All About Stanley Hudson

Summary

Podcast Title: Office Ladies
Episode: All About Stanley Hudson
Release Date: April 23, 2025
Hosts: Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey

---

Introduction to Stanley Hudson

In this episode of Office Ladies, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey delve deep into the character of Stanley Hudson from The Office. Celebrating National Pretzel Day, the hosts explore various facets of Stanley’s personality, his relationships, and memorable moments from the series.

---

National Pretzel Day and Stanley’s Love for Pretzels

[02:41] Angela Kinsey: "National Pretzel Day is coming up. It's Saturday, April 26th, and we thought, what better way to honor National Pretzel Day than to do our All About Stanley."

Stanley’s affection for pretzels is a recurring theme in the show. Jenna and Angela discuss the origins of Pretzel Day in Pennsylvania and its significance, highlighting Stanley’s simple yet profound enjoyment of pretzels.

Notable Quotes:

• Jenna Fischer: “One salty, please, extra mustard.” [39:58]
• Angela Kinsey: “Can anyone guess what’s on Stanley’s pretzel?” [38:36]

---

Exploring Stanley’s Character through the Show Bible

The hosts reference the Office show Bible to provide a comprehensive overview of Stanley’s character traits, likes, and dislikes.

Key Points:

• Stanley Hudson is a seasoned sales representative at Dunder Mifflin for over a decade.
• Likes: Red wine, mystery stories, crossword puzzles, pretzels, and chocolate ice cream.
• Dislikes: Phyllis crying, stinky perfumes, theater, dressing up for Halloween, and feeling underpaid.
• Health Issues: Type 2 diabetes, varicose veins, swollen ankles, and nipple sensitivity.

Notable Quotes:

• Angela Kinsey: “Stanley does not enjoy theater and doesn’t dress up for Halloween.” [08:58]
• Jenna Fischer: “Stanley has a heart attack at work.” [09:41]

---

Stanley’s Shutdown Moments

Jenna and Angela highlight some of Stanley’s most memorable shutdowns, showcasing his no-nonsense attitude and dry humor.

Highlighted Shutdowns:

1. Take Your Daughter to Work Day: Stanley confronts Ryan about his inappropriate behavior towards his daughter.
   [12:35 - 12:50]

   • Stanley: “Boy, have you lost your mind? 'Cause I'll help you find it.”

2. Did I Stutter?: Stanley shuts down Michael Scott’s attempts to energize the office during a meeting.
   [13:02 - 14:03]

3. Holiday-Themed Christmas Parties: Expresses his disdain for overly themed Christmas celebrations.
   [14:22 - 15:00]

4. Silent Shutdowns: Uses intimidating looks to quell office antics without words.
   [15:00 - 15:32]

5. The Shrut Bucks Exchange with Dwight: Stanley cleverly navigates the quirky office currency system during a conversation with Dwight.
   [15:32 - 16:04]

Notable Quotes:

• Stanley Hudson: “Leave me alone, damn it.” [14:03]
• Stanley Hudson: “Don’t ever talk to me again.” [15:52]

---

Fan Questions and Deep Dives

1. Stanley’s Family Dynamics:

Fans inquired about the number of children Stanley has, given inconsistent references across episodes.

[30:49 - 32:50]

• Jenna Fischer: “Stanley has two kids—Melissa, his daughter in eighth grade, and another child in college from his first marriage.”

2. Stanley’s Love Life:

A significant fan theory suggested a romantic relationship between Stanley and Phyllis, leading to an exploration of behind-the-scenes interactions.

[54:00 - 60:58]

• Deleted Scene Analysis: A tag from the “Doomsday” episode hinted at a possible romantic tension, but ultimately confirmed that Stanley and Phyllis never hooked up.
• Phyllis on Stanley: “Leslie is a real stand-up guy... we would run errands together during breaks.”

Notable Quotes:

• Angela Kinsey: “They have not hooked up before.” [60:58]
• Leslie David Baker (Stanley): “How's Bob doing?” [59:36]

---

Behind-the-Scenes Insights

The hosts share anecdotes about Leslie David Baker’s portrayal of Stanley, including his audition process and favorite moments from the show.

[22:36 - 30:34]

• Audition Process: Leslie came into his audition with a slightly annoyed demeanor, which added depth to Stanley’s character.
• Favorite Scenes: Stanley reviving after a heart attack and attending Phyllis and Bob Vance’s wedding.

Notable Quotes:

• Leslie David Baker: “I incorporated what I had just gone through, driving through rush hour traffic.” [26:08]
• Leslie on Filming: “He was the person who could remember everyone's name at work parties.”

---

Stanley’s Life After Dunder Mifflin

In the series finale, Stanley reveals his plans to retire in Florida, carving birds on his porch—a testament to his contentment and love for simple pleasures.

[66:09 - 66:45]

Notable Quotes:

• Stanley Hudson: “I'm living in Florida now. A little town called Florida City, just on the edge of the Everglades.”

---

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Jenna and Angela wrap up the episode by reflecting on Stanley Hudson’s enduring legacy as a beloved character whose dry humor and straightforward demeanor made him a standout in The Office. They encourage listeners to celebrate Pretzel Day in honor of Stanley’s favorite snack.

[66:43 - End]

Notable Quotes:

• Jenna Fischer: “Have a laid-back Saturday.” [66:43]
• Angela Kinsey: “Thanks so much for writing in you guys.” [66:44]

---

Additional Highlights

• Pretzel Toppings Discussion: Listeners were curious about Stanley’s pretzel order, revealed from the shooting draft as a simple “one salty, please, extra mustard” [39:58].
• Backstory Questions: Exploration of Stanley’s family and his relationships, addressing fan confusion and providing clarity based on show insights [30:49 - 32:50].
• Memorable Scenes: Discussion of Stanley’s dribbling style in the basketball episode, reflecting Leslie’s creative input [47:48 - 51:04].

---

Closing Remarks

Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey express their gratitude to listeners for their enthusiastic participation and fan mail, promising more in-depth explorations of The Office characters in future episodes. They also share personal anecdotes about their relationships with fellow cast members, highlighting the lasting friendships formed during the show's run.

---

End of Summary

Transcript

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I am, because, listen, we have this one sort of like, side of the house area that you can't see anything around that way. And a lot of our shrubbery has grown in, which is nice. But I was like, josh, I'd like to also know what's happening around there.

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[Jenna Fischer]

That's simplisafe.com officeladies. There's no safe like SimpliSafe. I'm Jenna Fisher.

[Angela Kinsey]

And I'm Angela Kinsey.

[Jenna Fischer]

We were on the office together and.

[Angela Kinsey]

We'Re best friends now.

[Jenna Fischer]

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, everybody.

[Angela Kinsey]

Hi.

[Jenna Fischer]

Welcome to Office Lady 6.0. All about Stanley Hudson.

[Angela Kinsey]

You know, National Pretzel Day is coming up. It's Saturday, April 26th, and we thought, what better way to honor National Pretzel Day than to do our All About Stanley? That's an episode.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, Stanley does love Pretzel Day. Loves Angela. Did you know that Pretzel Day originated in Pennsylvania?

[Angela Kinsey]

I did not know that.

[Jenna Fischer]

I didn't either. But according to the Internet, which is our favorite way to reference.

[Angela Kinsey]

I reference things. Thank you.

[Jenna Fischer]

2003, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and former Philadelphia mayor declared April 26th National Pretzel Day to recognize the importance that pretzels have to the Pennsylvan. It is believed that the hard pretzel, not the soft pretzel, but like hard pretzels, were invented in Pennsylvania in 1850 by German immigrants.

