TRANSCRIPT
Office Ladies | Episode 259.7 - The Paper Interviews #4 with Ramona Young & Gbemisola Ikumelo
Angela [00:00:03] Hello, hello, happy Friday everyone. We are getting really close to the premiere of The Paper.
Jenna [00:00:08] Yeah, it's next week. It's Thursday, September 4th, and then our breakdown of the pilot comes out September 10th.
Angela [00:00:15] I know! Ah! There is no special episode next Friday because we assume you're all gonna be busy watching The Paper.
Jenna [00:00:24] Yes, so today we have two interviews for you. The first one is with Ramona Young. You might know her from Mindy Kaling's show, "Never Have I Ever." She played Eleanor, or maybe on DC's "Legends of Tomorrow." We've been sharing in these interviews, how during our set visit, we were just grabbing people as they became available. Well, within seven minutes of talking to Ramona, a production assistant came over and pulled her back to set.
Angela [00:00:52] I know, and she's so lovely. She shared some fun tidbits, but because our interview with her was cut so short, we thought that after the break, you could hear the interview we did with Gbemisola Ikumelo, who was both a writer and an actor on the show. She was also a writer, an actor, on the TV series "A League of Their Own."
Jenna [00:01:10] Yes, carrying on the tradition of having writer-performers on a Greg Daniels show.
Angela [00:01:15] Yeah.
Jenna [00:01:16] You know, we'll have even more to share about that when we get to our full breakdown of The Paper, but let's jump in. Here are your interviews with Ramona Young and Gbemisola Ikumelo.
Angela [00:01:29] Ramona, thank you so much for talking to Office Ladies today about your role on The Paper. Can you tell us your character's name and who she is in the world of the show?
Ramona [00:01:40] Yes. I like that you're holding the microphone like a reporter. Yeah, so my character's name is Nicole Lee. She works in circulation. So basically that means she mass emails people who are signed up and she keeps subscriptions going.
Jenna [00:02:02] How did you get your job on The Paper? We always like to hear people's origin stories.
Ramona [00:02:08] It was a long process. It took like several months. It felt like a really big deal, and it is. But I started off with a self-tape and then I did a chemistry test with two people. One of them being Melvin Gregg, who's cast as Detrick. Then I did a sit down. Did you guys have that too? Like, a sit-down with just Gregg and Michael? We just talked for over an hour about my life, and I didn't know what to expect. I was just told to show up.
Angela [00:02:49] This is very Greg. Kelly Cantley, who's one of the first ADs on the show was also first AD on The Office. In her interview, when she shares about when she interviewed with Greg, was they talked for like an hour and he just asked her about her hobbies and that she likes to sail and didn't ask her at all about being an AD. But I think he likes to get to know the essence of a person so he can see if he can be a creative collaborator with that person.
Jenna [00:03:19] Yeah, I mean, I think there's so much about building a community when you're making a show. I think Greg is really cognizant of that, and so I think he's looking for people who inspire him. I think that's part of his process. It's weird, though, right? Because as an actor, you think it's just all about the audition.
Ramona [00:03:44] Right, I'm used to just kind of showing up and doing my job. But I do feel like this is one of the first projects where I feel like, "Oh, this is like really personal and they do want me to share ideas. And if I want, I can reach out." I never felt really comfortable, or as comfortable, doing that in the past. But I feel on this show, it's kind of a necessity.
Angela [00:04:10] Yeah, we felt that too. We were able to pitch storylines, or ideas that we had, and some of them ended up being episodes. When we both left The Office, we learned pretty quickly that is not the norm on a set.
Jenna [00:04:23] Yeah, are there any character traits or storylines that you've pitched, so far, that have made it into the episodes?
Ramona [00:04:30] Storylines? No. [laughs] I don't know if I've actually pitched anything just because I love seeing what the writers come up with, but I do like journaling a lot and so I'll journal what I think Nicole's been through in her life and stuff. So maybe it'll inspire something for other people to write, you know what I mean?
