All About Kevin Malone

Summary

Podcast Summary: Office Ladies – "All About Kevin Malone"

Release Date: January 29, 2025

In the “All About Kevin Malone” episode of Office Ladies, hosts Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey delve deep into the beloved character Kevin Malone from The Office. Joined by special guest Brian Baumgartner, who portrays Kevin, the trio explores Kevin’s intricate backstory, fan theories, and memorable moments from the show. This comprehensive episode offers fans an enriched understanding of Kevin, blending on-screen details with behind-the-scenes anecdotes.

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1. Exploring Kevin’s Backstory

The episode kicks off with a fan question from Daria R. in Port Perry, Ontario, questioning Kevin’s true origins, sparked by conflicting statements in the show. Jenna notes, “[Kevin] first applied for a job in the warehouse, but Michael hired him as an accountant because he had, quote, a feeling about him” (03:54). They reference the show bible, revealing specific details like Kevin’s address and vehicle but acknowledging the lack of information about his hometown.

Notable Quotes:

• Jenna Fischer (05:23): “Kevin always sets the thermostat to 69 degrees and his favorite candy is M&Ms.”
• Angela Kinsey (05:01): “Accounting is considered both a science and an art.”

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2. Kevin Malone: The Secret Genius Theory

Angela introduces a fan theory suggesting Kevin might be a secret genius, sparking an engaging discussion. They analyze various episodes that hint at Kevin's hidden intellect, such as his prowess in poker and board games. Brian shares insights, saying, “Kevin misses that” (36:35) when referring to the camaraderie on set, underscoring the depth of his character beyond the typical goofball persona.

Notable Quotes:

• Angela Kinsey (32:13): “What makes a good poker player? They are disciplined, patient, confident...”
• Brian Baumgartner (36:27): “He adapted to a different playing style. He knew how to bluff. He maintained emotional control, and he got all their money.”

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3. Behind the Scenes with Brian Baumgartner

Brian Baumgartner provides exclusive behind-the-scenes stories, discussing how Kevin’s character was developed to break stereotypes. He explains the intentional contradictions in Kevin’s portrayal, such as his appearance versus his hidden talents. Brian also reveals pitches he made, like Kevin and Aaron’s potential romance, highlighting the collaborative creative process behind the show.

Notable Quotes:

• Brian Baumgartner (43:22): “Kevin was attempting as best he can in his Dockers and his plaid-ish very ordinary jackets. He has his tie on. It’s his attempt to put himself together.”
• Jenna Fischer (50:31): “He plays both the drums and is the lead singer in a band, which are notoriously difficult roles to perform.”

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4. Memorable Kevin Moments and Quotes

The hosts reminisce about iconic Kevin moments that have resonated with fans. From his infamous chili spill to his heartfelt stand-up in various episodes, Kevin’s moments blend humor with unexpected depth. They highlight scenes that showcase Kevin’s loyalty and genuine nature, affirming his role as a central character who adds emotional weight to the comedic narrative.

Notable Quotes:

• Brian Baumgartner (12:17): “The trick is to undercook the onions. Everybody is going to get to know each other in the pot.”
• Angela Kinsey (23:04): “Mr. Halpert, you're obviously not in San Juan, Puerto Rico.”

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5. Kevin’s Culinary Passion: The Famous Chili

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to Kevin’s love for cooking, particularly his chili. Jenna and Angela savor Kevin’s chili, sharing personal experiences and favorite recipes. Brian enthusiastically describes his chili-making process, emphasizing the meticulous preparation that makes “Kevin’s Famous Chili” a fan favorite.

Notable Quotes:

• Brian Baumgartner (12:17): “The trick is to undercook the onions. Everybody is going to get to know each other in the pot.”
• Angela Kinsey (12:17): “Kevin's Famous Chili from Brian's cookbook is seriously good.”

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6. Audience Engagement and Fan Interactions

Throughout the episode, Jenna and Angela address multiple fan questions, reflecting the strong community surrounding The Office. They discuss favorite Kevin lines and moments, encouraging listeners to share their own experiences and insights. This interactive segment fosters a deeper connection between the hosts and the audience, celebrating the enduring legacy of The Office.

Notable Quotes:

• Lauren G. (25:11): “Kevin is one of my favorite characters. This moment is a humanizing moment and it shows that Kevin is not just the office goofball.”
• Jenna Fischer (27:48): “He just seeks laughter and connection rather than personal gain.”

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7. Conclusion: Kevin Malone’s Enduring Appeal

The episode wraps up by reaffirming Kevin Malone as a multi-dimensional character whose simplicity and loyalty have endeared him to fans worldwide. Jenna and Angela express their appreciation for Brian’s contributions and highlight the importance of Kevin’s character in enriching the show’s dynamic.

Notable Quotes:

• Jenna Fischer (29:23): “We are all driven by the search for better. But when it comes to hiring, the best way to search for a candidate isn't to search at all.”
• Angela Kinsey (65:35): “Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey.”

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Key Takeaways

• Kevin Malone is more than just the comedic relief; he possesses hidden depths that contribute significantly to the narrative of The Office.
• Brian Baumgartner offers valuable insights into Kevin’s character development, emphasizing intentional character traits that defy stereotypes.
• Fan theories, such as Kevin being a secret genius, are explored and partially substantiated through episodes and character behavior.
• Kevin’s chili remains one of the most iconic and beloved elements of his character, symbolizing his unique blend of humor and warmth.

This episode of Office Ladies serves as a heartfelt tribute to Kevin Malone, celebrating his role in making The Office a timeless classic.

Transcript

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

Started.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's gabgabb.com officeladies gab.com officeladies terms and conditions apply.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'm Jenna Fisher.

[Angela Kinsey]

And I'm Angela Kinsey.

[Jenna Fischer]

We were on the Office together and we're best friends and now we're doing the ultimate Office Lovers podcast just for you.

[Angela Kinsey]

Each Week, we will dive deeper into the world of the Office with exclusive interviews, behind the scenes details, and lots of BFF stories.

[Jenna Fischer]

We're the Office Lady 6.0. Hello.

[Angela Kinsey]

Hi there. We have a really Fun Office Lady 6.0.

[Jenna Fischer]

Today we do. It is all about Kevin Malone with special guest Brian Baumgartner.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

In the studio.

[Jenna Fischer]

In studio. Well, I want to kick things off with this fan question from Daria R. In Port Perry, Ontario, Canada. Daria asks, where is Kevin really from? There are so many misconceptions. In one episode, Michael says, quote, men from Scranton, when referring to Kevin. But in Delivery Part two, Kevin says he's not from Scranton. What is with that? Is there anything in the show Bible?

