Summary
- Brian Baumgartner feared being typecast after his role as Kevin on The Office, but he ultimately embraced it and found success on Cameo.
- Fans were surprised to hear Baumgartner's real voice in a podcast interview, as they were used to hearing him with Kevin's voice.
- Baumgartner credits the writing on The Office for his success and enjoyed the freedom to improvise within the scripted scenes.
Everything about The Office was so different and in truth, the show took a major risk at the time, breaking the mold of what a comedy should be like. There was no audience or laugh track, yet the brilliant cast and writing team made it work and then some.
Fans continue to binge-watch the series religiously, even the likes of Billie Eilish still can't get enough of The Office, her knowledge is truly remarkable in regard to the show.
Brain Baumgartner was a major bright spot in his role of Kevin Malone. In the following, we're going to take a closer look at his time on the show, and the fears he had about playing the role of Kevin for so long in the comedy series. In addition, we'll reveal why fans were buzzing after a podcast moment with the actor went viral, showcasing his actual voice.
Brian Baumgartner Feared He Would Get Typecast After The Office
Brain Baumgartner completely changed his career on The Office with the role of Kevin Malone. Although it came with lots of success, the actor was candid with People, stating that he tried his best to distance himself from the comedy series in fear that he would get typecast, especially when looking to pursue his career with other roles.
The actor revealed, "I wanted to distance myself. I thought, 'I don't want to be Kevin Malone forever.'"
"It all just built this momentum," Baumgartner said. "Which was like, 'Well, I don't think I'm going to be escaping this one anytime soon.'"
Typecast or not, things turned out to be just fine as in 2021, Kevin was among the leads on Cameo, making a healthy profit thanks to his time on the series.
In addition, the actor completely understood why he received so much fanfare from the role. Longevity was a major reason.
"The Office being 10 years, nine seasons, I mean, I was essentially on the show the entirety of my thirties," he said.
"I mean, it was a decade. To give people perspective, that's like progressing from high school through college and then a couple of more years," he added. "It's such a long period of your life and you establish such deep relationships and obviously, such close identification with those characters."
The actor did a tremendous job in his role, so much so that fans never realized his actual voice.
Brian Baumgartner Disclosed Information About The Pilot Episode, But Fans Couldn't Help But Notice His Changing Voice
Baumgartner told the fascinating tale of his start on The Office. According to the actor, the main cast would arrive earlier to set, and was told to just act as if they were actually working for 30-minutes. Ultimately, this was used in promotional work, as well as into the intro at the start.
Although the reveal was very interesting for fans, they just couldn't help but notice Brian's real voice.
Fans were all over it in the comments of the YouTube Short posted by Pardon My Take Podcast.
"So funny hearing him talk like he doesn’t have brain damage."
"It’s so weird hearing him talk in a normal voice."
"I like how the voice he did for Kevin is just his voice with a good amount of IQ points taken off lmfao."
The interview moment can be seen in the video below.
Baumgartner's work on the series will be remembered for years and years to come.
Brian Baumgartner Had A Blast On The Show And Credits The Writers For His Success
In the actor's opinion, the show created a different genre entirely, as opposed to just another comedy. Brian had great success on the show, but credits the writing as a major reason as to why.
He reveals with IGN, "With my background in theater in terms of ensemble and creating material, I'm totally comfortable with," he said about doing improv work.
"The show is a hundred percent scripted, but in all of the scenes we are given some freedom. We can change certain words, to extend scenes longer. Every episode is obviously a little different, but we are definitely given the ability to add and change things. As long as the story stays the same."
Although he'll be viewed as Kevin for the majority of his career, the actor is still grateful for the opportunity and success that followed.
"I consider it a blessing, especially the amazing fans who talk about how The Office gave them comfort, how it helped them during a difficult time," Baumgartner said. "I mean, countless stories, way more than I can mention. That's an amazing thing."
The way he helped out so many fans will only continue, as millions continue to binge-watch the show on the regular, while it is also constantly creating news fans with the different generations. The show will be sticking around for a long time.
