By Jason Fontelieu
Actress Angela Kinsey proved she’s quite the polar opposite of the cold-hearted, tightly-wound accountant Angela Martin, from the hit comedy show, “The Office.”
During the 7 p.m. show on March 1 in the Grand Ballroom of Stamp Student Union, Kinsey discussed growing up in Indonesia, pizza places she’d visited in College Park and her deep, profound love for “The Office.”
“That was one of the best jobs ever, so it’s a joy to talk about,” Kinsey said. “It means a lot to me that the show is still finding an audience. It makes me proud that something we did all those years ago is still resonating with people.”
Kinsey’s enthusiasm was apparent throughout the show, from high-fiving the crowd when she entered, to her high-pitched greetings to each audience member that had a question.
“It felt like she was genuinely happy to be there and to be talking to us,” freshman communications major Rebecca Mohrmann said. “She didn’t need a lot of guidance with the questions. She was just able to talk about things on her own because she knows what we want to hear.”
Kinsey discussed the mechanics and emotions behind some of the most famous scenes from “The Office,” like the iconic fire drill in the season 5 episode “Safety Drill,” where she throws a cat into the ceiling. Other funny stunts included singing karaoke to “Little Drummer Boy” and kissing Rainn Wilson ( who played Dwight) with a tuna fish sandwich fresh on his breath.
Kinsey remains close with her cast, having recently had dinner with the other two accountants from the show, Brian Baumgartner (Kevin) and Oscar Nunez (Oscar). Creed Bratton (Creed) lives down the street from her and still calls her “pumpkin” when they talk on the phone.
Jenna Fischer (Pam) is Kinsey’s best friend to this day.
“We crack each other up. It was very hard to be mean to her all those years,” Kinsey said. “She’s just like one of my favorite people ever, so I love working with her.”
After her role on “The Office,” Kinsey was offered several jobs as the “bitch” character.
“If it’s a character that’s not the ‘bitch,’ I have to go in and work for it,” she said. “I have to show them, and I have to audition and really show them that I can be something minus ‘stank face.’”
Kinsey noted that while she’s definitely more “loose” than her “Office” character, she is a fan of an organized drawer.
“At home, our teas I’m like this is Darjeeling, this is English breakfast, this is Earl Grey,” she laughed, “but I hope I’m not as militant.”
The question many fans of “The Office” were waiting to hear was the status of a potential reboot. While Kinsey said she had not been called about it and neither had her cast, to her knowledge, her answer to such prospects would be clear:
“Sign me up!” she said.
“The Office” is currently streaming on Netflix.
Featured Photo Credit: Angela Kinsey speaks to students at a SEE event, (Julia Lerner/ Bloc Photographer).
Jason Fontelieu is a freshman journalism major and can be reached at jcf037@comcast.net
