Behind the Scenes

So we all love the TV show The Office, but how did it become so great? It all has to do with the cast and the people who are behind the scenes. So I decided to research the main people who make up The Office and tell you a little bit about each of them. I will soon do another post on the supporting cast and some more behind the scenes people, so stay tuned!

Producer:

Greg Daniels: Before adapting the popular BBC series of The Office for NBC, Daniels was a writer for Saturday Night Live for three seasons, then moved on as a writer and producer for The Simpsons, and then co-created King of the Hill. He has won an Emmy for SNL and The Simpsons and The Office. Fun Fact: He attended Harvard University and wrote for the Harvard Lampoon with Conan O’Brien.

Writers:

Michael Schur: He wrote for six seasons of Saturday Night Live before moving to The Office. He also went to Harvard and was a member of the Harvard Lampoon. He appears in a few episodes of The Office as Dwight’s cousin Mose. Fun Fact: He is married to Jennifer Philbin, Regis Philbin’s daughter.

B.J. Novak: After graduating from Harvard in 2001, he moved to Los Angeles and began working clubs as a comedian. His acting career began on MTV’s Punk’d; he was the lead accomplice on the show’s second season. He now stars in The Office as Ryan Howard and has written many episodes. Fun Fact: He attended Newton South High School with John Krasinski (Jim Halpert).

Paul Lieberstein: After writing for a few small TV shows, he became a producer and writer for King of the Hill with Greg Daniels and also worked on The Drew Carey Show and The Bernie Mac Show. After working with Greg Daniels, he was asked to come on the staff of The Office as a writer and to play Toby Flenderson. Fun Fact: His sister is married to Greg Daniels and his brother is married to Angela Kinsey.

Mindy Kaling: She attended Dartmouth College where she was a member of the improvisational comedy troupe and the a cappella group, as well as the creator of a comic strip in The Dartmouth college newspaper. Along with writing for The Office, she also plays the character Kelly Kapur. Fun Fact: Her real name is Vera Chokalingam.

Cast:

Steve Carell: He originally wanted to be a radio broadcaster, but then found his career as a performer after performing with the Chicago troupe The Second City where he first met his wife, Nancy Walls (plays Carol Stills in The Office). In 1999, he became a correspondent on The Daily Show and remained as a regular on the show until 2004. In 2005 he signed on to star in The Office as Michael Scott. He has starred in many movies such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Little Miss Sunshine, Evan Almighty, Dan in Real Life, and Get Smart. He has also written two episodes of The Office: “Casino Night” and “Survivor man”. Fun Fact: He auditioned for SNL but lost to Will Ferrell.

Rainn Wilson: He has a theater background from Tufts University and University of Washington and has taught acting classes. He holds an MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and was a member of The Acting Company. Along with starring in The Office as Dwight Scrute, he has appeared in episodes of CSI, Entourage, and Monk and recently starred in the comedy The Rocker. Fun Fact: He originally auditioned for the role of Michael Scott.

John Krasinski: Before college, he took a semester off to teach English in Costa Rica. He then went to Brown University where he graduated as a playwright. He moved to South Carolina to pursue his career in acting where he did commercials and readings of off-Broadway plays. He spent the summer of 2000 as a script intern on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. He currently plays the role of Jim Halpert on The Office. He has appeared in many movies and starred in License to Wed and Leatherheads. Fun Fact: He has two of his friends filmed the footage of Scranton, Pennsylvania for The Office, including clips shown in the opening credits.

Jenna Fischer: She was born in Fort Wayne, IN and received a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Truman State University. Prior to joining the cast of The Office, she guest-starred in shows such as Six Feet Under, That 70’s Show, What I Like About You, and Spin City. She then joined The Office as Pam Beesly and would like to stay on the show for as long as possible. She has been in movies such as Employee of the Month, Lucky 13, The Brothers Solomon, Blades of Glory, and Walk Hard. She was married to James Gunn for 7 years and they are recently divorced. Fun Fact: She was #37 in People Magazine’s 100 Most Beatiful, 2006 issue.