Though it’s been off the air for almost a decade, “The Office” has retained a popularity and connection few sitcoms can rival.
But sometimes that connection can be a little too intense.
In a recent interview, Angela Kinsey – who played Angela Martin, the show’s snooty accountant for all nine seasons and is the current co-host of "Office Ladies," a rewatch podcast about the show – offered some awkward fan encounters.
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One of the most powerful parts of that otherwise lighthearted NBC classic was the incredible casting that created characters seemingly plucked from an everyday world. Like Phyllis Smith, who played, yes, Phyllis, and was actually a secretary with no previous acting experience before she got the part. Or Creed Bratton, who actually was Creed Bratton, if a rocker not a salesman in his former life.
So perfect was the casting that many fans have blurred the lines between fact and fiction.
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We’ve heard the tales of fans approaching Jenna Fischer on the street, and confusing her with her character, Pam Beesly.
Now comes word from Kinsey that her character was in many ways opposite from herself. Which has led to some odd fan interaction – or non-interaction.
As she told Page Six, “In real life I’m super chatty, I love to talk anyone up, but people would see me and not approach me.”
Such as the time she was traveling with Brian Baumgartner, who portrayed the lovably bumbling Kevin Malone. Kinsey noticed that fans would delightedly yell, “Kevin!” when they saw him, but, “then I poked my head around, and they’re like, ‘oh no, Angela’s here. We better behave.’”
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Kinsey, 50, admits that even after years away from the show, she sometimes does revert to her character’s signature scowl, which makes her husband Joshua Snyder, 44, assume something is wrong.
As the years have passed since “The Office” ended in 2013, Kinsey and Fischer have since embraced their iconic roles and chat all about it on their podcast, “Office Ladies.”
Listen to "Office Ladies" on Audacy.
Plus, Kinsey and her hubby have a YouTube cooking show, “Baking with Josh & Ange,” where Kinsey continues to negate comparisons to her oft-nasty, cheating character on “The Office” via their happy banter and family-friendly recipes.
But don’t get her wrong, Kinsey loved playing into her snide side on the show.
“Rainn [Wilson, aka Dwight Schrute] and I used to crack up," Kinsey admits, "because Jenna and John [Krasinski] as Jim and Pam would get press. It would be like, ‘Oh, Jim and Pam, this week they’re getting engaged on ‘The Office.’ And everyone would be like on the comment board, ‘Oh, I can’t wait. Jim and Pam, yay!’
“And then,” she continued, “when it would be like, ‘Dwight and Angela revealed to be having a kid,’ and everyone would be like, ‘Ew.’ So, Jim and Pam got, ‘Aw’ and Dwight and Angela got, ‘Ew.’ That just tickles me.”
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