The Office Star Fans Think Doesn't Get Enough Credit For Their Acting Skills
It's a safe bet that for some fans — and their repeated watches of "The Office" – the choice of favorite characters can switch more times than an iPod in a Yankee Swap. The staff at Dunder Mifflin all played their part in bringing the Emmy-award-winning series to life for its nine beloved seasons. From the four-toed Creed (Creed Bratton) and his sometimes heinous activities in the background, to Pam (Jenna Fischer) forever being one of the few voices of reason in a chaotic workplace, there was an employee for every mood.
In the eyes of some fans, though, there was one character in particular that, while they may not have made the top spot for some, certainly deserved to be there.
Some of the best characters on the show weren't necessarily popular, and that's precisely why they made the nail-pulling laughs so much better. Let's be honest, if you had Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) as a colleague, wouldn't you stuff his phone full of pennies, too? If Ryan (B.J. Novak) ended up being your boss briefly, wouldn't you relish sticking him in a cupboard on his fall back down the employment ladder? Also, the less said about Toby (Paul Liebertstein), the better, right? There was one particularly prickly member of accounting specifically, though, that some fans feel didn't get nearly enough credit as being the office killjoy, regardless of how she handled the Party Planning Committee.
Fans think Angela Kinsey's performance in The Office is massively underrated
On The Office subreddit, u/djsedna argued that Angela Kinsey, as the accounting team's uptight, cat-obsessed member, isn't just a great addition to the show, but the best of the bunch. "My actual unpopular opinion. Angela is the best character on the show, by far," they said. "A character doesn't have to be someone you agree with or idealize to be a great character. Angela Kinsey hits every note in this role."
Interestingly, it was a role that she didn't initially go for. When auditioning for "The Office," Kinsey actually went for the part of Pam before it went to Jenna Fischer. We can be thankful that didn't come to pass, as the role she clinched instead proved to be what many deem as one of the show's finest. "I wouldn't say she's my favorite, but I think Angela Kinsey's performance is very underrated," one fan admitted. "It's not easy to play the uptight/stoic/humorless 'straight' character and commit to it when you know you're not going to be well-liked by the audience."
Playing a character designed to be disliked to a degree has often led to some of the best performances on television, and this one was no different. Angela certainly wasn't a TV villain in line with the likes of Homelander in "The Boys," or Cersei Lannister from "Game of Thrones," but being an uptight thorn in so many sides was something the real Angela was openly proud to have accomplished.
Angela Kinsey loved knowing she was the office killjoy
As has been a common trend over the years, any cast members that play the foil of the show always seem to be the ones that have the most fun. Those are the characters we hate to love, and according to Kinsey herself, her take on Angela in "The Office" earned feedback that surpassed any annual employment review. Speaking to Vanity Fair in 2008, she revealed, "I have more people than you can imagine come up to me and say, 'Oh, my god — I sooo work with an Angela Martin, and she drives us all crazy. She's the fun-stopper of the office.'"
It was a clear indicator for the star that she was on the right track. "I'm like, 'Cool.' I love to hear it.'"
A lot rested on Kinsey when it came to perfecting the prissy member of accounting and turning her into the iconic fun sponge we know and learned to (sort of) love, but she did admit that there was a joint effort in getting Angela to where she ended up. "We're sort of shaping the characters together — there's a real give and take," she revealed. "But maybe a good sound bite for you on what I like about my character — that she's crazy! And it's fun to play crazy."