Steve Carell is on a whole other level.
Not only did the actor grace our screens as Michael Scott for seven seasons and write some fan-favorite episodes in the series (looking at you, “Casino Night”), but he tried his hand at directing on The Office, too.
On the latest episode of the Office Ladies podcast, former co-stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey chatted all about the Season 5 episode, “Broke,” which was written by Charlie Grandy and directed by drumroll THE Steve Carell.
Fischer and Kinsey fondly reminisced about Carell’s time behind the camera with line producer Randy Cordray and cinematographer Randall Einhorn. They even reached out to Carell himself to chat about the experience.
Warning: The following quotes will make you love Steve Carell even more.
Not only was “Broke” Carell’s first time directing an episode of The Office, it was his first time directing anything. Kinsey said despite Carell’s lack of experience he was so prepared and everyone was genuinely impressed by his leadership skills.
“We talked to Randy Cordray about that, and he said Steve’s work ethic was incredible, that he was totally prepared. He had great ideas, great energy,” Fischer said. “[Cordray] said [Steve] was so respectful of every crew position. He wanted everyone’s input to make the scenes better. [Cordray] said Steve totally immersed himself in the prep of this episode.”
Kinsey said she loved being directed by Carell, and Fischer reached out to him to learn what the experience was like firsthand.
“I traded some messages with Steve about this episode. I just wanted to know, Steve, what was that like for you to direct all of us? Because he was, I believe, the first cast member to step into a directing role,” she said. “Here’s what Steve said. This is a quote: ‘It was like being the conductor of a world class orchestra. Everyone was so good, it was pretty easy.'”
Absolutely precious.
Fischer went on to share that having a main cast member direct an episode did present some challenges. Naturally, Carell was unable to watch the scenes he was performing in, so he struggled a bit with balancing director duties and acting responsibilities.
“The week before you direct an episode, the director normally preps the episode, and that sort of involves meeting with each of the different department heads to make decisions about the locations, about the props, the wardrobe, [and] camera setups. And this was a little tricky for Steve, because Steve spent the prior week acting in an episode,” Fischer explained.
“I remember he had to sort of squeeze things in,” Kinsey recalled. ” Like he’d be in a scene and then he would have to, like, hop into a van to go location scout.”
Thankfully, the Michael Scott Paper Company storyline allowed Steve a couple of days off every week, and he used that time to prep for “Broke.”
“I also spoke with Randall Einhorn, our cinematographer, who said he remembers Steve was very focused on characters and actor performance as a director,” Fischer said. “[Einhorn] said [Steve] was just so respectful. He was so devoid of any ego. And that’s how I remember working with Steve. He just made you better naturally.”
“He’s just someone that makes everything better,” Kinsey confirmed.
Carell went on to use “Broke” as his submission for the Emmys “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series” category, but tragically, he didn’t win. To this day, Fischer and Kinsey (along with a slew of fans) are baffled that Carell never snagged an Emmy for his role as Michael Scott.
Be sure to listen to the full podcast to hear more behind-the-scenes stories from filming “Broke.”
You can stream episodes of The Office on Peacock and follow along with the podcast every week on Earwolf, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher.