The 1 Scene from The Office That Was Hell to Shoot Because of Steve Carell: ‘All the footage shows us breaking in the background’

The legacy of The Office has given the fans a lifetime of memories to cherish, relive, and preserve. Whether it be Ricky Gervais’ salacious and scandalous David Brent or Steve Carell’s socially inept Michael Scott, the matters of the office are always too problematic to disclose to the muggles outside.

The Office [Credit: NBC]

In the US version of The Office, Carell’s Michael Scott, Rainn Wilson’s Dwight Schrute, and John Krasinski’s Jim Halpert have rained chaos and comedic catastrophe in the bullpen. With some subtle but effective help from the rest of the cast, which also brilliantly employs writers as actors, the sitcom has quickly risen to one of the best and most enduring television productions in recent pop-culture history.

The Office Descends Into Chaos Due to Michael Scott

Steve Carell as Prison Mike in The Office [Credit: NBC]

While Steve Carell may act the part of the insufferable Michael Scott all too well, it is his talent as a comedian that elevates the work of the scriptwriters into absolute gold. As a result, there were times on set when the day would be spent getting the cast to stay on the straight and narrow instead of breaking out into peals and ripples of laughter.

From episodes such as The Duel and Drug Testing to bits like Prison Mike and Asian Jim, the workplace sitcom has delivered absolute gold in terms of character-driven comedy. But some of the best moments arise out of episodes that result in more blooper reels than actual usable footage because of the absolute ridiculousness cooked up by the writers’ room.

One such episode comprises the office Christmas party that pits Steve Carell’s Michael Scott against Phyllis Smith’s Phyllis Lapin-Vance as the office Santa. Scott takes charge as Secret Santa but gets increasingly uncomfortable with a rambling and ever-confused Kevin sitting on his lap. The bit gets funnier by the minute as Michael can’t make Kevin get up until the latter declares what toy he wants.

Steve Carell Delivers Absolute Gold as Secret Santa

In the podcast Office Ladies hosted by The Office co-stars (and real-life friends) Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fischer, the duo discuss the hilarity behind the episode that cost Steve Carell’s Michael Scott much grief in his effort to deliver some Christmas cheer among his employees.

Steve Carell as Santa in The Office Season 6 [Credit: NBC]

As recalled by Kinsey and Scott, the episode, titled Secret Santa, began with Michael Scott being upset about Phyllis stealing his Christmas thunder and lashing out in the only way he knew how. However, the day doesn’t exactly unfold the way he had originally imagined. The co-stars revealed in Episode 118 of Office Ladies:

Jenna Fischer, who plays the office receptionist turned saleswoman Pam Beesly and John Krasinski’s love interest in the sitcom, revealed how the episode couldn’t offer a single take of the entire cast where they didn’t break.

Moreover, Angela Kinsey who plays a Karen-ish version of an office co-worker, also went through interviews and stories from the original cast to record different perspectives of that particular day of filming. From the interviews of her co-stars, she gathered:

While The Office definitely offered up some serious thought-provoking moments about camaraderie, friendships, and found families, there were episodes that could make the viewer absolutely lose their minds with laughter because of the level of hilarity that rose out of the dysfunctional office sitcom.

The Office is currently streaming on Prime Video.