Before Jenna Fischer was cast as Dunder Mifflin Scranton's receptionist Pam Beesly on The Office, a number of other experienced actresses were up for the role. Fischer has gone on to work on a number of other projects but she will always be remembered as Pam. The character, however, could have turned out much differently had the part went to someone else.
The character of Pam was based on Dawn Tinsley, the receptionist from the original UK version of The Office. Pam was extremely shy and passive during her time as the receptionist. She was stuck in a longterm engagement with Roy Anderson before recognizing that she was in love with her coworker, Jim Halpert. As time went on, their relationship evolved as did Pam's confidence at the paper company. Pam eventually became a saleswoman and the mother of two children after her marriage to Jim.
When Greg Daniels was developing an American adaptation of The Office, he wanted Pam to share many of the same traits as her UK counterpart. This became a priority while casting the role. Fischer was one of many actresses to threw their hat in the ring. Mary Lynn Rajskub and Kathryn Hahn both auditioned in the early stages of the casting process. Fellow actresses Anne Dudek and Ever Carradine also reportedly tried out for Pam. Even more interesting is the fact that Angela Kinsey originally auditioned for Pam, but her personality wasn't a fit so she was given the role of Angela Martin instead. It wasn't until Fischer walked into the auditions did the producers realize they had their Pam.
Why Jenna Fischer Was Cast As Pam In The Office
On the surface, Pam's character seemed boring due to the fact that she was stuck in a job that didn't challenge her. She wasn't very chatty unless she was in the presence of Jim, her office crush. While auditioning for Pam, Fischer had to bore the casting director with little to no talking and short answers. She also showed up to the audition in typical office attire and a conservative amount of makeup. The back-and-forth dialogue, or lack thereof, totally won over Daniels and his team.
Over time, Pam evolved as more layers of the character were unveiled. Fischer greatly helped with this process since the actress had a history of creating a vivid backstory for her character, especially in the early seasons. This helped her better understand Pam and actually gave the writers ideas of specific details to add to subplots. When The Office debuted, Pam was the only female character considered a series lead. Fischer helped grow the series and served as a primary character until the series ended after nine seasons. At one point, Pam and Jim were even considered for their own spinoff, but the main series didn't want to lose two big characters. It's clear that Fischer still cherishes her time on The Office with her current podcast dedicated to the series, Office Ladies, alongside former co-star, Angela Kinsey.