The Hilarious Character Break That Made It Into An Episode Of The Office
Type in "'The Office' outtakes" into YouTube, and chances are you'll find yourself wandering down a hilarious rabbit hole. The endless clips available suggest that perhaps the hardest job at Dunder Mifflin was trying to keep it together in the dozens of scenes that delighted fans for nine seasons. With that said, "The Office" cast was comprised of actors who took their work seriously and avoided breaking character, or what the British call corpsing, but sometimes only barely.
Pay close attention, and you're guaranteed to see at least one character fighting the urge to succumb to the funny. Even some guest stars can be seen holding in the reaction to the endless bits of hilarity that unfolded (we're looking at you, Idris Elba). Incredibly though, one of the biggest culprits in the show was John Krasinski, who played the regularly reality-checking employee, Jim Halpert. Avoiding the camera as much as possible, one instance saw the would-be director of "The Quiet Place" fighting to stay silent in the midst of a scene.
John Krasinski fights cracking up in 'Woman's Appreciation'
In "Women's Appreciation," Season three, Episode 22, John Krasinski makes a huge effort to not be seen cracking up on camera in the middle of a rant from Steve Carell. The episode saw Phyllis Vance (Phyllis Smith) get understandably shaken after suffering an encounter with a flasher in the parking lot. As good friends would, the rest of the office consoles her, only for Michael to be way off base with his reaction, as usual.
Seeing a very skewed funny side to the whole scenario, he makes a number of lewd and sexist jokes about the event which land like a lead balloon with his audience. Taking heat from his employees, he goes on the defensive, eventually digging himself deeper into a hole that Krasinski can't help but laugh at. Watch closely, and you can see him cover his hand and fight to look at the camera as Carell goes full Scott, making the scene all the more hilarious. Well, who can blame him for working in that place for so long?