TRANSCRIPT
Office Ladies | Episode 237 - All About Pam Beesly
Jenna [00:00:04] I'm Jenna Fischer.
Angela [00:00:05] and I'm Angela Kinsey.
Jenna [00:00:06] We were on the office together.
Angela [00:00:08] And we're best friends.
Jenna [00:00:09] And now we're doing the Ultimate Office Lovers podcast just for you.
Angela [00:00:13] Each week, we will dive deeper into the world of the office with exclusive interviews, behind the scenes details, and lots of BFFs stories.
Jenna [00:00:21] We're the Office Ladies 6.0.
Angela [00:00:28] Hey there. It is a super fun day here at Office Ladies 6.0, because this week we are celebrating Jenna's birthday. And in honor of it being your birthday, it is all about Pam Beasley.
Jenna [00:00:46] Lady, I walked into the studio today and I had to take a picture because the point of view. My microphone, it has a mountain of goodies. There are flowers, there's gift bags, there's muffins and a card with dogs and birthday hats, which I can't wait to open. I mean, my goodness.
Angela [00:01:05] And there's going to be more. There's going to be cake because we do birthdays here. We do them. And maybe in honor of Pam, there's also going to be mixed berry yogurt for everybody.
Jenna [00:01:15] Oh that's good. That's amazing. Oh my gosh. Well, thank you, lady. You know everyone Angela and I thought that it would be fun to break down the all abouts of our office characters on our birthday weeks this year. And my birthday is Friday.
Angela [00:01:33] That's right. This is your week. And it's also Pam's week. And before we get to Pam Beasley, let's celebrate your birthday. We have gifts. Okay.
Jenna [00:01:43] I see there's a bag that says happy birthday, and it's heavy.
Angela [00:01:46] Okay. That's from me.
Jenna [00:01:48] Okay.
Angela [00:01:48] And I'll explain.
Jenna [00:01:53] It is a giant bag of sumo citrus oranges.
Angela [00:01:57] And it looks like a book lady. But guess what? What? It's like a gift box. And inside of it. Okay. Hear me out. I wanted to get you a book for your birthday, but I don't know what all you have and don't have and what's on your list. So I found this independent bookstore in Madison, Connecticut. It's called just the Right Book. And you can fill out sort of like the taste of books you like, the subjects you like, and then you will get a book in the mail each month. You can sign up for a four month subscription or six month or 12 month. And lady, I just love supporting this independent bookstore.
Jenna [00:02:38] I love reading, Angela.
Angela [00:02:40] I know.
Jenna [00:02:41] And this is like such a thoughtful gift. And I love this fakey book that I can hide things in.
Angela [00:02:49] I know.
Jenna [00:02:50] Oh, I love a sneaky book.
Angela [00:02:51] It says it looks like a real book. It's really pretty.
Jenna [00:02:55] Wow. You crushed it on the birthday gifts, Ang!
Angela [00:02:59] Thanks! I'm going to put a link to this book store. It's called Just the Right Book, and I just want to read one thing from its website. It says in a world dominated by algorithms. Think of just the right book as your personal book stylist, a personalized bookseller experience based on you and delivered to you.
Jenna [00:03:16] Well, maybe I should start sharing what I'm reading and we can do a little like book club with people.
Angela [00:03:22] I would love to do a book club. And Sam and Cassi also got you stuff.
Sam [00:03:26] Sure. I got you the most Michael Scott card I could find.
Jenna [00:03:29] Is it the dogs with the party hat?
Sam [00:03:31] Open it.
Jenna [00:03:32] Okay. It says happy birthday party animal love Sam, Cassi and Angela. I literally love it.
Angela [00:03:47] Sam, that is the most Michael Scott card.
Jenna [00:03:51] Thank you. Who got the Trader Joe's gluten free cinnamon coffee cake muffins?
Sam [00:03:55] I did.
Jenna [00:03:56] Sam. Sam. You bought these for me way back at Earwolf.
Sam [00:04:02] Oh, boy, I did.
Jenna [00:04:03] And I love you and hate you for that because they are so delicious, but they are like.
Angela [00:04:13] Don't read the calories.
Jenna [00:04:14] I know.
Angela [00:04:15] It's your birthday.
Sam [00:04:17] Calories don't count until Saturday.
Angela [00:04:18] There you go.
Jenna [00:04:19] Well. Thank you. I love these muffins. And I will not buy them for myself, so thank you, but gift accepted.
Sam [00:04:25] Sure.
Cassi [00:04:25] Yes. Jenna, I got you the calorie free roses.
Jenna [00:04:30] Thank you so much, Cassi. I do love roses.
Cassi [00:04:33] And just to talk about books, I'm reading a book right now that Angela I think you might really like. It's called The Backyard Bird Chronicles, and it's written by Amy Tan, who wrote Joy.
Jenna [00:04:44] Joy Luck Club!
Angela [00:04:44] Joy Luck Club. Yes, yes.
Cassi [00:04:46] And it's just about her sitting in her backyard, learning all the birds and drawing them and just talking about their the personalities.
Angela [00:04:53] And becoming my best friends?
Cassi [00:04:54] Exactly.
Angela [00:04:56] I have lots of books to read now. Yay! And, lady, there's one more thing I'd like you to open. You know, a while back, we were going through fan mail, and I saw this, and I thought, this will be perfect when we do all about Pam Beasley. These are handmade earrings from an artist in Ohio. Red leaf studio. Look at the Pam teapot.
Jenna [00:05:19] Oh my gosh. It's a teapot. And it has a letter and a little pencil and some hot sauce and a little timer.
Angela [00:05:25] Yeah.
Jenna [00:05:26] All the things that were in the teapot.
Angela [00:05:29] I know! And she made little sprinkles, cat earrings for me as well. I'm going to share her shop. She is so talented. Handmade from Ohio.
Jenna [00:05:37] What's her store again?
Angela [00:05:38] Red Leaves Studio.
Jenna [00:05:40] Thank you so much.
Angela [00:05:42] Yeah.
Jenna [00:05:42] Wow. This is fun, Angela. But this is also getting me excited for when we do all about Angela Martin and celebrate your birthday.
Angela [00:05:50] Well, I'm not done. In honor of it being all about Pam Beasley, my favorite part about Pam is her Pam sass. We'll get to it. But, lady, I had to bust out.
Jenna [00:06:03] How do you even have a Pam sass t shirt? I thought you only had Angela sass.
Angela [00:06:09] No, I bought Pam sass, too.
Jenna [00:06:11] You love the sass.
Angela [00:06:12] I love the sass. And of course, there is cake. And there's mixed berry yogurt. We'll have all of that on our break. And I guess muffins, too. And oranges.
Jenna [00:06:22] We have a lot to eat and drink. Thank you everybody. This was wonderful. I feel this is a great birthday kick off.
Angela [00:06:29] Well, you deserved to be celebrated. And we love you.
Jenna [00:06:32] Well thank you.
Angela [00:06:34] Okay, so let's get to all about Pam Beasley. I thought I would kick off today's episode with this request from Mel E in Richmond, Texas. Mel wrote in and said, please read the show Bible entry for Pam. And guess what, everyone. Jenna sent me the show Bible.
Jenna [00:06:51] I did, and I can we take this opportunity really quickly for me to explain? Yes. So I worry that maybe I have misrepresented the show Bible.
Angela [00:07:02] Or maybe I have, because I had never really seen it.
Jenna [00:07:05] So the Show Bible is simply a list of facts about each character as they are revealed in an episode that has aired. So there will never be anything in the show Bible that wasn't also on the show.
Angela [00:07:19] That's true. It's what exists in the canon.
Jenna [00:07:21] Yes.
Angela [00:07:22] But I have to say, it's really fun to see it all listed out because you forget things completely.
Jenna [00:07:27] It's so helpful.
Angela [00:07:27] And you know, Jenna, when you did show Bibles for Kevin Malone and Michael Scott, you sort of group the information in different pairings.
Jenna [00:07:36] Yes.
