Phyllis Smith

you may know, Phillis did not start out as an actor. No, Phillis was actually Alison's casting associate on the Office, but she was just so perfect that Greg Daniels and Ken Kappa decided to cast her, and obviously she went on to be an incredible part of our ensemble. So Phillis and Allison had worked together many years, become very very close friends. But they don't get to see each other very often these days. So when I was going to be interviewing Phillis, I said to Alison, Hey, Alison, why

don't you come in. You guys can talk about casting, and then I can talk with Phillis about you know, her progression through the show, and but let's surprise her. Don't tell Phillis that you're going to be there, and as you will hear right now. It was just the best moment. So um oh, I'm so excited. Let's roll the tape. Bubble and Squeak. I love it. Bubble and Squeak and Bubble and Squeaker cookie every month left over from the nut before. I'm so excited for Phyllis to

come in and see you. She's out there. She just doesn't know that you're here. Are we good? Okay, she's gonna walk through that door. I love this, skinny Phillis. What's the deal? Surprised? How are you so good to see you? Oh my goodness, I bill A Pillow asked her most everything. Yeah, no, ask her. So I just this is just to tell you what's going on. So I had my thing. I've interviewed Allison, We've talked about

casting the entire show. But I said to her, let's let's leave off Phillis, because I wanted you to come in and you guys to be able to have a conversation together. So how when did you guys meet? Oh? God? Okay, the first pilot we worked on together was called was at those offices across from Universal and we cast James Franco and Ben Foster in a really bad sitcom. We

were in the trailer. Oh, we were in the trailer that we were in the trailer first on NBC's a Lot, That's right, And that was um because Jessica Walter screamed at her agent for sending her to the wrong place and we were like hiding behind in the desk like, oh my god, We're like, what's going on? Um? But yeah, it was an in terrible trailer and it was during like El Nino, and our trailer everything was soaked. Everything

was soaked. They had terrible rain. They were leaks. And from my point of view, I had been working with Alan Hawkford and the day that was my last day with him on we went across the hall to say goodbye, and that when um whose office? They said, oh, Allison Joe Yeah? And I said, do you know if anybody is looking for a casting and associate and they said, oh, yeah, Allison Jones to it. And so then I contacted you and then I had an interview on Monday, and you

started me on Wednesday. Yes, right, right, right, and I remember Steve Jacobs was another casting director, said if you want someone to whip you into shape, higher this gal, What's what year is this? Probably because then we went on to do some like Freaks and Geeks, we did other Yeah, but before that we did Roswell, which was lacious. We call our We called that the lowest point of both of our lives. It was just lacious because it

was for a network that needed beautiful people. I told you that's where Heath Ledger wasn't good looking enough for Fox right and Ian Summer remember Ian Summer Holder yelled at me because yes, we were shocked. You got yelled at for reading too fast with the actor in the room, and I felt terrible, but yeah, he yelled at me right after the So yeah, I've never done that. Yeah, I should try that job, not like traumatized me. So

I tried to slow it down after that. So you worked together from through two thousand three, the whole time. Still worked through the first episodes of the Office. Didn't work till the mid second season, right, because you guys weren't getting paid anything, right, and I we didn't know if we were getting a pickup or Yeah, so I remained in casting, Kate remained working in the restaurant. Yeah, so we all just held on. So what did you what did you do in casting for like, were you

primarily reading or were you I? Um, Alison would give me her ideas and we'd go through. At that time in casting we used to get real pictures and resumes. We were stacked full of so I had to separate all those in two different you know, and whatever Allison wanted me to do, I did it and set up

the appointments. Make sure trying to confirm actors, you are a tough one though, because you would say you have to call me back and confirm that the confirmation is actually real, not just I remember that one time we had that one kid that we had given out an appointment and it was for um, a bad movie. It was a movie that and it was with Creative or you big agency, I don't remember the agency. But he I had given out all the appointments, waited approximately a

