Why do so many characters on The Office have the same first names as the actors who play them?
The Office has 4 characters who have the same first names as the actors who play them. Angela, Phyllis, Oscar, and of course Creed Bratton (who goes by his actual full real name).
For the sake of argument, I can't think of any other example of a show where so many characters have the same first names as the actors who play them. There are only a handful in The Office, but this seems like an exorbitant amount considering you rarely see more than one, if that. Is there a particular reason each of these characters uses their real name for their characters?
Best Answer
Most likely because the writers were lazy:
VF Daily: First of all, I have to ask, what’s with all the first names? You’re one of four actors on The Office who has the same name as the character you play.
Angela Kinsey: You know, I was so curious about that as well, and I talked to the writers about it. They were like, “Oh, it was a total creative choice.” But now I started to hear through the grapevine that it’s probably just because they were lazy. So it’s me, Oscar [Nunez, who plays Oscar Martinez], Phyllis [Smith, who plays Phyllis Vance], and Creed [Bratton, who plays Creed Bratton].
VF Daily: Right. Creed gets the first and last names.
Angela Kinsey: Exactly. And it’s just enough to really confuse everyone, because just enough people have a different name. I would say the person it’s hardest on is Oscar. We’ll be in a scene, and he’ll call Jenna [Fischer, who plays Pam] “Jenna.” And then we’ll be at lunch, and he’ll call her Pam.
In the case of Phyllis, her name was apparently deliberately chosen:
Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Smith is a former St. Louis Cardinals cheerleader. She got her start in the entertainment industry working for casting agencies, and she was working for Allison Jones casting during the pilot screen testing for "The Office" when the show's executive producers were so impressed with her line readings that they decided to create the role of Phyllis for her in the pilot. She is now a series regular.
Pictures about "Why do so many characters on The Office have the same first names as the actors who play them?"
Why did the office cast keep their real names?
'The Office' cast use their real names because Greg Daniels 'ran out of creative energy' During the \u201cMailbag\u201d episode of The Office Deep Dive podcast, Baumgartner answers fan-submitted questions.Why does Creed play himself in the office?
Probably. This is how it started out: [executive producer] Greg [Daniels] decided that since I had been in The Grass Roots and was a rock star, it was obvious that I'd be burned out. In reality, I'm not burned out\u2014I've actually kept myself pretty healthy through the years\u2014but I can play that really well.What creed calls Angela?
In "Job Fair", Creed referred to Angela as "pumpkin", indicating that he had forgotten her name completely, as opposed to botching it by calling her "Andrea".The Office Cast, Where Are They Now?
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