Angela [00:07:36] I did the same thing. But, you know, our brains work differently. So here's the way I'm going to share the show Bible info for Pam Beasley. Pam's full name is Pamela Morgan Halpert, formerly Beasley. She is Presbyterian. Her address is 383 Linden Avenue in Scranton, Pennsylvania. She drives a silver Subaru Outback. She is a slow driver, but she can drive a stick shift.
Jenna [00:08:02] Oh, yeah, see I forgot that.
Angela [00:08:04] She needs glasses, but usually wears contacts. Her instant messenger name is receptionitis 15. Her job titles at Dunder Mifflin were listed as receptionist, sales rep, and secret assistant to the regional manager by Dwight. We know she goes on to become the office administrator, but that is not covered in the show Bible because it stops.
Jenna [00:08:27] Yep, it stops after season six. Yeah, I think around there.
Angela [00:08:31] Yeah, but I love this little piece of trivia. She worked at Dunder Mifflin before Jim.
Jenna [00:08:36] See? My gosh, this is always a hotly debated topic. Who worked there first?
Angela [00:08:41] It's in Pam show Bible. Okay. Then I did a segment called her skills and her quote needs improvement list. Her skills: She types 90 words a minute, is able to change a tire by herself, and is an accomplished volleyball player. Her needs improvement list. She has the lowest sales record in the office and the worst attitude.
Jenna [00:09:05] The worst attitude? Is that in the show bible
Angela [00:09:08] It is! I did a direct copy and paste. About sales, I guess she has the worst attitude about sales.
Jenna [00:09:15] I don't even think that's true.
Angela [00:09:18] Okay, next on her needs improvement list. Her attempt at a southern accent sounds like Forrest Gump.
Jenna [00:09:24] Oh, okay.
Angela [00:09:26] She has won the following awards at the Dundies. Longest engagement and whitest sneakers. Here are some of her likes. Asian food. FreeCell. Sudoku. A house with a terrace upstairs to plant flowers on. She loves to draw to watch HGTV. She likes dogs over cats. She loves a sprinkle of cinnamon on her coffee. Mixed berry yogurt. French onion chips. Making copies. That cracks me up. And she likes the following movies Fargo, Edward Scissorhands, Dazed and Confused, Breakfast Club, The Princess Bride, and Legally Blond.
Jenna [00:10:03] Yeah.
Angela [00:10:04] Here are some of her dislikes. The Dundies she considers it like a train wreck. Direct quote. She doesn't like Frisbee based competition. Don't get your Frisbee on with Pam. She does not like hunting ads for Six Flags with the creepy old guy dancing, pig latin, country music, cigars, and she doesn't like to be called Pammy.
Jenna [00:10:29] She does not. Don't call me Pammy.
Angela [00:10:32] Now, I have a section I called. She is prone to shenanigans and pranks. Oh, particularly with Jim. Here are just a few. She wrote graffiti about Michael on the bathroom wall. She tries to throw stuff in Dwight's coffee mug when he's away. Like like paper clips or messages for Dwight.
Jenna [00:10:52] I forgot about that.
Angela [00:10:54] And with Jim, she posted Dwight's resume on job sites. She would sometimes hum the same high pitch note with Jim to get Dwight to make an appointment with an ear doctor.
Jenna [00:11:05] That was very funny.
Angela [00:11:06] She has been sending Dwight letters from the CIA saying they are considering him for a secret mission. And she also posed as the Dunder Mifflin Infinity computer system with Jim to prank Dwight. Next up. Relationships. Oh, she would do Oscar or Toby. She was engaged to Roy for three years, and she considers Jim her soulmate.
Jenna [00:11:30] Yes, true.
Angela [00:11:32] And one final thing before we go to break. People often ask us where our characters are now and what they're doing. And this is what the NBC website says about Pam. Pam merged her mural business with a local art gallery in Austin. Currently, she's on an artist retreat in New Mexico.
Jenna [00:11:54] I wonder when this was. Was this after the finale or something?
Angela [00:11:57] Must be because you're living in Austin. Yeah. Well, there you go. That is my show bible breakdown. Plus a little extra on All about Pam Beasley.
Jenna [00:12:08] I loved it. Do you ever think, like, what if you had, like, a show Bible for your life? What would the entries be? How cool that would be? You know what that makes me think of? Those journals that are like one line a day journals where you're supposed to just write one line a day. I always start those. Then I get about 15 days in and then I forget to do it.
Angela [00:12:31] Yeah, I had one when Isabel was a toddler. It says something like, kids say the darndest things and you're supposed to write something they say each week. And I wrote a bunch on it and I go back and it's so sweet and cute and hilarious and such a snapshot of my life with her back then.
Jenna [00:12:49] Yeah.
Angela [00:12:50] Oh I know.
Jenna [00:12:52] Well, lady, thank you. Why don't we go to break? And when we come back, we'll keep talking all about Pam Beasley. I'm not going to lie, everyone, this is triggering my social anxiety a little bit. This is like. It's such a spotlight. It's like my birthday, and it's all about Pam Beasley. And I'm feeling a little shy about it all, but let's do it.
Angela [00:13:15] Well, here's the thing. We're going to have some mixed berry yogurt that's going to make you feel good. And then we're going to talk about Pam, not you. We're going to talk about Pam. Like someday you're going to talk about Angela Martin. I am not going to take it personally. When you all call her a bitch, I won't take it personal.
Jenna [00:13:33] All right, well, let's take a break and then we'll get to it.
Angela [00:13:46] Welcome back, everyone. So one of the things we did for All About Kevin Malone was to say our favorite Kevin moment. And I just loved that. So I thought me and Sam and Cassi could share our favorite Pam moment. Sam, you want to go first?
Sam [00:14:01] Sure. I think mine, out of many has to be from dinner party. It is this.
Angela [00:14:08] I bet I can guess.
CLIP [00:14:09] It looks great, babe. Yeah, it really does. Pam: I know Jan didn't poison the food. I know that but if she was going to poison the food of someone at that table. Wouldn't that be me? Michael's former lover? Either that or: Jim: dinner sounded delicious. Pam. I'll see you at home. Thank you so much. Pam: Jim, I don't think you're going to abandon this party here all by itself. Jim: I don't know, because everything I own is there. Pam: You can buy new stuff, but you can't buy a new party. Michael: That's true. That is a great point. Come on down here.
Sam [00:14:41] Both of those, your delivery on them is just so great.
Jenna [00:14:44] Gosh. Thank you.
Angela [00:14:45] I do love that. I also love from dinner party when Pam goes. I don't care what they say about me. I just want to eat.
Jenna [00:14:50] Oh my gosh, that gets played so often. I really I felt that deeply.
Angela [00:14:56] Don't get you hangry.
Jenna [00:14:57] I don't skip a meal.
Angela [00:15:00] Cassi, what do you got?
Cassi [00:15:01] I feel like so many fans, it's when Pam discovers that Michael is dating her mom. Oh, yes. But just the whole set up of, like, having that friend that's not good at dating. And you want to be supportive, but then you find out in the worst way that. Absolutely not. You cannot date my mom.
CLIP [00:15:21] Michae: Pam, it is very complicated. There are a lot of moving parts. It sounds complicated. Pam: Yeah, but I mean, if you really like this person, then you should see where it goes. Michael: You want me to be happy? Pam: Of course. Michael: Part of the problem is she is the mother of a close friend of mine. Pam: Oh. Michael;: More than a friend. A coworker. Pam: Oh, gossip. Who is it? Who is it? Michael: It's okay. Pam: Oh, no no no no no. Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh, God. Oh, God. No no no no. Oh my goodness.
Angela [00:16:14] Okay. I had a really hard time picking my favorite Pam moment. There are so many. But, you know, one that I always love. It always makes me smile. I just think it's such just a sweet moment. And I thought your acting was so good in it. That it's when Pam wins the Dundee for the whitest sneakers. Oh.
