WEBVTT - Jenna Fischer - Pt. 1 0:00:05.559 --> 0:00:15.800 This is Jenna Fisher. I played Pam Beasley. Hi everybody, 0:00:15.960 --> 0:00:19.919 welcome back. Here we are. We're back baby the Office 0:00:20.040 --> 0:00:24.800 Deep Dive. I'm your host, Brian Baumgartner. Today you will 0:00:24.840 --> 0:00:30.440 be hearing my conversation with Jenna Fisher. Let me tell 0:00:30.480 --> 0:00:33.280 you something. Jenna and I bonded during the run of 0:00:33.320 --> 0:00:38.240 the show. We were both nerds for television, and we 0:00:38.800 --> 0:00:43.360 would have long conversations about television and what we were 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:47.120 doing in television. In a way, those conversations are what 0:00:47.240 --> 0:00:51.440 led me to want to do this podcast. Conversations that 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:54.680 I had over the years with Jenna and recently since 0:00:54.760 --> 0:00:59.800 I started this podcast. And she obviously is the grand Puma. 0:01:00.200 --> 0:01:03.160 I don't think that's the right phrase of podcast. Her 0:01:03.240 --> 0:01:07.319 and Angela obviously a host and produced office Ladies. Jenna 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:10.039 and I over the last couple of years have been 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:16.160 bonding once again over the office, what the office means 0:01:16.240 --> 0:01:19.399 today in the cultural zeitgeist, and she and I have 0:01:19.480 --> 0:01:25.000 had lengthy conversations about that very subject. And today you're 0:01:25.000 --> 0:01:27.440 gonna get to be a a fly on the wall. 0:01:28.400 --> 0:01:29.800 I can't wait for you to hear it. She is 0:01:29.800 --> 0:01:35.959 one of the most insightful, incisive, smart uh women that 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:38.600 I know, and I'm so excited to talk about the 0:01:38.640 --> 0:01:42.600 thing that we both love, the office. So here she 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:52.120 is Jenna Fisher. Bubble and squeak, I love it. Bubble 0:01:52.160 --> 0:01:59.160 and squeaker, Bubble and squeaker cookie, every moon, lift over 0:01:59.440 --> 0:02:14.520 the night, befo. Oh are you? What is this? I 0:02:14.560 --> 0:02:23.440 don't know? Are you? Oh my gosh, it's happening. You 0:02:23.440 --> 0:02:27.000 can see. I got all dressed up in my in 0:02:27.080 --> 0:02:30.760 my hat and puffy coat. I are we beginning? Have 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:33.360 we begun? I mean you're ready? Looks Officially, you have 0:02:33.400 --> 0:02:36.359 papers and in a computer? Do you use a You 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:39.480 don't use a computer during my podcast, I use papers 0:02:39.480 --> 0:02:43.520 and Angel uses notes note cards. See. I can scroll here, 0:02:44.040 --> 0:02:46.280 I can scroll through things, and I can skip on 0:02:46.400 --> 0:02:49.399 interesting things. But you're staring right in my eyes while 0:02:49.440 --> 0:02:54.320 you do Yeah, so I don't have to do this. Yeah. 0:02:54.360 --> 0:02:57.200 That's so loud and messy, and I was very distracted 0:02:57.240 --> 0:03:00.200 by that. It's slightly weird to be staring it out 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:03.400 while someone's hand is like scrolling. I won't see it. 0:03:03.600 --> 0:03:05.960 I won't, I won't. I'm not going to scroll through 0:03:06.120 --> 0:03:12.320 fifteen pages. Fifteen pages. Listen, there's a lot here. This 0:03:12.440 --> 0:03:15.919 is a big day. It's a really big day. So 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:22.200 two three, what were you doing before the office? I 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:25.720 had been at this point finally making a living as 0:03:25.720 --> 0:03:28.799 an actor for one year. I'd been in Los Angeles 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:32.200 over seven years, but I was finally earning my all 0:03:32.280 --> 0:03:36.440 of my living from just acting. I had done a pilot. 