[Angela Kinsey]

Seriously, what's up with that?

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, there's nothing specific about where he is from in the show bible. It does list his current address, which is very specific. It's 1668 Summit Point. It also lists his vehicle, a silver CRV.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, I could see him driving a silver CRV.

[Jenna Fischer]

You could?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, he does.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, there you go. So that's good.

[Jenna Fischer]

It also lists his job as accountant. However, in Scott's Tots, remember, we learned he first applied for a job in the warehouse, but Michael hired him as an accountant because he had, quote, a feeling about him. But then he does have a diploma by his desk that says he got his Associate of Science degree in accounting from an online university called Penn Foster College. Penn Foster is a real college where people can get their degree online.

[Angela Kinsey]

What is the science of accounting? Is that like the math course I took in college called Ideas of Mathematics?

[Jenna Fischer]

Is accounting a science degree? There's like, you can get your Bachelor of Arts or your Bachelor of Science. So does accounting, because it's part of math, fall under science? Are these like. You know what I mean? Like, I have a theater degree that fell under Bachelor of Arts.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Accounting is considered both a science and an art.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, did you Google that, or is that your personal opinion?

[Brian Baumgartner]

No, no, that's what Google has to say.

[Angela Kinsey]

Thank you, Sam.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay. There you go.

[Jenna Fischer]

So, Daria, I'm sorry I can't answer your specific question, but you did cause me to open up the show Bible, and I felt that I should do a show Bible summary of Kevin Malone.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I was hoping you would, so yay, Daria.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'll have you know the very first line of Kevin's show Bible says, quote, suffers from anal fissures.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, Kevin.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's the very first thing the show.

[Angela Kinsey]

Bible tells us about that lead off.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's what it says, but here's your summary. Kevin always sets the thermostat to 69.

[Angela Kinsey]

Degrees and then giggles.

[Jenna Fischer]

His favorite candy is M&MS, and he wins the contest for putting the most in his mouth at one time.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's what she said.

[Jenna Fischer]

He loves them so much, he hid them from the Stanford transfer employees. He says he just cannot stop himself when it comes to M&Ms. His favorite lunch is Cup O Noodles. His favorite movie is American Pie 2.

[Angela Kinsey]

Not the first one, the second one.

[Jenna Fischer]

The second one.

[Angela Kinsey]

Very specific.

[Jenna Fischer]

He requires a magazine when giving a urine sample. He also takes off his tie when urinating. And he doesn't wash his hands after using the restroom. We have a lot of information.

[Angela Kinsey]

Why there's so much bathroom info, I don't know.

[Jenna Fischer]

On his bathroom habit.

[Angela Kinsey]

Why does he take off his tie?

[Jenna Fischer]

There was an episode, I guess, where he reveals he takes off his tie and he doesn't want it to dip in the toilet.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my gosh. I don't want the visual image in my brain.

[Jenna Fischer]

He was once engaged to be married to a woman named Stacy.

[Angela Kinsey]

Stacy?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, who has a daughter. Stacy was the fourth woman he had proposed to, and he secretly considered her his second choice.

[Angela Kinsey]

Him and Andy Bernard have a lot in common, actually. Love and romance.

[Jenna Fischer]

After Kevin and Stacey break up, he asks out Lynn, but we find out later she just wanted to be friends. He plays drums and sings in the band Scrantonicity, but they had a falling out and so now his band is Scrantonicity too. This leads me to a fan catch from Amelia T in Bogota, Colombia. Amelia says we need to get to the bottom of this, meaning Kevin's band. In the extended cut of Basketball around the eight Minute Mark, Kevin tells Dwight that he is in a Steve Miller tribute band, not a Police cover band. Are we to believe he switches band genres at some point or is this a continuity error? Well, Amelia, I'll tell you. Yes, he says Steve Miller tribute band in that deleted scene from Basketball, which is now in the Superfan episode. It was always the writer's intention to have Kevin's band be a Steve Miller tribute band. I remember that he tells Katie in Hot Girl that he's in a Steve Miller tribute band.

[Angela Kinsey]

She's not a fan.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's right. But when we filmed Casino Night, which is the episode where Pam and Jim watch videos of his band, we couldn't get permission from Steve Miller Band to play their songs.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, they said, uh, we don't want to be on the Office, so we.

[Jenna Fischer]

Had to change it to the Police. That's what happened? You want more Kevin info?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right. I mean, we need to get to know Kevin very well.

[Angela Kinsey]

This is all about Kevin Malone.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I'm giving you all we know.

[Angela Kinsey]

Give it all to me.

[Jenna Fischer]

Kevin won the 2002-2500 no limit deuce to seven draw tournament at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. He's good at basketball. He's also good at trivia night. He is an avid gambler. He bets on sports. In fact, he uses petty cash to gamble at the golf course. But the thing he thinks he does best is making chili. He has also cooked his way through Julia Child's cookbook and part of the Twilight cookbook. He has an adopted dog named Ruby. And Kevin is also a loyal friend. He stood up to the state senator when he was mean to Oscar and Angela. He's the one who noticed when Andy was suffering from a mental breakdown. He is, however, not a great accountant. He invented the number 11 and was eventually fired for incompetence. And Daria, as far as family, there is nothing in the show bible. So we're going to have to look at some supplemental office content. There isn't much, but in the webisode, the podcast, Kevin says he is Irish. And there is a deleted scene from Andy's play that, Angela, you mentioned when we broke down that episode where we learned Kevin has a sister who is actually in the play.

[Angela Kinsey]

In the play. Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Let's listen.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Hi, Kevin.

[Angela Kinsey]

Hi, Stuart.

[Jenna Fischer]

This is my brother, Kevin.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Hi.

[Angela Kinsey]

I can't believe you came to every show.

[Brian Baumgartner]

You were good.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, thank you. See, you never come to anything I ever do. So what's the change?

[Brian Baumgartner]

We need to put mom in a.

[Angela Kinsey]

Home so we learn a little bit there about his sister and his mom.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, but that's all there is. We only meet her through that deleted scene and it's probably why she didn't make it into the show bible. And listen, we do ask Brian about this in our interview coming up later in the episode. And he does share some reasons why we don't know more about Kevin's backstory. So stay tuned.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I love me some show Bible lady.

