Casting
According to Jenna Fischer, the series used an unusual casting process that did not involve a script. For example, the producers asked the actors several questions and they responded as the characters they were auditioning for. NBC programmer Kevin Reilly originally suggested Paul Giamatti to producer Ben Silverman for the role of Michael Scott, but the actor declined. Martin Short, Hank Azaria, and Bob Odenkirk were reported to be interested in the part. Silverman offered the role to Ricky Gervais, who played David Brent in the British series, but he declined as he felt it would not make sense and did not want to move to the United States.
In January 2004, Variety reported that Steve Carell, of the Comedy Central program The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, was in talks to play the role. At the time, he was already committed to another NBC midseason replacement comedy, Come to Papa, but the series was quickly canceled, allowing his full commitment to The Office. Carell later said that he had only seen about half of the original pilot episode of the British series before he auditioned. He did not continue watching for fear that he would start copying Gervais' characterizations. Other people who were considered or auditioned for the role included Ben Falcone, Alan Tudyk, Jim Zulevic, and Paul F. Tompkins. Rainn Wilson was cast as power-hungry sycophant Dwight Schrute, and he watched every episode of the British series before he auditioned. Wilson had originally auditioned for Michael, a performance that he described as a "terrible Ricky Gervais impersonation"; however, the casting directors liked his audition as Dwight much more and hired him. Seth Rogen, Matt Besser, Patton Oswalt, and Judah Friedlander also auditioned for the role. Carell was later joined by his wife Nancy Carell when she was cast to play Carol Stills, a love interest of Michael Scott. When asked what it was like working with her husband, Carell said she was intimidated at first as she had retired from acting years prior, but that they had fun together.
John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer were cast in their respective roles as Jim and Pam, the main love interests. Krasinski attended school with B. J. Novak, where the two were best friends. Before Krasinski landed the role, he considered quitting acting. He discussed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that he moved to New York City and gave himself two to three years for his acting career to succeed or he would quit. He did not enjoy waiting tables and struggling to find roles, but his mother told him to wait it out until the end of the year. He booked his role in The Office just three weeks later.
Fischer prepared for her audition by looking as boring as possible, creating the original Pam hairstyle. In an interview on NPR's Fresh Air, she recalled the last stages of the audition process for Pam and Jim, where the producers paired up the potential Pams and Jims (four of each) to gauge their chemistry. When Fischer finished her scene with Krasinski, he told her that she was his favorite Pam, to which she reciprocated that he was her favorite Jim. Adam Scott and John Cho both auditioned for the role of Jim, and Kathryn Hahn also auditioned for the role of Pam.
The supporting cast includes actors known for their improv work: Angela Kinsey, Kate Flannery, Oscar Nunez, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Melora Hardin, and David Denman. Kinsey originally auditioned for Pam. The producers thought she was "too feisty" for the character, but called her back for the part of Angela Martin, which she won. Flannery first auditioned for the part of Jan Levinson-Gould before landing the role of Meredith Palmer.
Baumgartner originally auditioned for Stanley, but was eventually cast as Kevin Malone. Ken Kwapis, the director of the pilot episode, liked the way Phyllis Smith, a casting associate, read with other actors auditioning so much that he cast her as Phyllis. At the beginning of the third season, Ed Helms and Rashida Jones joined the cast as members of Dunder Mifflin Stamford. Jones later left the cast, becoming a regular on Parks and Recreation in February 2007, and NBC announced that Helms was being promoted to a series regular.
Four of the show's writers have also appeared in the show. B. J. Novak was cast as the reluctant temp Ryan Howard after Daniels saw his stand-up act. Paul Lieberstein was cast as human resources director Toby Flenderson on Novak's suggestion after his cold readings of scripts. Greg Daniels was originally unsure where to use Mindy Kaling on-screen until the opportunity came in the script for the second episode, "Diversity Day", where Michael needed to be slapped by a minority. "Since [that slap], I've been on the show" (as Kelly Kapoor), Kaling said. Michael Schur has also made several guest appearances as Dwight's cousin Mose, and consulting producer Larry Wilmore has played diversity trainer Mr. Brown.
Plans were made for Mackenzie Crook, Martin Freeman, and Lucy Davis, from the British series, to appear in the third season, but scheduling conflicts prevented them; however, Ricky Gervais made two appearances in the show's seventh season as David Brent.