0:03:36.840 --> 0:03:38.520 You get paid a lot to do a pilot, so 0:03:38.560 --> 0:03:41.280 that was a big thing. But the pilot wasn't picked up. 0:03:41.320 --> 0:03:45.560 So I made a grandiose announcement to my management and 0:03:45.640 --> 0:03:48.520 agents that I would be quitting acting. I couldn't take 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:51.480 it anymore. I couldn't take the rejection. I just was 0:03:51.520 --> 0:03:55.320 putting my heart out there and I just thought, I'm 0:03:55.320 --> 0:03:58.160 going to become a vet technician. I was very sure 0:03:58.680 --> 0:04:01.160 this is true, this is true. Don't remember this. I 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:04.320 looked into it. It's a two year program. It's very 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:07.800 full time. And my manager, Naomi oeden Kirk, she said 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:10.720 to me, Jenna, will you give us one more year? 0:04:10.960 --> 0:04:14.720 I mean, you're so close, you really are. You don't 0:04:14.800 --> 0:04:19.200 understand this is what it is. My acting coach yelled 0:04:19.240 --> 0:04:22.800 at me and said, don't be stupid. You're doing great. 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:26.480 This is what an actor's life is. It's a series 0:04:26.680 --> 0:04:31.200 of minor accomplishments and tons of rejection. So this is 0:04:31.279 --> 0:04:34.719 being an actor. You're doing it. So I said, Okay, 0:04:34.720 --> 0:04:37.880 I'll do one more year. And that was the year 0:04:37.920 --> 0:04:40.040 that I got the audition for Pam on the Office. 0:04:40.600 --> 0:04:43.560 By the way, I was also uh starting down my 0:04:43.640 --> 0:04:50.080 vet tech. I was working with an animal rescue group 0:04:50.160 --> 0:04:53.640 and I was taking care of cats in my own home. 0:04:53.839 --> 0:04:57.039 I was learning how to do things like fluids and 0:04:57.880 --> 0:05:01.279 all kinds of medical things. I did not know this. Yeah, 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:05.480 I was trapped neutering and releasing cats in the wild word. 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:08.200 Then Allison Jones called and asked me to audition for 0:05:08.240 --> 0:05:10.960 the Office. Now I had been auditioning for Allison Jones 0:05:11.000 --> 0:05:13.680 for five years. So the first thing I went on 0:05:13.720 --> 0:05:17.359 a general meeting with Allison and uh it was a 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:20.680 great meeting, and Allison called me into audition for a 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:23.600 one line role on Freaks and Geeks. I didn't get it. 0:05:24.279 --> 0:05:27.279 Then Allison called me to audition for Undeclared, which was 0:05:27.279 --> 0:05:30.560 a Jet Apatow show, for one line, and I got it. 0:05:31.160 --> 0:05:33.719 And then that one line led to a second episode 0:05:33.720 --> 0:05:36.440 where I had two lines. So this was my first 0:05:36.480 --> 0:05:40.640 recurring role. But this is all you know a while ago. 0:05:41.760 --> 0:05:46.839 Um I think I also through Allison, got my very 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:50.560 first speaking role on television was for Spin City the 0:05:50.680 --> 0:05:54.040 Charlie Sheen years. So those were some a few of 0:05:54.120 --> 0:05:56.839 my ways that Allison had been in my life, and 0:05:56.920 --> 0:05:58.800 she was great. She also called me in for like 0:05:58.839 --> 0:06:02.400 a Steven Spielberg mini series that I bombed. It went nowhere. 0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:04.919 I was horrible, and she said, maybe drama is not 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:09.320 your thing, and then yeah, you know it's You're gonna 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:11.600 be fine. Don't worry. I'm still going to call you 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:13.479 in for other things, but maybe drama is not your thing. 