[Jenna Fischer]

It always delivers.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I thought we can't talk about all about Kevin Malone without discussing that classic chilly, cold open written by Aaron Scher. You guys know it's the scene that kicks off season five episode Casual Friday. Brian once said in an interview that this scene is quote, about an ordinary guy who doesn't do a lot well, but he does chilli well. And obviously it doesn't Succeed. But you hear in his voice how excited he is to be sharing this thing that he does well. And then Kevin, of course, says, it's probably the thing I do best. Brian said he gets asked about this scene all the time, of all the things that he's done on the office.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, he wrote a whole chili cookbook.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, he did. He did. And, you know, I have traveled a lot with Brian. We often got paired up to travel, and it is something people just really connect with him about. And they have put Kevin spilling the chili. I have seen it on a tattoo, on someone's leg.

[Jenna Fischer]

Same.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. On T shirts, on baby onesies, on a birthday cake. It's just. It's very popular. And I thought, you know, we can't do this episode without actually having Kevin's chili. Brian put it in his chili cookbook. It's called Kevin's Famous Chili. I asked Josh if he could make it last night, and he did. And it's really good.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, the way he describes it with the onions and the things like.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, I thought we had to hear it.

[Brian Baumgartner]

At least once a year, I like to bring in some of my Kevin's Famous chili. The trick is to undercook the onions. Everybody is going to get to know each other in the pot. I'm serious about this stuff. I'm up the night before pressing garlic and dicing whole tomatoes. I toast my own ancho chilies. It's a recipe passed down from Malone's for generations. It's probably the thing I do best.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, I'm so excited you told me that Josh was doing this, and I wrote you back, and I said, this is my lunch today. I packed no lunch. This is what I want to eat.

[Angela Kinsey]

Please bring this chili in. I do want to tell you guys, we talked in such depth about this scene, how we made this scene in the episode Casual Friday. So if you haven't heard it, it's a great listen.

[Jenna Fischer]

It is. We got a lot of good inside scoop from Aaron Scher and also from Brian.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, well, I did bring chili today. I brought Kevin's famous chili out of Brian's cookbook. Seriously good chili cookbook. I'm gonna go heat it up.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right, well, why don't we take a break, and when we come back, we're gonna eat some chili.

[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

All right, we are back, and we are eating Kevin's famous chili. Thank you, Josh.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know, it's really good.

[Jenna Fischer]

Really good.

[Angela Kinsey]

There's something about chili that just makes you feel cozy, doesn't it?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. This has, like, exactly the right amount of spice for me.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mm.

[Jenna Fischer]

I get a little kick, but it's not overpowering. And what is this? Is this the ale? Doesn't it? Calls for lager, right? Is that what this taste is? I don't know. I like it.

[Brian Baumgartner]

The thinly diced onions really make a difference.

[Angela Kinsey]

You know what? They all got to know each other in the pot.

[Jenna Fischer]

They did, and they're making me very happy.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mm.

[Jenna Fischer]

Mm. I think we should mention, Cassie, you are unable to try this chili because you're joining us on Zoom today. I'm so sorry. Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Is it vegetarian? I was gonna say, Cassidy, if you were here, we would have made a vegetarian option. Oh, yeah. It is not vegetarian. Kevin's recipe is not.

[Jenna Fischer]

I would assume not. Well, that was incredible and very satisfying. And I thank Josh. And I thank Brian Baumgartner for putting that in his cookbook.

[Angela Kinsey]

And Kevin.

[Jenna Fischer]

And Kevin.

[Angela Kinsey]

And Aaron Scher, I guess, for writing the Cold Open. There's lots of people to thank.

[Jenna Fischer]

Ah. All right, well, I'm going to put this away now, and I am going to get into, I guess, what I'm calling my deep dive area of interest. We each picked one.

[Angela Kinsey]

We each picked a topic about Kevin we wanted to explore.

[Jenna Fischer]

I wanted to explore the evolution of Kevin. Oh, there's a lot of articles about it. We got a lot of fan mail about it. So I was really intrigued.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, it sounds like a very fancy title. The Evolution of Kevin.

[Jenna Fischer]

Thank you.

[Angela Kinsey]

You're welcome.

[Jenna Fischer]

Thank you so much. You know, initially the character of Kevin was mostly used for cutaway gags or like funny one liners. He was painted with a pretty broad brush. I was going through old episodes and there's that episode from season two, drug testing, and it's where Dwight is questioning Kevin about the joint that was found in the parking lot. I thought that this was a really good example of how the character of Kevin was used early on. So I thought we could listen to it.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Okay, let's go over some of these symptoms of marijuana use, shall we? You tell me who this sounds like. Slow moving, inattentive, dull. Constantly snacking. Shows a lack of motivation.

[Jenna Fischer]

Hey, that's it. His line is, hey, it's the same way he says.

[Angela Kinsey]

Stacy. Yeah, sorry, I'm still eating chili. I'm sorry.

[Jenna Fischer]

We were supposed to put that down, but it's hard to resist.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. Also, I know there's some people who really have a hard time listening to other people eat or chew. It's like a thing. So many apologies. I'm going to stop eating now.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay. If you can.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay. We got this fan question from Leighton R in Folsom, California, who says Kevin has some of the funniest one liners on the show. Which Kevin line or moment still makes you laugh the most when you think back on it? Well, I thought this was a great question. And so we threw it out to the group and we thought everybody could share. Sam, Cassie, and who wants to go first?

[Brian Baumgartner]

I'll go first.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Brian Baumgartner]

So I'm a big fan of when Kevin first introduces why he's been going into Jim's office. Here, I'll play it for you.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Jim's gone on his honeymoon, so I started borrowing his office to fart in. Then one day I came in and I just stayed. Cause this place is awesome. It feels like home now. Even better than my home. My home sucks. It's perfectly Kevin. It's funny and so sad, so tragic.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, it's interesting because my favorite is from the episode right before from Jim and Pam's wedding. Let me set it up for you. He's at the hotel and he's wearing his toupee and he's very proudly walking down the hall. Here's what he says.

[Brian Baumgartner]

What an awesome party. The best wedding I've ever been to. I got six numbers. One more would have been a complete telephone number.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, I got. He got six individual numbers from women.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

One more and he would have had someone to call.

[Angela Kinsey]

He was so close.

[Jenna Fischer]

So close. Cassie, do you want to Go. Next.

[Angela Kinsey]

Sure.

[Jenna Fischer]

There's a lot of great Kevin moments, and any scene with Kevin and Holly always cracks me up. But one we haven't talked about is in Mafia, how he freezes Jim's credit card while on his honeymoon with Pam at Puerto Rico. That's so funny.

