‘The Office’ cast members share what they were secretly doing at their desks while filming
At Dunder Mifflin, productivity was at an all-time high.
During “The Office,” which ran for nine seasons from 2005 to 2013, cast members Leslie David Baker, Oscar Nuñez, Angela Kinsey, Ellie Kemper, Creed Bratton, Brian Baumgartner and Kate Flannery would do mundane tasks at their desks during scenes.
While talking to Today in an interview on Thursday, the group admitted they would pass the time doing different chores between takes, with several noting they were normal people when the sitcom premiered in 2005.
“The thing about our show that is so special, I think for all of us, is that none of us were famous when we started,” Flannery, 60, shared. “So, as the show got famous, we did, too.”
“I did my taxes the first year,” she admitted, while Baker, 67, added, “Phyllis did her taxes. I did my taxes. We found my house, her house.”
Not every star had the same outlook, though. Nuñez, 66, teased, “Call me crazy, but I was learning my lines and concentrating on my craft.”
At the time, NBC was looking for small-time actors to portray a group of employees at a fictional paper and office supplies company in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
The series — which also starred Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Mindy Kaling, Jenna Fischer and Rainn Wilson — ended up becoming a household hit.
In honor of the 10th anniversary of the finale episode, Wilson, 59, gushed over the iconic series that still stands the test of time today.
“So grateful for that nine year chapter of my life. Filled with laughter and camaraderie with a radiant and brilliant group of goofballs,” he wrote beneath his Instagram carousel. “I’m forever blessed by my association with a show that has withstood the test of time and brought so much joy to so many over the years.”
Fischer, 51, who hosts “The Office” rewatch podcast “Office Ladies” with Kinsey, 53, has also opened up about the show being a hit years later.
“Thanks to the new digital streaming services, it’s out there for people to see and rewatch. It makes me so happy,” she told Entertainment Weekly in 2019. “It really does deeply resonate with people and is meaningful beyond just being entertaining. I feel honored and love that the show is still out there and making people laugh.”
Now, a spinoff is in the works, with Peacock announcing in 2024 that the untitled comedy will be spearheaded by Greg Daniels, who adapted the original series, along with “Nathan for You” co-creator Michael Koman.
Domhnall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore will star as the leads of an ensemble cast.
As of now, no familiar faces are set to return.
“I will be watching but I will not be showing up. It’s just a new thing and there’s really no reason for my character to show up in something like that,” Carell, 62, told the Hollywood Reporter at the time of the announcement. “But I’m excited about it, it sounds like a great concept. I love the idea.”