0:06:14.920 --> 0:06:18.360 So very quickly, my Alison Jones story was I moved 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:21.760 to l A right before The Office started, and I 0:06:21.839 --> 0:06:24.039 knew the British version of the Office very well, and 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:26.039 I knew they were doing an American version. I was like, 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:29.600 this is the show that I must be on. And 0:06:29.680 --> 0:06:32.400 so I went to my agent at the time and 0:06:32.440 --> 0:06:35.440 I said, Okay, they're looking for people who are not known, 0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:37.960 and they said, this is a direct quote. They said, 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:43.640 they're looking for unknown people, but not like you, unknown, 0:06:44.040 --> 0:06:49.280 not like totally. But my manager he kept calling and 0:06:49.320 --> 0:06:51.279 calling and calling, and I went and I met with 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:53.320 Phillis then I met with Alison and then I ended 0:06:53.400 --> 0:06:56.480 up doing that. Well, so here's the thing that little 0:06:56.600 --> 0:07:01.000 caveat in the casting call that said known actors only. 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:05.640 That was why this was my big break. And this 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:08.000 was also why I had been so frustrated and wanted 0:07:08.000 --> 0:07:10.360 to give up, because I would go through these long 0:07:10.440 --> 0:07:14.160 audition processes for television shows and I would get as 0:07:14.200 --> 0:07:17.640 far as the on camera test part, and then they 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:20.440 would give it to Alice and Hannagan. Alison Hannagan got 0:07:20.520 --> 0:07:23.920 like three parts that I was four. She I could 0:07:23.960 --> 0:07:28.560 not breakthrough Alice in Hannagan. But I was this unknown 0:07:28.600 --> 0:07:31.640 actor and I had absolutely nothing to offer a billboard 0:07:31.680 --> 0:07:36.040 on sunset boulevard. I had, you know, no name recognition. 0:07:37.000 --> 0:07:41.560 So I couldn't get these big lead parts until the office, 0:07:41.720 --> 0:07:44.320 when finally the thing that had been working against me 0:07:44.960 --> 0:07:47.280 was my gift, which was that I was unknown. Right, 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:49.560 And now, what do you remember about the day off? 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:52.160 Did you see anybody else there any other people that 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:54.320 you you knew at the time or that ended up 0:07:54.360 --> 0:07:58.160 being cast, or was there anything specific about that day? Well, 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:02.000 I've seen those casting sheets that Allison showed us at 0:08:02.000 --> 0:08:04.520 the end of the series, and I saw all the 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:07.800 various well known now well known people who came in 0:08:07.840 --> 0:08:09.880 to read for the different parts, and none of those 0:08:09.880 --> 0:08:12.920 people were at my casting call that I remember, but 0:08:13.000 --> 0:08:17.280 I was. I was just very focused on my audition. 0:08:18.440 --> 0:08:22.760 Can we play that clip? You have a clip? M hmm. 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:26.120 I hope they get rid of me, because then I 0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:28.880 might actually get off my ass and do something, because 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:30.800 I don't think it's many little girls dreams to grow 0:08:30.840 --> 0:08:34.000 up and be a receptionist. And I don't know what 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:36.400 I'm gonna do, but whatever it is, it's got to 0:08:36.440 --> 0:08:39.480 be a career move, not just another arbitrary job. And 0:08:40.840 --> 0:08:43.040 Jim's advice was that it's better to be at the 0:08:43.040 --> 0:08:45.199 bottom of a ladder that you want to climb than 0:08:45.240 --> 0:08:50.640 halfway up one you don't. Was that my audition? That's insane? 