[Angela Kinsey]

That is so great. I forgot about that.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Hello?

[Angela Kinsey]

Hello, Mr. Halpert. I'm calling from the identity theft department at Capital One. We've detected some unusual activity on your credit card.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Oh, man. Do you think it was stolen?

[Angela Kinsey]

First, would you mind verifying your home address?

[Brian Baumgartner]

Yes. 383 Lynden Ave. Scranton, Pennsylvania.

[Angela Kinsey]

And may I have the last four digits of your Social Security?

[Brian Baumgartner]

Six thousand, six hundred and fifty.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, Mr. Halpert, you're obviously not in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Wait a minute. Yes, I am.

[Angela Kinsey]

I'm going to go ahead and put a hold on your card.

[Brian Baumgartner]

No, that I. I think that we should let the criminal use the card a little longer.

[Angela Kinsey]

Very funny, sir. We'll get a new card after you right away.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Nope.

[Angela Kinsey]

Have a nice day. And thank you. His whimper at the end.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

So good. Well, you guys, my favorite moment isn't so much like a funny line. It's more of a moment when he stood up for Angela. You sort of mentioned this earlier, Jenna, in your show Bible. It's from the episode Vandalism. And, you know, the senator and Angela have had all their fancy friends over to their house, and they're getting this group photo with baby Philip. And Oscar and Angela are pushing each other and fighting to be in the front of the picture. And as they leave, Kevin stands up for them to the senator. And here's the clip.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Thank you so much. Well, have we all calmed down yet?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Sorry about that.

[Angela Kinsey]

It was all my fault.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Let's all try to do better next time. Kevin, great to see you. Yeah. Thank you for the food. Oh, and also, you suck. I beg your pardon? You are like a terrible person. These guys care about you, and you're just using them. Again, the food was very good.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then Angela has a little smile.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, Ange, Lauren G. From Massachusetts wrote in, and this is also her favorite Kevin moment. Not only that, Lauren said Kevin is one of my favorite characters. Lauren thinks that that moment is a humanizing moment, and it shows that Kevin is not just the office goofball, but that he loves people and he stands up for them. Yeah, and Lauren Collider agrees with you. They actually put out an article in April of 2023 asking if Kevin was actually the heart of the office.

[Angela Kinsey]

Aw.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. And this is where we get into kind of the evolution of the character, going from a guy who does silly one liners to having so much more depth. The article points out that while Kevin may not be the smartest character, his simplicity and his genuine desire for happiness really resonated with audiences. Kevin is portrayed as a loyal friend who often lacks any kind of agenda. He just seeks laughter and connection rather than personal gain. And the article points out that while Kevin wanted to be liked, Michael kind of needed to be liked at, like, an obsessive level. And you also have characters like Dwight, Oscar, and Angela who really needed to feel superior to everybody. Jim was always kind of trying to impress Pam or make her laugh. But of all the characters, Kevin really just wants to live in the moment. Collider also points out that when Kevin accidentally found out that Oscar was having an affair with Angela's husband, he is the one who is able to keep the secret.

[Angela Kinsey]

He kept it so good.

[Jenna Fischer]

So good he kept that secret. And that if he does make a crass joke, it's never to be mean or cruel. And that, in fact, it really causes him pain to hurt anyone. And I wanted to point out one of my other favorite Kevin moments that I think really speaks to this humanizing piece of him that Brian Baumgartner played so well. And it's that moment in Chair Model when he gets our parking spaces back.

[Angela Kinsey]

And he has that talking head.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Where he says, it's just nice to win one.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. And he has a little bit of a tear up in his eye.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. So that's my deep dive into Kevin. There are so many other, like, funny one liners that I didn't even get to screen Rant Did a whole list of fan favorites. I can tell you some of them because they are fun. Oh, let's hear them from the incentive when he says me think why waste time say lot word when few word do trick from the finale. Well, well, well, well, well. That's six wells. Yeah. I love that from viewing party when he says, I wanted to eat a pig in a blanket. In a blanket. Then also this one is one of my favorites from Christmas party when he says mini cupcakes, as in the mini version of regular cupcakes, which is already a mini version of a cake. Honestly, where does it end with you people I love?

[Angela Kinsey]

Like, it takes a lot to piss Kevin off, I feel like. But that did it.

[Jenna Fischer]

And while the point of my deep dive was to point out the more tender and, I guess, sensitive parts of Kevin, I'm Gonna end with this clip. This is Kevin from pda.

[Angela Kinsey]

I don't know if anyone else feels this way. And don't get me wrong, I love Michael and Holly, and maybe I'm being overly sensitive, but. The pda.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Yes, the freaking pda.

[Jenna Fischer]

Thank you.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Obviously, so happy for them both. I don't know, guys. I, for one, enjoy watching them because.

[Angela Kinsey]

Can I finish?

[Brian Baumgartner]

Can I finish? Is that okay? I was saying I enjoy watching them because it makes me horny.

[Angela Kinsey]

He fights so hard for, like, can I finish? I know. Can I finish? Like, maybe he's gonna say something like, maybe sentimental or happy for them, like, new love.

[Jenna Fischer]

We should let them express, explore this time.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then he ends with that.

[Jenna Fischer]

But it makes a horny.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, gosh, that's really good.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I love that our writers made all of our characters so layered. It was such a gift to get to play characters like this on a sitcom. Really. You know, they were always willing to give us things that would surprise the audience to play.

[Angela Kinsey]

And us.

[Jenna Fischer]

And us.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right, Angela, I'm handing it over to you. I think you have a very fun deep dive area of interest.

[Angela Kinsey]

I do. My deep dive area of interest is so funny. It's such a long. Title was inspired by this fan question sent in from Alexander G. In Houston, Texas. Alexander wrote and said, I have heard a lot of theories that Kevin is secretly a genius and is committing fraud with company money. There have been some hints in some episodes, like in season three when Martin Nash explains why he went to prison. I want to know yalls thoughts on this theory. Well, Alexander, there are lots of. Lots of fan theories about this, and it sent me down a rabbit hole. I found so many moments on the show that support the secret genius theory. So my title is Kevin Malone, secret genius.

[Jenna Fischer]

Not dot, dot, dot, dot, dot. No, just three dots.

[Angela Kinsey]

Just three dots.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

Which, by the way, my kids have told me, my teenagers, that doing the dot, dot, dot is a very old person thing.

