It’s Happening! Stay Calm! We Have 8 Fun Facts About ‘The Office’
Everybody needs facts about The Office! To this day, the hilarious mockumentary The Office remains one of television's most iconic series, bringing home five Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe. Starring Steve Carell, Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski, the show follows a group of employees of the Dunder Mifflin paper company and explores their day-to-day work experience, consisting of romance, some inappropriate behavior and a lot of inter-office clashing.
Maybe you're feeling for nostalgic for the hist sitcom and want to watch it again, have friends who won't shut up about it so figure you'd better check it out for yourself, or have it on your own TV bucket list, these facts about The Office might just be the thing to convince you to get going.
1. B.J. Novak was also a writer for the series
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Although everyone associates B.J. Novak with his role of Ryan Howard on The Office, what fans might not realize is that the actor was originally a writer for the series as well. Among the episodes he scripted are "Diversity Day" (season 1, episode 2) and "Threat Level Midnight" (season 7, episode 17).
2. Phyllis Smith was a casting agent before she took on the character of Phyllis
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The actress who portrays Phyllis, Phyllis Smith, was never meant to star on the series. She was originally a casting agent for The Office, her job to read parts with actors auditioning for different roles. But then the character of Phyllis was written into the U.S. version of the series after the director overheard the actress reading with the others. It was believed Smith would make a great addition to the show.
3. Steve Carell almost didn’t star in the sitcom
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It’s impossible to imagine The Office without Michael Scott (Steve Carell), but the actor almost wasn’t cast. Actors initially considered for the part included Paul Giamatti and Martin Short, but the role was eventually offered to Carell. Then, the actor turned it down due to a contract he had for another series. As a result, Bob Odenkirk, who starred in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, was ast as Michael Scott. However, Carell’s other series ended up getting cancelled and he soon took on the role everyone knows and loves.
4. The set of The Office was kept at a very specific temperature
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Many actors have specific requirements while working, but Carell had an interesting condition: The set had to always be a very cool 64 degrees, according to Dwight actor Rainn Wilson, who shared the tidbit in his book, The Bassoon King. The reason behind the specific temperature: Carell would sweat too much if it was any warmer.
5. A lot of the characters' names are the same as the actors that portray them
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A character’s name says it all about who they are on a series, but The Office went with the notion of naming many f them after the actor bringing them to life. Among them were Phyllis (Phyllis Smith), Creed (Creed Bratton), Oscar (Oscar Nu?ez) and Angela (Angela Kinsey).
6. The Office is based on another series
The Office is loved for how original and hilarious the content is, but did you know it wasn’t the first version of the premise? The show everyone knows and loves is based on a British series of the same name, which came out in 2001. The UK version stars Ricky Gervais and Martin Freeman. The original, however, only lasted for a total of 14 episodes.
7. The opening credits came about due to one of the stars
You know the opening credits of The Office that shows off the city of Scranton? You can thank John Krasinski, who portrayed Jim Halpert, for that. The actor filmed the video bit before the credits role while he was visiting the city with friends. Krasinski explained in an interview, "My head exploded when Greg Daniels [creator] gave me the job. The first two things I did was jump on a couch, screamed... I got into a car with my friend Kevin and we drove to Scranton, and I went out the sunroof... and shot all the pieces of Scranton."
8. These frenemies are besties in real life
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On The Office, characters Pam and Angela aren’t the best of friends. The best term to describe their relationship would probably be frenemies, as they secretly judge each other through the course of the series. But in real life, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey are actually best friends. The actors even host a podcast together, Office Ladies, where they recap the episodes and share secrets from set.
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