The Office (2005 TV series)/Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Characters from The Office (2005 TV series) include:

Michael Gary Scott (Steve Carell)

Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin, Scranton (seasons 1-7).

UK counterpart: David Brent

Dwight Kurt Schrute III (Rainn Wilson)

UK counterpart: Gareth Keenan

James Duncan "Jim" Halpert (John Krasinski)

UK counterpart: Tim Canterbury

Pamela Morgan "Pam" Halpert nee Beesley (Jenna Fischer)

UK counterpart: Dawn Tinsley

Ryan Bailey Howard (B.J. Novak)

  • The Artifact: He has been part of the opening credits since the first season despite being an ultimately minor character with shifts in role and personality to justify his place there. There has been some Lampshade Hanging in the seventh season about how Ryan does not even have a real position in the office anymore nor does he bother to do any work.
  • Beard of Evil
  • Composite Character: Although he is originally based on Ricky Howard from the UK show, when he takes Jan's place in corporate in season 4, his role and behavior become similar to that of Neil Godwin.
  • Cool Hat
  • Even the Guys Want Him: Lampshaded. Ryan confirms Angela's boyfriend is gay because he liked Ryan's pictures on facebook. At three in the morning.
    • Not no mention Michael's man crush on him.
  • Face Heel Revolving Door
  • Feigning Intelligence: As Regional VP, he turns out not so competent or confident in his position, and the use of "business buzzwords" doesn't hide it.
  • Going Native: Ryan was one of the most sane people in the beginning of the show; As of season 6, he has his own "quirks" like everyone else, probably from just accepting being stuck in the office for his life.
  • Good Hair, Evil Hair
  • Hipster: He has pretty much settled into this characterization starting in the sixth season.
  • It's Not Porn, It's Art
  • Man Child: Not as blatant as Michael, but Ryan's temperment and personality is comparable to that of a teenager's.
  • Nerd Glasses: Ryan starts wearing big thick rimmed glasses after they started becoming trendy.
  • Out of Focus
  • Pointy-Haired Boss
  • Satellite Character: During the first two seasons his defining characteristic was being The New Guy. He finally got more focus starting in Season 3.
  • Small Name, Big Ego: One attribute he's picked up from Michael.
  • Smug Snake
  • Straight Man / Deadpan Snarker: Both of which disappeared once he got promoted.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: Simply keeping to himself and avoiding attention from his co-workers, he stops coming off as shy by season 3. Turned into a complete douchebag the next season. Now he doesn't hold back and is openly sarcastic.
  • True Art Is Angsty
  • Welcome Episode: The Pilot is one for him.
  • What Exactly Is His Job?: His positions at the office were clearly shown throughout the first five seasons, but in the sixth season he phased into having no clearly indicated position in the office. The seventh season episode 'The Inner Circle' lampshades this and has him temporarily pretend to be Kelly's supervisor for Deangelo to give the appearance that he actually does work at the office.

UK counterparts: Ricky Howard, Neil Godwin (in season 4)

Andrew Baines "Andy" Bernard (Ed Helms)

