The Office is one of the most iconic TV shows of all time, and I'm willing to provide a painstakingly detailed list of proof for anyone who disagrees. Despite the fact that the NBC series aired its finale episode nearly six years ago, The Office maintains its standing as the most-streamed show on Netflix, still attracting new viewers who fall in love with the documentary-style filming (sans a corny laugh track), deadpan humour, and oh-so-relatable characters. Many of the cast members are still close to this day, frequently reuniting and filling fans with the sudden urge to cue up that catchy theme song.
I witnessed one such reunion firsthand while interviewing Angela Kinsey and Brian Baumgartner, aka your favourite polar-opposite accountants Angela Martin and Kevin Malone. The former Dunder Mifflin employees recently teamed up to celebrate the launch of Heineken 0.0, the brand's new alcohol-free beer, which is quite the natural fit, seeing as Angela Martin would definitely prefer to have boozeless drinks at a get-together organised by her beloved Party Planning Committee. I reminisced with the desk mates turned lifelong friends about some of The Office's most iconic moments (yes, including that chili scene) and walked away with tons of behind-the-scenes secrets to fuel my Scranton obsession.
Do you remember the very first time you witnessed Michael Scott tossing on a purple bandana to "transform" into Prison Mike? I, for one, promptly burst into a fit of laughter, but Kinsey, on the other hand, had to "bite the inside of [her] mouth" to stay in character as the stone-faced Angela Martin — a tactic she commonly relied on to refrain from laughing while filming.
"We broke [character] all the time . . . every day."
Many of her costars weren't as successful with keeping their cool on set. "We broke all the time . . . every day," Kinsey said, revealing that Mindy Kaling was the most prone to breaking character. Kaling, who played the office chatterbox Kelly Kapoor, attempted to hide her laughter by futilely covering her mouth with her hand.
Meanwhile, Baumgartner would pull a move Kinsey dubbed "the tea kettle." "He would be trying to hide his laughter by blowing the air out of the side of his mouth. That almost would make me laugh as much as what was happening in the scene," she said.
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On Filming Kevin's Chili Pot-Dropping Scene
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Kevin Malone may not have been that skilled at accurately crunching numbers as an accountant, but y'know what he was skilled at? Making chili.
One of the character's most unforgettable moments — and the one I personally rewatch when I'm having a bad day — involves him bringing a heaping pot of "Kevin's famous chili" into the Dunder Mifflin office, only to drop said pot and send the content hurling onto the carpet. Because the spillage made such a huge mess on set, Baumgartner was only given three takes to get the shot, but he wound up nailing it on the first try.
"After the first one, I don't think that I could've been cleaned up enough," he said. Oh, and the part where Kevin uses the folder to scoop the brown concoction back into its comically large silver pot? That was totally unplanned — and quite the genius improvisation, if I do say so myself. Spoons are overrated anyway, right?
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On the Saddest Moment in the Show's History
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It's safe to say The Office viewers lost a piece of their heart when Michael Scott moved from Scranton to Colorado with Holly Flax, leaving his days as the "world's best boss" behind. But no one took it harder than the cast members who worked with the man who brought his antics to life: Steve Carell. "It was like a death," Baumgartner said of Carell's departure from the show. "For him to leave it was like a member of the family was leaving." Kinsey agreed, adding that Carell was "a mentor" to her, providing advice throughout different career milestones.
"One of the first big talk shows I did was David Letterman, and I was so nervous. I went up to Steve like, 'What is David Letterman like?'" Kinsey said. "He was always there for us — always. [He's] such a great person outside of playing Michael Scott, and he was so talented, and really was the centre of our show that there was this element of 'what now?' when he left."
"It was like a death."
Will Ferrell was the one who stepped in to answer those "what now?" questions, playing the role of Michael's replacement, DeAngelo Vickers. Ferrell was greeted by a pretty downtrodden cast that was still reeling from Carell's departure. "He turned to me and said, 'I feel like I'm trying to tell jokes at a funeral,'" Kinsey said of Ferrell. "We were so sad but still trying to have fun at the same time."
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On Michael Scott's (Surprise) Return
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The cast's longing for one more "that's what she said" was satisfied while filming The Office's last episode. Leading up the series finale, showrunner Greg Daniels had secretly reached out to Carell asking if there were any circumstances under which he'd reprise his role as Michael Scott. His answer? Dwight and Angela's wedding. Knowing this, Daniels chose to make Michael's return a surprise for the other stars.
"They kept it secret. They did not want it out. It wasn't in the script we read," Kinsey told me, adding that they didn't find out until the morning they began filming scenes for Dwight and Angela's wedding. She still remembers that rush of excitement she felt upon hearing a crew member say, "Steve's in hair and makeup."
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On Whether or Not They're Down For a Reboot
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These days it seems like every film and series under the sun is getting rebooted, so it's not totally far-fetched for fans to keep their hopes up for a revival of The Office. Pretty much every cast member is totally on board with bringing back the NBC sitcom — Baumgartner and Kinsey included.
"If Greg Daniels had a great idea that made sense for us and for all the fans who are out there, yeah, I think we would both be into it," Baumgartner said, with a quick nod of agreement from Kinsey. Consider our fingers crossed!