[Angela Kinsey]

Huh.

[Jenna Fischer]

I got another stat for you.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, well, here it is.

[Jenna Fischer]

And I found this staggeringly interesting. Pennsylvania produces 80% of the country's hard and soft pretzels.

[Angela Kinsey]

80%. 80% of the United States of America. Pretzel making happens in Pennsylvania.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's right.

[Angela Kinsey]

Wow.

[Jenna Fischer]

And apparently, Pennsylvanians eat more pretzels per capita than any other state in the United States.

[Angela Kinsey]

Really?

[Jenna Fischer]

They make them and then they eat them. In fact, Pennsylvanians consume 12 times more pretzels than the average American.

[Angela Kinsey]

How do they measure that? I mean, come on.

[Jenna Fischer]

But hey, listen, look at the enthusiasm for the pretzel cart on Pretzel Day in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Yeah, Pennsylv pretzels.

[Angela Kinsey]

True. It is true. Well, you know, Josh has a great pretzel bite recipe.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, I know about those.

[Angela Kinsey]

I will share it in stories. I told him kind of late in the game that we were doing this. He was like, ang, I would have made you all pretzel bites.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know what? No one wants to hear us eat anymore. Did you see the comments?

[Angela Kinsey]

I did. I did. And I said, babe, it's okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

We.

[Angela Kinsey]

We can't eat on the podcast anymore.

[Jenna Fischer]

People loved all about Kevin Malone, but they're like, I didn't need to listen.

[Angela Kinsey]

To them eat chili, don't eat anymore. Well, here's something I wanted to share with you guys. The folks that make pretzels, they honor National Pretzel Day as well. And there are some great deals on pretzels. On April 26, Auntie Ann's offers their rewards members with an in app coupon. For a free original or cinnamon sugar pretzel in store on April 26th. No purchase required. You just have to sign up for their rewards program to make sure you get that coupon sent to your account. And Wetzel's Pretzels will celebrate National Pretzel Day and by the way, their 30th anniversary this year they're going to offer free original pretzels to all customers at participating locations starting at 3pm until closing. They also call it National Wetzel Day.

[Jenna Fischer]

Come on, Wetzels Pretzels.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. And they're going to have a sweepstakes this year. They have what's called a Wetz party where five winners will receive Wetzel's Pretzels for a year. Free Wetzel's Pretzels for a year.

[Jenna Fischer]

Wow.

[Angela Kinsey]

So lots of folks celebrating National Pretzel Day. And I read too, that check your local stores that make pretzels because they usually have their own thing too. I love some free stuff. I get very excited when I know that I can get free food somewhere.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know you on National Donut Day.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah. Krispy Kreme. Go there.

[Jenna Fischer]

And also on 7 11, you can get a free slushie at 7 11.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, that's a good one, too. Well, Jenna, I know you usually like to kick off our all about episodes with the show Bible summary, but before you do that, I wanted to share a piece of mail that we got recently. It's a letter from Kathy L. And it's really special.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, yes, I know what this is.

[Angela Kinsey]

She said she has only just started listening and loves the podcast. And she might be giving Dr. Thibodeau a run for his money as the ultimate Office Ladies tracker. Because listen to what she did, Sam. Cassie, I can't even get over this. She wrote and said, I thought I would try to document all that you said in at least season one of the Office Ladies podcast. And she made a book called the Podcast Bible. Look at it. Look our pictures on the front. It says, the Office Ladies Podcast Bible, season one. I'm going to share this in stories. Oh, my goodness, Kathy, the time you spent on this, it's amazing.

[Jenna Fischer]

I was flipping through it and she has all of our, like, banter moments and facts and tidbits all in book form. It's so cool.

[Angela Kinsey]

And she'll have, like, the synopsis and a photo from that episode. It's really well done.

[Jenna Fischer]

Thank you very much. We loved this.

[Angela Kinsey]

I love this. And I'm so excited to show it to my kids because I think it's like this tangible representation of the podcast.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Well, speaking of show bibles, Angela, we did get this fan question from Alexander G. In Houston, Texas, who said, I recently listened to the Office Olympics episode and recalled the show bible and how Jenna stole it from Greg Daniels. I need to say, guys, I didn't steal it. It was given to me.

[Angela Kinsey]

I love, though, this image of you sneaking into his office and rummaging around.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know. Alexander said, please, please, please read us Stanley's section of the show bible. I love Leslie David Baker's character. Stanley is always so funny. All right, Alexander, here it is. Stanley Hudson is a sales rep at dunder Mifflin Paper Co. And as of season four, had been at Dunder Mifflin for 10 years. His birthday is the week of July 21st. He is Catholic and he grew up in a small town. Here are some of his likes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, I can't wait. Is it a short list shorter than the dislikes?

[Jenna Fischer]

You know it. His likes are red wine. In fact, he has a glass of red wine with dinner once a week for the antioxidants. He also loves red wine in a bath. He likes mystery stories, crossword puzzles, pretzels, and chocolate ice cream. That's literally all of the likes.

[Angela Kinsey]

I can get behind all of those, but now I'm buckling in for the dislikes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Dislikes. When asked to give feedback, he has a lot of complaints. For example, he filed a complaint that Phyllis cries too much and it bugs him. But he's never said a word about Phyllis. Stinky perfumes, no matter how much they bother him. So I guess he does show some restraint sometimes. He doesn't usually enjoy theater, he doesn't dress up for Halloween, and he threw out his dundees. He refuses to participate in grief counseling, he thinks his bed is too small, his daughter's school is too expensive, and he believes he's underpaid. He also has a lot of health issues. Oh, he has type 2 diabetes, varicose veins, swollen ankles, and nipple sensitivity.

[Angela Kinsey]

What?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, I can't remember what episode that's from, but it's in the show bible. And Stanley has a heart attack at work. Finally. He is quite the ladies man. Yes, but I'll be breaking that down in more detail a little bit later.

[Angela Kinsey]

In your area of interest.

[Jenna Fischer]

Correct, Angela? In my area of interest.

[Angela Kinsey]

What is your area of interest, Stanley?

[Jenna Fischer]

Origin story and family. What's your area of interest?

[Angela Kinsey]

I called mine the Stanley Shutdown.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, why don't we take a break and then we'll get to it.

[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, office ladies listeners, we did a little detective work and do we have the scoop for you. So what is it you ask? It's that Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide.

[Angela Kinsey]

We put on our sleuthing hats and confirmed that's a whole lot of places and a whole lot of acceptance. So yeah, sometimes it pays be a.

[Jenna Fischer]

Detective, but it always pays to Discover. Based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.

[Angela Kinsey]

Learn [e-mail] credit card well, we are back. And you guys, we cannot do an episode about Stanley and not list some of his greatest shutdowns of his co workers. There are many, but I'm going to highlight five.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

Number one. And it might be the most popular of all of his shutdowns. You guys can probably all guess, but it's when he took down Ryan. In Take youe Daughter to Work Day, Stanley confronts Ryan about his teenage daughter. It's one of the most quoted Stanley lines from the show and Leslie improvised quite a bit of it.

[C]

That little girl is a child. I don't want to see you sniffing around her anymore this afternoon. Do you understand?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[C]

Boy, have you lost your mind? Cause I'll help you find it. What you like. Ain't nobody gonna help you out there. Jesus can come through that door and he's not gonna help you if you don't stop sniffing after my child.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, well, lady, I traded messages with Greg Daniels about this episode and he said that is his favorite Stanley line and he confirmed that Leslie improvised almost all of it.

[Angela Kinsey]

I love that that's Greg's favorite Stanley moment.

[Jenna Fischer]

Me too.