week or so to confirm. Finally I hadn't heard anything. So I called and he still hadn't given the appointments out and the session was like, you know, a couple of days away. So what I did is. I proceeded to call the managers of everybody, and all of a sudden, this kid calls me and he goes, what do you think you're doing? And uh, I said, well, I'm doing the work that you should have been doing. Yes, And he goes, how dare you? And I said, well, you

know what, let me tell you something. I said. When I call you, you you say hello, because he was so be fuddled. When I give you the information, you call me back with a confirmation, and when we go to hang up, you say goodbye. You just don't drop the phone. And you remember I was yelling at this point. I came around at Allison, standing this, because who are you talking to you? Um? So you did casting for nineteen years? Yes? Is that right? Approximately? So someone found this quote that

you said for nineteen years. That's what I did. I examined the character, the truth of it, and I think that I didn't know it at the time, but I was learning. I don't remember saying that. Does that sound right? Well? What I have said in various interviews is that I was probably honing a craft that I didn't know I was honing. I was never in the forefront of my mind and I can honestly say I never thought that

I would be an actor. You know. It was never something I went, Oh, I wonder if there's a role for me. At one point I was trying to get into commercials and and like acting commercials, and then life changed and I ended up. Well, you know how I got into casting, right? Do you know that how did into casting? I don't know that. Well. I was working as a receptionist in an aerospace defense company in Sherman Oaks.

A friend of mine called, who had worked for Stuart Stu Billet Productions on a court show and they said, Phyllis they need a mousey woman for a court show. And I said, oh, man, I didn't want to. I wasn't actively auditioning or going out. I was being a receptionist and I had one hour for lunch. I had to go over the hill to do this audition, and in process. At this time, this was the olden days, we wore nylons and I went to the bathroom and as I was pulling them up, I ripped a huge hole.

Night My entire me was out of my my nie. So I walked into the audition and I said, excuse me, are you looking for mousey or lifted up my skirt or tacky, and so we ended up in a conversation and and I wasn't mousey enough to be a mousey woman sing. But in the course of the conversation, I said, you know, I think I might be good in casting. And about a year later she called me, and that's how I ended up. And I was at the lowest. I mean, I had to do everything, everything that nobody

else wanted to do. I was there doing what it was this like three hundred a week or my first job was two fifty bucks a week, and I was thrilled. But it have been about three what would yours have been probably in late eighties. Yeah, so I was a little bit earlier, but two and fifty bucks a week was huge. Yeap. So that's how I ended up in the casting. And then it just now it's a thing people want to do. Shockingly, we just sort of ended

up in it. Um, did you feel the casting process of of casting The Office was was different than any other show that you had done before. I think it was because the the material was so different from the other the other shows. It was a give and take and it was jo you know, and this was completely a different style. It would say, if you think you're doing too little, you're still doing too much, right, because

we had every direction to give everybody, everybody pull it down. Yeah, I have the original audition I have for stand uh Leslie in my office. I left the camera running by mistake, and it shows me explaining the genre of the show

and how it's going to be a fake documentary. And I think you walked by in the background, by the way, and I'm, you know, just saying and there's poor poor Leslie going m h. And I was just kept repeating, it's less is more, it's it has to feel like it's a documentary like in the British show blah blah blah blah. But that was what we stressed. Was there anyone Was there someone that you remember fighting for that

was cast or wasn't cast? Better you were in the rooms because you were reading with these actors, so you had a better feel for it. But you read with them. I read them with them until Ken Koppus came up to me and said, could you let Phillis read because I think she'd be good in the show. I didn't saying the same thing. I mean she got it because Ken thought she was good, but she said, let Phillis read.