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:53.880 Do you remember that? I mean? Was that was that you? 0:08:54.000 --> 0:08:57.040 Or was that was that scripted? That was scripted? So 0:08:57.240 --> 0:09:00.640 I had a monologue that was scripted that that talking head. 0:09:01.360 --> 0:09:03.880 I also did a scene. I did the scene where 0:09:03.920 --> 0:09:06.960 Michael fires Pam and she calls him a jerk, where 0:09:06.960 --> 0:09:10.320 he fake fires her as a joke, and then I 0:09:10.400 --> 0:09:15.760 had a just improvised interview with Greg. Greg Daniels was 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:19.840 there at my first audition. I went, I guess straight 0:09:19.840 --> 0:09:22.720 to producers, as they call it. So Alison and Greg 0:09:22.760 --> 0:09:27.080 were there, and I remember Greg being very wringing his 0:09:27.200 --> 0:09:29.600 hands like in like a fun like he couldn't believe 0:09:29.679 --> 0:09:32.760 he's going to get to start this project and he's 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:37.200 so excited, and and I just remember the way he 0:09:37.240 --> 0:09:39.360 was looking at me. He was very curious, kind of like, 0:09:39.920 --> 0:09:45.959 she's not doing much? Is she interesting? That's so well, 0:09:46.160 --> 0:09:49.120 So I'm gonna start talking about myself again, because it's 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:53.040 ultimately everything is about me. My thing was I knew 0:09:53.040 --> 0:09:56.040 that Kevin was the part that I should have, and 0:09:56.480 --> 0:10:01.200 Alison Jones is brilliant, but she had me reading for Stanley, 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:07.079 and so I read Stanley as if it were Kevin Ah, 0:10:07.200 --> 0:10:11.480 And then I left the room thinking, well, I'm not sure, 0:10:11.559 --> 0:10:14.560 and sure enough she ran after me and said, we 0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:17.439 had this other part that we want you to look at. 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:21.880 And so then that's how that happened. Oh that's amazing. Um, 0:10:21.920 --> 0:10:26.600 the test process, how is that? Yeah? So normally when 0:10:26.640 --> 0:10:30.400 you test for a show, you just perform your scenes 0:10:30.480 --> 0:10:33.959 live in front of a conference room full of executives. 0:10:34.559 --> 0:10:37.520 But we were told that because the camera was such 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:40.280 an essential part of our show, and relating to the 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:43.080 camera was so important that they wanted to do an 0:10:43.120 --> 0:10:47.240 on camera series of test scenes with the final four 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:51.520 actors for each part. So they called us into an 0:10:51.520 --> 0:10:54.880 actual office building for two days and they mixed and 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:58.920 matched us and they taped us doing scenes. And it 0:10:59.000 --> 0:11:01.160 was great because we were able to give those looks 0:11:01.160 --> 0:11:04.480 to camera. We were able to react when we noticed 0:11:04.520 --> 0:11:06.800 the camera was there when we thought it wasn't. It 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:10.400 really was such a huge element of the show. Greg's 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:14.040 other argument for doing it that way was that the 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:17.959 show was small and its acting and the moments that 0:11:18.000 --> 0:11:21.560 played the biggest were small moments, and he didn't really 0:11:21.600 --> 0:11:24.160 feel like auditioning in a conference room was going to 0:11:24.320 --> 0:11:28.120 give the executives the right feel for what he was 0:11:28.160 --> 0:11:32.360 going for what the show was. Yeah, totally genius. And 0:11:32.400 --> 0:11:35.679 now I think you have told this story or this 0:11:35.760 --> 0:11:39.520 is lore. What do you remember about Your manager calls 0:11:39.520 --> 0:11:42.240 you and says you've been cast as Pam. Yes, I 0:11:42.320 --> 0:11:44.640 think you might be wondering if The first question I 0:11:44.679 --> 0:11:49.679 asked was is John Krasinski playing Jim and that is true? 0:11:49.760 --> 0:11:53.520 And they said yes, And I was like, Okay, then 0:11:53.520 --> 0:11:56.240 we're going to be fine. Because I was a little worried. 