[Angela Kinsey]

Number two on my shutdown list. Who can forget when Stanley completely shuts down Michael in the episode Did I Stutter? If you remember, Michael has a conference where he's trying to get everyone to energize the office, right? And he's holding this meeting and he asked Stanley to contribute. And he says, stanley, hey, you want to help us out with that, Stanley? Earth to Stanley. And Stanley does not look up and he says, not me. And Michael goes, yes, you. Come on, Stanley, put your little game down and join the group. And Stanley goes, no. And then Michael says, stanley, we're having a little. And Stanley says, leave me alone, damn it. I mean, could you imagine that happening in a conference room meeting? Like, to your boss? Like I could not even imagine. In that same episode, they have a knockdown drag out argument in the bullpen and he calls Michael a professional idiot.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, this is crazy, lady. You didn't know this, but I also reached out to Phyllis about working with Leslie. You knew that part, right? Yeah, when I was trading messages with her, she said that was her favorite Stanley episode. And moment was watching Leslie go toe to toe with Steve Carell in those scenes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Wow. Well, he really did. He commanded the whole room. I mean, you could have heard a pin drop because his performance was so fantastic. Number three on my Stanley shutdown list is his famous rant about Christmas parties and Christmas wishes. He says, look, I've been here 18 years and have suffered through some weird thematic Christmases. A Honolulu Christmas, a Pulp Fiction Christmas, a Muslim Christmas, Moroccan Christmas. Moroccan Christmas. I don't want it. Christmas is Christmas is Christmas is Christmas. Again, he shut down the whole conference room meeting. He just wanted plain baby Jesus lying in a manger Christmas.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Number four, Sometimes you don't have to use words for a shutdown. You can just have one look that scares the crap out of everyone. For example, in the episode PDA when Andy says to Aaron, don't look at Stanley. I accidentally did his Sudoku. And then it cuts to Stanley. And if looks could kill, he shut down Andy. And then number five is one of my all time favorites. It's how Stanley shuts down Dwight and his shrut bucks in the episode the Job. Let's hear it. When rainfall occurs, does it usually fall.

[Jenna Fischer]

In a liquid solid or gaseous state?

[C]

Liquid.

[Jenna Fischer]

Very good.

[C]

You have earned one shrut buck. I don't want it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Then you have been deducted 50 shrewd bucks.

[C]

Make it a hundred.

[Jenna Fischer]

Don't you want to earn shrut bucks?

[Angela Kinsey]

No.

[C]

In fact, I'll give you a billion Stanley nickels if you Never talk to me again.

[Jenna Fischer]

What's the ratio of Stanley nickels to shrewd bucks?

[C]

The same as the ratio of unicorns to leprechauns.

[Angela Kinsey]

But I like how he says, don't ever talk to me again. Anyway, the Stanley shutdowns are an absolute delight. I had a lot of fun rewatching them. And Leslie just. He just is so fantastic in each moment.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know, I don't think there are any. And correct me if I'm wrong, Angela, since you clearly deep dived the Stanley shutdowns, I don't think there's like, a Stanley Pam shutdown or even really a Stanley. Angela. 1. He really would focus on Michael Ryan, I think. Then Andy, because Andy was in his desk clump Dwight.

[Angela Kinsey]

He thought Dwight was an idiot.

[Jenna Fischer]

Dwight. Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, he kind of left the ladies alone. I mean, you know, him and Phyllis have their thing. We'll get to it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

We also got this fan question from B.R.I. s in Indiana. Her favorite Stanley moment was also when he shuts down Ryan and says, boy, have you lost your mind, because I'll help you find it. And you know what, Bree? I thought we should all share our favorite Stanley clips too. Jenna, why don't you go first?

[Jenna Fischer]

All right. Well, my favorite Stanley line is in season two, boys and girls. This is a deep cut. It's just a personal fave that really speaks to me. I feel Stanley in this moment. This is when Jim, Ryan, and Stanley are all down in the warehouse and they have to unload a truck together.

[Angela Kinsey]

You know what? We could get this done a lot.

[Jenna Fischer]

Quicker if we formed a type of assembly line.

[C]

This here is a run out the plot situation. Just mic upstairs.

[Jenna Fischer]

I just love it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Run out the clock.

[Jenna Fischer]

Speaking of shutdown, he's like, I'm gonna shut this down right here. Yeah, we're not organized. This is a run out the clock situation.

[Angela Kinsey]

We don't need to chat. Let's just get it done.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Sam, what about you?

[Jenna Fischer]

Mine is done. Pretzel day when someone tries to cut in line.

[Angela Kinsey]

Phyllis. Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

I want to kill him. Hey, hey, hey. Phyllis, what are you doing? I'm just saying hi to Bob.

[Jenna Fischer]

No, I think you're cutting in line. Well, settle down, Scott.

[Angela Kinsey]

No, I'm not gonn.

[C]

No way.

[Angela Kinsey]

Uh, get in the back, please.

[Jenna Fischer]

Boo.

[C]

Back out of the line.

[Angela Kinsey]

Thank you. He's so quick to boo, Phyllis. Yeah, something about the way he boos is so funny. Yeah. Cassie, what about you? So Stanley's my favorite office character because.

[Jenna Fischer]

I think if I worked at Dunder Mifflin.

[Angela Kinsey]

I would be most like Stanley. Oh, my goodness. Cassie, love that.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. So my favorite clip is also a.

[Angela Kinsey]

Little bit of a deep cut. It's in night out when Jim and.

[Jenna Fischer]

Pam lock everybody in inside the parking lot.

[Angela Kinsey]

And he says this to them.

[C]

Did you not tell the security guard we were working late?

[Jenna Fischer]

Nope, I didn't.

[Angela Kinsey]

But let's go inside and I can call him right now. We can't.

[Jenna Fischer]

I locked the office from the inside when we left.

[C]

Perfect. You guys worked together on this one. If I'm not in my bath with a glass of red wine in one hour, you're both dead.

[Jenna Fischer]

I guess there's the Pam shutdown I was wondering about.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, Pam got looped in with Jim, but yeah. Well, mine is from jury duty because I. I love jury duty and Stanley looks so forward to it. Let's hear it.

[C]

Do they bring in food or do you get to go out?

[Jenna Fischer]

No, they bring it in.

[C]

You lucky son of a bitch. I have been trying to get on jury duty every single year since I was 18 years old to get to go sit in an air conditioned room downtown judging people while my lunch was paid for. That is the life.

[Angela Kinsey]

I just laugh so hard when he says, you lucky son of a bitch. You got jury duty. The thing that people try to avoid. And I get excited for jury duty. I have my notepad. I'm ready to take notes. I'm very excited about it. I love to people watch, observe. Maybe I judge. I don't know.

[Jenna Fischer]

I would love to be on a jury for maybe like a non criminal trial.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

I got almost chosen for a criminal trial and it was after like the office and the fame of the office. And I felt very vulnerable. I was like, Like I'm not anonymous.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

On this jury and whoever this person did their crime with who might want to shut me down or intimidate me, like I'm kind of a sitting duck a little bit. Yeah. I ended up getting excused.

[Angela Kinsey]

I was relieved I got excused. My most recent one was a fraud case.

[Jenna Fischer]

I would love a fraud case. I know.

[Angela Kinsey]

I was very excited about it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, I hate fraud.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. I was so excited to be on the jury. And then one of my fellow jurymen asked me for a selfie photo. They were a big office fan and the judge saw it. I got booted. I didn't take the picture.

[Jenna Fischer]

I want to know what would happen if Scam goddess was called for jury duty on a fraud trial.

[Angela Kinsey]

She would get dismissed because she has so much knowledge, right? Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mm.

