The writers of The Office made some interesting choices over nine seasons. Casting actors & then just using their actual names for their characters might be the most quietly genius one.
There are at least five of them.
One even goes by his first AND last name. Here’s every Office character who shares their real name, & why it works perfectly for each one.
Angela Martin, Played by Angela Kinsey
Angela Martin is most known for her ongoing, somewhat on-the-down-low relationship with Dwight K. Schrute, & of course, their eventual marriage.
Her presence on the Planning Party Committee throughout the series is also pretty entertaining.
My least favorite thing about Angela was her cat obsession, but somehow that got sort of taken care of by Dwight K. Schrute (RIP, Sprinkles).
Angela Martin is played by Angela Kinsey during the entire series of The Office.
Phyllis Vance, Played by Phyllis Smith
While I never took issue with Phyllis, I liked her even more after she married Bob Vance with Vance Refrigeration.
Heck, most fans liked her more when she announced she was dating Bob Vance.
Then she was engaged to Bob Vance.
Then she got married to Bob Vance.
Everyone in The Office was super-supportive of Phyllis & Bob Vance… Except for Pam on their wedding day.
Apparently, Phyllis was impressed by the decorations that Pam had selected for her wedding to Roy, which never did materialize & implemented them at her & Bob Vance’s wedding.
The silver lining to Phyllis playing copycat was still using Kevin’s band, Scrantonicity.
Even Pam was down with that.
Phyllis & Bob Vance (with Vance Refrigeration) are in love & in a bowling league together. Who wouldn’t like to join this bowling league?
Also, who would not want to late lunch with Phyllis & Stanley & have Jim pay for it?…
Phyllis Vance is played by Phyllis Smith. Like Angela, Phyllis is also part of the Planning Party Committee. Another fun fact about Phyllis — she went to high school with Michael Scott.
Oscar Martinez, Played by Oscar Nunez
Oscar Martinez, the token homosexual on The Office, is played by Oscar Nunez. The Office fans can’t forget the day Michael Scott “outed his gayness.”
Later in the series, Oscar has an affair with Angela’s husband (the State Senator).
Perhaps this was karma for Angela. Prior to meeting & getting married to the (state) Senator, she had that ongoing sort-of-secret relationship with Dwight. During this time, she managed to get engaged to Andy Bernard, all the while still sleeping with Dwight.
PS: The entire office knew Angela & Dwight were sleeping together, all the while Angela was engaged to Andy.
Well done, Oscar. Well done.
It was also enjoyable when Oscar’s reaction to Dwight accidentally discharging his weapon in The Office was that there were hardwood floors underneath the carpet, not so much if anyone was hurt, including Andy Bernard & his eardrum.
Creed Bratton, Played by Creed Bratton
Seriously… Creed Bratton is played by Creed Bratton on The Office.
What Creed Bratton actually does at The Office is somewhat of a mystery. Well, it was a mystery until Creed Bratton not doing his job went well beyond playing solitaire full-time.
During the “Product Recall” episode, we learn from the horse’s mouth that he was not providing the quality control measures he’s actually responsible for providing.
This oversight (of playing an abundance of solitaire rather than even sort of working) led to the production of a significant amount of paper being supplied to a large school district featuring a duck doing something inappropriate to a mouse in the style of a watermark.
He only told the camera about this (ongoing) oversight & went on to make a couple of phone calls to “make things go away” (for Creed, only).
Other honorable contributions to The Office from Creed Bratton include him doing #2 in the women’s bathroom whenever possible, & trying to show his foot with 4 toes to the kids during “Bring Your Kid to Work Day.
It just makes sense that, of all of The Office characters, Creed Bratton would be played by Creed Bratton.
Clark Green, Played by Clark Duke
Finally, we have Clark Green (Dwight Junior), played by Clark Duke.
While Clark was not a series-long character like the other four characters using their real names on The Office, Clark did add a little somethin’-somethin’ to the show.
Somethin’ 1: His Uncanny Resemblance to Dwight
“Dwight Jr.” was coined almost immediately upon Clark’s arrival at Dunder Mifflin. It’s apparent that Dwight was totally on board. A little too on board…
Somethin’ #2: His Open Mind to Replace Hunter as Jan Levinson’s Young Man Infatuation
No one can forget Jan Levinson, the recurring woman on The Office who would not go away…
“Dwight Sr.” ends up fetching Clark & offering him up as a pseudo-Hunter to make a sale at the Scranton White Pages.
Just like we will never really know about Hunter, we will never really know how things shook out with Clark (Dwight Jr.) & Jan.
Using Real Names on The Office: Lazy, Genius, or Convenient Coincidence?
Some choices on The Office were lazy. Some were genius. Using your actual name for your character is somehow both at the same time.
It’s not my first day watching The Office & it isn’t yours either. Which of these surprised you most?
Discover more from NOT MY FIRST DAY
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Bob Vance is played by Robert R Shafer, so that makes 6!
Also Dan Gore played by Dan Cole and with the steady hand is Hidetoshi Hasawaga played by Hidetoshi Imura to make 8!