[Jenna Fischer]

I've heard any punctuation in a text is like an old person thing. Any capitalization, any periods. They can't live in that world where we aren't punctuating things. I'm sorry.

[Angela Kinsey]

We were like, what are you talking about? And then they went through our family text thread, and the one that really made us all laugh is that Josh texted the family text thread and said, coming home from the gym.

[Brian Baumgartner]

And the.

[Angela Kinsey]

Kids were like, dot, dot, dot. What? What?

[Jenna Fischer]

Wait, he didn't put anything after dot.

[Angela Kinsey]

Dot, oh, coming home from the gym. And he was like, I just Wanted you guys to know I'm coming home from the gym.

[Jenna Fischer]

I add a lot of dot, dot, dots in my text messages to sort of help you read it the way I would want you to.

[Angela Kinsey]

For me, it's like I'm moving thoughts here.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, I know. I'm kind of. I'm like. I feel like as an actor, I appreciate a lot of punctuation because it helps me get a feel for the dialogue. And on the Office, there were a lot of dot, dot, dots in our scripts. I know they wanted to, like, suggest pauses and transitions from one thought to another, so I guess I love a lot of punctuation.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, it means you're old when you text. Oh, also, my kids said that Josh is like, he's the king of. But I'm the queen of emojis.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Thumbs up heart lady dancing.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Emojis mean you're old too, right?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

The young in stone emoji.

[Angela Kinsey]

I don't know.

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't know either.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, we don't know.

[Jenna Fischer]

Cause we're old.

[Angela Kinsey]

We wouldn't know. We wouldn't know. Okay. Sorry. Where was I? Oh, Kevin Malone. Secret genius.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, please, go on.

[Angela Kinsey]

Let's start with something that Jenna, you and Kevin have in common.

[Jenna Fischer]

What?

[Angela Kinsey]

You're both fantastic poker players.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, yes, yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

We learn about Kevin's poker playing in Casino Night season two. Here's the moment I'm talking about. You referred to it. Let's hear this. Kevin Talking Head.

[Brian Baumgartner]

I won the 2002, $2,500 no limit deuce to seven draw tournament at the World Series of Poke in Vegas. So, yeah, I'm pretty good at poker.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, a little bit of a flex there. And, you know, after watching that Kevin Talking Head, I thought, what makes a good poker player? What do they all have in common? Here's what the Internet has to say, folks.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay?

[Angela Kinsey]

They are disciplined, patient, confident, have a mental toughness and a strong understanding of game theory and the math behind poker strategy. They can manage their bankroll effectively and have strong analytical skills. Decision making, plus the ability to read opponents, adapt to different playing styles, and know how to bluff and to maintain emotional control.

[Jenna Fischer]

Wow.

[Angela Kinsey]

Wowzers.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's a lot.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's a lot. Lady. You and Kevin can do all that. I don't know if I can do.

[Jenna Fischer]

All that all the time.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I think this definitely supports. Is Kevin a secret genius? He's a lot smarter than he lets on. And there are several more moments that show this. In season three, in the episode the Convict, we learn that Martin was In prison for insider trading. Kevin has a talking head where he says, I had Martin explained to me three times what he got arrested for, because it sounds an awful lot like what I do here every day.

[Jenna Fischer]

Mm.

[Angela Kinsey]

What's Kevin been doing? Has he been trading Dunder Mifflin stock or other securities? I mean, what's happening?

[Jenna Fischer]

Maybe some embezzlement.

[Angela Kinsey]

Maybe. Then there's the time Kevin outplays Andy and Daryl in the game Dallas in the garage sale episode.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Let's hear that.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Well, there's no instructions. It's Dallas game. We could figure it out. Yeah, I'm pretty good at board games. Well, should we make it a little interesting? Sure.

[Angela Kinsey]

Hmm.

[Brian Baumgartner]

I'm gonna play me a little old blackmail card. Nice. And call a proxy meeting and take control of Ewing Oil once and for all. No, you can't do that. You can't play a blackmail card and call a proxy meeting in the same turn. Why not? Seems to me we're just making up rules. Cause somebody forgot to staple the rule book to the inside of the game like a normal human being. And I'm gonna play this here share the wealth card, which entitles me to half of both of y'all's money. So if you don't mind. No. This card is from the wrong game. This is from the game of life. It was in the box. Well played. We must honorably adhere to the rules that we are making up on the spot. No. But that's not fair. Well, that's Dallas. Dallas, indeed. Okay, guys, it's my turn. You can't go. You're dead. I shot you five moves ago. Yeah, I told you, you can't shoot people. I told you we're way past rules. We have been for some time now. I started having everything we built collapses. Well, this is stupid, and I want my money back. Where's the money? Yeah, where is it? Okay, you know what? I am never, ever playing games with you two again. And that is Dallas.

[Angela Kinsey]

Uh huh. Do you remember? So what he does is he distracts, and he takes the money. All their money. Out of the pot.

[Jenna Fischer]

Wow.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. What did he do in that moment, you guys? He adapted to a different playing style. He knew how to bluff. He maintained emotional control, and he got all their money.

[Jenna Fischer]

Wow.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yep. And a special shout out to Sam for helping me put all those clips together. Because it's throughout the episode.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, but.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, that's how you play Dallas. Then in the accounting webisodes, it's Kevin who finds Angela's accounting error. And it's also revealed that Kevin has an IQ of over 100, which isn't that high. Which isn't that high.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, not genius level in sort of being a secret genius, maybe.

[Angela Kinsey]

Secret genius Kevin level.

[Jenna Fischer]

What does that mean?

[Angela Kinsey]

I don't know. I don't know. I'm just trying to support my deep dive. And in the trivia episode in season eight, it is Kevin who has the winning answers that lead his team, the Einsteins, to victory.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Then he has an interesting talking head afterwards. Let's hear it.

[Brian Baumgartner]

I know it's easy to say tonight was just a fluke, and maybe it was, but here's a piece of trivia. A fluke is one of the most common fish in the sea. So if you go fishing for a fluke, chances are you just might catch one.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, and that's a great talking head.

[Angela Kinsey]

And guess what? Fluke fish are very common. According to the Internet, fluke are abundant in coastal waters from the Gulf of Maine to Florida, especially in the waters from North Carolina to Massachusetts.

[Jenna Fischer]

Kevin's right.

[Angela Kinsey]

He knows his fish.

[Jenna Fischer]

He does. He knows more than we know that he knows.