0:11:56.280 --> 0:11:58.000 I was like, if it's not him, I hope I 0:11:58.040 --> 0:12:00.440 can still do it, because they mad to me with 0:12:00.520 --> 0:12:03.720 him a lot on our test day, and you know, 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:07.199 I was like, this guy's making it real easy for me, 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:29.320 so please cast me with him. Now, going back to 0:12:29.360 --> 0:12:34.000 the pilot, it seems to me that so like your 0:12:34.040 --> 0:12:37.440 test experience, right, there were a number of things that 0:12:37.520 --> 0:12:42.200 were unique and different that came from from Ken or 0:12:42.280 --> 0:12:45.640 Greg or a combination. Um, what are some of the 0:12:45.679 --> 0:12:48.439 things that you remember that we're different in the way 0:12:48.480 --> 0:12:52.240 that the pilot was shot from say a normal television show. 0:12:53.080 --> 0:12:57.559 I remember on the pilot, everyone in the cast had 0:12:57.600 --> 0:12:59.920 to be hair and makeup ready and at their desk 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:05.079 starting at seven thirty am, and we would work quote 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:09.160 unquote for thirty minutes. And Ken would walk around with 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:13.800 just a camera operator and a boom and record us 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:17.640 at our desks. Just be roll of us at our desks, right, 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:23.040 And what what did you think of the pilot when 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:25.000 you saw it? What did I think of the pilot 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:26.680 when I saw it. I must have watched that pilot 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:30.079 a gazillion times. I have a very embarrassing story about 0:13:30.120 --> 0:13:35.280 watching them. Okay, go ahead. So um. There was a 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:38.559 friend of a friend who was this big deal manager 0:13:39.120 --> 0:13:43.720 and he really wanted to see the pilot. And I thought, well, 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:46.440 I have a DVD of the pilot. Maybe I'll take 0:13:46.480 --> 0:13:49.840 it to his office. But I was so afraid of 0:13:49.880 --> 0:13:53.800 it leaking that I insisted that he watched it while 0:13:53.840 --> 0:13:56.640 I sit across from him. I wouldn't leave the office 0:13:56.679 --> 0:13:59.240 without the DVD. I was like, well, you can watch it, 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:01.120 but you have to watch it right now while I wait, 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:05.120 what was I doing? I was nobody. I don't know. 0:14:06.160 --> 0:14:11.200 Isn't that so weird? So bizarre? But he really wanted 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:13.920 to see it because everybody in town wanted to see 0:14:13.960 --> 0:14:16.760 the pilot. Everyone wanted to see it. They were dying 0:14:16.800 --> 0:14:19.200 to see what this American version of the British show 0:14:19.240 --> 0:14:21.920 was going to be. Now, Brian, do you remember coming 0:14:21.920 --> 0:14:24.320 to my house and watching the pilot and sitting on 0:14:24.400 --> 0:14:27.320 my floor and gathering all together? Yes? I do. Yeah. 0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:29.880 Angela was talking to me about it recently and she 0:14:30.000 --> 0:14:31.920 was like, well, I remember you couldn't get the sound 0:14:31.920 --> 0:14:35.160 to work on your sound system And I was like really, 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:37.840 and she was like yeah, and I remember my dog 0:14:37.880 --> 0:14:39.520 got out and I had to chase my dog down 0:14:39.560 --> 0:14:42.280 the street. That's another story, but but that was sort 0:14:42.280 --> 0:14:44.880 of the beginning of us all gathering together to watch 0:14:44.920 --> 0:14:47.240 the show every week, which is what we did. That's 0:14:47.280 --> 0:14:54.280 so I've totally forgot about that. Um So, so we're 0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:59.040 in a real office space and we are doing this 0:14:59.400 --> 0:15:02.600 fake work, b rural stuff, like all of these elements 0:15:02.680 --> 0:15:06.360 to try to create sort of the ultimate reality. And 0:15:06.360 --> 0:15:08.920 to me that there's something interesting. Well, what would you 0:15:08.920 --> 0:15:12.240 say your training was as an act as an actor? Yeah, um, 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:14.600 I have a Bachelor of Arts and Theater from a 0:15:14.600 --> 0:15:17.960 little liberal arts college in rural Missouri called Treuman State. 