‘The Office’: Jenna Fischer Said They Were ‘Spoiled’ on the Show and Had Steve Carell to Thank for It
The cast of The Office have all said they loved their time working on the show and Jenna Fischer credits Steve Carell with one job perk that she never had again after the show ended. In addition to lending his talents to the show, Carell also valued time with his family and everyone who worked on The Office benefited from that.
Jenna Fischer thanked Steve Carell for this amazing part of ‘The Office’ job
During the May 3 episode of Office Ladies, Fischer and co-host Angela Kinsey talked about their friendship and their motivation for starting their podcast.
While discussing their time working on The Office, both actors agreed that Carell was a big part of why they had such an exceptional work experience.
“So we really just wanted to work together again,” Fischer said of the podcast. “But I would say something else that was happening after The Office ended was we realized how spoiled we were on The Office in the sense that The Office hours were 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.”
Kinsey agreed, saying, “I mean we have Steve Carell to thank for that, right? He was such a family guy — before any of us had families. Steve was the guy that had a family and he wanted to be home for dinner.”
Fischer went on to explain the significance of that perk. “And so, we were able to do this work schedule that was very family-friendly and it was in one place,” she explained. “We rarely went on location or had night shoots. And when we did, it was just fun because it was just such a novelty.”
“But then, as we started getting these jobs after The Office, there was so much travel involved. We were away a lot,” Fischer noted. “In order to work as an actor it seems like I have to go away or I have to work these jobs where… I was missing dinners and I was FaceTiming bedtimes.”
Jenna Fischer said Oliver Hudson gave her the ‘Office Ladies’ idea
Fischer and Kinsey wanted to find a way to work together with a more regular schedule so they could be at home with their families. It was actually Fischer’s Splitting Up Together co-star Oliver Hudson who gave her the idea of doing a podcast.
“He said one day, ‘Well Jenna, what you and Angela should do is a podcast. You’d be home all the time,'” she recalled him telling her.
Kinsey thought perhaps they owed some thanks to Hudson. “He’s who planted the seed,” she said.
Fischer agreed. “He 100% planted the seed. 100%,” she noted.
Kinsey had been traveling back and forth to Canada for work when Fischer pitched her the podcast idea. “I was like ding, ding, ding, tell me about it!,” Kinsey said.
Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey became BFFs working on ‘The Office’
Fischer and Kinsey have discussed how their BFF status was solidified while working on The Office, in particular, the season 1 episode titled “Basketball.”
When they discussed the “Basketball” episode on their podcast in 2019, they explained how they sat next to each other on a bench for an extended time and talked a lot.
“For two solid days — and a day of filming is about twelve hours,” Fischer explained of how long they were together. “So twenty-four solid hours on that bench.”
“You would not stop talking to me,” she said to her former co-star. “Yes, the reason we are best friends is because Angela would not stop speaking to me.”
“No, but we told each other our life stories on that bench,” Fischer added.