[Angela Kinsey]

Secret genius. And let's not forget this moment in work. Bus Jim says, let's go. Driver Laverne packs up the pie wagon at five. So, and then Kevin immediately starts doing this math. He says, at 5, that's only 20 minutes from now. The pie shop is 13 miles away. So at 55 miles an hour, that gives us just five minutes to spare. Angela says, so wait, when pies are involved, you can suddenly do math in your head? And Oscar says, hold on, Kevin. How much is 19,154 pies divided by 61 pies? Without missing a beat, Kevin says, 314 pies. Lastly is the thing we're going to talk about more in detail with Brian. But Kevin is also a musical genius because he is both the lead singer and drummer, which are notoriously difficult roles to perform. At the same time, I want to.

[Jenna Fischer]

Add that a lot of drummers are really good mathematicians. My son is a drummer, and this is something that I have found to be true with other drummers and other drumming musicians. I don't know if it is something about rhythm or beat or whatever it is, or keeping different rhythms and different beats with different appendages, but there's like a math through line there that's really interesting.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, Alexander, I wanted to thank you for writing in. I do think Kevin is a secret genius, and he's very good at reading people and ultimately getting what he wants. And as for the second part of your question. Did he steal money from Dunder Mifflin over the years? Did he commit fraud? Well, you know, I think he very well could have. There are several times we learned that he is using the company petty cash for gambling. And Kevin is definitely a little sneaky.

[Jenna Fischer]

I think that with almost 100% certainty we could confirm that he has used the company money for personal reasons.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean for sure.

[Jenna Fischer]

For sure. Well, Angela, I loved that. Why don't we go to break and when we come back we will have Brian Baumgartner in studio to talk all about Kevin Malone.

[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, probably a few things.

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't want to cram my family into the same one bedroom, room and bathroom. I don't want to.

[Angela Kinsey]

No.

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't want us all on top of each other. I want my own bedroom separate from the children. Which is why I prefer Airbnb because we can all have our space and then it's like, makes the whole vacation more relaxing. We can go to bed at different times. You know, I can stay up and read or more likely, these days I go to bed before everybody else.

[Angela Kinsey]

You know what I love about Airbnb?

[Jenna Fischer]

What?

[Angela Kinsey]

Snacks. You have a fridge, you have a kitchen. So I'm not calling up room service constantly and having to pay that fee. I'm just like, hey, we packed snacks. They're in the fridge. Go get them.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

Brian, thank you for joining us in our episode all about Kevin Malone. We've got four Kevin Malone centered questions for you.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, Are you ready?

[Brian Baumgartner]

Is this going to be the greatest episode in the history of this show?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, it is.

[Jenna Fischer]

We're doing an all for each character, and this is your chance to win.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Ooh.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, I'm ready. Question number one.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Question one.

[Jenna Fischer]

Did you ever create a backstory for the character of Kevin? And if so, can you share some details of that backstory?

[Brian Baumgartner]

Wow. Really good question. Much more in depth than I thought it was gonna be. Thank you for that.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'm taking you back to theater school here, Brian.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Well, here's what I remember, and it comes with a joke. The breakdowns. The casting listing for Kevin Malone, who of course was based on Keith Bishop in the British version of the Office. The casting notice was as follows. The only spectacular thing about Kevin is that he is spectacularly unspectacular. Now, the joke in that exists with my manager, who I'm still with to this day, is like calling the casting director Allison Jones and Phyllis at the time and being like, oh, do I have an unspectacular guy for you? This guy is so unspectacular. You know, it's tough because I think that for me, and at least when we were brought in, that's where it started. So I felt like the backstory in a way existed that is vis a vis Keith. It was very important to me that his name was Malone. I was asked that that was my choice because I knew that. I knew that there were a lot of Irish people in Scranton. Like, they have the second largest St. Patrick's Day parade. St. Patrick's Day parade. Like, this is a big deal.

[Angela Kinsey]

Big deal.

[Brian Baumgartner]

And so I thought that that aspect of it was fun. I helped to identify fairly early on. So I think the answer to your question is probably no. But I had some ideas about him and who he was and pitched Greg on pretty early. Like, I liked the idea of the relationship with someone who had a kid, and it was like, Stacy Stacey, before we sort of knew who he was. Like, as you started to find out, Those details, a lot of those that I was pitched. But I didn't write a book like, I know you did. No, I didn't write a book.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, for example, where did the idea come from for him to be in a band or for him to be good at poker? Were these.

[Angela Kinsey]

I feel like the poker thing had to be from you.

[Jenna Fischer]

Pitches.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Yeah. So I think that the poker thing was a pitch for me. My recollection of that was that whole idea came out of us, one playing poker. Like, some of the people on the show, that that idea came out of it. I think the whole World Series of Poker was because I was good at it. Now, if you remember, the basketball thing was. That was discovered by Greg then. I mean, that was on the day.

[Jenna Fischer]

You were just messing around on the week.

[Brian Baumgartner]

I mean, it was the week. I mean, now, if you. What I joke about is if you give. We were boys. I mean, Krasinski and I, like, we were children still then. And like, if you have a ball and a hoop in a gym, as soon as the teacher is not looking, like, you're shooting, like, you're dribbling and making the ads crazy because of the bouncing ball and the sound that that has. But that's just what we did.

[Angela Kinsey]

And so I just remember them feeding you one Brian, and you made it, and then they fed it to you again, and you made it, and then you made it, and then everyone just stopped talking and you were just swishing them.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Yeah. I mean, I think that the moment of filming, which that, by the way, that was. That was 1 take 2. I never really think about that. But that was 1 take 2. That. That came out of them watching. And it's funny now. Kwapis claims it's his idea. Greg claims it's his idea. Karel claims it was his idea, like, to turn the cameras on. Me shooting as everybody's walking off. It was sort of prearranged because someone definitely said, like, go over there and shoot and we'll bring the cameras over to you. But then it went on and on.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, my memory was you were shooting, like you said, between takes.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

And you kept making them.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then we all were, like, kind of whispering to Matt and Randall, like, you guys should film Brian when he's doing this because he's making them all.

[Brian Baumgartner]

See, Kenzie takes credit for it, too. See, like, everyone. Everyone.

[Angela Kinsey]

I'm not taking credit. I just remember there was a little bit of a buzz on set. Like there was a discussion. Is someone getting this? Is someone getting this?

[Brian Baumgartner]

Yes. No, that's that?

[Angela Kinsey]

And then it came down to me, and I said, look, Randall, get your.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Ass over there and film this. Yeah. So, I mean, I think the thing that was really important to me was the idea that Kevin was not a Kevin. Let me explain that. That made no sense.

