Ed Helms: “I really didn’t want to screw up” on His Most Terrifying Scene in ‘The Office’ That Became a Fan Classic

SUMMARY

• For The Return, Ed Helms punched a hole to demonstrate Andy's frustration.
• Although it was sheetrock, the actor expressed that it was still stressful.
• Despite succeeding within a few takes, Helms did sustain an injury in the process.

In season 3 of The Office, Jason Krasinski’s Jim Halpert hid Andy’s phone in the ceiling tiles, and even though the prank itself was harmless, Ed Helms sustained an injury for real while depicting Andy’s frustration.

The Office | Credit: NBC

Notable for starring in many notable comedies throughout his career, the actor garnered notoriety following his portrayal of Andy Bernard. Not only did he cement himself as a regular on the sitcom after debuting in the third season, but the actor soon left an indelible mark on the show, both figuratively and literally in The Return, which proved to be daunting for him.

Punching a hole in The Office was daunting for Ed Helms

Ed Helms in The Return | Credit: NBC

In episode 14 of season 3, The Return, Andy ends up punching a hole in the wall after failing to pinpoint the location of his phone’s acapella ringtone. Although this was one of the more exciting aspects of Ed Helms‘ tenure in the renowned sitcom, the actor felt an equal sense of pressure, as he was adamant about not screwing up the scene, adding it was “also kind of daunting”.

That was one of those scenes for me, in a very early one, and something that I think was very exciting, but also kind of daunting. And I really didn’t want to screw up the punch.

While it only took him a few takes to get through the sheetrock, despite having protection underneath, the actor skinned his knuckles during the process.

He recalled (via Showbiz Cheat Sheet):

I think we only did two, two takes or so and I skinned up my knuckles. There was a pad in there, but I think breaking through the sheetrock skinned up my knuckles. So, yeah, that was pretty intense.

On the bright side, the scene proved to be a major hit among fans, cementing Andy as one of the most revered aspects of the sitcom.

We owe Andy’s ringtone to Ed Helms

The Office | Credit: NBC

For Andy’s ringtone, Helms recalled that the showrunners didn’t want it to be anything extraordinary. However, this didn’t stop the We’re the Millers star from going the extra mile, and his brief experience in an acapella group in college came in handy, as it contributed to “the pretty simple, elementary harmony arrangement”.

I was in an acapella group, but only for a semester in college. It wasn’t a huge part of my identity — it was for a semester, but then I realized it wasn’t for me.

Considering how memorable it proved to be, we’re fortunate that Helms didn’t settle for something bland for Andy’s ringtone.

The Office episodes are currently available for streaming on Peacock.

Written by Santanu Roy

Articles Published: 2014

Santanu Roy is a film enthusiast with a deep love for the medium of animation while also being obsessed with The Everly Brothers, Billy Joel, and The Platters. Having expertise in everything related to Batman, Santanu spends most of his time watching and learning films, with Martin Scorsese and Park Chan-wook being his personal favorites. Apart from pursuing a degree in animation, he also possesses a deep fondness for narrative-driven games and is currently a writer at Fandomwire with over 1500 articles.