Oh my god, that's a great idea. Um. So Phillis then went in and started reading with all the actors and she was remember being scared. Though I'm sure you were scared because I didn't want to screw it up. I didn't know he was auditioning. Yeah, no, yeah, but I was frightened because I wanted to do a good job for the actors. And I read with Rain, and then another time I read with Krauzinski, and I remember when when I read with him, I thought, oh, that's

that's the one. It just felt right. I remember remember John sitting out in the reception area and he had you had put him on tape, like the first day he was put on tape in New York. I remember we had the same man's Jake Cruce sweater on. I remember thinking, oh, I hope he doesn't notice this was brown, mind was Green's so funny? Yeah, Well, they were all sitting there, and then the second day he didn't get called back either way, and he just was like very nervous.

And he later had told me he thought it was because he didn't do well, the first day, and in reality it was the reverse that I think he had already already gotten made an impression. And and and I remember BJ sitting out there just he looked like he was petrified. Yeah he I don't I didn't know him. I didn't know his personality, you know. Now, that's just the way he looks, I know. But at the time he looked like and he didn't engage with people, he

didn't talk or what's goot put him? You know. But then I realized that was part of his My big fear in all the casting situations when you mix and matches, Oh my god, how bad are they going to feel if they don't get called back in? I hate that. And then Steve, Steve came in day two because he because he was still whatever it was, he was still hooked into the other NBC shows, they let him come in on the second day. What was your impression of Steve?

I thought he was brilliant, you know, right off I told him that I was for me, it was a toss up because Odin Kirk was so cool. And so then you said that when I was watching the tape of Steve, who was the other guy that well, there was. There was also Paul if Tompkins and really good people that were testing. But it came down to between oden Kirk and Carrol. But it would have been a different It would have been a different different Michael with oden Kirk.

But you had said to me that when I was watching the monitor watching Steve's test, and I was doubled over with laughter, and Gregg noticed that, Yeah, yeah, you always thought that was because yes, you're having a hard time keeping it. Oh my god, yes, yeah that's awesome. What um So you knew way before that they were considering that that Ken was considering Phillis. Oh no, like an hour before we were reading that day, and said,

could you just switch you do the camera? You do this lit Phillis reach And I was at the coffee trying to make sure everything was at the coffee and Kim came up and he said, Phillis, someone should read the character of Pam today and I went, okay. So I thought, well, maybe one of the PAMs is is going to be late or I didn't know the why. And then I was nervous because I didn't know that you knew, and I was like concerned that I was going to be doing something out of line for my job,

you know. So you knew all of that, and no one really ever came to me. Wardrobe was actually the first one who called and said, I understand you're playing the character of Phillis, and I went, yes, I am. Um. So you didn't get to tell her, not for years. No, No, but you didn't. You didn't get to tell her that she had been cast. I guess Wardrobe told I was in on it and didn't tell her. Do you remember the day that you came in, Yes, to our office, No,

to the producers session. We were over where we where we shot there first. Yeah, and um we had to go from to get the actors. We had to go about a block and a half within the building to bring him back to the little where we were recording. And so as a result, the session we were ran, she ran the sessions on time. You didn't sit when you went to Allison's. Yeah, you you went in. But for some reason that day we were behind. We were

really behind. And I remember Leslie had another audition to go to, so we said, go ahead, go to your audition and come back. So he went to his audition, He came back he fought the traffic and he was in a real priming when he came in and must have. Yeah, and you remember when Gregg jumped out the windows? Exactly what I was going to say to you. I was just in a casting session. Just Perkins was there and

she yeah, we were. Was it at the beginning before the lunch hour or it was, but it was we were. Had all had to sit at a conference table in that the room that you didn't have to go into when you read. You didn't see that, but that's where we cast everybody else. And now there was and all of a sudden, Greg just gets up and jumps out this window, opened the window and jumped out the window,

and unfortunately the window was close to the ground. Yeah. So, and then Nancy Perkins, in a thick Boston accent, said said, oh my god, I've heard of produces wanting to jump out the window before, but he just did it. Yeah, we all just looke. He didn't have to get a sweater in his car something. I don't know why he did it, but it was funny. We just looked at each other. He also used to graph the qualities of actors.

