‘The Office’: John Krasinski Couldn’t Get Through Scenes When Steve Carell Made 1 Hilarious Noise
John Krasinski often had a hard time getting through scenes with Steve Carell on The Office because he’s such a talented comedic actor. Jenna Fischer revealed that there was one noise Carell would make that would always make Krasinski break, making it challenging to film episodes.
![The Office: Steve Carell as Michael Scott and John Krasinski as Jim Halpert](https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/the-office-steve-carell-and-john-krasinski.jpg?w=1200&h=800&strip=all&quality=89)
When Steve Carell made this sound on ‘The Office,’ John Krasinski cracked up
During a January 2020 episode of the Office Ladies podcast, Fischer and Angela Kinsey discussed The Office Season 2 episode “The Fight.” In one hilarious scene, when Dwight (Rainn Wilson) punches Michael (Carell), Krasinski had such a hard time getting through the scene without laughing, the camera didn’t even show his reaction.
Fischer explained that Krasinski couldn’t get through the scene because of the guttural sound Carell made. “When Dwight punches Michael in the stomach, he does the double punch and Steve gets hit,” Fischer said of the scene. “And he’s like, ‘Fuuuuu…'”
“That was John’s weak spot,” she added.
Fischer pointed out that the camera didn’t pan to Krasinski after that. “John would laugh so, so hard,” the actor noted. “And I think that’s why in that scene, there is not a single shot of John’s face. If you watch it after he punches Michael in the stomach … you never see John’s face.”
“He couldn’t get through that,” she added. “He loved whenever Steve couldn’t get a word out.”
John Krasinski couldn’t handle it when Steve Carell made a similar noise in another episode
The co-hosts recalled another time when Krasinski broke during a scene after Carell made a noise like he was in pain — a Christmas episode that involved Kevin sitting on Michael’s lap when he plays Santa.
During the August 4 An Oral History of The Office podcast, Krasinski shared how the scene with Carell was one of his “favorite moments of shooting ever” but it proved to be challenging for the actor.
“People always ask me what’s the hardest you ever laughed on set. Without a doubt, it’s when you sat on his lap,” Krasinski told podcast host Brian Baumgartner, who played Kevin on The Office.
They couldn’t even get Jim’s famous reaction shot because Krasinski lost it
When Krasinski spoke with Carell on his YouTube series Some Good News, he shared how it was so hard for him to keep it together when Carell groaned with Kevin on his lap, he wasn’t in the vicinity for the Jim reaction shot.
“I remember when you did the episode where you played Santa and were very upset that Phyllis was already Santa,” Krasinski said. “So you were asking people to come sit on your lap and Brian [Baumgartner], thank God, was chosen to sit on your lap.”
“I was supposed to be the button of the scene where they cut to me and I did a Jim face,” he continued. “I was never there, I was physically never there because by the time they got to the swish pan to me, I was out.”
“I was either on the floor or I had left the room,” Krasinski added.