  • Amusing Injuries
  • Cannot Spit It Out: With Erin. Though lately, it seems that he's gotten over her.
    • Not anymore. They are now together as of "Get the Girl".
  • Characterization Marches On: After going through Anger Management, he faces some pretty big Villain Decay and is now one the nicest people in the office.
  • Ensemble Darkhorse
  • Failure Knight
  • Heel Face Turn
  • Hot-Blooded: Until he goes to anger management.
    • Though, once he gets pushed over the edge, his anger issues resurface.
  • Jerkass --> Nice Guy
  • Like a Weasel
  • Manipulative Bastard: Initially. At least successfully around Micheal, maybe Josh from the Stanford branch.
  • Promotion to Opening Titles: Thanks to the trope below and Ed Helms having a starring role in a blockbuster comedy.
  • Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Even moreso in-universe. At first the office had an even lower opinion of him than they had of Dwight, but he eventually became more likeable, if still a bit annoying at times. Reaches its peak in "Gettysburg", where Jim and Darryl spell it out for him that the Office generally approves of him as Regional Manager and he doesn't need to prove anything to anyone anymore.
  • Small Name, Big Ego: At first. Some character development later and his confidence drops to practically nil.
  • The Unfavorite: Brutally apparent when Andy's parents and little brother attend his garden party.
    • Foreshadowed way before that when he explains that he was named Walter Jr. but was renamed Andrew because his younger brother "fit the name better".
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Really wanted to impress his family with being new manager of Dunder-Mifflin in a garden party. He doesn't get it from his father.
  • Will They or Won't They?: With Erin.
    • As of the episode "Get the Girl", they are finally a couple.
  • Yes-Man: At first. After anger management, his friendliness with Michael becomes more due to being a genuine nice guy than this trope.
  • You Are in Command Now: Andy's the new official manager of Dunder-Mifflin

Angela Noelle Lipton nee Martin (Angela Kinsey)

UK counterpart: Sheila

Kevin Jaye Malone (Brian Baumgartner)

  • Dull Surprise
  • Fat Idiot
  • Flanderization: The longer the show's on the air, the dumber he gets. It's hard to reconcile the Kevin of recent seasons as being the same character revealed to have won a World Series of Poker bracelet in season two.
  • The Gambling Addict
  • Genius Ditz: While he's not all that bright and a terrible accountant, he's a talented singer, musician, and cook.

UK counterpart: Keith Bishop

Oscar Juan Paul Martinez (Oscar Nunez)

  • The Danza
  • Insufferable Genius: He can get really obnoxious when he has something he wants to get across, notably in "China", "Costume Contest", and pretty much any time Angela's talking about her boyfriend. Hence his...
  • In-Series Nickname: Called "Mr. Actually" by the office because of know-it-all tendencies and correcting people by starting with "Actually..."
  • Insistent Terminology: Seems oddly obsessed with correcting Angela when she refers to her boyfriend as a Senator, as he's always quick to chime in with a "State Senator", to the point that he seemed conflicted when Angela gets it right.
  • Only Sane Man: Every character but Michael is this to some degree, but while other characters have some degree of hysteria, Oscar remains a representative of the levelheaded average guy.
  • Small Name, Big Ego: While he is smart, Oscar has a tendency to overestimate himself sometimes, such as in "China", where he loudly decries the figures Michael cites on cities in China and the US, only to be proven wrong, and in "Doomsday", where he tries to cut down on mistakes by doing the math in his head, and screws it up almost immediately.
  • Invisible to Gaydar
  • Straight Man
  • Twofer Token Minority: Occasionally pointed out by Michael or Dwight.

Phyllis Margaret Vance nee Lapin (Phyllis Smith)

Stanley James Hudson (Leslie David Baker)

UK counterpart: Malcolm

Meredith Elizabeth Palmer (Kate Flannery)

Creed Bratton (Creed Bratton)