Um He had a graph and he would like put what he needed and what he saw, and he would literally graph the qualities of actors. He has a I may have that he had a very scientific mind, uh when it came to things like that, and that of course drove me nuts. But he would always say that he was less instinct and more thinking, you know, thinking about it. Who would you put with this? And who would you who would go with that? If you had

these two people, who would be this person? He thought about it very carefully and it certainly worked on the office. But jumping out the window, you and I were very fancy. Oh my god, he jumped out the window. And now we know that's kind of normal, but it was terrific. Produces one to jump out the window before. Uh. Well, I it's interesting because of you talking about that on the casting side, because what we've been told by some of the writers was one of the exercises that they did.

They called them unlikely duos or something like that, and everyone's name would be on the wall, right, So Kevin and Phillis and Michael and Dwight and and one of their exercises was take two characters that you wouldn't put together, and let's put them together and then have some story about that. Interesting. Yeah, but it's interesting on from the casting perspective, from the beginning, wanting to he does that's

at least how he did it with the office. Yeah, he would ask everybody, you know, would you rather have this person or this person? And then if you have this person, would you have to have this person or this person? But he was a very um pensive and thoughtful person that way. And those are the like the people that we've had the privileged to work for, Mitch Herwitz and Judd Apatow and Paul fig They do think about things in a different way to make the whole

greater than the sum of its parts. They all have strange ways and interesting ways of thinking. I call it comedy. Aspergers, Sorry, Yeah, it was great. Why do you think the two of you worked so well together? Kind of laid back and we enjoyed it, right, We had a lot of laughs. And I truly I'm not just saying this because she's sitting here. She can remember every actor that not only opened their mouth to her, but walk in, you know, just walk she has. And she was never afraid to

go out and find new talent. She just had an eye she had an eye for somebody that was unique and different, and so did you though I just a little anecdote. We cast a show called spin City when it was it was a spin City or Battery Park

that you meant to. When she was six, we're at Radford and Phillis was reading kids for a one line role on a Christmas episode or something, and Phillis said, Allison, I read this girl, but come on in and we'll read her again, because you've never seen anything like this. And it was six year old Da Code of Fanning reading one line about being an orphan or something, and Phillis literally was like, I've never seen anything like it.

She was wondering. She was amazing. So Dakoda Fanning and Chila Book go down for me as the best child actors I've ever seen. Wow. Um, when you guys walked in and you saw each other, what is it about the history between you two that I feel so special? We just love you, We just love each other. And she's hilarious and we had a lot of good laughs. We did we yeah, a lot of good Yeah. We enjoyed it and love actors and basically a great just

a great like ultimately who cares, so let's just have fun. Yeah. Well, she's a dear person and we work together for a long time, and she always knew my sisters and stuff, my brothers. Yeah. Yeah, when we come back, we're gonna kick Alison out and Phillis and I uh, we're gonna sit down for a chat together. It's a hard time for hiring, so you need a hiring partner built for

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you need Indeed. I felt I can't. That's what you've been in my life for so long, Bribe, I know. Well, um, yeah, so we sort of talked about UM. I think it's fascinating that you were casting all of these shows and never had a thought. I truly, I can honestly say that that was not I thought that ship had sailed and so, UM, I don't know, it's just meant to be and it's changed my life completely. Yeah, completely in

a good way. You know, did you have any training? No? No, I I'm Alan Hockberg, who I worked for on Dr Quinn Medicine woman. I worked with him for about six years, six or seven years, and he actually taught me how to hold the parricides and read with an actor and and so he was instrumental in helping me to learn how to read with an actor and treat an actor.

