‘The Office’ Stars: Then and Now

Carell played the sometimes cringeworthy, sometimes sweet, always hilarious regional manager Michael Scott for the first seven seasons of The Office. 

Before that, he worked as a correspondent on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and starred in the now-classic comedies Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. 

The actor’s career continued to rise during and after The Office. He’s led projects such as Despicable Me and its sequels, Foxcatcher and The Big Short. 

Recently, he starred on The Morning Show and Space Force.

The comedic actor played the socially inept paper salesman and beet farmer Dwight Schrute for all nine seasons of The Office. 

Before being cast, Wilson guest-starred on a variety of shows including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Entourage and Reno 911! He also had a recurring role on Six Feet Under. 

Since The Office, Wilson has continued to appear on TV with recurring roles on Adventure Time, Star Trek: Discovery and Mom.

He provided the voice of Lex Luthor in a series of DC Comics animated films that include The Death of Superman and Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.

The sitcom star played the amiable Jim Halpert, who served as the straight man to the absurd situations that went down over nine seasons of The Office.

Before being cast on the show, Krasinski had guest-starring roles on Ed and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

 

The 41-year-old celeb has since proven himself to be more than a one-trick pony, succeeding in the horror and action genre with A Quiet Place and Jack Ryan. He starred in and executive produced both of those projects. Krasinski also directed and co-wrote A Quiet Place.

He recently surprised fans at a screening of A Quiet Place II, which stars his wife, Emily Blunt. 

The actress played the likable and artistic Pam Beesly. Shy at first, she grew more assertive as she went from receptionist to salesperson and married the man of her dreams. 

Before being cast on The Office, Fischer guest-starred on shows such as Spin City and What I Like About You. She also directed and starred in the mockumentary satire film Lollilove, which no doubt helped her audition process for the mockumentary sitcom. 

Since The Office ended, Fischer has been in the main cast of the shows You, Me and the Apocalypse and Splitting Up Together.

She currently co-hosts the podcast Office Ladies with Angela Kinsey, which features behind-the-scenes commentary and insights for every episode of the NBC series. Guests include other Office stars, writers and directors from the show. It won the iHeartRadio 2021 award for Podcast of the Year. 

The comedian played the ever-evolving Ryan Howard while also being one of the head writers for the show. 

Before The Office, Novak had acted on MTV’s Punk’d and performed stand-up comedy on Premium Blend and Late Night With Conan O’Brien. 

Novak also happened to attend the same high school, Newton South, as John Krasinski. 

 

The 41-year-old actor eventually became an executive producer for the show. Since the show ended, he was featured in the biographical drama The Founder and episodes of The Mindy Project and The Newsroom.

He has gained acclaim as a writer, both for his fictional short storybook, One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories, and for his children’s book, The Book With No Pictures. 

Novak also has the distinct honor of being the godfather to Mindy Kaling’s daughter. 

The funnyman played The Office’s entertainment-obsessed Cornell graduate Andy Bernard.

Like Steve Carell, Helms gained comedy notoriety as a Daily Show correspondent before being cast on The Office. 

During his Office tenure, the 47-year-old comic appeared in several films, most notably the popular Hangover trilogy. Since the show ended, he has continued to star in movies including Vacation, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, Tag and Together Together. 

He currently stars on the Peacock series Rutherford Falls. 

Kaling served double duty as one of the original writers of The Office in addition to playing the gossip-obsessed Kelly Kapoor.

The Office was Mindy’s first big break in show business. She was only 24 when she was hired as the only female writer on the staff of the first season. 

The 41-year-old actress followed her appearance on The Office by creating, writing, producing and starring on The Mindy Project, which aired for six seasons on Hulu. 

She went on to co-create, write and executive produce the shows Four Weddings and a Funeral, Never Have I Ever and the upcoming The Sex Lives of College Girls. Kaling also starred in movies such as Wreck-It Ralph, Inside Out, A Wrinkle in Time and Ocean’s 8. 

Kinsey played Angela Martin, the senior accountant and head of the Party Planning Committee.

Before being cast on The Office, Kinsey only had a few acting credits including appearances on King of the Hill and Run of the House. She originally auditioned for the role of Pam. 

Since The Office, the 49-year-old actress has been a television mainstay. She appeared on shows such as Hot in Cleveland, The Hotwives of Orlando, Fresh Off the Boat and A.P. Bio.