  • Adam Westing: Creed Bratton is basically an exaggerated, weird version of the real Creed Bratton. Creed Bratton is a former member of the popular 1960's folk group The Grass Roots, as is his character.
  • Bi the Way: A kinda version mentioned in the "Gay Witch Hunt" episode: "I'm not offended by homosexuality. In the 60's, I made love to many, many women. Often outdoors. In the mud, in the rain. And it's possible a man slipped in. There would be no way of knowing."
  • Non Sequitur Scene
  • Card-Carrying Villain: more subtle, but his Halloween costumes have been Dracula and the Heath Ledger Joker.
  • Cloudcuckoolander
  • Cool Old Guy
  • Dirty Old Man
  • Evilly Affable: It's implied he had killed a person at some point in his life. In 'Murder', he runs away when Michael tells him that a murder was committed, unaware of the murder being just a game.
    • It is implied from various clues (and a talking head in 'Crime Aid') that he made a man who stole from him disappear, and has been assuming his identity ever since.
    • In 'Secret Santa', he describes himself to Phyllis-as-Santa as "really, really bad, more... evil and strictly wrong".
  • Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: See Moral Event Horizon below.
  • Moral Event Horizon: In "Product Recall", Creed is largely to blame for the recall. He shunts the blame over to some random supervisor at the paper mill, getting her fired. Afterwards, he collects money from the other office employees to send her off with - then pockets the money and tosses the Hallmark card in the trash.
    • In "Blood Drive" he actually steals a bag of donated blood.
  • The Un-Smile: In "Get the Girl", when Nellie Bertram arrives in Scranton to seize control of the manager's office while Andy's gone, she tells the staff she's giving them performance reviews, and that since she doesn't know anyone they'll be evaluated "on first impressions, so I recommend smiling. It goes a long way with me." The camera pans across a dejected-looking Kevin and Phyllis...and stops on Creed, who's donning a hilarious UnSmile.
  • Villain Team-Up: Dwight is reluctant to ally himself with Creed in one episode, but Creed agrees before even listening to the entire proposal.
  • You Are in Command Now: With Michael gone, Deangelo in coma, and Dwight...being Dwight, Creed - due to seniority - is appointed Acting Manager while a replacement is found.
    • The Caligula:Thankfully, Pam prevented Creed from actually contacting the clients.
  • What Exactly Is His Job?: Lampshading this is almost a running gag, and Creed himself forgets what his job is when meeting Holly. However, his job is actually Quality Assurance, and one episode ('Product Recall') has him actually dealing with the ramifications of doing his job poorly.

Toby Wyatt Flenderson (Paul Lieberstein)

Kelly Rajnigandha Kapoor (Mindy Kaling)

Kelly: "You could ask me, 'Kelly, what's the biggest company in the world?' and I'd be like, 'blah blah blah, blah blah blah, giving you the exact right answer."

  • It's All About Me: Acts "righteously" upset at Darryl when he chooses to spend time with his daughter over her, constantly lies to her boyfriends that she's pregnant, seeming to genuinely not understand why this might upset them, and let's not forget her defining moment of Disproportionate Retribution mentioned above.
  • Motor Mouth: To the point that she admits that she doesn't even to listen to herself anymore.
  • Put on a Bus: This is likely what's going to happen when season 9 comes around, since her actress has gotten a new series of her own picked up by Fox, which will become her main focus.
  • Wrong Genre Savvy: She often quotes and acts out romantic movie tropes.

Kelly Erin Hannon (Ellie Kemper)

Darryl Mathias Philbin (Craig Robinson)

  • Ascended Extra: Most of the cast started off as being like extras, although Darryl took longer to "ascend". Originally he primarily appeared in the occasional warehouse scenes, and he did not gain prominence until after Roy left when he basically became the face of the warehouse. Finally, in the fifth season he begins appearing more until becoming part of the actual office and thus part of the regular cast.
  • Black Best Friend: Much like Stanley, Michael sees him as this. Unlike Stanley, Darryl at least somewhat tolerates Michael.
    • Technically he did start off as Roy's Black Best Friend until Roy was put on a bus.
  • Odd Friendship: With Andy, much to his horror.
  • Straight Man

UK counterpart: Glynn

Karen Filippelli (Rashida Jones)

UK counterpart: Rachel

Hollis Partridge "Holly" Flax (Amy Ryan)

  • The Bus Came Back: Her appearance in "Company Picnic" as well as several Season Seven episodes.
  • Everyone Can See It
  • Genius Ditz: Although dramatically less so than Michael. She at least seems to be able to do her job
  • Hollywood Atheist: Mostly averted. Holly just mentions that she's an atheist and that she doesn't believe you "need a god to be happy." She doesn't rub it in people's faces or make fun of her theistic peers.
  • Put on a Bus: Back to Nashua. And then again to Colorado, although this time with Michael.
  • Strange Minds Think Alike: Shares the same sense of "humor" as Michael.
    • Taken to an extreme in "The Search", when Dwight and Erin use her to track Michael across Scranton because she thinks exactly like he does.