[Jenna Fischer]

I love A fraud.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know, I was really excited.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, I hate fraud, but I love to hear about a fraud.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know there was a whole, I guess a whole, like. What do you call it? They had a whole. What do you call it, lady.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, I literally have no idea what do you call what they had.

[Angela Kinsey]

Created a whole like fakie network of things and how they got money. And it was like, oh, your case. Yes. I looked it up after. It was. I mean, they were clever. But anyway, you know what I am.

[Jenna Fischer]

Realizing right now as we talk about how much I love fraud and then also hate fraud is that I love movies where the. What do you call that, like con artist? Like the Grifters or the Sting. I just watched what's someone where? The House of Games.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah, what's that one? Catch Me if youf Can.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right.

[Jenna Fischer]

And it's like love a con artist movie.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right. And I.

[Jenna Fischer]

What do we love about con artists?

[Angela Kinsey]

I think it's because I think I see through the con and I'm like, how are they? I mean, come on, how do people see this? And then I'd probably be conned.

[Jenna Fischer]

Right.

[Angela Kinsey]

Anyway. Okay, where were we? Anyway, I love that about jury duty and Stanley being so excited and wanting to be on it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Is it time for my area of interest?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Ooh, I'm excited. Well, I really wanted to dig into the origin of Stanley Hudson. I always find that stuff interesting.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

So I started by reaching out to Greg Daniels about how he chose the names Stanley Hudson. Because Greg always seems to have a fun story about how he chose the names for our show.

[Angela Kinsey]

There are some of my favorite Greg tidbits.

[Jenna Fischer]

This did not disappoint.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, let's hear it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Greg said, my memory is I called the character Stanley Hudson because I wanted a strong, no nonsense energy that reminded me a bit of my father in law, Stanley H. Lieberstein.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

And in parentheses he wrote Paul's dad.

[Angela Kinsey]

Anne Warren's dad.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. Yes. So how cool. Well, I love that. Then when Greg was writing Stanley, he had a vision of a person in mind. You know, it's like you had an energy in mind and then it kind of helps you drive that character specificity. I loved it. I also reached out to Allison Jones about Leslie's audition because I know that with a lot of the supporting cast, there wasn't really a template for the character or even a big character description. You guys really kind of created your roles in many ways. So you know how in our pilot episode we were using the script from the BBC office.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, they had a character on their show named Malcolm.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

He was kind of an older, grumpy white man with glasses. And they gave several of Malcolm's lines to the character of Stanley.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right.

[Jenna Fischer]

But that's it. Like, the rest of the character is really Leslie's doing, I think.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right.

[Jenna Fischer]

Alison confirmed that they had a pretty wide open call for the role. They read People of All Ethnicities, and she said she did not know Leslie before he came in to read for Stanley, but she knew right away that she needed to bring him to meet the producers because he just nailed it. And then, Angela, you sent me you found his audition tape online.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Should we listen to it? Because it's really fun. You can actually hear Alison Jones reading with him. She's playing Michael Scott. Here it is.

[Angela Kinsey]

I said, if corporal wants to come here and interfere. You ain't messing with my chillin. I am if anyone's going to.

[C]

Yeah, but, Michael, what if they do downsize here?

[Angela Kinsey]

Not gonna happen.

[C]

It could be out of your hands, Michael.

[Jenna Fischer]

That was it. Those were the two lines.

[Angela Kinsey]

It could be out of your hands, Michael. Yeah, yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And those were the two lines from the British pilot also.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Crazy.

[Angela Kinsey]

But you can already hear the character. I can already hear it even in those two lines.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, he's fully formed in his audition tape. It's really crazy. And I've also been trading messages just in general with Terri Weinberg. She was one of our producers from the very beginning.

[Angela Kinsey]

We love Terry.

[Jenna Fischer]

Love.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's someone who I want to chat with.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, I would love to hear from Terry.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, she was asking me, what are you guys doing on the podcast? I said, oh, we're about to do all about Stanley Hudson. And she said, oh, my gosh. I remember his audition. Here's what she said. I think he was kind of having a day. By the time he got into the room, like traffic or heat, he had a bit of an attitude, which must have worked well because the audition was fantastic. And I don't know if you all remember when Angela interviewed Leslie for our Stairmageddon episode, he shared his side of the audition experience.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. That is so funny hearing what Terry saw, because it was very true of what was happening in his life at the moment. Leslie's interview is really fun. If you guys missed it, you can find it in our Stairmageddon Breakdown. But I thought we should hear what he had to say about the day he auditioned. Here it is.

[C]

I got my job on the Office. Allison Jones called me in and said that she wanted me to audition for a show called the Office, based upon the British version. I had never watched it, but heard it was successful. Went to the first audition, had on a very nice press shirt, suit, tie, was looking very elegant and dapper. Did the audition, she told me, said, okay, I want you to go to the callback. But when you go to the callback, don't go in looking as crisp and pressed as you are. You want to come in looking kind of slumpy and kind of, you know, shirt wrinkled, disheveled, because you are at this paper company and you've been there for quite a time, and you really don't want to be there. So I went to the audition, got to the callback audition. I had another audition that day for another project, and when I got to the office audition, There were about 50, 75 people there. It was very crowded room, and I looked and I thought, so wait a minute, all these people are ahead of me. I have time to go to my other audition. Hopped in the car, left, went to the other audition. On the way back, ran into a lot of traffic and ambulances and school buses and every senior citizen in the free world out driving. So when I got back, I got to sit down and do my reading with Phyllis Smith. Alison Jones said, oh, Leslie, thank you so much for being patient and waiting. They said, you were in the restroom, you know, And I would just went, oh, yeah, okay, no, my pleasure. I didn't mind waiting at all, and sat down, read with Phyllis. Greg Daniels told us, when you finish the scene on the paper, just keep going. He wanted us to do some improv, so I did. So I incorporated what I had just gone through, driving through rush hour traffic with Phyllis, and Phyllis was feeding me all the good vibes that she was feeding me. And we bantered back and forth, and we looked up and the people at the casting table were laughing and, you know, cut me off, said, okay, thank you. And I went outside. Allison gave me two thumbs up, and I thought, you know, okay. She's just a sweet, loving, positive person, and I probably won't hear anything. A few weeks later, I got a call, and next thing I knew, they said, you booked it.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, I just think it's so funny. Like, Terri's little memory, just being like, I feel like he was annoyed that day, but it really worked.

[Angela Kinsey]

Maybe traffic, the heat, it was all of those things.

[Jenna Fischer]

All of those things.

[Angela Kinsey]

He was Stanley the minute he walked in that room. I love that. And I love hearing Leslie tell his story.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know, Leslie was one of the very first people from the extended cast that I met on the first day that I showed up to shoot the pilot. So I had done a table read with Steve, John Rainn, BJ And David Denman and Phyllis and other people, read.

[Angela Kinsey]

All of our roles. We weren't there. Yeah, I remember that.

[Jenna Fischer]

This was like a very early table read, I believe we did, for Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant for any maybe little notes that they had.

[Angela Kinsey]

And they were still closing our contracts and everything, so we couldn't go to that table read.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. So anyway, when I was walking into my first day of the pilot episode, I was meeting you and Oscar and Leslie and Brian all for the first time. But Leslie was. And I have such a strong memory of meeting him because he was so, like, friendly and, like, had a whole personality.

[Angela Kinsey]

You know how he is in real life.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, in real life. Yeah. And chatting, hair and makeup and all that. And then when he became Stanley, I was like, oh, my gosh, he's like a different person. It was. It was very, very funny to me. Yeah, he smiles a lot more in real life, you guys.