And and then when Alison, she was another person who really a lot of casting directors did not get involved when they read with actors, as you know, but Allison really gave her all when she read with people. So again being in the room and watching her interact with the actor and watching the actors, Um, it's just I don't know, Well, it's it's funny because I've heard of people I never did this, but I've heard of actors who will find an inn with a casting director to

be the person who reads with Yeah. There used to happen all the time, right because they wanted to see, you know, actors performances and be privy to the conversations about why that person got cast and that person got cast. It always seemed like kind of a smart thing, you know, to be able to go in and hear what people were talking about or what they were responding to or you as an actor learning tips from that, and it's so fascinating that you were doing that for nineteen years

but I didn't. But you weren't even trying it, just it just came in right. It wasn't My job at that time was to do the best that I could for the actor to get the job, or to cipher out who shouldn't be there and who should be there, you know, but it turned out okay, turned out okay. Um, so you got a call from wardrobe, so at this point you have no idea. I just thought it was odd that day that Kim came to me. I really felt nervous because I didn't want to step on Allison's toe.

Was um, I think there was a fact that came through. They had the character of Phyllis there, but we didn't. I didn't want to even believe that it was going to be a possibility. And as soon as wardrobe calls then I because nobody ever came human said hey, do you want to be in the show. You never really auditioned. No, I guess I auditioned, but didn't know I was auditioning, which is another thank you, because I would have been completely if I was nervous enough wanting to do a

good job for the people I was reading with. Had I known he was actually watching me. But you know what, they did use a tape of my reading at the network. One of the tapes that they presented I was reading was someone so it was covered in the long run, but I didn't know any of that at the time. Amazing. I think that is best story ever. Think some actors think,

you know, not our group of people. But I've run across other people sometime and they if they hear this story, they go, oh, you know, they're kind of a little bit like, well, look I studied it, blah blah blah,

and so they're not too thrilled with it. Right, Well, I think it speaks to what you know, the producers and and Greg and Ben and and and and Ricky and Stephen were looking for in in this that they were really looking for normal people, people not known faces in any way, shape or form, and just people that go to an office. You know. Yeah, um, I think that potentially Phyllis and Kevin were the butt of a lot of jokes. We were. We were definitely the butt of a lot of maybe not all, but a lot.

Um Did you did I take offense to that or anything, you know. Uh. I have to say though, when they wanted me to carry Angela on my back in the finale, that I thought, okay, that's a little much. First of all, physically, I'm not wasn't sure how it was going to play out. But then they took care of it and at all, you know, with with the stunts and boards and stuff like that. And I actually carried her like once or twice down the aisle, but but that was just a

tinge to my feeling. Well that's a little bit over there. Yeah. I certainly had some of those things as well. I think that my I was told at some point. I think it was it was either season seven or season eight. We were talking about going forward without Steve, and I was talking to some of the higher ups and they said, well, we can't loose it was Kevin, because now that Michael's gone, we have nobody else to do really really stupid things. So that's what they were told. Because I started doing

a ton of the physical stuff to it. There was oil in the warehouse and slipping around and doing all this stuff. And I remember and like rain on my back on the filing cabinet, like giving me a massage, And there were a few times I went to them and I was like, okay, guys, I am not a cartoon character. There are physical limitations to what I can do, so you can't just write anything, and they go, oh, well, yeah,

he can do that, of course. Yeah. I was always grateful to get a line that would be like that. You know, you get a script and you start thumbing through it as a oh wow, I've got three four, So yeah, I was. I was grateful to get a line. Did you communicate much with the writers about I never did. I didn't know I was had. I didn't know that that if that was permissible. I hadn't been in those shoes before as an as an actor. So whatever they

gave me, I I was glad I got. You know, I was more unhappy when I didn't get something than than what I did get. Do you feel like there were things specific to you that influenced the character of Phyllis um Golly? I think well, with my personnelity, I sometimes like off, can I can be sarcastic, you know, in a sweet way, and so I must have done that to somebody somewhere along the line, and they kind of picked up on it. Um, I was, I don't you know, I never are these the questions I should

be asking when I have a character? No, I mean I think I mean, as it creating a character, this is no. I think it's more you know, for me, I'm just wondering because I don't know the answer is like did you have you know, whether you saw something in yourself that sort of came through. I just tried to do it from my gut because I didn't have anything else to work from. So if I got the line, I would try to deliver it a couple of different