Amid her other projects, she currently hosts The Office recap podcast Office Ladies with Jenna Fischer. 

The comedic actor played the simple and blunt accountant Kevin Malone on the long-running NBC series. 

Before being cast on The Office, Baumgartner made guest appearances on network shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Arrested Development and Everwood. 

Since the end of the show, the 48-year-old actor has continued to appear on television. He has guest-starred on Criminal Minds, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Chicago Fire.

He recently hosted and executive produced the Spotify podcast An Oral History of The Office.

The actor played the rational and intelligent accountant Oscar Martinez on The Office.

Before that, he played bit parts on comedies such as Curb Your Enthusiasm, Grounded for Life and Reno 911!

In 2007, Nunez created and starred on the Comedy Central series Halfway Home. 

Since The Office ended, the 62-year-old has guest-starred on shows such as New Girl, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Shameless. He also starred on the short-lived series Benched and People of Earth. 

The TV talent played the ill-tempered and disgruntled salesman Stanley Hudson.

Before his breakout role on The Office, Baker had small roles on sitcoms like Malcolm in the Middle, That ‘70s Show and Scrubs.

Since the end of The Office, the 63-year-old actor has stayed on television, appearing on shows like Scorpion, Life in Pieces and Raven’s Home. He’s had recurring roles on CMT’s Still the King and Disney’s Puppy Dog Pals. 

In 2020, he launched a Kickstarter to fund a spinoff of his Office character called Uncle Stan.

The TV actress played soft-spoken Phyllis Vance for the entirety of the series. 

Smith had been working in the casting department for 19 years. She was working for Allison Jones (who cast the show) at the time of auditions. As the story goes, the writers were inspired by her delivery during auditions and created a character for her. 

 

Since appearing on The Office, Smith has worked on Trophy Wife, The Middle and The OA. 

In 2015, she won the Annie Award for Voice Acting for her role as Sadness in Inside Out. 

The actor played the downtrodden HR rep Toby Flenderson on the show. 

Before being hired as a writer for the show (he served as showrunner for seasons 5 through 8), he wrote for King of the Hill, The Drew Carey Show and The Bernie Mac Show.

The 54-year-old went on to direct three episodes of The Mindy Project (as well as make a guest appearance). He also wrote and produced for the shows Ghosted and Space Force.

In 2018, he wrote, directed and starred in the independent film Song of Back and Neck.

If you didn’t know by now, Creed Bratton played a fictionalized version of himself on the show. The real Bratton was the lead singer and guitarist of the rock band The Grass Roots from 1967-69. 

He had minor roles in films and shows from then until 2005 including projects such as Heart Like a Wheel, Mask and Quincy M.E.

After The Office ended its run, Bratton guest-starred on shows such as Adventure Time, Franklin & Bash, Garfunkel and Oates and Grace and Frankie. 

He also released the albums While the Young Punks Dance and Slightly Altered. 

The comic played the no-nonsense, musically inclined warehouse manager Darryl Philbin.

He got his break as a stand-up comedian and performed on Def Comedy Jam and Jimmy Kimmel Live. He also appeared on Friends, The Bernie Mac Show and Arrested Development. 

During his run on The Office, Robinson increased his recognizability with roles in popular comedies such as Knocked Up, Pineapple Express and Hot Tub Time Machine.

Since the end of the series, the 49-year-old comedian has had roles on American Dad!, Mr. Robot and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He’s continued to appear in comedy movies such as Sausage Party, Dolemite Is My Name and Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.

 

Flannery played the boozy and promiscuous Meredith Palmer on the NBC comedy.

Before being cast on The Office, she had minor roles on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Crossballs: The Debate Show and The Bernie Mac Show.

Since breaking out on The Office, the 57-year-old actress has worked on Steven Universe, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, New Girl and OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes.

She appeared on season 28 of Dancing with the Stars, lasting eight weeks. 

The actress and singer played the professional but erratic Janet Levinson on the series. 

Hardin’s acting career goes all the way back to 1977, when she played the lead role on the children’s show Thunder.

Before joining The Office, she appeared on such shows as The Love Boat, Diff’rent Strokes, Little House on the Prairie, Magnum, P.I., Quantum Leap, Murder, She Wrote, Friends and NCIS. 