Jenna [00:04:55] Oh, I do. I had a whole Pam document, and her whole backstory were things that I invented. Every once in a while over those nine years, some little thing that was in my journal, my backstory, would find its way into the show. Just little bitty details. So keep it up.
Ramona [00:05:16] Yeah, it makes a difference. Sometimes I'm like, "Oh, I hope I'm not overstepping," but they kind of make it feel really welcomed.
Angela [00:05:24] No, I knew my character really well. I still know exactly how she would react in any moment. In fact, we were watching a scene with Oscar and I was like, "Oh, I know exactly how Angela Martin would react in this moment," I could just walk right on that stage. So it's really fun to know your character that well because then you can play. Whatever they throw your way, you know what she's gonna say. We would love to ask you about your journey and your career and how it started and what your background was, sort of how you got to where you are today.
Ramona [00:05:55] Um, yeah, I guess I started off just kind of like everyone else. I started making a profile on Actor's Access back when I was a teenager and did a lot of background work and YouTube shorts and booked my first co-star and did that. I don't know if you know this, Angela, but we've worked together, like, three times.
Angela [00:06:21] Oh my god!
Ramona [00:06:23] We've never had any scenes together, but we were on three projects together where I watched you do scenes, um, which is really creepy to say. I... [is interrupted by crew person] Hi!
Angela [00:06:37] [off mic, to crew person] Oh no, can she finish this one thing?
Ramona [00:06:41] Okay, so I will fess up and say that we were on "The Real O'Neils" together, we were on a Netflix show that I was then recast in, but I showed up for that week together, and we were... I forget the title, it was like Miranda-
Angela [00:07:00] "Haters Back Off?"
Ramona [00:07:01] Yes! Yeah, yeah, I was there, and um, we also did "Never Have I Ever" together.
Angela [00:07:09] I mean, I have a very small cameo in that. I'm barely in it, but that, wow. So you know what this means? We're meant to finally be in a scene together. Someday, me and you are gonna have a scene together. We're just putting it out into the world.
Ramona [00:07:24] I really hope so, that would be great.
Angela [00:07:28] Well, thank you so much for your time. We hope we get to talk to you again. We know you have to go to work now, but thanks for making the time for us.
Ramona [00:07:35] And I just want to say, I love the original Office cast so much and you guys seem so intelligent and thoughtful. That was one of the things that made me really excited about this project, was how great everyone was.
Angela [00:07:50] Thank you so much.
audio cue [00:07:51] musical sting
Jenna [00:08:02] Hello, could you please tell us your name and your character name?
Gbemisola [00:08:09] My name is Gbemisola Ikumelo and I play Adelola Olofen, or as you guys may say, [in pronounced American accent] Adelola Olofen.
Angela [00:08:22] And will you tell us what your character's story is on the show, who she is to the world?
Gbemisola [00:08:27] Yeah, I mean, I think Adelola is- She's an accountant, so she works under Oscar, and she works with Adam, and I think she's been there for a while. I think her whole aim in life is just to get through the day, have as little interaction with humans as possible, and get home and get under the covers and sleep. Generally, to build enough money so that she can move out of the place that she lives with her brother and his fiance. That's kind of the story I have in my mind for her.
Angela [00:09:06] I love that. We both knew our characters very well and had our own backstories. We would love to know a little bit about your audition process and how you came to be on the show. .
