The series The Office became a popular phenomenon and continues to rise even almost ten years after its completion on open television in the United States. In Brazil, currently produced by NBC, it is available in its entirety through Star Plus, Netflix and also Amazon Prime Video.
And in the face of this undeniable success, many fans may not even imagine, but there is a famous character who was almost introduced to the series. We know the importance of Michael Scott (Steve Carell), Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer), Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), Erin Hannon (Ellie Kemper), Ryan Howard (BJ Novak) and Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling), for example, no?
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However, in addition to them, other figures also emerged over the nine seasons of the sitcom. Below, you’ll find out everything about this character who was barely able to show up in The Office. Enjoy!
The Office: the addition of an actress at the last minute
The employees of the famous paper company Dunder Mifflin were portrayed in the series in a very amusing way, sometimes caricatured, but always emphasizing that they were all essential to the narrative.
Even though some cast members left the production before the end, something quite normal when talking about long television series, in general terms, it seemed that those figures represented one big dysfunctional family — thanks also to the organizational policies of Scranton manager, Michael Scott.
In that sense, Greg Daniels, responsible for the new version of the story by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, had a little creative freedom to develop the characters in the way he thought best. And within that context came Phyllis Smithwho until then was working as an acting agent in The Office.
Source: NCB/ Reproduction
However, when director Ken Kwapis watched her pass the script on to auditioning actors, he soon realized that she had something special that would match just the other characters. It wasn’t long before Smith was invited to join the cast with a character created especially for her: Phyllis Lapin (later Phyllis Vance).
She, who never intended to act in that series, was flattered. Until then, her credits only included small participation in productions such as Arrested Development and some comic films. Even so, the actress and agent was almost cut later, as her character was still very small in the beginning.
Phyllis was soft-spoken and I liked to knit in the middle of the day, something that didn’t get in the way of Dunder Mifflin sales. It was a great success to keep her in the central cast, mainly because her shyness captivated the public; her charming posture made many viewers directly identify with her.
Source: NCB/ Playback
And unlike other characters, Phyllis admitted that, despite the regrets, she enjoyed her work very much. Compassionately, she conveyed her genuine interest in each of the office’s employees, taking an interest in each of them, even Angela (Angela Kinsey), with whom she had some disagreements.
Phyllis Lapin to Phyllis Vance: character development in The Office
In the very first episode of season 3, titled “Phyllis’s Wedding”, Phyllis married Bob Vance (Robert R. Shafer), a colleague who worked in the same building as Dunder Mifflin.
From that event, this relationship became remarkable for fans and became increasingly important for the narrative context of the series, especially when Michael or Dwight teased her.
It is worth mentioning that Phyllis and Michael had a very interesting and even curious relationship, considering that they had known each other since school. Thus, the scenic game between these two characters it turned out to be essential to the development of Smith’s character..
In all, the actress participated in 183 episodes of the 188 total, marking her trajectory on television with a lovely and comical figure. Later, in addition to continuing as a casting agent in other productions, she took advantage of the momentum that The Office provided him with and did more work in the acting business.
Source: NCB/ Playback
Here it is necessary to cite the series Trophy Wife, The Middle, Nunsense and, recently, The OA, from Netflix, which played teacher Betty Broderick-Allen in 12 episodes in the two seasons produced. But Smith stood out even more, in a surprising way, when lent his voice to Sadness in Inside Out (2015) by Pixar.
Acting alongside Mindy Kaling, her colleague in The Officeshe was awarded a dubbing award for her performance, as Sadness is one of the most important characters in the animated feature film in question.
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