Gabriel Susan "Gabe" Lewis (Zach Woods)

  • Crazy Jealous Guy: He's starting to feel real uncomfortable about Erin being around Andy.
  • Derailing Love Interests: His relationship with Erin has been accompanied by some episodes which show them as being like a normal couple, but also several episodes which have exaggerated Gabe being distant or insensitive in order to show Andy as the better man. It has yet to progress into a full-on derailment, however.
  • Embarrassing Middle Name: Although he actually doesn't seem to be all that embarrassed by it.
  • The Generic Guy
  • Psycho Ex Boyfriend. Has become this after Erin breaks up with him. He follows Andy, (whom Erin really likes) to the men's room and threatens him and follows Erin into the ladies room and pleads for her to take him back.
  • Put on a Bus: Jo finds about him and Erin and takes him back to Tallahasse.
  • Unfortunate Implications: Erin agreed to go out with him because he's her boss. Does that sound remotely right to you?
  • Yes-Man: to Jo
    • and later, the new Sabre CEO, Robert California.

Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration (Robert Ray Shafer)

  • The Danza
  • Insistent Terminology: As it says in the heading. He's first shown introducing himself to four people in a row with that exact phrasing, and it's never stopped.
    • Even at his WEDDING. "And do you, Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration..."

Todd Finch Packer (David Koechner)

  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Disappeared for several seasons, and then returned for the seventh season episode "Todd Packer". Jim and Dwight team up to get rid of him by impersonating as Sabre representatives over the phone who tell Packer he's been promoted to a job at Sabre HQ in Florida. We likely won't be seeing him again.
    • Nope, he is in Tallahassee. Packer will not be rid of easily.

Yeah, Dwight and Jim tried to get me fired, but I landed on my feet in Florida. You see this cat's got nine lives. And a nine inch--!(Curse Cut Short)

UK counterpart: Chris Finch

Royson Allan "Roy" Anderson (David Denman)

  • Betty and Veronica: The Veronica of the Pam/Jim/Roy triangle, but shows shades of The Betty (as he grew up with Pam).
  • Jerk Jock: He was jock in high school and showed some traces of bullying in his treatment of Jim sometimes.
  • Men Are Uncultured
  • Put on a Bus: Is fired from Dunder-Mifflin after attacking Jim after Pam admitted he kissed her at casino night almost a year previous.
  • Romantic False Lead
  • Took a Level In Kindness: In the third season, he actually becomes much nicer after being dumped by Pam. And when they do get back together, he shows some traces of his old self but ultimately seems committed to being a better guy until it's all violently subverted when he finds out about Pam's kiss with Jim, which causes him to temporarily become more violent than ever. He is more cordial again in his few post-firing appearances though. Up until the last part, his positive character development in this season could be seen as a prototype for that of Andy Dwyer in Parks and Recreation.

UK counterpart: Lee

Jan Levinson (formerly Gould) (Melora Hardin)

UK counterpart: Jennifer Taylor-Clarke

Charles Miner (Idris Elba)

David Wallace (Andy Buckley)

Jo Bennett (Kathy Bates)

