‘The Office’: Jenna Fischer Called This ‘Really Dark’ Pam and Roy Scene ‘Shocking’ for a Personal Reason
One of the more tense scenes on The Office involved Pam (Jenna Fischer) and Roy (David Denman) breaking up in season 3. Fischer revealed how “shocking” the moment was for her to be a part of, given her off-screen relationship with Denman.
On ‘The Office’ ‘Cocktails’ episode, Pam wants ‘a fresh start’
During the Sept. 30 episode of Office Ladies, Fischer and her co-host, Angela Kinsey, discussed The Office Season 3 episode titled “Cocktails.” The episode included many of the office co-workers heading to the local bar Poor Richard’s for happy hour.
At the bar, after Pam tells Roy she wants “a fresh start” for them, she finally reveals to Roy that she and Jim (John Krasinski) shared a kiss during the office’s casino night event. Roy doesn’t react well, yelling at Pam and throwing a beer bottle at the mirror behind the bar. Pam reacts by telling him their relationship is over and walking out, while Roy and his brother Kenny trash the bar.
The episode ends with Roy saying, “I’m gonna kill Jim Halpert.”
Jenna Fischer said the Pam and Roy scene was ‘really dark’
In a 2007 interview with Chud.com, Fischer dished on the Pam and Roy scene, noting how “shocking” it was to see her co-star handle Roy’s explosive reaction.
The interviewer noted, “You had a weird break up scene on The Office this season with your boyfriend. It was very unnerving towards the end.”
Fischer agreed, noting that her personal relationship with Denman made the scene “shocking” to her.
“David is one of my closer friends from the show; he and his wife and me and my husband, we hang out a lot,” she explained. “To see him turn like that, for me it was even more shocking because I know him as a big teddy bear. He played it so well and I think that cliffhanger of ‘I’m gonna kill Jim Halpert’ is one of the best last lines of our episodes ever.”
When the interviewer noted how “uncomfortable” the scene was, Fischer shared, “Yeah, it’s really dark.”
She continued, “I think that’s one of the cool things about the show; it’s not afraid to be ugly or dark or awkward. But I think the thing we try to do is stay away from sentimental and goofy soap opera and I think we’re doing pretty well.”
Jenna Fischer revealed she was hit with the broken glass in the scene
During the Office Ladies podcast, Fischer and Kinsey shared some behind-the-scenes details from the episode, including how Denman smashed the glass and Fischer got hit with some of the fallout.
When Roy throws his bottle and it shatters, the podcast hosts explained it was candy glass that’s used to look like real glass shattering. Fischer said that she even got hit in the face with it in one of the takes.
The glass mirror was a prop that Fischer said was rigged with safety glass that would be hit with Roy’s beer bottle. “All the bottles that Roy and Kenny are throwing are all made of candy glass,” the actor explained. According to the production report from the episode, Fischer was hit in the face with some of the glass when it hit the mirror but wasn’t injured.
Another thing the hosts pointed out was the way that Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) appears to be standing by with his fist clenched and ready to come to Pam’s assistance. Fischer revealed that it wasn’t scripted and Baumgartner improvised.
“It was a really great choice,” Fischer noted of the actor’s decision that his character would have Pam’s back.
