‘The Office’: Why John Krasinski Couldn’t Actually Kiss Jenna Fischer During the Show’s ‘Most Romantic’ Jim and Pam Moment
The Office fans rank Jim and Pam’s wedding episode among their very favorites. With an equal amount of comedy and heart, the episode finally brought the fan-favorite couple together to tie the knot. John Krasinski revealed why, during the most romantic moment of the episode, he wasn’t able to really kiss co-star Jenna Fischer.
‘The Office’ wedding was highly anticipated
After fans watched Jim and Pam finally come together after so much will-they/won’t-they moments, in season 6, the two finally got hitched in the two-part episode “Niagara.”
The episode brought Jim and Pam’s co-workers to Niagara Falls, a wedding destination they picked because they assumed many of the Dunder Mifflin employees wouldn’t attend.
When Pam rips her veil and is feeling overwhelmed before the ceremony, she and Jim meet and decide to sneak off and get married privately aboard the Maid of the Mist boat. When they return to the church, they go through with the ceremony, which includes their co-workers dancing down the aisle as seen in a popular viral video. Pam and Jim are already happily married at this point but their co-workers have no idea.
John Krasinski said he couldn’t kiss Jenna Fischer during their wedding scene
Their wedding on the Maid of the Mist provided a classic romantic Jim and Pam moment, but Krasinski revealed that he couldn’t actually kiss Fischer when they filmed the scene. During the August 18 episode of An Oral History of the Office podcast, the actor explained that he had the flu and didn’t want to get his co-star sick.
“John Krasisnski had the flu,” host Brian Baumgartner explained. “I was like, ‘I can’t walk, I’m so sick,’” Krasinski explained of the unfortunately timed illness.
“And so, one of the most romantic moments in the show, I’m not actually kissing Jenna. I’m kissing her cheek because I didn’t want to get her sick,” he continued. “That’s why I did kind of like a big, like Humphrey Bogart like twist-kiss away from the camera” so that he could kiss her cheek and spare her his germs.
Baumgartner said, “I think for that moment, you should have just gotten her sick.”
“Well that’s… that’s an awful thing,” Krasinski said.
That iconic dance down the aisle was a last minute decision
The wedding episode of The Office had a very different ending planned, with Pam’s ex, Roy riding in on a horse to interrupt the ceremony and Dwight riding the horse out and jumping over Niagara Falls. The idea was bizarre, to say the least, and never saw the light of day.
The director and writers had to come up with a new concept to replace the horse idea, however — they only needed to look as far as the internet for inspiration. The viral video featuring a wedding party dancing down the aisle to the song “Forever” by Chris Brown provided the perfect way to involve the Dunder Mifflin employees in the wedding.
The idea came in at the last minute and shooting the scene proved challenging because they were running out of time. Director Paul Feig said the first time the cast did it, “it was gold.”
“This was one of my favorite scenes to shoot,” Baumgartner said. “All of us — together, celebrating Jim and Pam. It was awesome.”