Gbemisola [00:09:21] It's just like any other day. I got a tape, a self tape, for a top secret show. They was like, "We can't tell you what it is." It was obviously sort of a dummy script. There were lines in there that said, "Talking head stuff." And I started stroking my whiskers going, "Could it be? Could it be," but I didn't want to assume anything. So I just did a lot of tapes for a random character whose name I don't even remember anymore and then my agent after that was like, "Yeah, Greg really liked the tape and we can confirm it is for a show that's going to be set in the Office universe." Then I met with Greg and with Komen, via Zoom because I was in the UK, and he loved it and we talked a little bit about what this is going to be. Because even the scripts weren't what they were. So it was all, "We have no idea where we're going with this story, with this character." So it's all sort of just trusting the genius that is the creatives on this show. Then we started bringing up writing because they were like, "You're a writer, right?" And I said, "Yeah, yeah. I wrote on a, another U S show." I was in the writer's room for another U.S. show called "League of Their Own," I said, "I'd love to be in the room if that's an option." And the next thing I knew, I was in the room and in the cast. So yeah, it happened really quickly.
Jenna [00:11:08] So you're one of our crossovers. You are both a writer and an actor on the show.
Gbemisola [00:11:13] I am one of the crossovers. I am both a writer and an actor in the show. Yeah.
Jenna [00:11:21] Is that something you've ever done before? Where you've done both on the same project?
Gbemisola [00:11:25] Yeah, so with League of Their Own, it was the same thing. I auditioned as an actor and when they were put in the room together, I just went, "Hi, I'm also a writer and I would love to be considered," and they considered me and it was such an amazing experience. That was sort of in the height of COVID, so it was very remote. It was the first remote writers' room thing that I'd done, for League of their own. It was a similar vibe with this because, for the first 40% of the room, I was in the UK, zooming in. Then in the summer I flew out and joined the room, in person.
Angela [00:12:08] Okay, well, I'm very curious, where do they have you seated in the world of the show? You're right in the middle of the bullpen, right? They don't have you tucked away somewhere, so you can sneak off to the writer's room?
Gbemisola [00:12:20] Actually, in hindsight, I'm like, "Yeah, we should have tucked me away somewhere," because yeah, I'm there all the time. There are days when I just sit there and in shot and just type away. There's no Sneaky Offie. I'm right there. But not in the middle. It's a much bigger office than The Office. There's very few staff for the space that it is. Which is, I think, an interesting commentary on where we are with journalism, you know? So yeah, so we're in the accountant's corner of the room, but yeah, we are definitely in the middle of that space.
Angela [00:13:03] Right, you're not back in the annex. That's where they put Paul and Mindy. They were way back there.
Jenna [00:13:08] How much input did you get to have into your character's look, into your hair, makeup, wardrobe? Sabrina talked a little bit about how maybe she had some ideas about how her character dressed, and I'm just curious. We had a lot of input on The Office, so how's that been here?
Gbemisola [00:13:27] Actually really great. It was really interesting because she went on a very interesting journey, the character, and I think Greg and Komen were really great at letting me figure her out and kind of go in a little bit of a different direction. I sort of woke up one day and I said, "I want her to feel more a bit weirdo burnout vibes, just I want it to feel a little bit less professional." Sometimes, she hasn't figured out what she's going to wear and she's running late for work. So she just effortlessly picks out the most clashy clothes, but she's not doing it on purpose. She's just like, "These will do." And I sort of put a character bible together, as well. So I'd sort of nerd it out a bit. It's a bit of a challenge when you've got other characters in your head, as a writer, that you're pitching for. To actually spend time with just Adelola and figuring out she is, so I had to go away and just go, "Who is she for me?" So I did this big old document and with images of what she looked like and where she studied, where she was born. So when I gave that reference to Greg, he was like, "Yeah, that look. Let's do that," and to the wardrobe department's credit, they turned that whole new look around in a 24 hour period. The next day we came in and it was just color, it was vibrant. Septum rings and things like that. So I did get some input in there, but the team turned that around in such a way that really elevated what was in my head.
Angela [00:15:06] This is our favorite thing. We love investing in getting to know your character and what's their backstory and the fact that you did a character bible, we just love it. We love going back and looking at the characters from The Office and reading their show bible. It's just so cool. I love that you did that.