[Angela Kinsey]

He does. And he's thoughtful. He's like the person that's like, oh, Angela, I know you like tea in the morning. And he, like, would get you a cup of tea. Like, he's that person.

[Jenna Fischer]

He's also the kind of person where, like, if there's only a few chairs and he sees a lady come by, he stands up and gives his chair to her. Yes, he's that person.

[Angela Kinsey]

He is. And I have to tell you, I was cold so many times in those early mornings. I can't even tell you how many times Leslie would give me his suit jacket if I was cold.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, sweetheart. Well, listen, we also got a lot of questions about Stanley's family because it is a little bit of a hot mess. And I want to preface this by saying I don't think I got any answers, but we got so much mail about it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

That I wanted to at least address it. So. Fan question from Martina B. In Denver and Kendall W. In Phoenix, Arizona. How many kids does Stanley have? The slight inconsistencies bother me, so I'm hoping you ladies can help. In season two, Episode five, Halloween, Stanley says, I have kids in college. Kids, plural. Valentine's Day, Season 2, Episode 16, in Michael's video presentation, he says, this is Stanley Hudson, one of our talented salesmen, an African American father of two. In Take youe Daughter to Work Day, Season 2, Episode 18, we meet Stanley's daughter Melissa, but Melissa is in eighth grade. So does Stanley have two kids in college? And Melissa. Is Melissa his third kid? How many kids does Stanley have? Well, here's what I could piece together. In Sexual Harassment Season two, he has a photo of one daughter on his desk. And we know she goes to Catholic girls school.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And I assume that this is the same daughter that he brings to work in Take youe Daughter to Work Day. Her name is Melissa. And we also find out she is Stanley's daughter from his first marriage because she says, Terry is my stepmom. But beyond that, there are no details about additional children. However, for what it's worth, Wikipedia says Stanley has two children. I think the thing that's tripping us up is in Halloween when he says, I have kids in college. Yeah, I think he has two kids from his first marriage. One is in college, one is Melissa. I'm gonna give it to Stanley that he's the kind of person that just, you know how he is about having to pay for things, and he's just like, I've got kids in college. You know, he's gonna have another kid in college.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. College is looming for Melissa. He's already got one in college.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

I think he has two kids, period.

[Jenna Fischer]

Two kids.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay. That's what I thought as well. There's nothing in the show bible about it, because the show bible just says what he said.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know, fans were also confused about Stanley's very complicated love life.

[Angela Kinsey]

Ooh, it's spicy.

[Jenna Fischer]

So I'm gonna break it down. We know he has an ex wife and a current wife, Terry. In season six, we find out he's having an affair with Cynthia, his physical rehab nurse. And they end up knowing about one another because Michael accidentally tells Terry about Cynthia.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And then for a while, he's just with both of them. He has a wife and a girlfriend.

[Angela Kinsey]

I almost included that in my Stanley shutdown is when he bashed all the windows out of Michael's car.

[Jenna Fischer]

Sorry. Well, then in Stairmageddon, it is revealed that Stanley is having another affair with a woman named Lydia, who neither Cynthia nor Terry know about. So now he's in three relationships at once. And of course, there are also some questions as to whether or not Stanley also had an affair with Phyllis at any point. But, Angela, I know you're going to address that a little later in the pod.

[Angela Kinsey]

I am. I, Mom Detective. That one.

[Jenna Fischer]

Ooh.

[Angela Kinsey]

Ooh.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, that's all I got. I hope I was able to provide some new Stanley origin tidbits for you.

[Angela Kinsey]

I love it all listed out. I love sort of seeing the character as they unfolded on the show in the show bible list. I enjoy it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, why don't we take a break and when we come back we will get to our fan mail Q and A section for all about Stanley Hudson.

[Angela Kinsey]

Let's do it. I have some really great clips coming up that I can't wait to share. Hint, hint. Phyllis and Stanley. Mother's Day is almost here and Macy's is having their friends and family event now with an extra 30% off their best brands.

[Jenna Fischer]

This is the perfect time for dressing inspiration and gift ideas to celebrate Mother's Day. I'm gonna throw some ideas at you.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

Mother's Day gifting idea. A fragrance set, right?

[Angela Kinsey]

I like that.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know. What about leaning into some spring trends like something linen.

[Angela Kinsey]

I have always wanted like a linen pants and top like matching set.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

I've never done this for myself. Maybe I'll buy myself a Mother's Day gift.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know I'm all about that. But you know you could also do like a beauty basket because Macy's has Lancome Clinique.

[Angela Kinsey]

I'm just figuring out everything I want for myself for Mother's Day.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, Ange, then you should head to Macy's to shop the sale April 24th through May 4th and get up to an extra 30% off on your favorite brands and 15% off beauty exclusions.

[Angela Kinsey]

Apply shop in store or online@macy's.com Hear me out, Jenna. Let's say you just realized your business needed to hire someone. But like yesterday, how can you find an amazing candidate but really fast?

[Jenna Fischer]

I know the answer.

[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]

Office, just go to Indeed.com officeladies right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast.

[Jenna Fischer]

Indeed.com officeladies Terms and conditions apply.

[Angela Kinsey]

Hiring Indeed is all you need. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. So here's how it works. With better help, you can pay a flat fee for weekly sessions and that's going to save you big time on cost and time because therapy should feel accessible. And with online therapy, you get quality care at a price that makes sense.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

That's BetterHelp. H-E-L-P.com OfficeLadies.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right, we are back and thank you so much for writing in with all your questions. We'd hope to have Leslie on today for our Q and A section. Angela, you reached out and he was unavailable to come on the pod. But between Angela's conversation with him and some other folks we reached out to, we were able to get answers to a lot of your awesome questions. Okay, let's start off with a fan mail flurry all about pretzel day. This one came in from Abby W. In Charlotte, North Carolina, Amber R. From Charleston, South Carolina, Angela S. From oh, Ohio, and Haley S. From Nashville, Tennessee. Everyone wants to know what is Stanley's pretzel order?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, people are really curious about this.

[Jenna Fischer]

When I saw all of this mail, I thought, do we not know Stanley's pretzel order? He loves pretzel day. He stands in line.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right?

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, I watched it. The episode is the initiation, season three, episode five. Sure enough, after standing in line with Michael at nine minutes and 42 seconds, you see Stanley and Michael finally get to the front of the line. But the scene opens with Stanley getting his pretzel and walking away, just as Michael walks up and asks for his pretzel with the works. You never find out what Stanley's pretzel was. So wait, I go to the Peacock superfan episode. I'm like, they must. It must be there. No, I didn't give up.

[Angela Kinsey]

I feel like I have a memory of them eating them.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, you're correct. I'll get to that.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

But that moment still does not reveal what was on his pretzel.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

However, everyone, fan mail. Flurry. I now became obsessed with this. I'm going to tell you. I have the answer.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

I went to the shooting draft.

[Angela Kinsey]

I love it.

[Jenna Fischer]

In the shooting draft, Stanley had a line where he orders his pretzel. And here's what he said. One salty, please, extra mustard.

[Angela Kinsey]

There it is. Oh, my gosh. You just made so many people so happy. Yeah. That's Stanley's pretzel order. It's very simple.

[Jenna Fischer]

Mm. Now, while I was digging around in the Superfan episode, I found a tag with Stanley and Michael. It's what you were just talking about, Angela. It was a deleted scene, but it got added back in to the end of pretzel day. We actually talked about this in our breakdown of the initiation.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's probably why it was in my brain. I'm like, I know I. I have seen them eating these pretzels.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, they are bonding and eating pretzels together. Here's a clip.