0:15:18.720 --> 0:15:22.480 So this job was a dream job for me as 0:15:22.640 --> 0:15:25.600 a theater geek. To be able to do this acting 0:15:25.720 --> 0:15:29.280 exercise where I'm at my disk, excuse me very much, 0:15:29.320 --> 0:15:33.080 but I'm acting, was like, oh, it was everything my 0:15:33.200 --> 0:15:36.880 training had prepared me for that. Yes, that's and so 0:15:37.040 --> 0:15:39.920 that was you and then Rain and I knew each 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:42.760 other a little bit from theater as well. And then 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:47.520 you've got Angela and Oscar and Steve who are like 0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:52.120 improv right, and we've got b J and Craig Robinson 0:15:52.240 --> 0:15:55.960 that are stand up guys. Primarily to me, there's there 0:15:56.000 --> 0:15:59.440 was something about the creation of the ensemble that there 0:15:59.480 --> 0:16:02.880 were all of these funny people, but they all sort 0:16:02.880 --> 0:16:05.480 of had a different perspective, and there was something about 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:09.080 the reality, sort of the ultra reality of being stuck 0:16:09.080 --> 0:16:12.840 in this room and doing this work and always being 0:16:12.920 --> 0:16:16.320 there together that that sort of helped meld us together 0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:19.480 in a weird way. Yeah, I think if we had 0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:23.320 all been improv performers, it would have been a ship show, right, 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:25.800 Or if we were all theater people, we would have 0:16:25.800 --> 0:16:29.120 been taking off all of ourselves too. Seriously, the mix 0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:33.560 was important, like the way all of the ingredients came together. 0:16:34.520 --> 0:16:36.880 And I think you know, another thing that was really 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:40.680 unusual was that we were all always at work, because 0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:42.960 if you weren't a scene, you were in the background 0:16:42.960 --> 0:16:45.480 of a scene. We would joke sometimes we'd be like, 0:16:45.520 --> 0:16:48.320 do none of us go to the bathroom? We never 0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:52.800 leave for lunch, Like we're always all at our desks. 0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:54.840 By season six or seven, people were going to the 0:16:54.840 --> 0:16:58.760 bathroom a little bit more from Time to Die more 0:16:58.800 --> 0:17:02.760 more often then Um, all right, well theoter nerd. How 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:07.359 is Pam different from Jenna? Well, it would not take 0:17:07.400 --> 0:17:10.520 me three years to tell Jim that I had feelings 0:17:10.560 --> 0:17:13.520 for him. I mean, I would have dumped Roy much quicker. 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:16.720 I would have been like, who's this guy? Because not 0:17:16.840 --> 0:17:19.000 just that, I mean when we meet Pam and Jim, 0:17:19.040 --> 0:17:21.960 they've already been working together for a couple of years, 0:17:22.520 --> 0:17:25.320 and then it's still three more years after that before 0:17:25.880 --> 0:17:30.160 they figure some stuff out. I mean, I I'm much 0:17:30.280 --> 0:17:37.520 more ambitious, much more of an entrepreneurial spirit than Pam. However, 0:17:38.680 --> 0:17:42.760 the way that we are very similar is that it 0:17:42.840 --> 0:17:47.880 took me a long time, like Pam, to figure out 0:17:47.920 --> 0:17:51.120 how to speak up for myself. Like Pam, I spent 0:17:51.160 --> 0:17:53.760 many years sitting at a reception desk wishing that I 0:17:53.800 --> 0:17:57.959 was doing something else. I literally sat at reception desks 0:17:57.960 --> 0:17:59.919 and day dreamed about the day that I might be 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:03.560 an actor. And Pam sits at that desk and she 0:18:03.680 --> 0:18:08.560 daydreams about being artistically expressed, And so I could really 0:18:08.600 --> 0:18:11.800 