ways with a different feeling. And um, And like I said, I never really thought of like a backstory for Phillis. I never had that knowledge to do that are the tools to do that. I just went from my gut and she just and however people perceived her, then all of a sudden, that's what she'd be given. And like I always loved my interactions with Michael because we were so competitive in high school and you know, right, But

then I think another significant would be Angela. Oh yeah, that was a perfect you know the fact that I was so much larger than she was, but she tried to rule me. Uh, and I completely what is the word, yeah, ys to to what she wanted until I got to the point that I couldn't stand her, you know, And that's kind of way I do in life. I take, take, take, and then all of a sudden I'd blow up. So so yes it is. Yeah, look, it took all that time to get to that point. Um, but luckily for Phillis,

you walked in on Angela and Twite. Oh yeah, yes, which shifted the whole balance of power. I I was the one in in charge then, all right, right, that must have been fun. Oh it was the best. Like when I swooped everything off the desk that wasn't nobody told me to do that. I just did it. Yeah. I enjoyed the arc of Angela being the my nemesis to my becoming her nemesis. Right right, I didn't think about it like that before. About right, that's exactly what happened.

Do you have any favorite episodes? There's so many though that I mean, there's moments I think I've talked about one before where Dwighton and Michael they bumped chest and they go, we did it, and then they go, what do we do? I don't know, it's just a stupid little but it kind of like encapsulates the the whole feeling of the office is like they're doing something and

then what we do. You know, M favorite episodes that i've you know when of course my wedding, and I love the scene that you and I did together when I was in charge of trying and you came in you wanted money. That was really one of the first scenes that I ever had one on one with you, and it felt really real. I enjoyed iron I think I said something to you that day after the scene. Yeah, for me, whoever we were paired off with on that

particular day or episode or whatever, it was generally exciting. Yeah, A good A good deal. I love the episode where Dwight kind of I hurt my back at the disco and he takes and treats me as if I'm a farm animal. Do you remember not, I mean, not necessarily where you were or what, but hearing that that Steve was going to leave, Oh man, that was the It was like somebody punched you in the stomach, you know. Um. I remember just being very sad about it, right because

I I liked him so much as a person. I respected him so much as an actor. I I thought he had brought so much heart to the to the office, to the show, and I was really nervous about how that void was going to be filled, not only you know, as his acting abilities, but also is a he was just a good guy. Yeah. I remember feeling way more emotional about him leaving than even the end of the show. I think because I felt like, you know, like a

kid when mom and dad leaves or something. It's like, well, now, now what And there's actually one of the I think one of my personal favorite lines was when he proposed it to Holly and the rains coming down and we're getting soaked by all the sprinklers and he says we're going to Colorado, and Kevin says all of us, And there was just something so sort of beautiful about that, and then the realization that no, you no, no, he

was he was leaving. Yeah, you know, when you you talked about when the show ended in after the ninth season, that was tough, tough night, especially when Creed started singing. But for me it was really tough, like months later after the show had ended, and we generally would go back to work around July or August. That's when it set in that, oh, this is life's different now you

know we're not going back. Yeah. When I sat down with Greg before that last season or moving into the finale and we started talking about, you know, my life's journey at that point through the office and Kevin, and my experience was people feeling like they knew me and specifically feeling like I was the guy that they wanted to get a drink with and I would. I said something to him like Greg, I can't go into a

bar without getting bought multiple drinks. Like they just come to the point I and I'm good, No, thank you, no, I'm good. Now. I gotta I gotta stop now. Guys, at least people that call you Kevin, you know that they know you from this show. You me when people say Phillis, I have to think for a moment, Okay, do I have our paths crossed for a moment, do

