Brian Baumgartner
Appearances
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Yes, I know. Some people say, and you can't see it if you're listening to us, that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I think the cover looks really good. So good. I want to be judged by the cover.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Well, part of the idea came from what fans have talked to me and I'm sure the two of you about, which is one of their family traditions at the holidays has been to binge watch The Office Christmas episodes. Yes.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Yeah, and Frosty and the Grinch. Elf, Elf, sure. Yes, that people are watching the Christmas episodes. So that's sort of where it started. The idea for adapting the Night Before Christmas poem, you know, the night before Christmas.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Not at Dunder Mifflin. That was, truthfully, the very first text I ever memorized. That was my first memorized performance in front of my family.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
We had a giant, and no one can see my hands. Probably three feet tall, like a big illustrated version of The Night Before Christmas.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
And it started by me reading it when I learned to read. What is that? Four, five, six-ish? You held up the big giant book, Brian? I would be holding the book and would read the thing. And that was one of our traditions.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
And then one year I memorized it. And then I recited it for everybody as my sister turned the pages and I didn't look at it. That is so sweet. So that has a special connection to me. But in that book, one of the most important things is the illustrations.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
And so when we started to have this idea and talk about adapting The Night Before Christmas and setting it here in the office, I had worked on this show, Trash Truck. that Glen Keane had executive produced. Now, Glen Keane is like literally a god in the animated world. So I called him, I called him about five times to say like, you have to, he's very busy.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
I was like, you have to do this because I knew he was a big fan of The Office. So I was like, look, you have to do this. My L Gormalin, he is the one who actually did the drawings, but I was on calls with Glenn, his whole team and my L every week. That was my favorite part of this for, I don't know, two, three months.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
We would have like a two hour call and talk about every image and what it looked like and how the characters were developed. And that was really fun to do.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
I'm so glad that you mentioned that because when the first drawing started coming in, the thing that I kept catching inside of me, I was like, where are we? Where exactly are we backed by the accountants? And so that was my first... major and only sort of note about that was the architecture of the space is so important.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Like I want to know where we are within this layout that everybody knows so well. Most of the people who read this will understand it. So he took that and like flew with it, including exactly what you just brought up. Like we're coming into the book and
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
And so the angle, the perspective is us entering Dunder Mifflin from that classic, like we see the Jim and Dwight clump and Michael's office and the painting on the wall.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Yeah, I would say that it would be like a middle-of-the-road episode of The Office. So it's not like sexual harassment or diversity day or Scott's Tots or a dinner party.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Yes, there are some jokes. It's funny because I just have been doing signings. Oh, I mean like little ones. Like make this out to Gabe for his first birthday party. And I sort of did a look like –
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
That's true. But yes, it is intended to be an office fan keepsake. Yes. Not specifically for a four-year-old. It's not a children's book. That's right.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Well, I think you can guess. I will tell you the rhyming and like having a legit rhyme is often not as easy as you think that it might be. And so I had constructed how I wanted it to end. And there were words that was a specific word that was really difficult to rhyme with. And then, well... What was it? You'll have to read it. The button became. You'll have to read it.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
It was. And I think it turned out better, particularly along with the illustration. But yes, it came out of an inability to rhyme a certain word.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Yes. Again, it's not a – because some people have asked like, oh, which episode is it? Like it's not a specific episode. There are nods to certainly iconic moments from characters throughout the show or specific character traits from characters throughout the show as well as all of the Office Christmas episodes.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Thank you so much. Happy holidays to all of you out there and to all a good night. No, I don't know.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Oh, yes, there is. Yes, there is. There it is. If you don't want to read to your children who are old enough for this book, well, you can have me do it for you.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
All right. Thanks, guys. Thanks for having me.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Oh, you know, it's the most wonderful time of the year. Yep, it's time. And I'm so happy to be here in your new spot here in my old stomping ground in Hollywood, California, which is weird because neither of you live here. But thank you for supporting me. Your old memories? Yeah, I guess. Yeah.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Oh, I knew Angela's spot. You didn't invite me over then. Oh, this was before I knew you?
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
This is my first time on Office Ladies in person.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Now, I don't know about – let's address that first off. Our texting? Well, I didn't – I meant to apologize before. Let's just say there was a contentious text exchange that was happening one week ago when I was literally in Scranton, Pennsylvania, sitting at dinner, and I did get an office lady's text. You did.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
I wasn't going to reveal what it was about, but let's just say.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
And something was said, I got really fired up. And that was what I was going to say to you when I saw you today was like, that was kind of old school Brian, like fired up texting as fast as I could.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Like, I have to go right now, but this is aggravating me.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
In five years, Burn It to the Ground. That's right. Well, maybe you'll have me back on then. We can't wait. And then we'll burn it to the ground?