Gbemisola [00:15:24] I don't always do that for characters, as an actor. But for this one, I think there are some characters that will grow as the story gets along. Especially in The Office, as well, it's just characters that had smaller parts and then they became fan favorites and they grew and they became really iconic. Some characters are just like- It'd be a look that they do that the audiences loved. With Adelola, she doesn't always say much. It's always that sort of look and it's always her interpretation of what's visually going on in the space around her. So for that, I felt like I needed to know what her inner life was even more than I would normally, because actually maybe it's a lot of what going on in her head rather than what she says. So that felt really necessary for me.
Angela [00:16:23] What she's not saying says more, yeah.
Gbemisola [00:16:27] How she's saying it and how she's not saying it with a roll of the eyes and inhale of breath and you know what that is. So it was really good for me to know what her inner life was and what she's going back home to and where she's come from and what the expectations of her are.
Jenna [00:16:47] So in your backstory, she lives with her brother?
Gbemisola [00:16:51] She lives with her brother and his fiancee who both have the same first name and she finds it really annoying.
Angela [00:17:00] This is what you've created. I love it. Has Greg signed on to that?
Gbemisola [00:17:04] I mean, it's there. It's there for the taking. Who knows if that'll happen down the line, but yeah...
Angela [00:17:13] I love that, you know, my husband on his side of the family, his cousin's name is Corey. This girl Corey, married a man named Corey. So they're Corey and Corey.
Gbemisola [00:17:25] Yeah, in my mind, I'm not sure if I should say if it ends up getting used, but in my mind they're Gbola and Bola. One Bola is built with a "Gb" and one is with a "B," and those are their names.
Angela [00:17:40] Is your character British or is she-
Gbemisola [00:17:42] She's American.
Angela [00:17:44] Can we hear your American accent?
Gbemisola [00:17:45] [in an American accent] Oh God, don't make me talk in American accent please.
Angela & Jenna [00:17:46] [laughter]
Gbemisola [00:17:50] But like, literally, I have to just talk like this the whole time on set, otherwise people start making me feel British. So every time I open my mouth. [exaggerated cockney accent] "Oh my god, clump it, crumpet." It's all that nonsense. It's all that, it's "Scones! What innit, blood?" I don't know that I'm doing it anymore, that I am sort of slipping in and out of the accent. I'll just suddenly start talking like that. And then I'm like, [American accent] "Oh God, I'm here. I didn't realize."
Angela [00:18:25] That's so wild.
Jenna [00:18:27] I worked on a show over in London. I did a show called "You, Me, and the Apocalypse." It ran for one season. The three Americans in the show were Megan Mullally, me, and Rob Lowe, and then otherwise a fully British cast. One of the things that I remember when I would get to work, I asked for a cup of coffee, and it was like 15 minutes later that I'd get a single cup of French press coffee in a mug. It was so civilized and I coveted this cup of coffee. Then around four o'clock, the craft services would bring in tea and biscuits, like, a whole tea set up and little biscuit cookies. I thought, "Gosh, it's real. They really stop for tea and biscuits at 4 p.m. This is wonderful." What are some of the quirks, coming the other way, as you've come to America to work? Tell us our quirks.
Gbemisola [00:19:37] Your crafty is, like, on steroids. It's you talk about little quaint cups and then cut and then little biscuits. You guys have doughnuts on doughnuts and then there's hot crafty and I'm like, "Aren't we about to have dinner?" No, but there's also hot crafty. The kimchi bowls and pasta. We had ramen noodles like an hour before lunch. Then there's hot dogs and and bagels and juice and then little pasta salad things in the fridge. It's endless. Then obviously, then just the popcorn and the nuts and this and the that. So it is like going into a corner shop, or, what would you call it? Like the bodega. Going into like a bodega and not having to pay for any of the stuff in there and you'll see me often, just taking shopping at end of the week. I'll just be like, "Well, I'll just take that for the week at home or for my trailer."
