Kevin Malone From ‘The Office’ Is Making Over $1 Million on Cameo
Brian Baumgartner plays Kevin Malone on the American version of the sitcom The Office. But he is arguably a man of many talents. Apart from his portrayal of the bumbling accountant, which made him a fan favorite, Baumgartner is a great athlete, according to Steve Carell.
Despite only playing a supporting role on the show, the now-49-year-old managed to leverage his celebrity status to become one of Cameo’s biggest stars by recording video shoutouts for fans on the platform.
Brian Baumgartner became the lovable fan-favorite Kevin Malone on ‘The Office’
Malone is cast as a character with childlike sensibilities. He is not the sharpest in the room. But his immature and naive nature seems more endearing than repulsive; he seems harmless even when openly perverse.
Malone has a liking for pornography, as alluded to in the episodes “Email Surveillance,” “Take Your Daughter to Work Day,” and “Whistleblower.” He’s paranoid about email surveillance, which threatens to expose his dirty secret. And he even makes a run for his computer when Nick, the IT guy, starts doing routine inspections.
Malone seems desperately unlucky on the relationship front as three women rejects his proposals throughout the show. However, he makes headway in his fourth attempt, with Stacy. But this does not work out in the end.
An avid gambler, Malone initiates bets with his co-workers and is good enough that he reportedly won $2,500 at the No Limit Deuce-Seven draw in 2002. The character is so devoid of ambition that he’s excited when Angela assigns him the role of shredding office documents; he even goes ahead and shreds his credit card.
Despite being depicted as the not-so-sharp accountant, Kevin does have moments of genius. For instance, he notes that office rules forbid one from bringing beer to the workplace. But they do not expressly prohibit making beer. So he brews his own at Dunder Mifflin, much to the disgust of his coworker Oscar Martinez.
Malone has so much time on his hands that he even makes recipes for office-made meals. Ironically, branch manager Michael Scott believed Kevin would be a good fit in the accounting department rather than in the warehouse where he initially applied to work.
Baumgartner is nothing like Malone in real life
Despite Malone being his most famous role, Baumgartner admits that they are very different in real life. The 49-year-old Atlanta native married Celeste Ackelson in 2014. The two welcomed a daughter the following year.
Some of Baumgartner’s other notable roles include playing Jim in the 2007 film License to Wed, Eric in Four Christmases, and Fr. Ralph O’Brien in Into Temptation. He also appeared in Criminal Minds and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit among others. Baumgartner most recently played Skip Wick in the comedy Electric Jesus.
The sitcom star also hosted and produced a podcast, An Oral History of The Office, in 2020. Its reception inspired a second podcast, The Office Deep Dive, which features full-length interviews with his former co-stars. The podcast offers insightful, never-heard-before revelations about the inner workings of The Office and why it remains popular to date.
Brian Baumgartner becomes Cameo’s biggest earner
Being on the set of The Office helped Baumgartner build excellent rapport with viewers. He even acknowledged that he interacted with viewers on MySpace while shooting scenes for the sitcom.
Baumgartner disclosed that the sitcom was a mock depiction of what goes on in an office setting. But the computers in the office were functional and connected to the internet. He and his co-stars would interact with fans on the social platform, though he made sure to remain in character. Baumgartner would encourage fans to send Kevin signed photos. He ended up receiving a ton of them.
The actor has also received a similarly warm response on Cameo, where individuals can hire celebrities to create personalized videos. According to Insider, Baumgartner has over 6,000 fans on the platform. He’s received thousands of reviews from satisfied people, mostly fans of The Office thanking him for making personalized videos for loved ones.
Baumgartner revealed to the BBC that he has earned over $ 1 million from rendering services on the platform. He argues that it’s not about him but rather about two people seeking a connection. Baumgartner charges $225 for a personalized clip and also has a $2,500 package for business-related content.
