The Office (U.S. TV Series) - Characters

Characters

Main article: List of The Office (U.S. TV series) characters See also: List of The Office (U.S. TV series) cast members Further information: The Office#Counterparts

The Office employs an ensemble cast. Many characters portrayed by The Office cast are based on the British version of the show. While these characters normally have the same attitude and perceptions as their British counterparts, the roles have been redesigned to better fit the American show. The show is known for its generally large cast size, with many of its actors and actresses known particularly for their improvisational work. Steve Carell stars as Michael Scott, Regional Manager of the Dunder Mifflin Scranton Branch. Loosely based on David Brent, Gervais' character in the British version, Scott is a well-intentioned man whose attempts at humor, while seemingly innocent to himself, often offend his peers and employees, and in some situations lead to reprimanding from his superiors. Rainn Wilson portrays Dwight Schrute, who, based upon Gareth Keenan, is a salesman and the Assistant to the Regional Manager, a fictional title created by Michael. John Krasinski portrays Jim Halpert, a salesman and, in later seasons, co-manager who is often known for his wittiness and his hijinks on Schrute (often accompanied by Pam Beesly). Halpert is based upon Tim Canterbury, and is known to have feelings for Pam, the receptionist. Pam, played by Jenna Fischer, is based on Dawn Tinsley. She is shy, but in many cases a cohort with Jim in his pranks on Dwight. B. J. Novak portrays Ryan Howard, who for the first two seasons is a temporary worker, but is promoted to sales representative in the third season and later ascends to the position of Vice President, North East Region and Director of New Media until his treachery was exposed for corporate fraud and he was fired, ending up again as the temporary worker at the Scranton branch.

The accounting department features Angela Martin, an admitted uptight and often hypocritical Christian who wishes to keep things orderly and make sure situations remain as serious as possible; Kevin Malone, a lovable, but dim-witted man who revels in juvenile humor and frequently indulges himself with gambling and M&Ms; and Oscar Martinez, whose homosexuality and Hispanic heritage made him a favorite target for Michael's unintentional off-color comments. Rounding out the office are the stern salesman Stanley Hudson, who barely stood for Michael's constant references to his Black-American heritage (he also doesn't like to take part in time wasting meetings and sometimes sleeps in them or works crossword puzzles); eccentric quality assurance representative Creed Bratton; the kind and caring saleswoman Phyllis Lapin-Vance, who marries Bob Vance from Vance Refrigeration across the hall from the office; Andy Bernard is a salesman introduced in season three after the closing of the Stamford, Connecticut branch of Dunder Mifflin and the merging of the two; the bubbly and talkative customer service representative Kelly Kapoor; the promiscuous alcoholic supply relations representative Meredith Palmer; human resources representative Toby Flenderson, who is admittedly hated by, and often the target of abuse by Michael Scott; warehouse foreman Darryl Philbin; Warehouse dock worker and Pam's ex-fiancé Roy Anderson, who was fired in the third season; and Michael's former love interest and former Vice President for Regional Sales for Dunder Mifflin Jan Levenson (Jan Levenson-Gould until her divorce in season 2).

Toward the end of season five, bubbly and naive new receptionist Erin Hannon is introduced as Pam's replacement. A story arc at the end of season four has Holly Flax transferred to the office as Toby's replacement. She acts as a love interest for Michael, as they share very similar personalities. Jo Bennett is the CEO of Sabre and Gabe Lewis, introduced in the middle of season six, is a Sabre employee who is assigned to the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch as the Regional Director of Sales; In season 9 Clark Duke and Jake Lacy joined as two new customer service representatives to attempt to catch up on the ignored customer services complaints that Kelly had dismissed while she worked at Dunder-Mifflin.

Initially the actors who portray the other office workers were credited as guest stars before they were named series regulars during the second season. The show's large ensemble has been mainly praised by critics and led to the series winning two Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Carell was reportedly paid $175,000 per episode starting with the third season. Krasinski and Fischer were paid around $20,000 for the beginning of the series. Starting with the fourth season, the two started getting paid around $100,000 per episode.