[Angela Kinsey]

What makes them feel good?

[C]

I do not know.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, they're just dough twisted up a. Some candy. They taste so good in my mouth.

[C]

That's what she said.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right.

[C]

364 days till the next pretzel day.

[Jenna Fischer]

Isn't that great?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

So great. So Leslie actually said that that is one of his favorite deleted scenes, because he got to do a that's what she said joke and then laugh with Michael.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, that's an iconic office moment if your character has that moment with Michael.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Jenny S. From Pennsylvania wrote in and said, I would like to know what toppings Leslie would put on his pretzel on pretzel day. And thank you. Well, we got the answer. Leslie said he would like anything with chocolate, caramel, and pecans. That sounds pretty tasty.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. Very different from Stanley's pretzel order.

[Angela Kinsey]

Very different. More sweet, not so salty. Allison Kay from Orange county and Megan E. From Indianapolis said, what would be our pretzel order?

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, I love the cinnamon sugar pretzels. You know, you talked about Wetzel's pretzels earlier. I actually love the bites.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah. When you walk through the mall and they have that gal with the samples. Oh, forget about it. Sam, what's your favorite pretzel topping? I don't know that I've ever had.

[Jenna Fischer]

Anything on a pretzel.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, really?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, I.

[Angela Kinsey]

This whole concept is foreign to me.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, just salt. You can just love a salted pretzel. I do. I do love dipping them in cheese.

[Angela Kinsey]

In melted cheese.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's it.

[Angela Kinsey]

There's your topping There you go. I'm gonna take Stanley's order. Oh, you like the little mustard?

[Jenna Fischer]

Do you like just a regular yellow mustard or a spicy mustard?

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, if I could get a flight of different mustards, that would be awesome. I feel like I'm learning so much about you today.

[Jenna Fischer]

I really relate to Stanley.

[Angela Kinsey]

I like to keep it simple. I like just the salt.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. But I like it more in the pretzel shape than in the bite. And I'll tell you why.

[Jenna Fischer]

Tell me, tell me why.

[Angela Kinsey]

Because when you get the full pretzel, some of it is. Is soft, and some of it's a little crunchy. And you get both. And I like both. I like having a bite that's more soft and one that's crunchy. Whereas when you get the pretzel bites, they're great for size, they're great for travel, great for kids. But you don't get the crunchy. You just get the soft.

[Jenna Fischer]

There were so many. That's what she said in that. I know, I know, but you never.

[Angela Kinsey]

Paused, so you couldn't interject one.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, okay. I hear you. The thing I like about the pretzel bites is that my favorite part of the pretzel is more of the sort.

[Angela Kinsey]

Of the soft part.

[Jenna Fischer]

No, the crunchy part, the hard exterior.

[Angela Kinsey]

And you think you get those more in the pretzel bites.

[Jenna Fischer]

I do, because it's more like. It's. The soft dough is just in the middle, and I feel like it's more encased in the.

[Angela Kinsey]

I think you get more of an even bake. But I think with the big pretzel, like that crunch, the outer red, the outer edge of it sometimes is a lot harder than the little middle, skinny part of it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And I think I like the same thing I like about string cheese is I just can just eat it. Like, I pull it like a stick, and I can eat it like a stick. I can walk around the mall with it. Anyway, I've thought way too much. I've thought way too much about this.

[Jenna Fischer]

I did a little deep dive on what your favorite pretzel shape says about you.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, no. Well, you know mine.

[Jenna Fischer]

I do. Here are your choices. So remember how I revealed what your favorite cupcake says about you? Listen up, everyone. Here are your choices. Now, this applies to both a hard or a soft pretzel, okay? Because soft pretzels don't come in all of these different sizes. So do you like a twist, a stick, a Bavarian, a ring, or a nugget?

[Angela Kinsey]

What does the Bavarian look like?

[Jenna Fischer]

I think that's the traditional pretzel shape that you're thinking of with the skinny bits and then the outer bit.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, that's what I thought.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, I'm Bavarian. Okay. Sam. Cassie. I think Bavarian. I'll go twist, twist. Okay. I am clearly nugget.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

I even like a hard nugget. You know, like the kind they sell at Trader Joe's with the peanut butter inside. Yes, that's a nugget.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

And I like them soft as well. All right, our Bavarians, you are indoorsy and laid back, yet social, and you might be a romantic.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, Sam. Okay, we're endorsey. I would not pick that for us.

[Jenna Fischer]

Twists. You are energetic, outdoorsy and social. Dare I say, Angela, you might want to try a pretzel twist. Nuggets love being indoors, are laid back and enjoy socializing and like to engage others in lengthy conversations.

[Angela Kinsey]

That is not you.

[Jenna Fischer]

Are you kidding me? If I like you? Buckle in. You're going to get a lengthy conversation.

[Angela Kinsey]

Socializing. You love socializing.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, yeah. That part's a no.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, It's a combo for you.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right, well, just in case you're one of these others, I'll read them. If you like pretzel sticks, you are. Oh, no, there's one more I missed. Rods. Anybody like a rod? That's what she said.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, the big long one.

[Jenna Fischer]

What's the difference between a rod and a stick? I think sticks are tiny and skinny.

[Angela Kinsey]

And the rods are long and thicker.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, okay. No to both.

[Angela Kinsey]

So many twss.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, well, anyway, if you like a pretzel stick, you are laid back yet confident and prefer to be by yourself.

[Angela Kinsey]

You might be a st.

[Jenna Fischer]

I need to start eating some pretzel sticks. If you're a pretzel rod person, you are laid back and outdoorsy. A party is not your idea of a good time. Instead, you would prefer to go camping or hiking with some good friends. Finally, if you love a pretzel ring, you are health conscious, upbeat, you're a happy person, but you're concerned with your appearance.

[Angela Kinsey]

What?

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't know. Those two things don't seem to go together for me. If I'm concerned about my appearance, I'm stressed.

[Angela Kinsey]

All right, I saw a theme, and what does your pretzel say about you?

[Jenna Fischer]

What is it?

[Angela Kinsey]

Most of us are laid back.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know, I know.

[Angela Kinsey]

We hear laid back.

[Jenna Fischer]

If you like a pretzel period, you're laid back.

[Angela Kinsey]

Laid back.

[Jenna Fischer]

You're right. The only person who's not laid back Is a twist or a ring.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right, everyone, back to Stanley. Another very memorable thing about Stanley is his basketball dribble.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, his basketball skills, man. I went back to the shooting draft and I found the description of that moment. This is right at the start of the game, right when Michael grabs the ball after Pam throws it in. And the script says Michael fires the ball off to Stanley. Stanley takes off clumsily downfield. Michael is surprised at how bad he is. End quote. I found it very amusing that it says he goes down a field instead of down the court. Like, who wrote that description? But that was all Leslie had to go off of. Clumsily.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then he came up with this whole physicality of how Stanley dribbles, and it is hilarious.

[Jenna Fischer]

Phyllis and I were reminiscing about this because. And you know, you, me and Phyllis were all seated together in the background of the basketball episode.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. We were on that bench with a.

[Jenna Fischer]

Front row seat, and Phyllis was like, that is still so funny to her. She said that is her first memory of realizing the brilliance of Leslie David Baker. And I remember that too. I remember we all were just like, what?

[Angela Kinsey]

What is happening?

[Jenna Fischer]

That is amazing. So Leslie gets this question all the time. He's always asked, how did you come up with that? People want to know, is that how he really dribbles? And the answer is no. Leslie shared that that style of dribbling is modeled after someone he went to high school with. Oh, but that's all he'll say.

[Angela Kinsey]

He can't name names.