During her tenure on The Office, she also played Trudy Monk on the show Monk. 

The 53-year-old star then played Tammy Cashman on Transparent, which earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress.

Hardin currently plays the role of Jacqueline Carlyle on the Freeform series The Bold Type. 

Denman played Roy Anderson, the warehouse worker who wasn’t quite right for Pam.

The Juilliard graduate had guest spots on ER, Chicago Hope and The X-Files before making his big-screen debut in The Replacements. 

Leading up to The Office, he appeared in CSI: Miami, Crossing Jordan, Angel and the movie Big Fish.

The 47-year-old actor has guest-starred on numerous TV shows since The Office and has starred in Traffic Light and Outcast. 

His most recent television appearance was as Frank Sheehan on HBO’s Mare of Easttown. 

The comedic actress had been performing live comedy in New York theaters for many years before a Parks and Recreation audition ended up landing her the role of Erin Hannon on The Office (both shows created by Greg Daniels).

Kemper was then quickly cast in parts for the comedy movies Get Him to the Greek, Bridesmaids and 21 Jump Street.

After The Office, Kemper appeared in the romantic comedies Sex Tape and They Came Together. 

From 2015-2020, the 41-year-old played the lead role on The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. 

 

Ryan was already a veteran stage and screen actor by the time she was cast against type as the offbeat and nerdy Holly Flax.

Her numerous credits included ER, Homicide: Life on the Street, The Wire and Gone Baby Gone, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

The 53-year-old actress didn’t miss a step after exiting The Office. She had roles in critically acclaimed movies such as Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and Bridge of Spies. She reunited with Steve Carell to star in Beautiful Boy.

She has also enjoyed more comedic television roles on Broad City, High Maintenance and Robot Chicken.

When you’re the daughter of Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton, it’s no surprise you end up with a successful entertainment career. 

Jones got her first major start in acting with a role in the ensemble of Boston Public.

In 2006, she was cast as the shrewd and ambitious Karen Filippelli on The Office.

 

The 45-year-old celeb left The Office and immediately assumed a starring role on Greg Daniels’ other NBC sitcom, Parks and Recreation.

Some of Jones’ notable film roles include I Love You, Man and The Social Network. 

She has shown her talents as a documentarian, executive producing Hot Girls Wanted and Quincy, which is about her famous father. 

She has also starred on Angie Tribeca and BlackAF. 

Andy Buckley had been getting steady work as an actor since the 1990s before getting his breakout role as the stern but understanding CFO of Dunder Mifflin, David Wallace.

This includes roles on Caroline in the City, Melrose Place, The West Wing and NYPD Blue.

Buckley would go on to have a three-episode arc on Veep as well as appearances on Arrested Development, The League, Silicon Valley and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

His most recent appearances include a role in the movie Bombshell and a recurring role on the HBO show Avenue 5.

Like Ellie Kemper, Zach Woods developed his comedy chops at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre before being tapped for a main role on The Office.

He played the lanky and awkward Gabe Lewis from 2010 to 2013.

 

The role opened doors for Woods, who went on to star on HBO’s hit sitcom, Silicon Valley. He also had recurring roles on Veep and The Good Wife. 

In addition, he appeared in numerous comedy films including The Heat, Spy, Ghostbusters and The Angry Birds Movie 2. 

Most recently, he is part of the main cast of Avenue 5. 

One of the most accomplished actors to join the NBC series, Spader played the enigmatic and intimidating Robert California. 

Spader first started acting in the 1980s, some of his numerous credits include Pretty in Pink, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Stargate, The Practice, Crash and Boston Legal. 

After his stint on The Office, the 61-year-old thespian began starring as the high-profile criminal turned FBI informant Raymond Reddington on The Blacklist. 

He also voiced Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron. 

The comic played the rude and lewd wildcard Todd Packer on the hit NBC series.

Koechner was a cast member on the 1995-1996 season of Saturday Night Live. Similar to Carell, Koechner broke out into the mainstream with roles in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

The 58-year-old actor booked a plethora of film and TV roles during his time on The Office including Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Semi-Pro, American Dad and Hank.

Since the NBC series ended, he has had recurring roles on The Goldbergs, Another Period, F Is for Family, Superior Donuts and Bless This Mess.