The Chicago Fire Character You Forgot The Office's Brian Baumgartner Played
It's fair to say that NBC's hit comedy series "The Office” was a career-defining project for many of the series' stars. These days, it's nearly impossible to see those actors in other projects without thinking of them as their characters from "The Office." Steve Carell can take on all the dramatic roles he likes — but for most viewers, he will still be Michael Scott. Rainn Wilson will always be Dwight Schrute, John Krasinski will always be Jim Halpert, and Brian Baumgartner will always be Kevin Malone.
Whether he was the butt of the joke or the one delivering it, Kevin was consistently one of the funniest characters "The Office" had to offer. Who can forget his infamous chili scene? Or that time his shoes were incinerated by the hotel staff for being too smelly? Or even the ongoing joke about how he can barely grasp the fundamentals of math, despite being one of the office accountants? Every time Baumgartner appears in another project, it's always a bit of a shock to see our beloved Kevin Malone doing something totally out of character — and nowhere is that more evident than his cameo on "Chicago Fire."
Baumgartner played a sleazy attorney on Chicago Fire
Baumgartner appears in the "Chicago Fire" Season 5 episode "That Day," playing an attorney named Scott Powers. After an accident wherein Gabriela Dawson (Monica Raymund) strikes a pedestrian with a firetruck, Powers arrives at the firehouse to take photographs of the damage to the truck as evidence — despite the team's protests that some of the dents and scrapes he's photographed are from several months ago. Powers explains that he's representing the victim's son who is suing the Chicago Fire Department.
Baumgartner comes across as a sleazy jerk, who goes out of his way to call Dawson "sweetheart" and seems to take great pleasure in tearing down the Fire Department's reputation. This role is about as far away from Kevin Malone as possible — on top of the fact that while Kevin is a good, kind-hearted person, there is no way he possesses the intellect to be a lawyer. It's one of the more dramatic parts that Baumgartner has taken since leaving "The Office," but it's definitely interesting to see the actor step outside of his comfort zone.