[Jenna Fischer]

No.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, that's so good.

[Jenna Fischer]

I wonder if that person, though, they know they went to high school with Leslie and they've probably seen the office. Do they know? I don't know.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. I don't know. I mean, if you dribble like that, it's pretty distinct.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know.

[Angela Kinsey]

We also got this question about Leslie's background work. Fan question from Jane in Woodstock, Georgia. She said, in talking heads that had the window facing the bullpen, I noticed that sometimes Stanley's head was completely still, and sometimes you would see his head moving slightly as if he was actually doing work. Did Leslie have to be in the background for every single talking head, or was there a green screen for times Leslie couldn't make it to set? Emily R. Wrote in from Calgary to also say, did Leslie make overtime our bonuses for being in the background of talking heads all the time? Well, you guys, no, he did not make overtime for that or get a bonus. He was amazing and steadfast and such a trooper for years. And Years, there was no green screen. That was always him.

[Jenna Fischer]

Always.

[Angela Kinsey]

Always.

[Jenna Fischer]

And here's the thing, everyone. We would do our talking heads in a clump either first thing in the morning or at the very end of the day. And then the sort of middle of the day was our group work. But if you weren't in the talking heads, you got to come in late or you got to leave early after the group work. But not Leslie.

[Angela Kinsey]

No.

[Jenna Fischer]

There were times when Leslie came in at five in the morning and he just sat in the background for two hours or he had to stay later at the end of the day to wrap out the talking heads. And he never complained about it.

[Angela Kinsey]

No. And I think about that when they were deciding where we would all sit, we had no idea what shots we would be in the background of. I really lucked out because I was behind that big partition.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

So I was often not seen. That's why I would have to walk out to the copier so many times. Yeah. But Leslie was right in the middle of the bullpen. But what he didn't realize is he was right behind that chair where they would end up having the conference room scenes. And no one could have known that.

[Jenna Fischer]

No.

[Angela Kinsey]

That was sort of found as the show went.

[Jenna Fischer]

And most of the time they could frame out Phyllis or they could frame out Creed, who sort of sits in that same corridor. But they couldn't frame out Stanley.

[Angela Kinsey]

No. His desk is right there.

[Jenna Fischer]

Right there. Next, we have a fan question from Sarah B. Who is originally from Sweden but lives in Salt Lake City. Sarah said Leslie did a fabulous job as Stanley. And as the most viewed background actor, I am assuming he must have gotten quite bored. What did he do to entertain himself during all those shots? Well, Sarah, Leslie said he did a lot of online shopping. He once he even helped Phyllis shop for her Emmy dress.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. I remember him saying how thankful he was when we got Internet. That was a game changer for him. But he would often look things up for us. If you said just even in passing, like, oh, I need to get new bedding, and I've been trying to look for, like, you know, a blue comforter. He would look up things for you. I remember the year that Phyllis wanted to get Christmas stockings, and he searched so many Christmas stockings for her. She had a very specific thing she wanted. I remember it being a whole conversation. Well, you know, we also got another fan mail flurry, and it's about the relationship between the characters of Stanley and Phyllis. There are so many fan theories about them. There are articles, YouTube compilations, Reddit threads all about Phyllis and Stanley. Some say they were the true office BFFs. One of them said that they were each other's work spouse and that really cracked me up.

[Jenna Fischer]

I think that's true.

[Angela Kinsey]

I found two examples that I loved. There are many. But I want to share two of Phyllis and Stanley being each other's work spouse. My absolute favorite is a very small moment. It's from the episode Blood Drive and they're trying to get free cookies from the bloodmobile. I remember that Stanley goes in first and Phyllis is lurking outside the bloodmobile, like waiting. Let's hear it.

[C]

Pardon me, I have a chocolate chip cookie. I gave blood earlier and I'm still feeling woozy.

[Angela Kinsey]

Of course, that's weird. You got a cotton ball and tape and we've been using band aids.

[C]

Oh, I feel so woozy. I just. Band aids.

[Angela Kinsey]

Ah, damn. So they both put a cotton ball in tape and then when they went in, they found out that that particular bloodmobile doesn't do it like that. It's so funny. Phyllis is like, damn it. Anyway, it just cracked me up. I love the two of them. But there is one fan theory that we got a ton of mail about. We're going to get to the bottom of it today. Several of you wrote in, like Rocco from Canada and many others, saying, did Stanley and Phyllis ever hook up? Is Stanley the person Phyllis is talking about when she said she hooked up with someone in the office?

[Jenna Fischer]

Angela, I know you're very excited about this because I got a very excited message from you yesterday saying you have an answer.

[Angela Kinsey]

I do. This was like your mom detective moment about what does Stanley have on his pretzel?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, that was my obsessive moment this week.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, well, first of all, there's an article on Looper based off a fan theory. The fan theory was on Reddit. The user was JoeyH595, who started a thread that suggested the two could have had a sexual relationship before the series was filmed.

[Jenna Fischer]

So this would have been a hookup that even predates the pilot. They didn't hook up during any part of the show we're watching.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, according to this fan theory.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

One piece of evidence to support this is in season two's Sexual Harassment, Toby reminds the staff that they must disclose any romantic relationships people have with co workers. And then Phyllis promptly says, does that include a one night stand? Suggesting that she had a tryst with someone working close by. The show never reveals who it could be, but a lot of people think it might be Stanley because one they say, well, they both have a history of adultery. Stanley famously cheats on his wife several times. And then some people pointed out that in the episode the chump, Michael says, why is it okay for Phyllis to cheat on her diet? And he makes this pause and he pivots. And they think that abrupt pivot means that Michael knew that Phyllis cheated on Bob Vance but then had to pivot to cover it.

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't think Phyllis cheated on Bob Vance.

[Angela Kinsey]

I absolutely don't think Phyllis cheated on Bob Vance at all. No. So this leads me to my mom detective moment, because not only is this fan theory, but Leslie shared that one of his favorite scenes that he did with Phyllis ever on the whole show was unfortunately deleted. And he said, it's where Stanley and Phyllis are having cocktails at their desk.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, Angela. And I remember you said, oh, I want to find that. I'd love to play Leslie's favorite scene with Phyllis. And so you went down this road. You're looking for it. What episode was that?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, because I'm like, if they're drinking after hours together, does that support this theory that they have a relationship? Well, I couldn't find it anywhere. I could not find this deleted scene. So I reached out to Dave Rogers. He immediately, of course, was like, angela, that was a tag written for Doomsday. It's not.

[Jenna Fischer]

I can't believe that. I can't believe he was like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Deleted. Stanley Phillis having cocktails at their desk. Doomsday tag.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, doomsday tag. He said, it's not in deleted scenes. It's probably in the shooting draft. So I go to the shooting draft. It's not there. I go to the candy bag alts. It's not there. Finally, I go to an early table draft that we had, and there it is. There is the tag. And I guess they actually shot it. Wow. And here is what happens in the tag. Are you ready?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. And this is going to reveal if they have ever hooked up.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, my gosh.

[Angela Kinsey]

So in the Doomsday episode, if you remember, Stanley pulls out a bottle of brandy that he says he's been saving just for a day like this.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay. Stanley's telling Phyllis a story. They're a little tipsy. He's saying, you know, the recruiter told me my eyes were too bad to enlist. Phyllis is like, I'm sorry. It sounds like you really wanted to go to Vietnam. Can I have some more of that brandy?

[Jenna Fischer]

This is a ridiculous conversation.

[Angela Kinsey]

Stanley says, sure, can. And don't call me Brandy. And then they start laughing. And then Stanley goes to pour Phyllis a drink, and it overflows. He says, whoopsie daisy, Stanley's drunk. And he looks at the spill and says, have you ever seen anything so sad? And they laugh. And then Phyllis dabs a little bit of brandy behind her ear.