CLIP [00:16:39] Michae: And this next award is going out to our own little Pam Beasley. I think we all know what award Pam is going to be getting this year. It is the Whitest sneakers award because she always has the whitest tennis shoes on. Get on down here. Yeah. Yes! Pam Beasley, ladies and gentlemen. Oh, here we go. Pam: I have So many people to thank for this award. Okay, first off, my keds. Because I couldn't have done it without them. Thank you. Let's give Michael a round of applause for MC-ing tonight, because this is a lot harder than it looks. And also because of Dwight, too. So finally, I want to thank God because God gave me this Dundee. And I feel God in this Chili's tonight.
Jenna [00:17:40] That is such amazing dialog. That was all written for me. It is so great.
Angela [00:17:47] You just see her travel through all these different moments in her acceptance speech. Kind of like when she finds out that Michael's dating her mom. I just saw, like, who you wanted to thank, but then you got back on track, but then you drifted off.
Jenna [00:17:59] You know, in researching all about Pam Beasley for this episode, I found out a piece of information, and I considered withholding it.
Angela [00:18:12] What?
Jenna [00:18:13] But I'm gonna share it.
Angela [00:18:14] You found out something about Pam Beasley, and you weren't going to tell us?
Jenna [00:18:18] Well.
Angela [00:18:19] What?
Jenna [00:18:20] It's about whether or not Pam thinks the kiss at the dundies was there first kiss or not.
Angela [00:18:28] What What?
Sam [00:18:33] Bracing.
Angela [00:18:35] And remember that pastor who said I was wrong?
Jenna [00:18:39] There is a deleted scene. That was added to the Peacock superfan episode.
Angela [00:18:44] Shut the front door.
Jenna [00:18:47] Where Pam and Jim are talking about their lives. And Jim brings up the kiss at the dundies.
Angela [00:19:00] Yeah.
Jenna [00:19:00] Sort of says like, oh, but you were. I mean, that you were kind of drunk. And Pam says, I know what I was doing.
Sam [00:19:11] Well, well, well.
Angela [00:19:12] What episode is that in?
Jenna [00:19:16] Let me let me look it up. Let's see.
Cassi [00:19:19] I found it. It's in launch party.
Angela [00:19:23] Can we hear it? Oh, man. Is this a sweet moment for me. I knew today was going to be a good day for you. I did not know it was going to be a good day for me.
Sam [00:19:34] I just found the clip. This is Pam and Jim up on the roof eating pizza.
Angela [00:19:38] This is my moment.
Sam [00:19:39] This is the superfan episode.
CLIP [00:19:43] Pam: I was a little buzzed, but I knew what I was doing. You looked so surprised. Jim: I didn't know you were going to kiss me that night. One needs to prepare for these things.
Angela [00:19:54] Oh my gosh.
Sam [00:19:58] Wow.
Angela [00:19:58] Oh my gosh. I'm sorry. I need to hear it again. I need to hear it again. I need to hear it again. * REPLAYS*
Sam [00:20:25] Kudos to you for bringing that up, even though that defaults your entire argument. That's big of you. I wouldn't have brought it up.
Angela [00:20:33] Well, I just. I'm so happy I feel seen. Oh, I knew it. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it.
Jenna [00:20:41] Yeah.
Angela [00:20:42] I feel like Kevin in that moment where he's like, can I finish? I knew it was their first kiss.
Jenna [00:20:50] It was, I concede.
Angela [00:20:53] I can't believe you were going to hold that back. I was going to find it eventually, lady. And then I was going to light you up.
Jenna [00:21:01] I know and I had forgotten, but we did all these scenes up on the roof and were eating pizza, and it was supposed to be kind of like a throwback to when they ate the grilled cheese on the roof.
Angela [00:21:10] Sure. Yeah.
Jenna [00:21:11] And we had all this dialog where they wanted us to just reminisce about our relationship, and I can't remember if that was improvised or if that was written, I don't remember.
Angela [00:21:23] Well, guess who's going to go to the shooting draft and see?
Jenna [00:21:27] You'll let us know.
Angela [00:21:28] Launch party. I'm going to look in the candy bags. Oh my gosh. Yep. Wowzers! Okay, I don't even know where we were. Oh my other my other favorite Pam moments. The whole reason I'm wearing the shirt that says Pam Sass because I could not do an all about Pam Beasley and not talk about her Pam Sass. it's one of my favorite things. It is a runner throughout the entire series, and we got a fan mail flurry about it. People really wanted us to share some Pam sass. And guess what? As it turns out, there are a ton of Pam Sass video compilations. There are so many. One of my favorites that I watched in prepping for this episode was titled The Best of Pam's Brutal Comebacks. I mean, that's a great title. Here are just a few I'm going to play. I'm also going to read some. Let's start with Pam verses Kevin.
CLIP [00:22:28] Kevin: Pam, Pam. When will the new copier be ready? Pam: I'm working on it, Kev. Kevin: You said it would be ready by today. And it is today. Pam: It'll be ready soon. Kevin: Soon could mean anything. Soon could be three weeks. Pam: Is that what soon means to you? Kevin: Sometimes. Pam: Then come back soon.
Angela [00:22:49] I mean, the sass.
Jenna [00:22:52] That's pretty good.
Angela [00:22:52] Is that what soon means to you? Okay, now, Pam versus Todd Packer.
CLIP [00:23:00] Todd: Don't ever let this little bitch drive you around town. We got lost for half an hour. Pam: I don't have any DUI, so I can drive myself, but thanks.
Angela [00:23:08] But thanks. That's kind of like Pam's bless your heart, but thanks.
Jenna [00:23:12] Yeah.
Angela [00:23:13] Then there is the Halloween episode when Jim makes fun of her for believing in ghosts. And then Pam says she'll draw a picture of the ghost for Jim. And she just draws the middle finger and flips him off. But maybe the biggest category for Pam sass and honestly, this could be a whole show.
Jenna [00:23:32] Is it Pam versus Ryan?
Angela [00:23:34] You betcha. There are so many clips of Pam and Ryan going head to head. That's so great. It was really hard to choose, but you know what? This might be my favorite.
CLIP [00:23:48] Ryan: Also, a little tip. Never shake the baby. Ryan" Sorry, just to be clear, you're saying do not shake the baby. Don't shake the baby. A lot of times parents get frustrated because the baby's crying and they shake the baby. And you gotta you can't do that. Pam: Don't shake our baby. Yeah. Okay. I'd never heard that before, so. Thank you. Yeah. I'm glad you said something. Ryan: Me, too.
Angela [00:24:11] I'm glad you said something.
Jenna [00:24:15] You guys, in our rewatch. I've shared this before. I absolutely love Ryan. I love the way B.J. Novak plays the character of Ryan. When I listen to that, his delivery is still so funny to me. We couldn't get through that scene. I mean, we busted up so many times.
Angela [00:24:33] I watched so many Pam versus Ryan clips last night, and I really would love so much to just make it an episode and bring BJ in here, because it is so wonderful. That is the spin off I want to watch.
Jenna [00:24:48] B.J. Novak is one of my most favorite people ever. I would love that.
Angela [00:24:52] And then there is Pam versus the entire Dunder Mifflin office. I'm going to read this for you. It's from the Niagara episode when Pam was pregnant and she asked everyone in the office of they could kind of tone it down on the smelly stuff, like Phyllis with her perfume soaps and Meredith and her cigars, and then Dwight's super smelly lunches. She's having really horrible morning sickness. And she just said, can you guys just tone this down? Well, no one wants to change their routines. So Pam has a talking head where she says, I don't think I'm asking for too much. I guess it's just the end of courtesy in the workplace. And then it cuts to this scene. Dwight is peeling a hard boiled egg at his desk. He sniffs it and takes a bite. Pam stares at him, picks up her trash can, and pukes in it. This causes a chain reaction. Andy, Phyllis, Meredith, Erin, Oscar, and Angela all proceed to throw up in various places in the office. Dwight stares, shocked at Pam. Pam wipes her mouth with a satisfied look. She took down the whole office. That's some Pam sass. And you know, I'm really barely scratching the surface. There's so much more Pam sass. But I want to end with one of my all time favorites. It is Pam versus Dwight.
