The Office delivered viewers countless laughs over the years, many of which came courtesy of Steve Carell’s Michael Scott, and fellow star John Krasinski often had a hard time containing his laughter, with Krasinski recalling that attempting to film one scene was the hardest he’s laughed in his whole life, which also made it impossible for the actor to be involved in the scene. Krasinski reflected that, while filming the Season 6 episode “Secret Santa,” Michael’s attempts to win over the audience as Santa saw him asking Brian Baumgartner’s Kevin to sit on his lap, only for hilarity to ensue.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“The hardest I’ve ever laughed in my life is the Christmas episode where Steve pretends to be Santa and asks Brian Baumgartner, who played Kevin, to sit on his lap,” Krasinski recalled in an interview for WIRED. “As soon as Steve said, ‘What would you like little boy?’ he lost all the air in his body when Brian sat on him. I’ve never laughed harder in my life. And if you’re a fan of the show, you know that they used to just swing-pan to Jim for a reaction and I looked over to the cameraman and said, ‘Don’t even try it. I will not be here,’ and so every time he swings, it’s to an empty room, I just wasn’t there. I just told him, ‘I will not be here. I’m not professional, and I’ll be here on the floor laughing my ass off.’”
Despite audiences, and Krasinski himself, going on to find the series immensely funny, he also admitted in the interview that, after filming the initial batch of episodes, he assumed the project would never be released and went back to waiting tables.
“I would have to say my favorite Office episode was ‘Diversity Day,’ it was technically the second episode but it was the first episode of our own. Meaning the pilot was a direct copy of the British show, the whole script was the exact pilot of the British show,” the actor recalled. “So ‘Diversity Day’ was the first episode that was ours and ours alone and I will never forget that because, being in that room, not only was I the most unprofessional actor, because I laughed at every single thing that happened and I totally threw the ‘being in a documentary [concept]’ out the window, I was like, ‘No, I’m gonna laugh at everything, all these people do.’”
He continued, “But I remember feeling, in the room, and looking around at all these people who didn’t think anyone was gonna watch the show, and we still didn’t think anyone would watch the show, but I said, ‘This is gonna be one of the funniest things that’s ever been recorded on television. Too bad no one will see it because who knows where this show goes.’ And I went back to waiting tables, true story, after we shot the first four episodes, I was like, ‘Best thing I’ve ever done, no one will see it,’ and I signed up to wait tables again.”
The Office is now streaming on Peacock.
What do you think of the actor’s remarks? Let us know in the comments!