[Jenna Fischer]

Where's this going?

[Angela Kinsey]

She says, this drives Bob crazy. Then she starts wincing and goes, ow, ow, ow. My eczema.

[Jenna Fischer]

Ow.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay. It's better. Stanley goes, you okay? And Phyllis says, yes, thank you for asking. Stanley says, you are welcome.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'm on the edge of my seat right now.

[Angela Kinsey]

Then there is a long pause. What? And then here's something they say at the same time, overlapping dialogue. Overlapping dialogue. After a long pause and drinking brandy, Stanley says, how's Bob doing? Phyllis says, I've never been with a black man before.

[Jenna Fischer]

What? What?

[C]

Wow.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then there is a long beat and Stanley says, good night. And he leaves, feeling a little awkward and exits. Oh, my gosh.

[Jenna Fischer]

There's so much to unpack. There is so much to unpack. Okay, so first of all, it answers the question. They have not hooked up before.

[Angela Kinsey]

They've never hooked up. But I feel like it sort of teases that in this moment, Phyllis might.

[Jenna Fischer]

Have been up for it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Is this her I knew what I was doing Pam moment?

[Angela Kinsey]

I think maybe so. And you know, so many fan theories point to these moments where there was tenderness between them, even though they got on each other's nerves.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

You know, I mean, Stanley whittled that.

[Jenna Fischer]

Whole thing for her.

[Angela Kinsey]

Phyllis.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. As a chicken or whatever, as a.

[Angela Kinsey]

Bird person in the finale. I mean, he clearly cares for her.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

But yeah, I'm telling you, the long pause is where everything happens.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, my gosh. Put that on a mug.

[Angela Kinsey]

So there was my mom detective moment.

[Jenna Fischer]

I loved it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Thank you, Dave, for pointing me in the right direction. But, yeah, I mean, a little bit of brandy, dot, dot, dot. But nothing. But nothing happened. And I think that settles it. That they had never hooked up.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, in real life, Leslie and Phyllis were very good friends. They are still good friends. In fact, Leslie said his favorite person to do scenes with is Phyllis because she's an amazing actress and because they are friends in real life. And we reached out to Phyllis to ask her about working with Leslie, and she said this. Leslie is a real stand up guy with character and principles and a sense of humor that just adds charm being with him. She confirmed that they did a lot of online shopping together and she said they would also run to Walmart and do Errands together. If there was ever a long break in filming. Could you imagine?

[Angela Kinsey]

I know, I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

Like, if they weren't in a couple of scenes in the afternoon, they'd just go hop over to Walmart together.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's so adorable. And they also would show up for each other at their premieres and things. I mean, I saw a picture that Leslie went with Phyllis for her. The oa, the show on Netflix, her premiere. Yeah, he did the red carpet with her. But we all used to get paired up to do press on the show. You know, I would get paired up with Brian or Rain. You would get paired up with John.

[Jenna Fischer]

Quite a bit usually.

[Angela Kinsey]

And Phyllis and Leslie were always paired up together. I found an interview of the two of them on the red carpet for the BAFTA tea years ago. They were very excited about things that were coming up for their characters on the show, and. And I watched the whole interview. It just warmed my heart because you could just. I don't know, you could hear their love for their show. You could hear their familiarity and friendship, and I thought I'd share it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Hello, sir.

[Angela Kinsey]

How you doing? A huge office freak. It's one of my favorite shows. Okay, what can we expect this year? Well, we know. Wait, spoilers.

[C]

Well, you already saw Thursday night. What happened. I have issues. I. I'm cheating and tearing up cars and just, you know, I'm having a midlife man crisis. I don't know.

[Angela Kinsey]

Are you happy with that storyline?

[C]

I am, because it was so much fun to do, and it was unexpected and unpredictable, and it surprised me. It surprised the other cast members, and it was fun to do.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's always nice because it keeps it fresh.

[C]

Absolutely fresh. Yeah, you know, gets stretchy. Acting jobs.

[Angela Kinsey]

You guys actually stick to the script more than we assume you do, right? Well, usually we lay the script out. It depends on the director and his style of directing. But they would like for us to lay it down as written, and then they say, okay, play with it, and then we're allowed.

[C]

And then it goes places you never dreamed of.

[Angela Kinsey]

Did you see any deleted scenes?

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, I loved that. You gotta share that, Angela, so that people can watch the whole thing. That was just a little snippet.

[Angela Kinsey]

I will. I think I just love that you hear Leslie's laugh and, you know, he's just full of joy and so not like his Stanley character. And I thought it was nice to hear that.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, Phyllis reminded me of another thing about Leslie. She said whenever they were at a work party and he would meet someone for the first time without Missing a beat. If he saw them at the next work party, he could remember their name.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's amazing. Yes, that's a talent.

[Jenna Fischer]

I remember that about him. It was pretty incredible, actually, because we would meet a lot of people at those events and he would remember everybody.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Well.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right, everyone, we're getting to the end here, but we did get a fan question from Matt T. In Allendale, Michigan, who said, do we know how many crossword puzzles Leslie Stanley worked on over the years? Well, first of all, Leslie said he really did do the crossword puzzles and he did lots of them.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mm. Yes. One time he was asked this and he sort of did the math. He said, okay, over a nine year period, about five a year over, I think 60 books. We went through 60 books. That's what he said.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, Leslie also shared that he actually fell asleep at his desk just like Stanley did.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, can you blame him? Coming in at five in the morning, sitting back there.

[Jenna Fischer]

He said when he had the mask on for the Halloween episode, he fell asleep. And also once after a Christmas party, he fell asleep on the couch.

[Angela Kinsey]

I kind of remember that.

[Jenna Fischer]

I do too.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, we just tiptoed around him while he napped. I remember that. Well, you know, as we talk about the character Stanley, I always love to know what episodes or scenes our castmates hold dear or have great memories of their time filming the Office. And Leslie said his favorite Stanley focused scene was when Michael Scott tried reviving Stanley from his heart attack. And his favorite non focused Stanley episode was Phyllis and Bob Vance's wedding. He said he also really enjoyed the episode where Dwight and Clark roll him in bubble wrap.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, he talked about that in his Stmageddon interview.

[Angela Kinsey]

He did. And then we talked to Clark and it was also one of his favorite episodes. Finally, I thought we could end with Stanley's where are they now? You know, there's a lot of theories about where each of the characters are.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

And pretty unanimously, everyone thinks Stanley's very happy in Florida. And I think Stanley answers it the best. In the finale. He says, yes, I'm living in Florida now. A little town called Florida City, just on the edge of the Everglades. The man who delivered my divorce papers came by fanboat, which was kind of fun. I sit on my porch all day carving birds.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, there you have it. That's all about Stanley Hudson. In honor of pretzel day this Saturday, make sure you get yourself some free pretzels. It'll mean you're laid back.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's right.

[Jenna Fischer]

Have a laid back Saturday.

[Angela Kinsey]

Back Saturday. Thanks so much for writing in you guys. And thanks so much to Leslie for telling us about his audition and sharing with us about his time on the show. We love you guys and we hope you have a good one.

[Jenna Fischer]

See you next time. Thank you for listening to Office Ladies.

[Angela Kinsey]

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

[Jenna Fischer]

Our executive producer is Cassie Jerkins, our audio engineer is Sam Kieffer, and our associate producer is Ainslie Bebekow.

[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.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Angela Kinsey]

We love our realtors like love love.

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[Angela Kinsey]

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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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[C]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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