CLIP [00:26:17] Dwight: It is one of the most stressful things you can do in life. You'll probably just take it out on your kid. Jim will turn to the drink. The family will fall apart in 25 years from now. CC will become world famous for stripping. Pam: It's a sad story. I have another one. We move, the other tenants follow, the bank takes the building, takes your farm, takes your car and beats the crap out of you. Penniless, you die. And my daughter CC dances on your grave. Fully clothed.
Angela [00:26:50] It's so good.
Jenna [00:26:52] Our writers are so good.
Angela [00:26:53] It's such good writing. Oh my goodness. Well, that ends my Pam sass segment of All About Pam Beasley. And now I want to move on to this fan question from Finola K in the UK. Which Pam moments are you proudest of?
Jenna [00:27:08] Well, when I think about The Office, I mean, I'm just so proud of the whole show and everything, but there is one moment that I am most proud of, and it is the talking head at the end of the job, when Jim peeks his head in and asks Pam out on a date.
Angela [00:27:28] Oh, and you tear up.
Jenna [00:27:31] I think it's one of my finest acting moments of my whole career, frankly, and I really credit Ken Kwapis for getting that performance out of me. It was just, I mean, I don't even know how I did it.
Angela [00:27:46] And, you know, just as an audience, just someone watching it because now I'm watching it just as a fan of the show. That moment is so pivotal and meaningful. And you did it perfect. Like perfect.
Jenna [00:28:02] It's so raw. And it really could only occur like if you gave me that scene in a movie and I had to just do that. I don't know if I could have done it, but because I had the history of her story of years of playing this character, and I had that relationship with Ken Copus, and so much of my reaction was from locking eyes with him and what he was giving me on the other side of the camera.
Angela [00:28:31] Yeah.
Jenna [00:28:32] It was that look that, like your dad gives you when he's proud of you. And it just melted me. So there were all of these circumstances that led to that moment happening. And I love that we captured it.
Angela [00:28:46] And I love that it was Ken in that moment with you. Because he had been there since the very beginning. That's so important.
Jenna [00:28:57] He was as invested in my character story as I was.
Angela [00:29:00] Yeah. Oh, I love that moment, too.
Jenna [00:29:04] Well, lady, now it's my turn to do some sharing. Well, we've started this tradition of each sharing an area of interest about our character. You know, I love to title things, create structure.
Angela [00:29:17] I know, I love like our different ways of titling things. I'm like, Pam sass, you're like, area of interest.
Jenna [00:29:23] Yes. Well, for my Pam Beasley area of interest, I really try to think of things that I hadn't already shared on the podcast. I mean, we've broken down all the episodes. And I was really worried that I wouldn't have anything new to say.
Angela [00:29:40] Like the first kiss was at the Dundies because I thought that was a pretty good one. Why are you being so hard on yourself?
Jenna [00:29:45] Okay. Okay.
Angela [00:29:47] What else you got?
Jenna [00:29:48] Well, I thought of two things that I could share about playing Pam Beasley. Both of the things are actor prep that I did. So the first thing is that when I'm prepping for a character, I sometimes go out in the world as that character. Like, I'll go grocery shopping or I'll do other tasks pretending to be in character.
Angela [00:30:10] Lady, you're so method. What if your character was like a bank robber? You can't go out in the world as the bank robber.
Jenna [00:30:16] But you can, because my character won't be robbing a bank the whole time.
Angela [00:30:21] It'll just be a bank robber running errands.
Jenna [00:30:24] Yeah. So who am I when I go to the grocery store? Or how do I interact with the world? So I went to the grocery store as Pam. And I remember this very clearly. I was in line with my groceries and someone cut in front of me. How do you think Jenna feels about that?
Angela [00:30:41] Oh, Jenna would be like, excuse me, I'm standing here.
Jenna [00:30:45] I would, I would say the end of the line is back there.
Angela [00:30:49] Excuse me. Yeah, you'd be very fair, but you would let them know.
Jenna [00:30:52] Correct? Yes. Well, Pam doesn't say anything. Apparently, I was Pam, and she just let this person cut in front of her. It was just an interesting thing. So it's like, how do you find out little details about how your character reacts and interacts in the world, which I thought was important because I knew that our show was going to have improvization. And so I wanted to basically go out in the world and have people throw scenarios at me and see how Pam might react. And it's just information.
Angela [00:31:23] I just love this. This is so thorough of you. I love it. I have to say one thing, one thing really quickly, which is one time I was standing in line for a movie. And this lady cut in front of, like, legit cut in front. So much so that the girl taking the tickets, like, looked at me and then looked at her like the line forms here, you know.
Jenna [00:31:45] Yeah.
Angela [00:31:46] And she looked at me and the lady goes, well, I'm going to my movie, like. Like, what's the deal? And I said to her, look, you cut in front of everyone. But clearly this is really important to you. Like you need to get to this movie and it's not important to me. So why don't you go to your movie? She was like, mouth agape.
Jenna [00:32:10] Yeah. That's how you handle those line cutters.
Angela [00:32:15] I just shame them.
Jenna [00:32:19] Yes, exactly. I'm like, matter of fact information. The end of the line is back there. Polite about it, but, yeah, you know. Yeah, yeah. You're like. Shame. Shame.
Angela [00:32:30] Clearly, this is super important to you, so why don't you have it? We're going to let you have it.
Jenna [00:32:34] Well, interestingly enough, I also went to the movies as Pam.
Angela [00:32:39] You did? What did Pam go to see?
Jenna [00:32:40] I don't remember what she went to see, but I have a very distinct memory that when she went up to get her snacks. My snack of choice is Diet Coke and Junior Mints.
Angela [00:32:50] Is it really?
Jenna [00:32:51] That's what I would always get at the movies. Pam ordered a diet 7Up and popcorn.
Angela [00:32:59] How come?
Jenna [00:33:00] I don't know, she loves diet 7Up, apparently. So I did this exercise before I even auditioned for Pam, and when I went to my audition, I drank a diet 7Up.
Angela [00:33:08] This is so wild to me. I did not know this. All these years I've known you and I did not know that you made the choice that Pam drinks diet 7up.
Jenna [00:33:17] She does. She loves it.
Angela [00:33:19] Wow. Okay.
Jenna [00:33:21] All right, here's the other thing I'm going to share. This is my other actor prep when I am working on a character. A lot of times I will create a song list. We all know I made Sounds of Scranton. That was when we were doing the pilot. Well, in between season two and three, I made Pam songs. That's what I called my playlist. Pam songs.
Angela [00:33:44] Please tell me you're going to share your Pam songs.
Jenna [00:33:46] I'm going to share my Pam songs. So on my Instagram lately, I've been sharing guitar riffs because I'm working on a song list for the character that I'm going to play in Lee's movie.
Angela [00:33:57] Right.
Jenna [00:33:57] And a lot of people asked if I would be willing to share my Pam song list, so I'm going to do it today. Now, just to be clear, sometimes songs make the list because of their lyrics. Sometimes it's just the vibe of the music. Sometimes there's an even more specific reason. So here we go. First song on the list is Phone Call number 27 by Admiral Twin. There's like a phone that rings at the beginning of the song. Oh, so it's like, you know.
Angela [00:34:26] Because Pam's going to be answering phones.
Jenna [00:34:27] That's right.
Angela [00:34:28] Okay.
Jenna [00:34:29] The next song is one by Aimee Mann, then 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover by Paul Simon.
Angela [00:34:37] Because she wants to leave Roy. Maybe.
Jenna [00:34:40] Maybe. This is remember this I made this for between seasons two and three. So this is after Jim has, you know, confessed his love at casino night, and then she's going to come back from the summer. So I was trying to create a vibe for her. The next is called Another first Kiss from They Might Be Giants.
Angela [00:35:01] Because she knew she already had her first kiss, and now she wants another first kiss. Oh, I'm going to eat off that for a long time. So buckle in.
Jenna [00:35:11] And then the song please, please, please let me get what I want by the Deftones. And I have an audio clip of this. So do you remember the episode in season three? It was back from vacation, and it's the one where Pam breaks down crying in the hallway and Dwight comes to comfort her. Yeah, I shared when we broke down that episode that in order to cry, I listened to music. This is the song I listen to on repeat in order to cry in that scene. And here's a clip.