relate to that, that feeling of I want something more 0:18:11.920 --> 0:18:13.879 than what I'm doing, but I don't know how to 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:18.359 get it exactly. But I will say that as Jenna, 0:18:18.840 --> 0:18:22.320 I was taking much more actions in my life to 0:18:22.480 --> 0:18:24.800 get out of my situation than I think Pam did. 0:18:24.840 --> 0:18:28.639 It took Pam a lot longer, but she had a 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:31.600 lot of more um forces against her than I did. 0:18:32.200 --> 0:18:35.840 You know, I'm not sure Pam's mom was saying things 0:18:35.880 --> 0:18:38.879 to her, or her parents were saying things to her like, honey, 0:18:38.920 --> 0:18:41.320 you can do anything you want to do. If you 0:18:41.359 --> 0:18:43.520 want to be an artist, you go be an artist. 0:18:43.600 --> 0:18:45.560 I mean that that was the messaging that I was 0:18:45.640 --> 0:18:48.520 getting from my parents. You gotta go for it. Do 0:18:48.560 --> 0:18:51.600 what you love in life. Even if you aren't successful, 0:18:51.640 --> 0:18:53.680 you'll be glad you did it. I mean, I had 0:18:53.680 --> 0:18:56.359 those kind of parents. They didn't support me financially as 0:18:56.400 --> 0:18:59.560 an actor, but they supported my spirit and they were 0:18:59.600 --> 0:19:02.640 always is there for that pep talk, And I mean, 0:19:02.680 --> 0:19:05.040 I don't even know if I can explain how valuable 0:19:05.080 --> 0:19:07.280 that was. And it was clear to me that Pam 0:19:07.359 --> 0:19:10.679 didn't have some of those tools and her toolbox. Do 0:19:10.720 --> 0:19:14.720 you do you think that Greg and the writing staff, 0:19:14.720 --> 0:19:17.000 because in a way they were masterful about this, right 0:19:17.119 --> 0:19:22.399 about finding things, finding things that were true to you 0:19:22.960 --> 0:19:26.280 the actor, and incorporating them into the story. Do you 0:19:26.359 --> 0:19:29.760 think that Pam's want and desire to be an artist 0:19:29.760 --> 0:19:31.280 and to be seen in that way? Do you think 0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:35.320 that there's anything that was taken from you. I'm not sure, 0:19:35.440 --> 0:19:39.199 because if I remember correctly, I feel like the character 0:19:39.320 --> 0:19:42.280 on the British show had some minor desire to be 0:19:42.320 --> 0:19:46.080 an artist. Doesn't doesn't the Tim character give Don some 0:19:46.200 --> 0:19:49.359 drawing pencils at some point? Am I making that up? 0:19:49.960 --> 0:19:53.639 I don't remember. I don't know, But um I do 0:19:53.760 --> 0:19:58.760 know that Greg used to ask me questions about my thoughts, 0:19:58.760 --> 0:20:03.280 and that that was so unusual. The fact that several 0:20:03.440 --> 0:20:06.440 of our writers were also actors, so they were down 0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:08.760 with us, they were observing us all the time. I 0:20:08.800 --> 0:20:13.320 mean you, Angela and Oscar single handedly created that insane 0:20:13.400 --> 0:20:17.119 dynamic between the three of you through I believe improvisation 0:20:17.200 --> 0:20:21.320 when you were bored in the background, and so then 0:20:21.640 --> 0:20:24.840 you've got Mindy, b J and Paul watching you guys 0:20:25.359 --> 0:20:27.520 and then taking that back up to the writer's room 0:20:27.560 --> 0:20:30.679 and flushing it out. It was genius that Gregg did 0:20:30.720 --> 0:20:33.960 it that way. But then more than that, Greg truly 0:20:34.000 --> 0:20:36.680 believed that no one knew our characters more than we did, 0:20:37.200 --> 0:20:39.479 and he would ask us questions all the time. He 0:20:39.600 --> 0:20:42.800 cared about our opinions. He wanted to know all the time, 0:20:42.840 --> 0:20:45.080 what do you think Pam would think of this situation. 