The Office: 10 Times The Whole Cast Broke Character

Hit sitcom The Office is one of the most well-known mockumentary series in the world. With an all-star cast and hilarious one-liners, there’s no other show like it. What really sets it apart is the stellar cast. Thanks to the Office Ladies podcast (hosted by Jenna Fischer (Pam) and Angela Kinsey (Angela)), fans know how much these actors loved each other and genuinely got along. This, however, made filming harder because of how fun it was to shoot on set.

The Office DVDs are packed with bloopers in the deleted scene section. There, fans can see how many times the actors broke while trying to deliver their lines. There’s never a dull moment at Dunder Mifflin!

10 How Often Can You Actually Donate Blood?

In the fourth season, Michael is, yet again, trying to hang out with Jim outside of work. And as much as Jim respects Michael, after-hours quality time could never end well.

To get out of it, Jim tells Michael that he’s giving blood. Michael, impressed, asked how often a person could give blood. “Is there a limit? I don’t know,” Jim replied. As soon as Michael said “Well, your body only has so much,” both John Krasinski and Steve Carrell broke out in giggles.

9 Michael Escaped Without A Key!

In the episode “Cocktails,” there’s an opening scene where Michael wants to prove that he is Michael Houdini. While wearing a straitjacket, he was going to break free without help from anyone.

In the scene that made the cut, Michael had a brass key under his tongue and planned on using it to free himself, but he dropped the key. He was trapped. In the blooper, however, Michael was able to free himself from the jacket and the entire office erupted in laughs and surprise.

8 Kelly Hated Jim’s Friend

In the eighth season, Pam is heavily pregnant with her and Jim’s second child. Before she went on maternity leave, she hired a woman named Cathy to replace her while she was away. But when Pam realizes Cathy may have a crush on Jim, she decided to set Cathy up with a friend of Jim’s to see which friend Jim picked for her. If he was cute, it meant he thought Cathy was cute. If he wasn’t, then he thought that’s the kind of guy Cathy deserved.

In the scene, Pam showed Kelly the friend Jim picked for Cathy and it was very hard for actor Mindy Kaling to get through the scene. She giggled every time she said “Ew!” when his face popped up on her computer.

7 The New And Improved Ryan

In the fourth season, Ryan comes back to Dunder Mifflin as the North East Region Director of New Media. He’s no longer a temp and didn’t want Scranton treating him the way they used to.

While standing in front of the office next to Michael and Kevin, Ryan told everyone “I know I used to be a temp here and now I’m your boss. And I understand that must be weird for you.” While he was speaking, he made subtle hand movements that Michael and Kevin began to copy. The gesture was so unexpected that B.J. Novak (Ryan) burst into laughter.

6 Dinner Party

“Dinner Party” was a huge episode for Michael and Jan, and it ended up being one of the hardest episodes to shoot. With the couple giving tours of their condo while getting into petty arguments, it was too much for the cast not to break character.

John Krasinski was in tears in the scene where Michael was showing off his plasma TV. It was so small and dated, yet Michael was so proud. Everyone was crying by the end of the scene.

5 That Taco Air Is Heavy

In the eighth season, Darryl has a hard time when he finds out his warehouse workers quit after they won millions of dollars in the lottery. As a former warehouse worker, he could have been a part of that good fortune. Instead, he had to quickly hire and train a new team, which proved challenging.

When Andy came to check on Darryl, he tried boosting his confidence by telling him he had an awesome basement. Darryl chimed in that he “did” have a fantastic basement but he ate tacos in there and now it’s ruined because “Taco air is heavy. It settles at the lowest point.” After that line, actors Ed Helms and Craig Robinson were in stitches.

4 “Pop A Squat!”

In the episode “Secret Santa,” Michael and Phyllis are battling over who should be Santa Claus for the office Christmas party. To prove that Phyllis couldn’t do what he could, Micahel asks Kevin to sit on his lap and tell him what he wanted for Christmas. Michael made all kinds of noises when Kevin sat down, and to make matters worse for, he had no idea what he wanted for Christmas. Between Kevin sitting on his lap and Michael’s hysterical noises, everyone broke character.

3 Boy, Have You Lost Your Mind?!

“Take Your Daughter To Work Day” was one of Stanley Hudson’s breakout episodes. After realizing that Ryan could have been flirting with his underage daughter, Stanley took action and cussed him out in the breakroom. Hearing him say “Boy, have you lost your mind? ‘Cause I’ll help you find it” was one of the most iconic lines in the entire series. Ryan stood there stone-faced while being verbally attacked by a typically very quiet man.

In real life, B.J. Novak and Leslie David Baker broke several times before landing the scene without laughing.

2 Poor Toby

In the episode “The Chump,” Toby has a scene where he’s warning the office that he’s placed Radon test kits around the office and they shouldn’t be messed with.

As Toby snapped his fingers at Michael for him to pay attention, actor Steve Carell made one of those “kill me now” faces that Michael always gives when Toby is around. It was so funny, everyone broke character.

1 That Is Pungent

In “Phyllis’ Wedding,” Michael was asked to wheel Phyllis’s dad down the aisle. Michael viewed this opportunity as him giving away the bride himself, which he was thrilled to do. Throughout the episode, he acted as though he was a big part of the wedding and had a say in everything.

Before Phyllis walked down the aisle, Michael checked in on her to see how she was doing. As he leaned in close to her, he asked her if she “broke wind.” Phyllis denies passing gas but Michael says “it’s pungent.” While filming, every time Steve Carell said the word “pungent” he would hysterically lose character.

About The Author

Lynn Gibbs
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Lynn is a nomad who travels the globe on the hunt for her next adventure with her husband. A lover of being outside (and finding the best latte in town), Lynn is typically hiking, walking, or jogging when she’s not focusing on her love of writing. When it comes to shows streaming on Netflix or anything Bravo-related, Lynn’s your gal.

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