CLIP [00:36:01] .....Please, please, please let me get what I want, Lord knows it would be the first time.
Jenna [00:36:15] Okay. That's it.
Angela [00:36:18] It's like that song would not make me cry.
Jenna [00:36:22] It's that phrase. Please, please, please let me get what I want. Lord knows it would be the first time. It's so visceral. And just like I hear the pain in the song. And it just, like, triggered me.
Angela [00:36:37] Yeah.
Jenna [00:36:38] So I. That song is only, like, two minutes long, and I just listened to it on a loop. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So that song was on my playlist.
Angela [00:36:48] I did an acting exercise when I was studying years ago, and we did all pick a song, and then we let that song kind of let take us to a place and then we delivered a monologue. So on we do all about Angela Martin. I'll share my song.
Jenna [00:37:03] Oh.
Angela [00:37:04] That helps me kind of get to a place where I break down.
Jenna [00:37:09] All right. The next song on my list is Come Away with Me by Norah Jones. And then the song NYC by Interpol. So this song is on the list because this is the song that John and I listen to in the parking lot during season two, The Client. Oh, so in the episode, you hear a different song you hear Sing by Travis. That's not what we were actually listening to. We were listening to John's actual iPod, and this was a song.
Angela [00:37:39] On one of his playlists?
Jenna [00:37:40] Yes. And he was like, oh, here's a good one. So this is the song we were listening to. I have an audio clip. *song plays*
Jenna [00:38:12] Okay, so.
Angela [00:38:13] That's a good piece of trivia.
Jenna [00:38:15] Yeah.
Angela [00:38:15] That's what song you were listening to?
Jenna [00:38:17] Yes. That's what we were swaying to in the parking lot. And I would like to thank John Krasinski because I could not remember what the song was. So I texted him and he remembered, and as soon as I turned it on, it was like a time machine. I heard that and I was like, transported back in time to shooting that scene. It was so wild.
Angela [00:38:35] Yeah. Music does that. It does. Powerful.
Jenna [00:38:38] It does. Okay, so here's the rest of my list Somewhere Only we know by Keane. Cruel to Be Kind by Nick Lowe. Somebody to love by Queen. Through any Window by Willy Wisely Danny Says by the Ramones, Our Love by Rhett Miller., And one down by Ben Folds. And I don't know, can you share playlists?
Sam [00:39:02] Yeah, you can.
Jenna [00:39:03] Listen to me. Here's the funny thing, you guys. I do not make playlists in my real life as Jenna, I don't make. I just don't, I listen to podcasts. I don't listen to music. But weirdly, when I am playing a character, they get a song list and music is a huge way into character for me.
Sam [00:39:21] If you make it on Spotify and make it public, you can share it.
Jenna [00:39:24] I'll do that.
Angela [00:39:25] There you go. Well, I can share with everyone. I have road trips with you and there is no music.
Jenna [00:39:31] There's no music. If you have to play Jenna Fischer in a movie one day...
Angela [00:39:36] Your playlist is nothing. Silence.
Jenna [00:39:38] Your playlist is the news. That's what I listen to.
Angela [00:39:42] I love your playlists and I can't wait for us to share it. Up next is my Pam Beasley area of interest, and I'm tackling a fan theory here. The fan theory is that Pam is the one that the documentary crew was following all along. I just thought that this was such an interesting take on the whole show, and I have a few things to support it. Okay. Okay. So this theory says that the entire show is actually centered around Pam's perspectives and experiences, and that the camera crew was interested, particularly in her life and showing her life as it evolved through the series, and that the show is not a documentary about a paper company. You know, a lot of the other characters have relationships as the years go on. But Pam is the one that develops close friendships with people. She's the only character throughout the show that connects with people in one way or another. And you, you can see it if you watch the show. She's there for Dwight when Dwight needs her, she's there for Angela when Angela is crying about sprinkles. She's there for Michael over and over. She's like his support system. She is there for Kelly when Kelly is worried about Ryan cheating on her. She's there for Nellie. She was there for Meredith. They go and, like, do karaoke together. She has moments with Oscar and Toby and the Finer Things Club. And obviously, she's there for Jim. But if you watch the show with Pam as the main focus, it really opens up all of these moments. You really see how Pam was the person people went to talk to.
Jenna [00:41:23] I believe that. Yeah. That tracks for me. I'm not sure if that means the documentary was about her. I want to hear more.
Angela [00:41:31] Okay, so number one, Pam is the emotional support for everyone. She is the person people confide in. Number two, Pam's presence lives on after the documentary is over. She is the one character that has a physical, lasting mark on the Dunder Mifflin workplace. In the last season, Pam decides to create the mural in the Dunder Mifflin warehouse. She draws all of the characters from the show, and Pam is the only person in the series who, when she actually physically leaves Dunder Mifflin, leave something behind her legacy, her mark. This is a fan theory, okay? No one else paints a whole wall. True, true. I mean, Dwight does own the business park, but still, he hasn't left a huge piece of artwork forever saying I was here. True. Number three is inspired by Kelly C from Mexico, who wrote in to say, I have a theory about the documentary crew, and it is that it favors Pam over everyone else in the office, and that she was their favorite subject. She goes on to say she thinks that they interview Pam more than the other characters. She believes that the documentary crew was always rooting for Pam. Do you believe this theory? First of all, Keely, I found an article online that agrees with you on cbr.com. It says Pam is the only character who really changes throughout the years. Pam starts as an insecure, timid, self-effacing young woman and ends the series as an assertive professional who establishes boundaries both in her professional and personal life. And finally, the same article said the following. And Jenna, I know that you and Brian talked about this on his podcast, The Deep Dive, but it suggests that Pam having the last line of the series proves all of this. And here's what the article said. The office ends with a tearful sequence featuring several interviews of the characters mixed with emotional and sometimes hilarious scenes. However, Pam's interview is the last one to appear in the mockumentary, which leaves the audience with the feeling that Pam is the one saying goodbye. Pam says there's a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Isn't that kind of the point? Which wraps up the idea of following the supposedly ordinary and uneventful life of people working at an office. But the fact that Pam has the last line in the show, and she sums up the premise of the series, adds up to Pam being the office's main character. What are your thoughts?
Jenna [00:44:04] Well, I remember talking to Greg about this when I saw that I had the last talking head. I was so honored and nervous. And he said that he always kind of thought the documentary crew was following Pam, that that was true.
Angela [00:44:18] I mean, yeah, because I honestly never thought it was about Michael. I thought because Michael was the boss, he maybe got more screen time because he could manufacture those moments more easily.
Jenna [00:44:29] Well, you know, the documentary doesn't stop when Michael leaves. Yeah. And a number of people leave in season nine as well. And the documentary doesn't stop when they leave either. You know, Andy goes off and it doesn't follow him, right? Kevin. Yeah, exactly. And, you know, the documentary crew does capture a lot of private moments for Jim and Pam. They do follow Pam out of the office quite a bit. I mean, they're the cameras are there for the birth of the baby. I know the cameras are there for the proposal for the wedding. You know, I mean, I know they went to these personal events for other people, too.
Angela [00:45:04] When Pam found out she was pregnant, they were there.
Jenna [00:45:07] Yeah. But I do have one piece of evidence that I think contradicts this theory, which is that they don't really show much of her at art school. And that's kind of a big thing for her to have done. And they don't show much interest in her. So I believe that this documentary really was about a paper company. I think that is what is the main subject about the lives of people in a paper company. But I do also think that Pam was a main subject of interest.
Angela [00:45:39] Yeah. I mean, here's my take. I agree with you. I think it was a documentary about an everyday small company and just what it's like to work in a small company. But I think what happens and we know this to be true, especially if you sit down and talk to Dave Rogers, which is there is one story that you film and there's another story that you find. So I think the documentary crew filmed all of this footage, and then when they sat down to edit it, that's when the story took shape. Yeah. And they saw all this footage of Jim and Pam, and they became enamored with showing their story. And that's why so much of Jim and Pam is in it. So I think the editor found Pam, and maybe that's someone I'd love to meet who edited the documentary. Yeah. Because whoever did had a soft spot for Pam.
