Category - Entertainment
'The Office' Cast Couldn't Film This Famous Christmas Scene Without Laughing
NBC's beloved workplace sitcom The Office was always known for its Christmas episodes, and it sounds like the cast had as much of a blast filming them as viewers did watching at home. But there was one episode in particular, in which the stars were barely able to keep it together to film the scene.
Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey recalled the moment while speaking with Brian Baumgartner, who played Kevin Malone, in a bonus Christmas episode of their Office Ladies podcast.
"I feel like those were some of the most joyous episodes, because we really would be in like these group party situations for most of the episode, and then of course we would be doing bits, and I'm sure we were very hard to wrangle," Fischer said. "It was probably like trying to make a TV show with a room full of six-year-olds or something, doing all our bits."
"But I just remember Brian, I remember when you sit on Steve's lap as Santa," she continued. "And I know everyone always brings it up to you, but it was like we—no one could get through it."
Fischer was referring to the season six episode "Secret Santa," in which the coworkers throw a Christmas party, but Michael (Steve Carell) becomes upset when Phyllis gets to be the office Santa that year. As such, he dresses up as a dueling Santa, and doubles down on his stubbornness by inviting Kevin to sit on his lap and tell him what he wants for Christmas after Phyllis tells him he's too big.
Unfortunately, Michael quickly regrets the offer, particularly when Kevin blanks on the spot and isn't in a hurry to move.
"The thing that I've said to people, is that I had the literal front-row seat to him, and the noise he made when I saw down," Baumgartner recalled of the scene. "And he knew he had the mic, but it was right in my ear. And as I would sit down, he did this [recreates the noise] and it was so difficult for me, I couldn't even—and everyone else was laughing, but I was laughing too. And the way his face was just so like pained, and almost manufactured sweat coming down the side of his face."
Baumgartner said that after the first couple of takes—out of around 30 he estimates they did—he asked Carell if he was OK, who said he was "totally fine" and just putting on an act.
"Well if you watch that episode, people are breaking in the background. Mindy just walks out," Fischer laughed. "She just turns and leaves." Kinsey then chimed in that Ed Helms actually "dives behind the hall."
"We never ever got a take where people held it together the whole time long enough to actually put the show together, they just gave up," Fischer said of the beleaguered crew. "They were like, forget it. This is what it is."
You can watch the scene below and check out the cast reaction for yourself.