[Jenna Fischer]

But I think I know where you're going with this.

[Brian Baumgartner]

The idea. If you saw in 99% of other sitcoms a character such as Kevin, he would exist in a certain way. There would be ketchup stains on his shirt. It would be untucked. There would be slovenly, I guess would be the word. And so early on in conversations, I don't know if this was a backstory, per se, but in talking with the producers, but also wardrobe. I mean, even in that basketball scene you just referenced, Kevin's wearing a sport coat. And all of that was very intentional by me. I was like, look, he is attempting as best he can in his Dockers and his, like, plaid ish, like, very ordinary jackets. He's putting it together. He has his tie on. It's not loose. Like, he's putting it together. It may not work. All the best. And so I think that there was a series of contradictions that was very interesting to me in that there are things that he is good at that you would not expect him to be good at. So, yes, in terms of that. That was something. In terms of the construction of the character, that was really important to me. And the last thing I'll say is that the greatest, maybe insider writers room joke about Kevin has to do with this very thing, which was. Kevin was in a band. It was a Police cover band. He played the drums and was the lead singer. However, now, I didn't know this, but this is their joke. In the Police, the singing happens off of the beat of the drums. So for a person to be a drummer, lead singer, you would literally have to be a musical savant to be able to sing off of the beat of the drums that you're playing. So that was sort of like a. I don't know, like an encapsulation of the idea that I did want for him.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

That I didn't.

[Brian Baumgartner]

I did want it to be. Be not that stereotype of Kevin, like, immediately, like, oh, we get who that is.

[Jenna Fischer]

What about family of origin stuff? We never meet Kevin's family. Did you have anything in your head about that?

[Brian Baumgartner]

No, no, no, not really. The Irish thing was important, and I know that I came up with that, but that was more regional than anything else. And the relationship, the idea behind the relationship is not revealed for a while. But that was something that we talked about, which I did think about. Like, where does he go when he goes home? And again, the idea of not wanting it to be necessarily what you would expect, like, oh, he is going home to a person, a partner, and, oh, there's actually a child there. You know, all of those things again, but in terms of, like, no, like, parents and stuff, that was not a very thing I thought about.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Brian, do you remember? Because we were over there in the little accounting nook, and the writers would come over and say, hey, and I'll never forget one time I said, we were talking about this very thing, and I said, I really want to see where Kevin goes when he goes home, or I want to see where people live. And I forgot. I think it was maybe bj and he goes, angela, it's called the Office. I was like, oh, okay. All right, fair enough.

[Brian Baumgartner]

It's not Modern Family.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I have a question for you. Was there ever a Kevin storyline that you pitched that never made it in an episode, but you wish it had?

[Brian Baumgartner]

Yes, I pitched pretty hard. And I don't remember if it was at this moment in time, if this was pre season 8 or 9. There had definitely been a romantic, somewhat a story between Aaron and Andy. I pitched that Kevin and Aaron got together. That was my pitch, because I thought that sort of. Again, one of the things I felt like the show did really well was put together couples that weren't necessarily. That you wouldn't necessarily think about. And the idea of Kevin as a tree trunk and Aaron as this hummingbird. Nonstop energy that just continued to flit around. Yeah. My pitch was for them to get together. They didn't do it.

[Angela Kinsey]

That would have been hilarious. I would have loved to seen the two of them on a date.

[Brian Baumgartner]

That's. By the way, I shared that with Ellie when I had a conversation with her on my podcast, and she at least. At least publicly said the same thing.

[Jenna Fischer]

There was an episode, though, where for a minute, Kevin thinks he is going to date Aaron.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Yes. And I can't remember if that came out. I mean, I was basically told. No, I don't think we were told all that often to stay in your lane. But they had this idea for Andy and Aaron, which I think ultimately I'm not sure worked out the way that they had thought that it was going to and that I just felt like I saw early on. I just felt like. I felt like there was a lot of comedic possibility in that. And I feel like they were potentially looking for. I mean, it's probably. And I don't know, so I shouldn't speak to it, but a sort of Jim and Pam 2.0 potentially or something. But I felt like Aaron was so strong. I mean, her characterization was so strong and so specifically. Well, like a hummingbird. And Andy was different. I just. I felt like they were mismatched. I think ultimately the show says that they were mismatched. And I just thought, yeah, that was my one pitch.

[Jenna Fischer]

Is there a line of dialogue or a talking head that you think embodies the character of Kevin?

[Brian Baumgartner]

The two that jumped into my head really quickly. I'll share with you, but there's not my final answer. The first one that popped into my head was Elimeno Pee. The other one. Then it suddenly went to, you can't eat cats. You can't eat cats, Kevin. Those two made me laugh more than any other ones.

[Angela Kinsey]

My favorite, and maybe because it's so fresh in my mind, Brian, is when Kevin goes, Philip, Phillip, Philip, Phillip.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's all about Philip.

[Angela Kinsey]

I hate Philip.

[Brian Baumgartner]

I think about that every time I hear the word Philip. Actually, I guess for me, this is the cheesy answer. This is the more serious answer would be it's just nice to win one.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, that was a great one.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. I think that that does embody Kevin, I think. Yeah, right. Yeah, I think that's the answer.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. All right. Our final question is something that Zach woods asked us when we interviewed him.

[Angela Kinsey]

Which he ended up interviewing us. And it was fantastic.

[Jenna Fischer]

But I love it. And it is this. If you could go back and relive any moment from our nine years together on the Office, and I guess specifically playing Kevin, since this is all about Kevin Malone.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

What would you like to relive or.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Re experience while as playing Kevin?

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I mean, I guess since this is all about Kevin Malone, but you can tell us as Brian, too.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. If there was a day you could go back to on the set, not.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Being in the swimming pool, that was the worst.

[Angela Kinsey]

That was horrible.

[Brian Baumgartner]

That's a no.

[Jenna Fischer]

We know what you don't want to do.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Yeah, I'm going to give a couple of those. Not being in the parking lot for any number of episodes. But specifically, I remember the fire episode. Fire.

[Jenna Fischer]

It was so hot.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Just like, so horrifying because we didn't have chairs. We didn't have chairs. And again, I was in a coat.

[Jenna Fischer]

We were in coats. We didn't sit. We just stood on that blacktop, my shoes melting.

[Angela Kinsey]

And we had to look up and, like, it was so hot.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, so we're not. We're not reliving those.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Not those. Not, you know, spoiler alert. Kevin did a lot of physical comedy in the show and, like, big things where I was never injured when we worked in the warehouse and we put oil on the ground and we were.