Jenna [00:46:37] I think that's true.
Angela [00:46:39] Well, there you go.
Jenna [00:46:40] Well, I loved your area of interest. Should we take a break? And then we're going to come back. And you've got a Q&A for me, Angela?
Angela [00:46:47] I do. So many people wrote in questions for you about Pam. And I just love our office ladies listeners. They send in the best questions. They're so thoughtful and wonderful observations. We'll get to those after the break. We are back with our All About Pam Beasley episode, and it is time for our fan Q&A. I'm kicking us off with Raquel C. from Michigan and Megan V from Colombia. They wrote in and asked, where did the name Pam Beasley come from? And then also Joe H from Long Island, New York, says, were there ever any alternate first and last names for Pam?
Jenna [00:47:33] Well, here's what I can tell you. All of my scripts, my breakdown, everything from the beginning of me being part of this project. My name was Pam Beasley.
Angela [00:47:44] Not Pamela.
Jenna [00:47:46] Nope. But I did reach out to Greg because he always has a good story for how he picked someone's name. Yeah. First of all, he confirmed that this character's name has only ever been Pam Beasley. There were no other alternates, but here is how he came to name her. Pam, to me, has a midwestern sweetness that felt right, and I liked how similar the Jim and Pam sounds are.
Angela [00:48:09] Oh, and they're both three letters.
Jenna [00:48:12] As for Beasley, that came later. It has a humble feel. Like generations ago, they were the village beekeeper who sold honey.
Angela [00:48:21] Oh, Greg. I love him.
Jenna [00:48:25] So that's how he came up with the name.
Angela [00:48:27] I love it. Next question is from Lucy P in Tennessee. Lucy says, do you think Pam would have gone on a date with Toby if he ever asked her out in season four, or would she have turned him down?
Jenna [00:48:46] Lucy I don't think she would have gone on a date with him. And when she said in that game, who would you do? And she said, Oscar or Toby. She was just saying that because she couldn't say Jim.
Angela [00:48:59] Right.
Jenna [00:49:00] I don't think Pam ever saw Toby that way.
Angela [00:49:05] I don't think so either. Yeah, but I love that question. Next up is Erin S from Maryland. Erin says one of the best things the writers on the show did was not to have Jim and Pam get together right after season one. It's very subtle when you're just watching through the episodes, but it's so powerful that Pam was given the time to be on her own after ending her long engagement. On the initial watch, it feels like Pam is being silly or cowardly, not just telling Jim how she feels. But I actually think that was the much more difficult and much braver decision. Her personal growth during that period when Jim is away and then when he returns and dates Karen, is so great to watch in rewatching. When the initial frustration of prolonging the Jim and Pam's union is not so strong. Can you share any thoughts you have about Pam's growth during this time, and some of your favorite storylines she had without Jim?
Jenna [00:50:02] Oh, Erin. I absolutely loved season three as Pam for this very reason. I loved season two, but I just love Pam figuring out who she is away from Roy and away from Jim.
Angela [00:50:22] I did, too. I thought it was really important.
Jenna [00:50:24] Really important. And in answer to your question about just some of my favorite storylines that I had without Jim, because I think we do think of Jim and Pam together a lot. But there were great storylines throughout my time on The Office that I got to have that were all for Pam or that were Pam and other people.
Angela [00:50:45] And I know, I know, one of my favorite.
Jenna [00:50:48] What is it?
Angela [00:50:48] Michael Scott Paper Company.
Jenna [00:50:50] Yes, I actually pulled a fan question that I saw from Audrey D in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Angela [00:50:57] My birth town.
Jenna [00:50:58] Yes. Who said, hi ladies. I'm 15 and a huge fan. I was wondering at what point in the show do you think Pam was at her happiest and most authentic? For me, it seems like the Michael Scott Paper Company arc. She feels more regulated, silly, happy and genuine, even though she's technically farther from Jim. Well, I have to agree with that too. And I liked that we had these moments on the show where we got to see Pam flourishing separate from her love relationship. Yeah, and I made a list of a few others that I just loved getting to do on the show. My nothing to do with Jim storylines. Lice.
Angela [00:51:38] Lice.
Jenna [00:51:39] I mean, I guess it kind of has something to do with Jim, but.
Angela [00:51:42] It's really about Pam and Meredith.
Jenna [00:51:43] It is. And I loved it. Everything party planning committee, especially the dueling Christmas parties.
Angela [00:51:49] Yes.
Jenna [00:51:50] I loved her relationship with Karen in that episode. Them teaming up.
Angela [00:51:55] Yeah. I watched all of our party planning committee scenes when I was researching Pam Sass. I wanted to play a bunch, but I already felt like I had a lot of Pam sass, but oh man, there's some good ones.
Jenna [00:52:10] Well, I also loved big pregs, little pregs.
Angela [00:52:13] Yeah.
Jenna [00:52:14] I love my cold open with Chore Wheel. Yes, and Pam's just like love of order and chores and things that spoke to me. Yeah, and I loved the episode vandalism. When she teams up with Dwight and they take the truck and all that stuff. I just love that. And then I just I loved every, every bit of her relationship to Michael. You know.
Angela [00:52:39] Yeah.
Jenna [00:52:40] And that that was very separate from her relationship with Jim.
Angela [00:52:43] It's so fun in doing these all about episodes, because I feel like when I watched the show, I watched it for the whole ensemble. But in doing these all about, I go specifically to these scenes for this one character.
Jenna [00:52:57] Yeah.
Angela [00:52:57] And I watched a lot of the Michael Scott Paper Company episodes and just Pam and Michael on the road together.
Jenna [00:53:04] Yeah.
Angela [00:53:04] It's so good.
Jenna [00:53:06] It was so fun to do.
Angela [00:53:09] Next question is from Matt V in Delaware. Matt says, while I truly love every aspect of the office, the singular thing that consistently still blows me away is every time the way Pam looks at Jim compared to anything else, there is something just so incredibly natural and real about it. He goes on to say, Jenna, how did you tap into something that felt so genuinely real? For these non-speaking portions of the role? Was there a crush from your childhood you were pulling back up the feelings from? Or was it just through trying to truly feel what you believe Pam was feeling?
Jenna [00:53:45] Well, Matt, I appreciate this question because a lot of the role of Pam Beasley is nonverbal.
Angela [00:53:50] You know, it's a lot of reacting.
Jenna [00:53:52] Yes. And so I had to really say a lot without a lot of dialog. So I went back to a couple of exercises that I did in acting school. One of them was called Private Moment. And it's an exercise in stillness. You have to come to class and recreate an ordinary moment and try to do it in front of people, as unselfconsciously as possible. It's supposed to be a moment in silence, without any speaking, and also something that you would normally do alone. But it should be very ordinary and very simple. So it could be as simple as putting on shoes in the morning, or brushing your teeth, or washing your face, or sitting on your bed and writing in a journal. And you just have to move through that moment without trying to push at all.
Angela [00:54:45] And without even thinking that anyone is watching you. It's that private, quiet time that when you're alone in your home.
Jenna [00:54:52] Yes, completely non performative in any way. We also had to do these acting exercises called interior monologues. And this is where in your script you go through and you write everything your character is thinking, but not saying, yeah. And when I played Pam, I was always asking myself, What is Pam not saying? And you know, we do this in our life all the time. We can sit in a work meeting and we're literally talking, but also making a grocery list in our head. You know, it's like we can think one thing and say another thing So that was another thing I brought to Pam. And early on I would write her interior monologues in my script, and I would actively think them as if they were like alternate lines for my brain. And that's how I tried to get certain things to play out on my face when I didn't have dialog. So, like, if there was a moment in the script where I was supposed to steal a glance at Jim. I would think to myself, don't look at Jim, don't look at Jim, don't look at Jim. And then I would look at him, and I would sort of hope that that would reveal how much Pam really wanted to look at him.
