finale of Season 7 airing this week, Helms confesses Steve Carell's decision to leave The Office, with no confirmation on who the new boss will be, has everyone on the show a bit on edge. As the finale approaches, the Peacock Network has been running promo commercials showcasing everyone from Jim Carrey to James Spader interviewing for Michael Scott's (Carell) old job at Dunder Mifflin. But in actuality, not everyone in Tinsel Town wants the gig. "I would never replace the star of a hit sitcom," John Stamos said of his decision to pass on Carell's former job, when it was offered to him. "It's a tough situation, because you are always going to be compared to the guy who came before you. Thanks, but no thanks."

However, most of The Office cast loved the idea and execution of Will Ferrell's recent appearance as Scott's possible replacement at the paper firm. "Could you ask for a more exciting way to transition the show?" says Helms, who portrays Andy Bernard on the sitcom. "It was great. It was Will Ferrell, so you kind of knew what you were going to get."

Helms has even been mentioned as Carell's possible replacement. If Andy is the new boss, it's all news to Helms. "I really don't know who will replace him," he declares. "I'm not even sure if it will be a clean replacement situation. It might just be a reinvention of The Office in some way. Honestly, it's a wide open question. His replacement could be anyone in the office because we have such a talented cast. We have a deep bench, so to speak."

Needless to say, each cast member had mixed feelings about Carell's decision to depart The Office. "I say good riddance," Helms admits, with a smile. "The guy has been dragging us down for seven years now." After a few beats, Helms sadly confesses, "His departure was utterly heartbreaking and not just because of what he brought to the show comically, but because he's intrinsically a good man who has been our Dad on the set. Once Steve left some of us kind of felt like we were a little rudderless."

While he will miss his good friend Steve, he admits that Carell's exit may ultimately have a positive effect on The Office. "Here is a show that's seven years into its maturity and gets to completely reinvent itself," he explains. "That's a rare opportunity. Everyone is fired up to reinvent the show and see what new crazy shenanigans we can come up with for the cast."

Helms is putting his day job on hold for the next couple of months, to prepare to get himself revved-up to hit the international road to promote the release of The Hangover: Part II, the cinematic sibling of the hit motion picture that turned Helms, Bradley Cooper, Justin Bartha and Zach Galifianakis into household names. This time around, Helms' character, Stu Price, gets married -- not in Vegas like last time, but in Bangkok...Thailand!
 
"We went through so much together from making and promoting the first Hangover that the chance to jump back in with these guys was really fun, comfortable and exciting," Helms explains. The studio spared no expense with the sequel, actually flying cast and crew to Asia to film the Bangkok sequences. According to Helms, they had a great time working and playing around in Thailand. "It was exhilarating, intense, overwhelming and ultimately just awesome," he says with a big smile. "There were a lot of highs and lows, but that fit because it's a very intense movie. Our experience making it was extremely intense. You'll see it and feel it onscreen."

Later this month, you can also watch Helms perform his first cinematic love scene with Sigourney Weaver, the Alien actress he had a teenage crush on, in Cedar Rapids. "I felt like a real stud," Helms beams. "It was my first love scene ever in a movie and I was freaking out. He loved doing Cedar Rapids, because he can now declare himself a Hollywood sex symbol. "Clooney and Pitt should be shaking in their boots," he says confidently. "I'm hot on their heels as an international sex symbol. God knows me running around with my little belly and tighty whities is sure to ignite the passion of the ladies around the world."

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The 1 hour season finale of The Office airs Thursday at 9.00 et/pt