I know you? Or But in reality I do know them or they know me because I've been in their bedroom, in their living room, in their kitchen, and before they go to work and as they go to sleep, and so we are a part of our fans lives you know, absolutely, but at least you can decipher yours a little better. With Kevin and Brian, that's true. I've never thought about

that before Phyllis or Creed or Oscar or Angela. Yeah, and especially if they say oh I saw you, and I'm thinking, okay, now did I you know, to go to school with them or what? Right? That's actually the most difficult. Well, I have two difficult fan interactions. One is I'll be at a at a serious place of business,

like like in a thing, and I'm meeting someone. Or I have a good friend who's introducing me to a good friend who says like, oh, we've met before, right, And I immediately go, no, I know we haven't, and I know why you think before. But then to say that you become like I don't know, You're like you know, I was on a television show, you know, Like so yeah. For me, I love all the fan interaction I have. I really haven't had an The hardest part for me

is at a funeral that's really awkward. I've had it happened twice, and I just have to say, you know I'm here because of this, not Or if you're at a wedding and because I tend to forget, you know. I when I go to a wedding, I go to a wedding because I like the person. But other than that, I have no problem with them coming up to me. Nobody wants to buy me a drink. I don't drink. But I think it's the specific Yeah, and part it's the specific character. Um, do you remember me. You talked

a little bit about it. Creed's last song like that. That that's the moment that you remember about the finale, And that's the whole finale was, you know, driving out to that ranch out in the middle of nowhere, and it was a total surprise to me. I didn't know Steve was going to come back, and I was, you know, just so thrilled to even seem out alone having been the finale and that was the best to have a full reunion for the finale. So you didn't know until

you saw him there. So I'm in the middle of the night getting out of my car and there he was, you know, and I'm going, oh my god, it's so great. Yeah. I had no idea it was coming back because they hid it in the script. It was not in the script. I somehow knew the night before. I don't remember. I don't remember how, but like literally the night before or something like that. It was more like don't you tell a soul? But and I don't remember who told me whatever,

but I remember it shocking. What's in his line his talking head about the your your children marrying each other, well and just the that's what she said. This is the first thing out of his mouth, just so perfect. Um. And that's the thing that people don't realize now, like when you watch it on Netflix. At the time, it was such a big surprise because everyone was asking and everyone was saying no, right because we assumed that it was and no, but I mean even him and gregged

and then net work didn't know, like nobody knew. Yeah. Um, now when you watch the show, you know that not as much build up. Um. What do you think it is about the show that makes people respond so crazy to it? Now? Golly, I don't know. People say they'll come up and they say, I just love your you know, they love this, or they love that, and they have a Dwight in their office, or they have a Kevin in their office, or they have you know, they have those people so they can relate in some way to

the various characters. Um, but it was just different, you know, it took a bold step and in today's world, it's some of it may cross the lines. You know. Things are so politically correct nowadays. So uh and little kids look at that, a six year old who was asking as questions who they were so intelligent and informed and and to me, six is a little young to be involved in the show. But what do you think. I don't know. I think it's just about the characters and

that it's it's a workplace comedy. But really it's a family, right, a family. Yeah, we've we've we've become enmeshed in each other's lives. Uh. Yeah, what was it all about for you? Um? We became family over the nine years. We didn't nobody really knew each other, but we all grew up together in a nine year period and it was one of the best parts of my life. Yeah. Yeah, Phillis, thank you so much for coming out, Thank you for thinking of me. I love you so much. I'm so honored

to call myself your friend. And we share something that will never ever go away. Exactly. We're hard to heart. Yeah, yeah, well it doesn't doesn't get any better than her. Thank you Phillis, thank you Allison Jones again for joining me, um, and thanks to all of you once again for listening. Have a stuppendous week this week. Let's have the best week ever and I will see you next time for

another installment of the Office Deep Dive. The Office Deep Dive is hosted and executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner, alongside our executive producer, Lang Lee. Our senior producer is Tessa Kramer, our associate producer is Emily Carr, and our assistant editor is Diego Tapia. My man in the booth is Alec Moore. Our theme song Bubble and Squeak, performed by my great friend Creed Bratton, and the episode was mixed by Seth Olandsky.