Entertainment

'The Office' Premiered 10 Years Ago, So What Are The 20 Stars Up To Today?

It's been 10 years since the pilot episode of The Office premiered in America, and so much has changed for both the characters and the actors behind the roles. At the time, the show cast a lot of relatively unknown actors, but the popularity of the show boosted them into careers they might not have found otherwise.

So where are The Office actors today? While we all know that the more well-known stars went straight to acting in Hollywood hits, what about the background characters? Fortunately everyone is doing pretty well these days, no matter how large their part was on the show.

Image: NBC

by Martha Sorren

Steve Carell As Michael Scott

Carell’s career hit it big after he played The Office boss. He’s long since left the days of the Dundies behind him, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his work in Foxcatcher this past year. Next up he’s starring in the 2015 film Freeheld, a movie based on a true story about a woman diagnosed with terminal cancer who fought to let her domestic partner Stacie receive her pension. He’ll be in the movie alongside Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, and more Hollywood heavyweights, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see it (and him) back on the awards circuit next year.

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Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute

Michael’s right-hand man is now a leading man in his own right. Wilson is starring in the television series Backstrom about a “misanthropic police detective.” (So basically he’s living Dwight’s dream.) He’s also busy producing a new show called Impress Me about two impressionists who vow to quit mimicking others and become dramatic actors in their own right. It’s based on the web series The Impression Guys , and it’s sure to be hilarious.

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John Krasinski as Jim Halpert

Krasinski captured a million women’s hearts right along with Pam’s, and he’s stayed in the spotlight ever since. This year he has two films coming out, The Hollars and Aloha, and he’s acting alongside the likes of Anna Kendrick, Emma Stone, Bradley Cooper, and more.

Krasinski’s had a pretty busy personal life too. He and his wife Emily Blunt gave birth to a baby girl Hazel last year, and when he’s not acting or taking care of his daughter, he’s busy pranking his neighbor Jimmy Kimmel. (You can take the Jim out of The Office, but you can’t take the Jim out of John Krasinski.)

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Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesley Halpert

The woman behind the artistic Pam went on to do a couple of independent films (including a sweet one with The Mindy Project’s Chris Messina called The Giant Mechanical Man.) Recently she’s had a couple of small parts on the TV shows Newsreaders and Apocalypse Slough. But Fischer’s focus hasn’t been on acting as much in recent years as it’s been on her family. The actress just had a daughter in 2014 and she also has a four year old son with her screenwriter husband Lee Kirk.

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Leslie David Baker as Stanley Hudson

Everyone’s favorite office grump is still acting (he’s had some small roles on a few TV shows, and will appear in the upcoming film Fallen Stars), but his most impressive achievement is the music video he made a couple of years ago which critics adored because it was just so out-there. Fingers crossed he does another one again soon!

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Brian Baumgartner as Kevin Malone

Baumgartner has stayed firmly in the television world with small parts on a number of hit shows like Mike & Molly, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, Hot in Cleveland, and more.

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Angela Kinsey as Angela Martin Schrute

An accountant no more, Kinsey is celebrating her Office-less days with her own starring role in ABC’s upcoming comedy pilot The 46 Percenters. She’s also stayed close friends with her TV husband Rainn Wilson, and even has a role on Impress Me, the show he’s producing. (Dwight and Angela would be so proud of their collaboration.)

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Phyllis Smith as Phyllis Lapin Vance

Smith was actually a casting associate for The Office but the writers loved her so much they created the role of Phyllis especially for her. It was her big break and Smith has appeared in a number of films and TV shows since then. Now you can catch her voicing the character “Sadness” in Pixar’s upcoming film Inside Out .

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Kate Flannery as Meredith Palmer

Flannery didn’t come on board for the show until episode two, but good thing she did, because the actress was charming and hilarious throughout the whole show. Lately she’s been alternating working in television, movies, and doing live comedy. You can catch her in the 2015 pilot for the show Another Period or in one of her upcoming movies Dial a Prayer, Slow Learners, or Fourth Man Out. She’s also the star of ”The Lampshades” lounge show comedy act that’s been playing at clubs nation wide for several years.

