Steve Carrell has impressed the audience over the years with his performance as Michael Scott in The Office. The NBC adaptation of the BBC series is one of the most popular sitcoms of all time and showed some of the most memorable roles. Carrell’s Michael Scott was also one of them whose spontaneous responses and antics never failed to mesmerize the viewers. But no matter how real the things looked, everything was scripted except one scene that shocked every co-star on set.
The conversations between the characters and the comebacks featured in the show often blur the line between reality and fiction. Many audiences believed the show featured many improvisations by the stars. But later it was repeatedly stated that it was all scripted. However, an episode of the Office Ladies podcast revealed the major kissing improvisation in Season 3 of the show.
How did Steve Carrell improvise the popular kissing scene?
In the Office Ladies podcast by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, the two stars from the show revealed to the listeners and the fans of The Office that much of the part that is thought to be improvised is just the result of an amazing script. However, they were quick to address the episode where Steve Carrell‘s Michael Scott kissed Oscar Martinez.
Even though most of the show was unscripted, the show did feature some scenes that had improvisations, especially by Carrell. During the Season 3 premiere episode Gay Witch Hunt, Michael Scott got himself under much criticism after revealing to the entire office that Oscar Martinez is gay. Later, to make him feel accepted, the Steve Carrell character gives him a kiss in front of the whole office.
This particular episode went on to be iconic as the kiss didn’t go according to the script and featured Carrell’s excellent improvisation that shut the entire cast and crew. The Pam actress Jenna Fischer who had the script of the episode that the actor explained how the scene was meant to go like this- “He hugs you and then he was supposed to go in for a kiss, but he chickens out and is supposed to like kiss you on the forehead.”
Instead, the Evan Almighty actor gave a kiss on Oscar Nunez’s lips. When the Oscar Martinez actor was asked about it by IGN, he replied that it was unbelievable for him at first- “I was thinking, ‘I can’t believe he did it.” The chain reaction of Steve Carrell’s kiss didn’t cease there as it went on to feature the bizarre responses from the co-stars on set who were all shocked to witness such an improvisation.
How did the co-stars react to Steve Carrell’s kissing scene?
It was revealed how Steve Carrell’s improvisation led to a wide variety of reactions from his co-stars who didn’t expect the kissing scene to go that way. All the surprising reactions that are shown on screen are very real. Actor BJ Novak moved his face away so that he could laugh. Jenna Fischer who can be seen sitting beside Novak during the scene stated:
“BJ turns away in that moment when he’s sitting next to me because he started laughing. The reason he turned away is because he lost it.”
It must be noted that Novak’s character Ryan wouldn’t have laughed at the scene like BJ Novak did so it was indeed hard for the characters to maintain their character. On the other hand, while Angela admitted that she couldn’t control herself and covered her face with her hands, actor Rainn Wilson also jumped in to kiss Oscar as his character Dwight always idolized Michael Scott. So it can be said that this scene was loaded with improvisations as every actor made the scene look natural in their way.
Despite being shocked by the scene, Oscar Nunez also never complained about the scene. He was just concerned if the scene was ruined or not. This is undoubtedly one of the most memorable scenes from the series and each of the actors gave a phenomenal performance.
The Office can be streamed on Peacock.
Source: Office Ladies / IGN
