NBC's The Office made stars overnight out of the various cast members. All of them had been working actors for years, appearing in bit parts in movies and TV shows before being fortunate enough to land a role on a show that would change their lives and television itself.
Before actors get a dream job on a long-running show like The Office, they are just trying to do what they love and hopefully pay the bills. Before The Office made them stars, several of them had memorable appearances in other movies and TV shows that paved the way for what was to come.
Oscar Nunez - Curb Your Enthusiasm
Oscar Nunez spent many years as a working actor before getting his big break on The Office. Before playing Oscar the accountant, he appeared in small roles on shows like Malcolm In The Middle and 24. However, his most memorable pre-Office role was in the first season of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
In the episode, Larry David is short on money and can't pay for his parking, so he tells the parking attendant he'll pay her back. When he returns, Oscar is now maintaining the booth, and despite his protests, takes money from Larry to give to the first attendant. However, Larry confronts Oscar when he discovers that the first attendant never received that money. It's a very funny subplot and showcases what a good actor can accomplish with a small part.
Melora Hardin - Friends
Before playing Jan Levinson on The Office, Melora Hardin had been in the business a very long time. She was even initially cast as Jennifer, Marty McFly's girlfriend in Back To The Future. However, at the time, Eric Stoltz was cast as Marty McFly, but he was eventually fired and recast with Michael J. Fox. Unfortunately for Hardin, she was recast too after producers deemed her too tall for Fox.
After that, Melora popped up in The Rocketeer as a singer and in the Tower Of Terror movie. However, she had a memorable appearance on Friends' first season as Ross' date who likes to talk dirty. Unfortunately, Ross' monkey Marcel gives her some trouble when he attaches himself to her hair.
Leslie David Baker - That '70s Show
Leslie David Baker is famous for playing lovable curmudgeon Stanley Hudson. Prior to The Office, Baker actually got his start on Office Max commercials while he was teaching special education and getting his Masters. However, audiences got a preview of Stanley several years before The Office premiered.
After moving to Los Angeles, he began getting more bit parts and one of them was on That '70s Show where he plays a very Stanley-esque janitor who doesn't seem to care about any of Eric Forman's problems. Baker has recently tried to get a spinoff about retired Stanley going, but it has yet to come to fruition.
Craig Robinson - Friends
Audiences loved Craig Robinson as Darryl, the warehouse manager, and it was so much fun seeing his role expand over the series' run. Robinson started out as a stand-up comedian before landing small parts on Arrested Development and The Bernie Mac Show. However, one memorable early appearance was on Friends' final season, as a clerk that Phoebe encounters when she wants to change her name.
It's a short scene but Robinson made it his own when he pitched the idea of telling Phoebe to "get out of my line" at the end of the scene. He credits Lisa Kudrow for encouraging him and giving him the confidence to pitch the funny line, and it ultimately became the scene's funniest moment. In 2017, Robinson and Kudrow would reteam as a married couple in the movie Table 19.
B.J. Novak - Punk'd
Funnily enough, Office co-stars B.J Novak and John Krasinski actually graduated High School together and while students, they co-authored a play. After graduation, Krasinski pursued acting and Novak pursued stand-up comedy, eventually landing some writing gigs.
Novak's biggest claim to fame before The Office was as Ashton Kutcher's lead accomplice on the hidden camera prank show, Punk'd. In one memorable episode, Novak played unsuspecting Hillary Duff's driving instructor, which escalates to road rage and the student car getting stolen. Eventually, The Office brought Novak and Krasinski back together where Novak was cast as Ryan and hired as a writer too.
David Denman - Big Fish
David Denman has been a working actor for years, appearing in television shows like ER and The X-Files and movies like The Replacements. Before Denman played Pam Beesley's temperamental fiancee, Roy, he played Sandra Templeton's temperamental fiancee, Don, in Tim Burton's Big Fish.
Similar to The Office, Edward Bloom (Ewan McGregor) falls in love with Sandra, who's engaged to Don. When Don finds out, he beats up Edward and Sandra breaks off their engagement. Denman has since reteamed with his Office co-star John Krasinski for Michael Bay's 13 Hours, about the Benghazi attack.
Jenna Fischer - Undeclared
Jenna Fischer actually gained experience for the role of receptionist Pam Beesley by working as an administrative assistant for many years while she was a struggling actress. She began getting bit parts in movies and TV shows like Cold Case, That '70s Show, and Employee Of The Month. She even starred on the pilot episode of Judd Apatow's underrated cult classic Undeclared as a senior who refuses to go to freshman Steven's party and later sleeps with his roommate, Lloyd.
Jenna Fischer actually created a mockumentary of her own before being cast on The Office. In 2004, she and her then-husband James Gunn wrote and directed the independent film Lollilove, which they made for just $1,500 and it played at several film festivals.
John Krasinski - Kinsey
John Krasinski moved to New York after college and started landing various acting jobs. One of which was a small role in the Oscar-nominated film Kinsey, directed by Bill Condon and starring Liam Neeson as the famous sexologist. Krasinski has a memorable scene as one half of a married couple who seeks Dr. Kinsey's advice on their sex life, during which Krasinski's character suggests a certain sexual practice Kinsey recommends leads to medical problems. This prompts Kinsey to prove this theory wrong and expose the myths of sexuality.
Krasinski would appear briefly in another Bill Condon film years later, Dreamgirls. Since his time as Jim on The Office ended, Krasinski has proven to be a jack-of-all-trades, starring in action shows like Jack Ryan and writing and directing acclaimed films like the horror movie A Quiet Place.
Rainn Wilson - House Of 1,000 Corpses
Rainn Wilson started his career getting bit parts in movies like Galaxy Quest, Almost Famous, and a small recurring role on HBO's Six Feet Under. However, one of his first mainstream roles was a supporting part in Rob Zombie's House Of 1000 Corpses. The White Zombie singer decided to get into horror filmmaking and Corpses was his first film.
Rainn Wilson plays Bill, who along with others, are doing research for a book on roadside attractions. However, things go array and the group is taken in by a strange family, with Wilson's character Bill meeting a grisly end. The film has become a cult classic, and shortly afterward, Wilson became a star as Dwight on The Office.
Steve Carell - The Daily Show
Before The Office, Steve Carell started off in improv comedy, making his bones as a member of the Second City comedy troupe. On the road to The Office, Carell had various movie roles like Bruce Almighty, Anchorman, and various television shows like Julia Louis-Dreyfus' short-lived Watching Ellie but, before Michael Scott, Carell was best known for being a correspondent for The Daily Show With Jon Stewart from 1999 - 2005. While a correspondent, Carell ineptly reported on hot topics like religion, investing, marijuana, and more.
Audiences can find early shades of the Michael Scott character in his Daily Show appearances as his character can best be described as someone who thinks they're smart but is actually quite dumb and ignorant. Just like Michael Scott. The Daily Show would also launch future Office star Ed Helms' career as well. Since The Office ended, Carell has found immense success in movies, even garnering an Oscar nomination for Foxcatcher.