The Office Quotes

“We’re so divided as a nation, we’re so divided as a world, but the one thing that brings us together always is love and smiles and comedy and an outside family that makes you feel a part of it.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“This was Paul’s idea, that Michael has a very active fantasy life and as his reality becomes more fulfilling, he has to let go of it.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“once the couple gets together there isn’t a lot of obvious story material. It is harder to find stories between a couple once they’ve had the resolution of coming together like that.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“The Office had the idea that the comedy was behavioral. The stories weren’t joke driven. The comedy focused on human behavior.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“The only thing that gives me an adrenaline rush is the idea. I wish I could just have the idea, watch it on telly, and not actually have to do anything.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History

“What was so amazing about Steve was that as Michael Scott, he could make your skin crawl in one scene by being such a jerk, and such an asshole, and in the very next scene you would weep for him. You bled for the man because he was so blind to his own faults. (Randy Cordray)”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History

“Oscar Nunez (Oscar Martinez, Seasons 1–9): The great, great, great sitcoms of yore all had a simple premise. It’s character driven. Taxi’s just a fucking taxi place. Cheers is just a bar. That’s all it is. And we were just an office.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“We went back to the hotel and it took three hours to get everyone dried off and back together with hair and makeup. Cordray was only able to get the Maid of the Mist Corporation to let them shoot on the boat if they didn’t even speak to the captain, let alone ask him to change the course of the journey. Randy Cordray: But when we got back on boat the captain turned to me and said, “Boy, you guys got really soaked last time, didn’t you?” And I said, “Yeah, we did.” And he said, “Do you want that?” And I said, “No,”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“Creed Bratton: I called Steve Carell on his birthday not long ago and he told me that he’d just gone over to the old set just to see it.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“Steve Carell was number one on the call sheet; no one had a problem with it. Steve was the perfect actor to work with. He was professional. He was on time. He was kind. He was fun. He was incredibly talented. And he kept to himself, really. He was friendly with the rest of them, but he was there to do a job. When the other cast started to get to be too big for their britches, as an AD it made my job harder.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“Most actors know in their heads that it is a business of hurry up and wait.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“Idris Elba: I loved working with those guys, John Krasinski and Steve Carell.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“They basically notified us that they are closing production down because of the strike. They were like, “We don’t know when it will resume again, but you should consider yourself free to take other work.” And then, I will say, much to everyone’s appreciation, Greg Daniels wrote out a personal check to every single crew member for, I think it was either $ 1,000 or $ 1,200. It was literally just from him and his wife,”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“And then to have her be able to have this brave moment where she just—not for anybody else’s sake but just for her own sake—just proves herself. She was strong and she was confident that she owns herself now and that she’s brave enough with the thrill and the adrenaline to give this speech and say, “I miss you.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“Once the kiss ends, Steve ad-libbed a line. Under his breath he goes, “See, I’m still here.” That was not in the script.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“The next day at craft service, [John] Krasinski and Rainn Wilson saw me when I was just coming in for the first part of the day. They both walk over and they give me a big hug and they whisper to me, “You knocked it out of the park, Creed.” I had to walk off and cry a little bit by myself. Truly I never get unemotional thinking about it because it was life changing for me. I was a sixty-year-old guy getting a break like this. Thank God I was quirky enough that it worked.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“I always preferred the part of him that was into hot-rod cars and playing heavy metal and rocking out as opposed to the fascist stuff. Then there’s a part of him that’s this weird quasi-Amish beet farmer. Again, they don’t make sense together but sometimes that’s what gives people dimension, these contrasting characteristics.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“Jason Kessler: My job that season was to drive around town and drop people’s scripts off at their houses. I very specifically remember going to John’s apartment in West Hollywood and he was playing video games with a friend. He invited me in to play. Normally, I would drop a script off at the door or I’d knock on the door and hand it to him, and someone would say, “Oh, thank you very much,” and just go in their house. John’s the only person who ever invited me in.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“Kate Flannery: I kept my restaurant job actually through the first season. I was a waitress at Kate Mantilini in Beverly Hills. Sometimes Greg Daniels would come in to talk to me.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“Novak went to high school in Boston with John Krasinski and even wrote a high school play he starred in.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“Any character who was hopeful and had a future in front of them would have a window behind them. We believed that Pam and Jim had a little more hope in their lives and they would go to more blue skies.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“David Brent was driven by a desire to be famous. Michael Scott was driven by a desire to be loved.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“A lot of my friends who have teenagers, they've shared with me that they watch it almost as an emotional soother. If they're in a bad mood, they'll just pop on The Office and they'll binge-watch it. (Amy Ryan)”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History

“I saw Michael Scott as just socially desperate and yet good-hearted, which is probably how I would, in my darkest moments, describe myself. (Caroline Williams)”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History

“Larry Wilmore: There was a blog at the time called Television Without Pity. That was Twitter from back then. The Office got a whole section on it and people were pouring out love and opinions for The Office and the fan base really started growing during the season.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s

“Even at the peak of its popularity around seasons four and five, The Office never generated ratings even comparable to sitcoms like Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory, procedural dramas like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and NCIS, or, especially, reality competition shows like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars. But bars all over America in 2019 don’t host Dancing with the Stars or NCIS trivia nights. The Big Bang Theory isn’t breaking streaming records on Netflix and teens aren’t bingeing Two and a Half Men on their phones. It’s The Office that has emerged as the most beloved sitcom of the 2000s and just gets bigger with each passing year.”
― Andy Greene, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s