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As one can imagine, working as a cast member on the ultra-popular hit comedy The Office often lead to some uncontrollable laughter on set.
With a cast that included Steve Carrell, Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Craig Robinson, Mindy Kaling, Brian Baumgartner, Ed Helms, and a slew of other comedic geniuses, what happened off camera was often funnier than what ended up on TV.
John Krasinski, who famously played Jim Halpert on The Office, recently recalled attempting to film one scene on The Office that ended up being the hardest he’s laughed his entire whole life.
Participating in Wired’s “Autocomplete Interview” with his Jack Ryan co-star Michael Kelly this week, one of the questions asked Krasinski what episode of The Office is his favorite?
“I would have to say my favorite Office episode was ‘Diversity Day.’” he replied. “It was technically the second episode, but it was the first episode of our own. Meaning the pilot was a direct copy of the British show. The whole script was the exact pilot of the British show. So ‘Diversity Day’ was the first episode that was ours and ours alone.
“And I will never forget that because, being in that room, not only was I the most unprofessional actor, because I laughed at every single thing that happened and I totally threw the ‘being in a documentary’ out the window, I was like, ‘No, I’m gonna laugh at everything, all these people do.’
“But I remember feeling, in the room, and looking around at all these people who didn’t think anyone was gonna watch the show, and we still didn’t think anyone would watch the show, but I said, ‘This is gonna be one of the funniest things that’s ever been recorded on television. Too bad no one will see it because who knows where this show goes.’
“And I went back to waiting tables, true story, after we shot the first four episodes, I was like, ‘Best thing I’ve ever done, no one will see it,’ and I signed up to wait tables again.”
John Krasinski then launched into a tale about the hardest he’s ever laughed in his life, which, of course, occurred on the set of The Office.
“The hardest I’ve ever laughed in my life is the Christmas episode where Steve pretends to be Santa and asks Brian Baumgartner, who played Kevin, to sit on his lap,” Krasinski explained. “And as soon as Steve said, ‘What would you like little boy?’ he lost all the air in his body when Brian sat on him. I’ve never laughed harder in my life.
“And if you’re a fan of the show, you know that they used to just swing-pan to Jim for a reaction and I looked over to the cameraman and said, ‘Don’t even try it. I will not be here,’ and so every time he swings, it’s to an empty room, I just wasn’t there. I just told him, ‘I will not be here. I’m not professional, and I’ll be here on the floor laughing my a– off.’ And we did.”
John Krasinski also answered five other questions that revealed how many films he’s directed, what he did in the movie Free Guy, his many odd jobs as a struggling actor, who he played in Shrek, and whether or not he can ice skate? Check the video out for the answers, plus Michael Kelly answering his six questions below…