0:20:45.119 --> 0:20:48.399 He was always very curious. He also knew that I 0:20:48.480 --> 0:20:51.680 worked in offices and that I had worked as a receptionist, 0:20:51.720 --> 0:20:54.399 and he used to ask me questions, what's the craziest 0:20:54.480 --> 0:20:57.360 thing one of your boss has ever made you do? 0:20:58.359 --> 0:21:01.919 And I can't remember if I told the story to 0:21:02.080 --> 0:21:06.040 him before or after, But there's that episode where Michael 0:21:06.160 --> 0:21:11.639 is refusing to sign all of his documents until the 0:21:11.720 --> 0:21:13.879 end of the day. He just keeps putting it off 0:21:13.920 --> 0:21:15.520 and putting it off and putting it off. And I 0:21:15.560 --> 0:21:19.080 told Greg I had this boss once that every month, 0:21:19.160 --> 0:21:20.600 at the end of the month, he had to turn 0:21:20.640 --> 0:21:23.320 in this boiler plate report and he would put it 0:21:23.359 --> 0:21:24.960 off and put it off. In one time, he put 0:21:25.000 --> 0:21:27.119 it off so long I had to drive to l 0:21:27.200 --> 0:21:31.639 a X because that was the last FedEx pickup. And 0:21:31.680 --> 0:21:35.119 I was so pissed. And Greg was like he loved 0:21:35.160 --> 0:21:38.040 those stories. He loved whenever we told him stories like that, 0:21:38.119 --> 0:21:59.879 and they would get used. Okay, so was you have 0:21:59.920 --> 0:22:04.159 the pilot we eventually air. It's striking to me that 0:22:04.840 --> 0:22:10.440 you started like December ish right of like two thousand 0:22:10.600 --> 0:22:14.480 three into January. We shot the pilot in February of 0:22:14.520 --> 0:22:19.840 two thousand four, and it's thirteen months before anything gets 0:22:19.840 --> 0:22:22.400 on the air. It's not so, I mean, it's well, 0:22:22.400 --> 0:22:24.680 I've got a story about that. We shot the pilot 0:22:25.160 --> 0:22:29.880 in March of two thousand four, and my thirtieth birthday 0:22:29.960 --> 0:22:33.840 was March seven of two thousand four, and I did 0:22:33.880 --> 0:22:36.600 not invite any of you to my thirtieth birthday party 0:22:36.800 --> 0:22:40.120 because I assumed I would never see you again. I 0:22:40.200 --> 0:22:43.360 was so sure that making the pilot was the end 0:22:43.520 --> 0:22:45.679 of our show, that it would never get picked up, 0:22:46.440 --> 0:22:49.920 not because it wasn't good, but because it was so 0:22:50.000 --> 0:22:53.840 good and so weird and so special that no one 0:22:53.880 --> 0:22:56.280 would give us a chance. I thought, well, I don't know. 0:22:57.119 --> 0:23:00.240 All the word on the street was just how fun 0:23:00.359 --> 0:23:03.760 making your pilot? That's all it'll be. And then, similarly, 0:23:03.920 --> 0:23:07.560 have fun making your next five episodes. They'll probably just 0:23:07.600 --> 0:23:12.080 be yours to own on a DVD enjoy. So yeah, 0:23:12.160 --> 0:23:14.680 so then we go back, We make these five episodes 0:23:14.680 --> 0:23:19.320 in a complete bubble, and then it was not until yeah, 0:23:19.359 --> 0:23:22.320 like that following what was it? Was it like April 0:23:22.480 --> 0:23:25.680 of two thousand five? They started March of two thousand five, 0:23:25.760 --> 0:23:29.440 they finally start airing and they had to tell us 0:23:29.480 --> 0:23:32.360 by May if we were picked up for the second season, 0:23:32.400 --> 0:23:38.240 then yes, yeah, crazy, and we were a disaster, like 0:23:38.280 --> 0:23:42.919 a ratings disaster. Well, if if it were today, we 0:23:42.920 --> 0:23:45.760 would be a ratings hit right off the bat, because 0:23:46.359 --> 0:23:51.320 but yes, we were a ratings disaster. But then you 0:23:51.359 --> 0:23:54.320 know what happened, and I know exactly why we got 0:23:54.400 --> 0:23:59.080 picked up. It was that four year old Virgin came out. Yeah, 0:23:59.200 --> 0:24:04.439 fort year old Virtue came out. And I can I 0:24:04.480 --> 0:24:08.600 can hear in my imagination a conference room filled with 0:24:08.720 --> 0:24:11.159 NBC executives all saying, we aren't going to be the 0:24:11.160 --> 0:24:15.000 assholes who let Steve Correll, the number one box office comedy, 0:24:15.000 --> 0:24:18.960 start out of his television contract. Right, we're picking up 0:24:18.960 --> 0:24:23.399 this show for six episodes of season two. Again, six 0:24:23.440 --> 0:24:26.440 episodes is all we got for season two. But then 0:24:26.480 --> 0:24:30.960 they really did Taylor the show more to Steve, more 0:24:31.040 --> 0:24:35.840 to what Steve would be as Michael rather than um 0:24:35.880 --> 0:24:39.159 as inspired by David Brent. So what do you remember? 0:24:39.240 --> 0:24:42.240 What differences do you remember between one and two? Like 0:24:42.400 --> 0:24:45.480 artistic changes, artistic changes. I think the biggest thing I 0:24:45.560 --> 0:24:48.639