Lot Word Do Trick On Brian Baumgartner’s New 'Office' Podcast

Though lovable Kevin Malone famously said “why use lot word when few word do trick?” the actor who played him, Brian Baumgartner, has no trouble getting a lot of words out of his guests about their time working on one of the greatest comedy shows ever on his new podcast, The Office Deep Dive. He sits down with the cast and crew for insights and memories that “even the most diehard fan has never heard before.” In the first episode, Brian talks with the actual World’s Greatest Boss, creator and showrunner Greg Daniels, about the casting process, how badly the pilot episode tested with audiences, and what he considers to be the greatest influences on the show. In the second episode, he and Rainn Wilson talk about their backgrounds in theatre, how Greg Daniels’ grandparents actually were beet farmers in Poland, and the jokes that got cut that hurt the most.

Greg talks about his time writing for The Simpsons and showrunning King of the Hill, the scripts he would pitch for Seinfeld, and the first time he ever saw the British version of The Office. The casting process for his version was three months long, involving days of shooting screen tests with various contenders, doing improv games and cold reads to find the right ensemble. Jenna Fischer was a quick pick (“It was like a real interview for a receptionist”), but Michael Scott was harder to find, partly because Greg couldn’t figure out how to direct them. He tried reading the sides for himself and realized that “one of the keys to Mike is that he thinks if he does a good job on this documentary, maybe Jennifer Aniston will watch it. That’s what’s going on in the back of his head,” he laughs.

In Rainn’s episode, he and Brian talk about their theatre backgrounds and roundabout introductions to comedy. Rainn says he had actually already taken a job when he found out that an American version of The Office was getting made, and was “kicking myself” because he was such a big fan of the British show. Fortunately, that pilot never got picked up, and he was able to audition. He read for Michael, but knew that Dwight Schrute was “my kind of weird.” He calls for director’s cuts of episodes to be released, because so many great jokes had to be cut for the network schedule. Brian agrees, saying that one of the jokes that got cut revealed that Kevin might be the real father of Jan’s baby! Could it be true? Listen to The Office Deep Dive with Brian Baumgartner to find out!

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