Angela [00:55:58] Yeah.
Jenna [00:55:59] Because I would be thinking, don't look at him. Don't look at him. Yeah, don't look at him.
Angela [00:56:04] That's so good. I would write like one word next to like a paragraph if I had dialog, whatever it might be that I thought Angela was feeling down deep about something because she often was just so kind of hostile and abrupt. But maybe that day she was feeling fearful or sad or anxious like so I would, I would just like write an emotion word to go along with what was being said.
Jenna [00:56:31] Which is why I think your character was so layered rather than like that one note of bitchiness. You always had your secondary emotion that you were playing.
Angela [00:56:44] I definitely tried, yes.
Jenna [00:56:46] It's good acting.
Angela [00:56:48] Well, I really saw so much emotion in Pam and just your eyes. Jenna, I thought you were just so good at conveying so much, really good acting class watch Jenna as Pam, guys.
Jenna [00:57:02] Thanks lady.
Angela [00:57:02] Allison from Winnipeg wrote in to say. Jenna, when did you realize your character was a part of one of television's greatest love stories? How did that feel then and now? And Leighton wrote in From Folsom, California, saying Pam's relationship with Jim is a fan favorite. How did you and John Krasinski develop the chemistry that made their bond so believable? Lady, I have to tell you, I just saw a trailer for Will Ferrell's new movie with Reese Witherspoon, and literally their daughter is at her wedding day doing her vows, and she says, you're the Jim to my Pam. In this movie that is just coming out? Oh my gosh, isn't that wild? That is I mean, just one example of how ingrained I feel like into pop culture are Jim and Pam.
Jenna [00:57:57] Yes, yes. And I saw this question as well, Angela. And I'm so excited to get to talk about this, because people ask all the time about my chemistry with John. And for a long time when the show was on the air, and even afterward, people would get upset when they learned we were not a couple in real life.
Angela [00:58:15] I know people still want to believe it.
Jenna [00:58:17] And I did this interview once where I talked about all this in a really clunky way. And I was then misquoted and all these clickbait articles went viral. And the misquote has gone on to be reprinted over and over again. I even saw it in a book.
Angela [00:58:33] Angela, I don't know. I mean, I remember this, it was just crazy. Do you want to share the misquote?
Jenna [00:58:41] Yes. Since we're talking about this.
Angela [00:58:43] I mean, this is the time.
Jenna [00:58:45] I was on Watch What Happens Live, which, by the way, is a show that I love. And Andy Cohen is amazing.
Angela [00:58:51] Such a fun show.
Jenna [00:58:52] Also from Saint Louis. Yep. So this is no reflection on on it, but a fan called in to ask how John and I had such great chemistry while not being a couple in real life, and I said this quote, I looked it up and here is my quote. Direct quote. Yes, I said this quote. There's like a real part of me that is Pam and a real part of him that's Jim. And those parts of us were genuinely in love with one another. In real life, we aren't totally Pam and totally Jim. So in real life, we're not like the perfect match. He was like a type of spouse that I had for a long time. He was my partner and we will always be close because of it.
Angela [00:59:37] I mean, I that makes perfect sense to me. It's a very actory answer.
Jenna [00:59:43] It's a little actory. It's a little clunky.
Angela [00:59:45] Well, I mean, I get it, though. You're. I hear what you're saying. You're saying that as an actor, the part of you that was Pam. And as an actor, the part of him that Jim had a real bond. But you say it's not in real life.
Jenna [01:00:00] Not in real life.
Angela [01:00:01] Oh, but now people misquoted it.
Jenna [01:00:03] Well, is it misquoting or is it click baiting?
Angela [01:00:08] Because, yeah, it's clickbait.
Jenna [01:00:09] I feel like it was clickbaity.
Angela [01:00:12] I mean, I know way it was hard to describe it. It's because you don't want to let people down, right?
Jenna [01:00:16] Yes. I was always afraid to tell people that in real life we are just friends, you know, because the fandom for Jim and Pam is so strong. But yeah, we were just great scene partners and we had this deep mutual respect for one another. That's it. We never dated or anything, just friends. But oh my goodness, Angela, the clickbait.
Angela [01:00:38] I know.
Jenna [01:00:38] I woke up to my phone blowing up and it was not just tabloids. This was everywhere. It was like every website and on TV shows. It was insane.
Angela [01:00:49] Well, it was like people picked it up like it was news, which is bonkers. But I looked up some of the headlines. Do you wanna hear them?
Jenna [01:00:56] Yes.
Angela [01:00:56] So is it okay if I read them?
Jenna [01:00:58] Yes, because I read the quote. And now look at what all the headlines said.
Angela [01:01:03] Okay. L.A. times, the Los Angeles Times, quote, Jenna Fischer was genuinely in love with office costar, John Krasinski. You never said that. Entertainment Weekly Jenna Fischer reveals she and John Krasinski were genuinely in love while filming The Office. Boy, they really latched on to that genuinely in love thing.
Jenna [01:01:30] Why are you allowed to take three words and turn it into a new context? Is what I don't understand.
Angela [01:01:36] BuzzFeed wrote Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski were genuinely in love while filming The Office, and now our hearts are melting. Now we're adding emotion to it.
Jenna [01:01:47] Yes. And it goes on and on like that. All the articles just pulled the phrase genuinely in love, as if the context of what I said wasn't important. I never said we were genuinely in love.
Angela [01:01:58] Yeah. So here's the thing. When something like that happens to you and your phone's blowing up, what do you do? What do you do? It's like it's so crazy because no matter how much you like, try to be like, correct it. It is out in the world.
Jenna [01:02:17] Yeah, well, here's what I did. I called John and he answers the phone and he goes, Hey.
Angela [01:02:23] Oh no, he gave you a Stacy. He had seen it all.
Jenna [01:02:28] Oh, his phone had been blowing up, too. And I was like, John, I was click baited. And he said, oh, I know. I read the whole quote. And you guys, you have to know that me and Lee are good friends with John and Emily.
Angela [01:02:42] Yeah. You guys have done vacations together. You've done playdates with your kids.
Jenna [01:02:46] Yes. And John says, you know, I actually have a press junket coming up. So I'm happy to say that you were misquoted. I know I was like, John, no, everyone's going to ask you about this now at this press junket. He said, don't worry about it. I'll say you were misquoted. And I said, that's great.
Angela [01:03:04] Just simple. She was misquoted, guys.
Jenna [01:03:06] Okay. Well, that did not go well either. After he tries to set the record straight, all these headlines come out that say, John Krasinski says he was not in love with Jenna Fischer, but all the stories still imply that I was in love with him. So that news cycle goes out.
Angela [01:03:25] That's not helping.
Jenna [01:03:26] No. And so now my phone is blowing up again, and John calls me and I'm like, hey. And he's like, I am so sorry. I was trying to help. And at that point I said, just forget it. Just forget it. I'm never getting rid of this. And of course, here I am talking about it again, and I guess probably opening myself up to more of this clickbait bullshit. I guess my long answer to the fan question, when did I realize that I was part of one of television's greatest love stories? And how did that feel then and now? Well, I realized pretty early on that people have a strong attachment to Jim and Pam, but I never really thought about how that attachment might become sort of weird..with clickbait articles and stuff.
Angela [01:04:22] Yeah, I mean, that is weird. And it's kind of a drag because, I mean, love Jim and Pam love them, but this part of it is a little bit of a bummer. You know, I never had that with Rainn. I don't think DwAngela quite packs the punch like Jam.
Jenna [01:04:38] Well, you know, I remember early in my career, for a really long time, there was this misquote about me that was in an article I was doing about animal rescue, and I had said in my interview that during my time in animal rescue, I said that I had rescued and rehabilitated and found homes for 12 cats. Well, the article just said I had 12 cats. So like for years when I would do other interviews, they would ask me about my 12 cats and I would have to say I don't have 12 cats.
Angela [01:05:11] So weird, the things that somehow get distorted and people latch on to. This is nowhere, nowhere like what you've been through. But one time in an interview, someone asked me what my favorite food was and I said, I love tacos.