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Well, so I don't think that I have rhapsodized with you guys, probably because it was on Zoom and not in person. I think that's a word.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Rhapsodized? So falsy. For me... when people ask, cause people ask all the time, like what's your favorite episode or you know, whatever. I think it's for me, it's about what was going on outside of it now, as much as what the actual episode was, right? So for example, for me, I don't know if it's the same, we haven't discussed, this is not pre-planned.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Like for me, if people say like, what's your favorite episode? At this point, I pretty much say stress relief. And the reason why is one, great episode times two, double parter. But for me, I was – am still a big sports fan. And that episode, as I'm sure you guys know, aired after the Super Bowl that year. And that was the first – I was invited by NBC to go to the Super Bowl.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
And that was the first time I had ever been at a Super Bowl. And so I'm in the Super Bowl, which, you know, is – It's the Super Bowl.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
And on the like. Jumbotron. Jumbotron. I think that's an old timey word. I don't think they call it that anymore.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
That just means thinking. There was like The Office after the Super Bowl and it was like that's our show. Like that was it. So that for me has a particular – well, it's obviously fond memories of that. I think for the Christmas episode, it's the same but different. Like it's about what was happening outside and as I'm sure you guys have or will talk about, like –
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
That very first Christmas episode, it didn't launch the show. It wasn't the first episode of the show. But that episode really launched the success of the show. Like that episode became our largest audience since the premiere. And from there, you know, then Steve wins the Golden Globe.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
globe like three or four weeks later everything starts happening we get into the yeah we turned a corner you know at that point we didn't even have a full order for the season and they started after that um it became clear we were going to be around for a while so and The other thing I always – and this was a long time ago.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
I talked about like that episode being special because everybody did something. Like there was – everyone was sort of featured in some way. And then I said, you can make an argument except Meredith. However, she ends up having maybe one of the greatest moments on the show ever when she takes her top off and Michael snaps the picture of her at the very end of the episode.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
So that like suddenly like at the end, she sort of explodes as well. So that made it special. They were also hard. That's what she said. They were hard. You get one. I get one? Yeah. They were hard to produce the Christmas episodes because big party group scenes, everybody involved.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that – in terms of like singular moments for me in the Christmas episodes, I mean, that one does. And part of it is like, you know, when you look back at photos from your childhood back before there was – You know, we didn't have everything wasn't videotaped every five seconds. You look back at these photos or like video home, whatever.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
And that becomes like a part of your memory. Now that the bloopers reel with me sitting on Steve's lap has just like everywhere. So it's like keeps like it keeps that so fresh in my mind. And the thing that I've said to people, and I think this microphone will work really well, that, like, it was funny.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
But, like, I had the, like, literal front row seat to him and the noise that he made when I sat down. I know. And he made it. And he knew he had the mic, but it was right in my ear. And as I would sit down, he did this. And I could – it was so difficult for me. I couldn't eat. And everyone else was laughing, but I was laughing too.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
And the way, you know, his face was just so like pained and almost he manufactured sweat coming down the side of his face. And I remember pretty early on, I don't know, maybe after just one or two takes, and we probably did – I turned to him and I'm like, are you okay? Like, this is like, are you okay? And he was like, oh God, yeah, no, I'm totally fine. I mean, you know him.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
He was just like, oh no, I'm totally fine. Like, I'm just literally putting this on, but yeah.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
He dives behind into the hallway. It's so ridiculous.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
Yeah, you know, the only other time that I think that happened for me, this is not Christmas related, but I'll tell it. The only other time that I remember it happening for me was with Amy Ryan. That was, for me, that was my person. Like that one was difficult, the sitting on the- At the vending machine.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
And the coins. Yeah. her earnest eyes looking into mine. So, I mean, and she just, Amy just stared right at you and her saying, this is a button I could not, like that she was really earnestly trying to tell me that. That one, if you go back and look, still like the last take, I think, and I think there was a conscious decision either by me or we were discussing it.
Office Ladies
Bonus Christmas Episode with Brian Baumgartner
I was like, guys, I don't know how this is gonna go. And we knew that it was going to edit into that, like, I'm totally going to bang Holly thing. And so I was like, oh, I can smile. Kevin can smile. Because he thinks what's coming. Yeah, because he sees what's coming. But that one was, oh, no, that was really difficult.