[Jenna Fischer]

Sliding and slid across the boxes.

[Brian Baumgartner]

And then there was a talking head where I think it was John and Rain, Jim and Dwight talking on a sofa. It was definitely one of them. Maybe both of them, like, together. And it was, oh, just walk behind them and then slip and disappear. My back still hurts.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, no.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Just like. Cause it was like it had to go down fast.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Brian Baumgartner]

That was not my favorite. I love that. I was just answering not what my not favorites were.

[Jenna Fischer]

I feel like the moment you want to relive is the scene with Pam, played by just the amazing Jenna Fisher.

[Brian Baumgartner]

God, she was so good, wasn't she?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Or maybe you had a scene in accounting with the just comedic talent that is Angela Kinsey.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Not sure how you pick between the two.

[Brian Baumgartner]

I don't remember her.

[Angela Kinsey]

Do you know one of my favorites, Brian. And this, like, was just us being ridiculous because we were always messing with the Each other, like we said. But I'll never forget that time where I was just supposed to say to Oscar something about payroll, and you turned and bumped into me by accident. And when you hit me, I went, you body checked me. We started laughing so hard, and they were like, no, keep that in. So every time he bumped into me, and I would go, payroll.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Yeah. I got in trouble for that over the years because then we started doing that a little bit over the years, and then, yeah, you hurt sometimes.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then you push me into a hedge.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know what you want to relive.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

Work bus.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Oh, that's another one where we all almost died. That one. Yeah, that one. That one.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, Bryan Cranston.

[Brian Baumgartner]

I don't know.

[Jenna Fischer]

We're finding out. You don't want to relive anything. You're like, I did it. Stop trying to make me go back there.

[Brian Baumgartner]

No, look, I think that for me, I mean, there's like, the easy answer now, right? Which is like the chilly one, which, again, was all alone when no one else was there.

[Angela Kinsey]

Also, your hands were stained.

[Brian Baumgartner]

That was great.

[Angela Kinsey]

Your hands were stained for so long.

[Brian Baumgartner]

I think that for me, in terms of Kevin, the unique experience as an actor playing that role with everybody in that space. So it's not a specific scene or a moment, but those scenes and Again, not so much the conference room. The conference room. I mean, although that intimacy, I thought, brought amazing comedy. Thinking about some of those scenes. Steve walking out of his office or walking in that perspective, walking in the front door of Dunder Mifflin and there being this group scene. And just like, you know, the image of a ball being thrown around to everybody in different things. Like that experience, which only came. Which only came because we were in a confined space, all there for so much time together. I firmly believe that because it is about amazing writing and writers that write to your characters. But the way that we were able to learn each other's strengths and comedic sensibility, that I think is like, Kevin would miss that. I mean, he was fired, so he's no longer there. You're in Austin, by the way. I know where she is.

[Angela Kinsey]

I'm on the beet farm.

[Brian Baumgartner]

But Kevin misses that. I do want to. I do have to tell you this, because this was the first thing that popped into my mind, and sometimes that's the best or the worst overall. Brian. Thing that I wish that I could relive was that first Golden Globe thing. That first experience of the Golden Globe and David Denman driving from my house where we were pre gaming. Angela was there in the hills above Beverly Hills. And us driving to the Golden Globes, in my recollection, a Honda Civic driven by David Denman and thinking we were just going to be allowed there.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, by the way, not the Golden Globes. A party in a garage.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Well, correct.

[Jenna Fischer]

On the top of a parking garage adjacent to that.

[Angela Kinsey]

We never stepped foot in the actual Golden Garage.

[Brian Baumgartner]

And maybe that's why. But us, like, getting out on Wilshire Boulevard and him being like, all right, I'll go find a parking spot. Because we kind of realized there's no valet at the golden like, you dropped off.

[Angela Kinsey]

We couldn't even make it into the hotel valet because we didn't have a security placard.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Yeah, we had nothing. We had nothing but that night and how much fun it was. When I think back about at least the, like, extracurriculars around the show, like that one, that was just, like, the best.

[Angela Kinsey]

The best.

[Brian Baumgartner]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Aw, thanks, Brian. Thanks for talking all about Kevin Malone.

[Brian Baumgartner]

This has got to be the greatest episode. Let me know how it goes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay. Thanks, Bea.

[Jenna Fischer]

Angela. I loved that.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

And I am also really loving these character breakdown episodes. I hope we can have more cast members come on their character breakdown episodes.

[Angela Kinsey]

I do, too. One, it's so much fun to see everyone. And then two, I love hearing everyone's thoughts about their character. We got so attached to these people.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Well, before we go, I wanted to share one last fan letter. It is from Miles D. In Virginia. Miles says hi ladies day one listener first time emailer I'm listening to episode two of Office Lady 6.0, all about Michael Scott and your discussion of real life, people with names of famous people, fictional characters. And it reminded me of my high school geometry teacher. He was a slim, handsome man who looked like Michael Buble, but was named Kevin Malone.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh my goodness.

[Angela Kinsey]

Luckily for him, the Office was just a couple years away from making its resurgence or he would have been the butt of many jokes. That being said, he was a kind, fair teacher, but we all knew he was not to be truffled with. Thank you ladies for this podcast and for the Office. Its effect on me and my sense of humor has been incalculable. And anytime I watch the show or listen to the podcast, it feels like a warm blanket.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh my goodness. Miles, I love that you wrote in about your geometry teacher named Kevin Malone. I know a well. What a great way to end this episode. Thank you all so much for sending in your questions and comments. And a big thank you to Brian Baumgartner for stopping by the studio to talk with us.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, I'm going to share in our Instagram Instagram stories where you can get his Seriously Good Chili Cookbook. And it is real good.

[Jenna Fischer]

Seriously good.

[Angela Kinsey]

Seriously good.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right, everyone, thanks for listening and have a great week.

[Angela Kinsey]

Thanks you guys.

[Jenna Fischer]

Thank you for listening to Office Ladies.

[Angela Kinsey]

Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by J. Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey.

[Jenna Fischer]

Our executive producer is Cassie Jerkins, our audio engineer is Sam Kiefer, and our associate producer is Ainslie Bubaco.

[Angela Kinsey]

Odyssey's executive producers are Jenna Weiss Berman and Leah Reese Dennis.

[Jenna Fischer]

Office Ladies is mixed and mastered by Chris Basel.

[Angela Kinsey]

Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.