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Creed Bratton as Creed Bratton

On The Office he was a man of mystery, but in real life he’s a talented actor with a rich background in music. A former member of the band Grass Roots, Bratton still plays today, often interspersing his movie and television work with time spent in the recording studio. He released a new music video just last year.

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Oscar Nunez as Oscar Martinez

Nunez has stuck around in the acting world since The Office ended. Most notably, in 2014 he had a recurring role on the TV show Benched, which was unfortunately canceled after just one season. But Nunez isn’t letting that stop him and he’s already appearing in the upcoming film The 33, based on a true story of 33 miners that got trapped underground for 69 days. When not acting, he’s busy taking care of his 2 year old daughter with his wife Ursula Whittaker.

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B.J. Novak as Ryan Howard

An office temp no more, Novak is a big shot writer and actor now. Since The Office ended he’s had recurring roles on The Mindy Project and The Newsroom, and has been busy appearing in hit films like The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Saving Mr. Banks. He also recently wrote a highly acclaimed children’s book called The Book With No Pictures.

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Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor

Since leaving Kelly Kapoor behind, Kaling has gone on to great success in her own show The Mindy Project, which she writes, stars in, and produces. She’ll also got to have a mini-Office reunion when she voiced a character alongside Phyllis Smith in Pixar’s Inside Out. She plays “Disgust” which I think Kelly Kapoor would be very proud of.

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Ed Helms as Andy Bernard

Since The Office ended, Helms has enjoyed roles in a number of TV shows like Tiny Commando, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and The One Percent. He’s also voicing Captain Underpants in the 2017 movie version of the beloved comic.

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Paul Lieberstein as Toby Flenderson

In real life Lieberstein is no Toby Flenderson. He leads a busy life as a hot shot television producer, and people will actually let him finish the sentences he starts. Most recently he was executive producer for six episodes of The Newsroom in 2014. He also appeared on an episode of Bad Teacher, and in a couple of episodes of The Newsroom as Richard Westbrook, but producing seems to be more a focus than acting at this point.

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Craig Robinson as Darryl Philbin

Robinson has had a robust career since The Office. Recently he starred in Hot Tub Time Machine 2 as well as the upcoming films Zeroville and Lost in Austen. He also has a starring role in the new TV series Mr. Robinson, which is about a musician transitioning from a life on the road to a life as a middle school music teacher.

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Ellie Kemper as Erin Hannon

The actress moved from playing the bubbly receptionist to playing the bubbly Kimmy Schmidt in the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. If you haven’t seen it yet, go watch it now because Kemper is flawless, and it’s just a sign of all the great things to come from her in the future.

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Melora Hardin as Jan Levinson

Michael’s ex-boss and ex-girlfriend no more, Hardin has made a name for herself in the television industry. Most notably since The Office’s end, she had a recurring role in Amazon’s series Transparent. Aside from acting, Hardin is focusing on her singing career and touring around the country. (Yes, that was really her singing on The Office all those times).

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David Denman as Roy Anderson

Denman’s TV career blossomed after The Office. He had a recurring role on Parenthood (where he almost ruined Joelia!) as well as stints on several shows from How to Get Away With Murder to True Detective. You can catch him in the comedy Is That a Gun in Your Pocket due out this year. He’ll also be playing a sniper in Michael Bay’s upcoming film 13 Hours.

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Amy Ryan as Holly Flax

After sailing into her future with Michael Scott, Amy Ryan rejoined the real world. Since the end of her time on the show, Ryan has appeared in a few movies like Escape Plan and Birdman. Soon she’s appearing in the 2015 adaptation of your childhood favorite Goosebumps, and she’ll be seen opposite Tom Hanks in Steven Spielberg’s Cold War film Bridge of Spies, which is due out this year.

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