The Office: Everything You Didn’t Know About Robert California

Robert California is considered by many to be one of the weaker characters of The Office, and it’s easy to see why this the case. The Office was very much on unsteady footing ever since Michael Scott’s exit, and most people didn’t really get the same level of enjoyment with James Spader’s character. The act of casting a drama actor in a comedy show was already a foolhardy one as is, and the character was quickly nixed in order to ensure a smoother flow for the last season.

That being said, it’s not Robert California was a complete disaster — in fact, there are still several notable moments featuring this character that have become legendary in the history of The Office. Regardless of what most people might have felt, there’s still no denying the fact that Robert California was a well-written character — barring a few exceptions — and the fact that most people don’t know the following ten details about him speaks volumes when it comes to the surprising depth of this character.

10 His Speeches Are Disturbing

While Robert California comes across as a philosophical genius, a lot of people have only just started to recognize that most of the statements he makes are disturbing and sleazy. For instance, has anyone noticed how his enlightening statements always seem to revolve around sex and mating?

Or how he often makes the office workers, such as Jim, Pam, and Nellie uncomfortable by coming onto them? Not to forget his fascination with educating “college-aged gymnasts” – Robert’s character kept on slinking lower and lower the more he opened his mouth.

9 He’s Obsessed With Psychoanalyzing People

For someone who’s very guarded when it comes to his own psyche, Robert is borderline obsessive when it comes to digging deep into a person’s mind. Regardless of how uncomfortable said person may be with the barrage of personal and inappropriate questions, Robert has no qualms in crossing a boundary if it means he gets the information he wants.

The Halloween episode is a great example of this — Robert keeps on fixating on everyone’s fears, drama, and beliefs for an uncomfortable length of time… although one has to admit that this scene is somewhat amusing.

8 He’s A Low-Key Alcoholic

However, Robert is still full to the brim with a number of character flaws. Perhaps the most telling one of the lot is the fact that he’s actually an alcoholic — a fact that might surprise most people.

However, one need only listen to his dialogue intently throughout Season 8 to catch on the few tells — namely, the fact that he’s hungover several times and the several destructive episodes he’s retold that always involved a dangerously high amount of liquor.

7 He Might Be Bisexual

While this might be conjecture at this point, there’s no denying the fact that Robert has shown an interest in both his gender and the opposite at times.

For instance, in “Free Family Portrait Studio,” the fans saw the writers imply this when Robert kisses Andy goodbye after David Wallace took over the office again. Again, in the deleted scenes, viewers could find further proof by Robert’s desire to have a threesome with Jim and Pam.

6 Robert California Isn’t Even His Real Name

While this certainly could’ve just been a way to intimidate Andy and nothing else, the flippant manner in which he declares to his subordinate that Robert California isn’t his real name is certainly worth nothing regardless.

Knowing how weird and erratic Robert’s character is, it’s very much possible that this fact could very well be true.

5 He Talks Smarter Than He Actually Is

At a glance, one might assume that Robert California is an extremely smart individual with the coveted gift of gab. However, upon further viewing, one will realize that correlation is not causation in this case.

As an office manager, Robert can be woefully inept and pretentious at times. His management style is fairly erratic, he’s unable to separate genius from stupidity — Kevin’s case being a great example of this — and his decisions cause more harm than good in Scranton.

4 He’s Still Very Much Under Jo’s Thumb

While the fact that Robert could very easily convince Jo to step down and offer the CEO position to him might make it look like Jo was completely enraptured by Robert, the truth couldn’t be further away from this.

At the end of the day, there are several decisions that Robert makes keeping Jo’s approval in mind, even when he might no consider it to be correct himself. It’s indicative of the fact that he might not have completely charmed Jo’s pants off, which is contradictory to what fans assume to be the case.

3 All His Decisions Are Meant To Keep Employees Alert At All Times

That being said, one can’t just outright say that Robert is completely inept as a professional. There’s a method to his madness, and it shows in the ramifications of his decision-making in The Office.

Literally, everything that Robert does is ultimately meant to keep employees alert at all times, and the fact that the Scranton Branch was still incredibly profitable under his management is indicative enough of this.

2 He Absolutely Loves Sesame Street

One rather odd fact about Robert California that most people weren’t aware of is the fact that this character absolutely loves Sesame Street.

He considers this show to genuinely have good advice on how to tackle life, saw an episode of the show on paper production as preparation for his interview, and even went so far as to name his own son after one of the characters on the show, Bert.

1 James Gandolfini Was Initially Supposed To Play This Role

One rather interesting fact about Robert California is that there was actually another person who was supposed to play this role aside from James Spader. This person is none other than the lead character of The Sopranos, James Gandolfini.

The idea of seeing Tony Soprano on The Office could’ve been quite a novel idea, but the idea of working on a comedy show was quite daunting for Gandolfini. Ultimately, he took too much time to make a decision, and James Spader accepted the role instead.