Angela [00:20:44] Also, you have the best caterer, because you have Sergio, who we also had. If you haven't tried his homemade salsa yet, it's his mother-in-law's recipe. It is the best salsa I've ever had. I have for years have said, "You need to sell the salsa," and he goes, "No, it takes too long to make it. We couldn't turn a profit." So you have best of the best on the set.
Gbemisola [00:21:05] The food is amazing. The first day, I did a sort of video of it when it was just steak and everyone was like, "How would you like your steak?" I was like, "How would I like my steak?!" They were making steak to order. It was insane. The food is amazing, it's just crazy. Every time I come to America and film here, it is the same thing. It's just so much food. It's a beautiful thing, but for someone like me who never says no to food, like it's the African in me. It's like, it's rude and I can't waste food. So I become like a human dumpster. Even when I'm full, I'm like, "Oh my God," I keep eating. So it's not good.
Jenna [00:21:54] Well, thank you so much for talking with us. This was amazing. We are wishing you much success on the show. Can't wait to see it.
Angela [00:22:02] Yes. Thank you. Thank you
Gbemisola [00:22:02] Thank you so much, you're so lovely.
Jenna [00:22:08] I love how Ramona mentioned doing chemistry reads with Melvin Gregg. He is so great on the show and their characters have a big storyline together. I don't want to give it away, but I'm bummed that we didn't get to interview Melvin during our visit, because he is so great. He is one of my favorite supporting characters.
Angela [00:22:27] Yeah, we did get to meet him on the set, but we didn't get an actual interview with him. Now that I'm four episodes in, I want to see more of his character. He's so good, and he really makes me laugh. I love his character's take on things as they happen. Also, I can't believe how many times Ramona and I have almost shared the screen together. I feel like fingers crossed, Ramona, the odds are in our favor here.
Jenna [00:22:52] Well, maybe in season two of The Paper.
Angela [00:22:54] Don't put it out there, someone's gonna write it up that we're in season two.
Jenna [00:22:59] Well, I also love how much input Gbemisola had in her character's wardrobe because it reminded me a little bit of Mindy. How the first instinct for the character of Kelly was for her to be this buttoned up, high neckline conservative character, that Mindy slowly transformed. I just kind of like it that Gbemisola was like, "No."
Angela [00:23:22] From the beginning.
Jenna [00:23:23] "I'm unbuttoning her immediately and from the beginning." Oh, and also her backstory for her character, that her character lives with her brother and her brother's fiance, and they have the same names!
Angela [00:23:34] So, so detailed.
Jenna [00:23:36] I know! I feel like that is something that would totally make it into an episode someday
Angela [00:23:41] I hope it does, I thought it was hilarious. I really loved her story of how she usually stays in her American accent while she's on set. It must be so wild for her cast mates when she is suddenly very British.
Jenna [00:23:53] I wondered if Domhnall Gleeson stays in his American accent, too. I don't know. A question for next time. OK, everyone, thank you for joining us these past few Fridays. This has been a lot of fun.
Angela [00:24:07] Thanks again to Greg for inviting us to the set for that visit. We will be back next Wednesday with all about Phyllis Lapin and then on September 10th with our breakdown of the pilot of The Paper.
Jenna [00:24:19] See you then.
Angela [00:24:19] See you, then.
audio cue [00:24:20] outro
Angela [00:24:24] Thank you for listening to Office Ladies.
Angela [00:24:26] Office Ladies is a presentation of Audacy and is produced by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey.
Jenna [00:24:31] Our executive producer is Cassi Jerkins. Our audio engineer is Sam Kieffer, and our associate producer is Aynsley Bubbaco.
Angela [00:24:39] Audacy's executive producer is Leah Reis-Dennis.
Jenna [00:24:42] Office Ladies was mixed and mastered by Bill Schultz.
Angela [00:24:45] Our theme song is "Rubber Tree" by Creed Bratton.