The 'Office' Role Kevin Malone Actor Brian Baumgartner Originally Auditioned for

When you think of Kevin Malone from The Office, you don’t necessarily think of the most dynamic of people, but somehow actor Brian Baumgartner made him one the most beloved characters on the series by basically being the human equivalent of a sloth. Strangely enough, that wasn’t the part he was originally up for during auditions.

The 36-year-old actor once spoke with AJC, and explained that when he first encountered Kevin, his agent introduced him as, “This guy — really there is nothing spectacular about him. You've got to take a look at him.” Baumgartner explained that he felt very drawn to the role, and knew he could do it well. This is why he was so bummed when he arrived at auditions and was given the script to audition for Stanley. He recalled:

“I was familiar with the British version of The Office and there was a character named Keith. And I knew I could do that, and that I could play the simple guy in a way that was believable and not like what you see so often, someone pretending to be simple — a caricature. So I was originally given the [lines] to audition for the role of Stanley. And I knew that was not right. So I took a risk, and when I went in to the audition, I read those [lines] as though I were Kevin. At the end of the discussion someone said, 'Why don't we give him this other character?' ... And that's how the part was won.”

The One Last Night star revealed Greg Daniels was so blown away that he was almost confused. Baumgartner remembered Daniels asked him, “’How did you do that?... It was like there was nothing happening but something was happening.'”

It is obvious what was happening now: Dunder Mifflin magic.