‘The Office’: Which Scene Made Steve Carell and Amy Ryan Feel Like Their ‘Worst Nightmare Coming True’
Within the nine seasons of The Office, there are plenty of odd couples. However, one of the most popular pairs is Michael Scott and Holly Flax. The couple shared an incredible rapport, somehow valuing the traits in on another that others find cringey. Portrayed by Steve Carell and Amy Ryan, the couple had some fun and truly hilarious moments together throughout the series.
Michael and Holly had undeniable chemistry. The pair seemed to understand each other’s unique humor and anticipate each other’s needs with ease. A similar thing could be said about Carell and Ryan. The Office actors complemented each other well and elevated already hilarious scenes with their fantastic comedic skills.
Steve Carell and Amy Ryan were both great at improvising on ‘The Office’
Fans of The Office likely know of Carell’s penchant for improvisation. As he trained with The Second City he had a knack for dreaming up hilarious bits and antics on the fly. While Ryan didn’t have the same formal training for improv, she kept up with Carell, and the pair were often able to riff off of each other.
In an interview with Office Tally, Jen Celotta (writer and executive producer for The Office) spoke of the chemistry between Ryan and Carell. “Steve is a master improviser and one of the things that’s fun about Amy is that she’s really very good at it too so it’s fun to watch them come up with things so effortlessly (things that would take us a while to write!)” Celotta shared.
The skit in the ‘Company Picnic’ episode was a bit awkward for Ryan and Carell to film
One episode of The Office where Carell and Ryan’s chemistry is particularly palpable is in “Company Picnic”. In the episode, the pair work together on a skit, which they present to the entire company. The actors had a ton of fun thinking of ways to enhance their performance. However, they experienced an unexpected surprise when they had to perform in front of a ton of extras.
Fans will recall that part of Michael and Holly’s skit was called Slumdunder Mifflinaire, a play on Slumdog Millionaire. As Michael and Holly act out the torture of the scene, other Dunder Mifflin employees stare back completely unamused. This silence and lack of reactions made the scene more awkward and more hilarious. However, it was a bit of a nightmare for Ryan and Carell to film.
‘The Office’ actors were thrown for a loop when the extras gave them no reaction
The actors had no idea that the extras portraying Dunder Mifflin employees had been given specific instructions. They were told not to react to the Slumdunder Mifflin skit. So when The Office actors were giving their performance, they felt a bit discomfited by the fact that nobody was laughing at their bit.
“The extras were instructed not to laugh, and a funny thing happened on the first take,” Celotta recalled.”Steve and Amy went out and gave their all to their skit performance, and then Amy said she was a little thrown because the audience wasn’t giving them anything (the audience was told not to react at all but Steve and Amy didn’t know that) — so there was a bit of actual stage fright/worst nightmare coming true for them when you perform and no one in the audience even giggles a little. It was fun to watch and seemed so real.”
We can certainly see how The Office cast members were unnerved by the scene. However, the lack of reaction from the audience actually made the moment more realistic. Furthermore, it was even funnier for viewers of the hit comedy.
