‘The Office’: This Iconic Scene Was 1 of the Rare Times Steve Carell Couldn’t Keep It Together
The Office cast had plenty of moments when they would break when filming particularly hilarious scenes. It’s not surprising to hear that even Steve Carell, who probably broke less than most of his co-stars, couldn’t keep it together during this fan-favorite moment.
‘The Office’ ‘Branch Wars’ episode involved a prank
On the Feb. 24 episode of the Office Ladies podcast, hosts Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey explored the season 4 episode “Branch Wars.” Part of the episode had Michael Scott and Dwight Schrute tricking Jim into going to the Utica branch to prank Karen.
Kinsey shared the way that Jim got pulled into Dwight and Michael’s prank, saying they “full-on lie to Jim.”
“So Michael and Dwight have this whole ruse to get Jim to go to Utica with them,” she noted. “They tell them that this company has lost the Staples account and they’re going to go and they’re going to get it and Jim has to come with them. So off they go.”
Michael and Dwight lie to Jim
Jim eventually catches on that he’s been tricked and what unfolds during the car ride is one fan-favorite The Office moment that involves Dwight.
“So they’re in the car. Jim notices, oh, no, wait, you missed the exit, and that’s when Dwight and Michael are like, we have a surprise for you,” Fischer explained. “Jim is immediately, immediately terrified.”
Kinsey added, “The look on Rainn’s face in the back seat as Dwight, he could barely contain like how giddy he was that they roped Jim into this. And Michael’s like, ‘We’re going on a panty raid to Utica.’”
Jim attempts to make a call on his cell phone and Dwight grabs the phone and throws it out the window.
Kinsey continued, explaining, “So they’re looking for Jim’s phone. Jim finds it and he’s like, ‘You know what? I’m going to call a cab.’ And they’re like, ‘OK, well, you’ll miss out on the pranks.’”
Jim asks what they’ve got planned and Michael shares that they have warehouse uniforms and silly string. Dwight brought along gasoline and chunks of rubber to make stink bombs or real bombs.
Jim agrees to go with them and dress in the warehouse uniform if they don’t make any bombs.
Steve Carell couldn’t get through this hilarious Dwight moment
At one point, Michael says he hears something like water, perhaps the air condition — and that’s when they discover that Dwight is peeing in a can in the backseat.
“And they freak out. They’re like, ‘Oh, gross,'” Fischer explained. “And then Michael starts swerving and Dwight’s like, ‘You’re making me spray.’ This scene is like so fun to watch. I was laughing so hard.”
As for whether the actors had a hard time getting through the scene, Kinsey confirmed, “the bloopers from the scene are so worth it, you’ve got to watch it. They were cracking up.”
“I mean, it’s one of the rare times where Steve could not keep it together. Steve,” she added.
Dwight’s lines were sending them over the edge, Kinsey said. “Every time… Rainn would have to say, ‘I think I cut my penis on the lid’ and then, this is in the deleted scenes, but it’s also in the bloopers … at the very end, Dwight goes, ‘I cut a chunk out of my penis for nothing.’”
“Those guys could not get through it. They were like melting into laughter,” she shared.