Jenna [01:05:26] I don't know you to love tacos.
Angela [01:05:29] I don't know, I was on the spot. I was like, it was like on a red carpet, you know, like, what's your favorite food? And I was like, I don't know, tacos. I mean, I can't tell you how many times people ask me like Hey, We know you love tacos.
Jenna [01:05:42] Do you ever arrive places and they've put tacos, like in your dressing room because they googled you and they know how much you love them?
Angela [01:05:50] No, but I did have a gift basket one time that had taco seasoning in it.
Jenna [01:05:54] That's what I'm talking about. That's what I'm saying.
Angela [01:05:58] Well, I think it's on my Wikipedia page.
Jenna [01:06:02] It might be, your love of tacos and my 12 cats.
Angela [01:06:05] I said it one time.
Jenna [01:06:06] And my genuinely in love.
Angela [01:06:08] Aw, lady.
Jenna [01:06:09] Well, listen. The bottom line is, I am really proud of the work that John and I did on the show. Really proud, and I feel so lucky to have had John as my scene partner all those years. I couldn't have done it with anyone else. This I know. We shared a brain when it came to Jim and Pam. Yeah we did. It was really special.
Angela [01:06:33] Yeah. And it is really cool that you're part of this iconic television lore, this amazing couple that so many people love.
Jenna [01:06:44] Yeah.
Angela [01:06:45] Yeah. Well, I'm really glad we finally talked about that. Next question is from Rachel N in North Carolina. Rachel says, I'm asking this question on behalf of my husband, Raj. Do you think Pam would have married Roy if Jim had not confessed his love and transferred to Stanford.
Jenna [01:07:07] Oh, I love this question. No I don't. I don't think Pam would have married Roy. I think she would have eventually been honest with herself, like as the wedding was approaching. I think it's why she wasn't super bummed to have a three year engagement.
Angela [01:07:28] Yeah. You know. You know, if you look at Pam and Roy, none of them were trying to push that boulder up the mountain. They were just fine to kind of just stay in this sort of purgatory place in their relationship.
Jenna [01:07:42] I mean, look at how quickly Pam and Jim get married after they get engaged.
Angela [01:07:46] Yeah.
Jenna [01:07:46] You know.
Angela [01:07:47] Yeah.
Jenna [01:07:48] So I don't think she would have. No.
Angela [01:07:50] I agree. Next question is from Carrie B in Tacoma, Washington. Carrie says Pam's occasionally random friendship with Dwight is one of my favorite character relationships on the show. Pam and Dwight were always funny, and yet somehow also sincere. Jenna, what is your favorite Pam and Dwight moment?
Jenna [01:08:10] Oh my gosh, there are so many. I mean, I love the injury. That's kind of where it starts.
Angela [01:08:16] Yeah.
Jenna [01:08:17] I loved vandalism, but my favorite storyline with Dwight is Pam's replacement. It's where Pam is super pregnant, and she realizes that Dwight is the only person who's being honest with her because everyone's telling her how gorgeous she is, and then Jim is telling her that he doesn't find Kathy attractive. I actually pulled a clip because this scene in particular was one of my favorite to do with Rainn.
CLIP [01:08:47] Pam: I know it sounds nuts, but I think Dwight is the only one who's telling me the truth. Dwight, am I hot right now? Dwight: Why would I or anyone else think that you're hot right now? I can't impregnate you. And that's the driving force between male female attraction. Pam: What about before? Was I attractive before? Dwight: Meh, You were at your most attractive when you were 24 with a slight gradual decline and a steep drop off when you got pregnant for the first time, gradual recovery and well, now, obviously you're at an all time low. Pam: I think Jim's lying to me about not being attracted to Kathy. Dwight: You think Jim's lying? That's so cute. I know he's lying. Pam" Five bucks if you can get him to admit it. Dwight: Done. I never touch a pregnant woman. Pam: Yep. That's the Dwight I need.
Jenna [01:09:34] I love it, I love that scene. You know, we all have that friend who can really give it to you straight. Yeah, and it doesn't hurt your feelings. And you actually need it because the rest of the world is gaslighting you.
Angela [01:09:46] Yeah.
Jenna [01:09:47] And I love that scene. And then, of course, this episode has the whole Mike Tibbetts runner, which was so much fun to shoot. So I would have to call that my favorite.
Angela [01:09:56] All right. Our last question is from Laura in Wisconsin. Laura says Jenna, did you ever find it annoying that you are most known recognized for playing Pam? Do you wish you were recognized for other work?
Jenna [01:10:14] No. It is my honor to have played Pam. I'm getting choked up. I don't know why. What a legacy. I do not need more. I don't, I don't need more. I remember being at Greg Daniels house at dinner, and the show was coming to an end, and I said, I have no more career goals. This was it. I wanted to play a character that meant something to people on an ensemble television comedy. And I did it. That's all I wanted when I came to Los Angeles. So it's my honor to be remembered for doing that thing. I mean, who gets to do that? What a gift.
Angela [01:10:56] What a gift.
Jenna [01:10:57] I do want to win a Tony Award, though. I do have a new career goal.
Angela [01:11:01] You know what?
Jenna [01:11:01] A late in life, new career goal.
Angela [01:11:03] We all have goals for our seasons of life. Yeah. And your goal for this season is a Tony. Well, I want to end with this wonderful letter. It's going to be our final word here on the All About Pam Beasley episode. It's from Alison C in Florida. And Alison wrote in and said this: when I first watched The Office in middle school, Pam was one of the first characters I ever fully saw myself in. My dad describes me as having quiet strength, and I don't think there's a better phrase to describe Pam Beasley watching her blossom as the show went on gave me hope for myself. In the final episode, Pam quoted. It would just make my heart soar if someone out there saw this and said to herself, be strong. Trust yourself, love yourself, conquer your fears. Just go after what you want. And act fast. Because life just isn't that long. Pam would be proud to know that a little girl watching latched on to those words. I even printed it out and tacked it on my bedroom wall, where it remained all throughout my high school years. That little girl now has her first office job post college, and loves the office more than ever. And that little girl fully believes that Pam was the main subject of the documentary.
Jenna [01:12:31] Oh, thank you Allison.
Angela [01:12:34] She says, that's my personal soapbox from the quiet, creative girls all around the world. Thank you, Jenna, for showing us that there's a lot of beauty in ordinary things. That is kind of the point, after all.
Jenna [01:12:50] Wow. Oh my gosh, I thought that really moved me. You know that quote, I said it, I didn't write it. That is the heart of Greg Daniels. That's the message he wanted people to take from this character and this beautiful arc that he crafted, along with all the other writers for me to play. And I mean, letters like that are exactly why I don't need to be remembered for doing anything else.
Angela [01:13:22] It's just beautiful. Yeah, it really is.
Jenna [01:13:25] It is.
Angela [01:13:26] Well, we just love you guys so much. Thank you so much for listening to Office Ladies and Office Ladies 6.0 and your support over the years. And just these great questions. We just love doing this. And thank you.
Jenna [01:13:41] Thank you so much. And thank you, Sam, Cassi and Angela for my birthday celebration. You know, last year I turned 50 and I didn't get a big birthday because I was actually in chemotherapy for my 50th birthday. Yeah. So this year is an extra special milestone, and you've kicked it off in the best way. Thank you.
Angela [01:14:00] Well, let's go eat some cake.
Jenna [01:14:02] Let's do it.
Angela [01:14:03] You guys have a great week.
Jenna [01:14:13] Thank you for listening to Office Ladies.
Angela [01:14:14] Office ladies is a presentation of Audacy and is produced by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey.
Jenna [01:14:19] Our executive producer is Cassi Jerkins. Our audio engineer is Sam Keefer, and our associate producer is Aynsley Publico.
Angela [01:14:27] Audacy's executive producers are Jenna Weiss-Berman and Leah Reis-Dennis.
Jenna [01:14:31] Office Ladies is mixed and mastered by Chris Basil.
Angela [01:14:34] Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.