  • Brutal Honesty: When she learns that Gabe had become irrational and creepy over Erin, she pads nothing about her opinion: Gabe was picked, perhaps because of his gaunt, bony apearance, to be a "ghost" to keep the DM staff on their toes, and since he had gotten involved in their lives and therefore showed them that he was a week reed and kind of a creep he was useless to her in Scranton, and his being moved back to Florida was not a promotion.
  • Canine Companion: Her great danes...although when we see her again in "Dwight K. Schrute (Acting) Manager", they've been replaced, by two much smaller dogs.
    • The next time we see her, she's got one of the smaller dogs and one great dane. Woman loves her dogs.
  • Cool Old Lady
  • The Determinator
  • Disproportionate Reward: Made Deangelo a Regional Manager, a job that he was in no way qualified for, because he rescued one of her dogs.
  • Groin Attack: She's often accompanied by her two enormous Great Danes, who really seem to love Andy's crotch.
  • Peace and Love Incorporated: Sabre seems to come off as one.
  • Pointy-Haired Boss: Subverted. Actually seems to be rather competent, and her straight-shooting style is actually a honest kick in the pants that the office needs when facing problematic situations such as finding full-time managers.
  • Southern-Fried Genius

Deangelo Jeremitrius Vickers (Will Ferrell)

  • Fake Guest Star
  • Formerly Fat
  • The Millstone: When Andy takes him along to help with hanging on to a client, Deangelo nearly wrecks the entire pitch instead.
  • Pointy-Haired Boss: The only reason he has a job at Sabre was that he stopped a guy trying to steal one of Jo Bennett's dogs, and not because of any skills in sales or management.
  • Put on a Bus: Ultimately winds up becoming comatose after being the official boss for just one episode after a freak accident with a basketball hoop.
  • Real Life Writes the Plot: His character was written after Will Ferell requested to see Steve Carell off.
  • Small Name, Big Ego
  • Straw Misogynist - He only allows males into his inner circle despite the office having high-ranking females such as Pam and Angela. When Jim meekly tries calling him out on it, he tries to cover this by hiring a woman as his executive assistant, except that he hires a Brainless Beauty with no corporate background.
    • On the other hand, the woman in question is named Jordan, so it's possible he didn't even know that she was female when he hired her.
  • Stupid Boss: Michael is a savant at selling paper. Deangelo is completely incompetent and antagonistic with clients. During a sales call to one of the company's most important clients, he intentionally angers and alienates the client, believing that this is some sort of brilliant reverse psychology sales tactic. Deangelo fails so spectacularly that Andy, who is a mediocre salesman, has to step in to save the contract.

Jordan Garfield (Cody Horn)

  • Aborted Arc: One of her deleted scenes implied she had a crush on Jim.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Vanished without trace between Season 7 & 8.
  • Dummied Out: So far, most scenes where Jordan actually does something (and appears in Talking Heads) were cut from the episodes she appeared in.
  • Extreme Doormat
  • The Woobie: Every time she interacts with Dwight
  • We Hardly Knew Ye: Was teased to be a future regular character, but was ultimately removed from the show after three episodes.

Robert California (James Spader)

  • The Alcoholic: Somewhat. It isn't a normal part of his personality, but he definitely has his episodes. The primary one was in "Turf War", where he comes into the office hungover, and it is explicitly mentioned that he got drunk the night before out of depression about his divorce, and among other things, shut down another branch and tried to hit on Nellie.
  • Ambiguously Bi: Especially played up in the 8th season finale, Spader's last episode as a regular. He hijacks Oscar's "It gets better" video, drinks a dong-flavored energy drink, and kisses Andy on the lips.
  • And Starring: Spader gets an "And James Spader" credit as of Season 8.
  • Above the Influence: In "Christmas Wishes", it seemed for awhile that he would try to take advantage of Erin's drunkenness when he offered to take her home, considering the divorce he was going through, a few comments he made to her, and the fact that he convinced her to drink in the first place. But no, he drops her off, gives her some advice, and leaves, much to the relief of Andy, who followed them suspecting the same thing.
  • Charm Person: See Manipulative Bastard
  • Cloudcuckoolander: In a different way from other characters on the show. He seems to genuinely know what he's doing, but he has a tendency to go off on weird tangents during any conversations he has with other characters.
    • it appears that all of his decisions and failure to make concrete ones will result in either Sabre gong under, o bein bough out by David Wallace and Andy.
  • Creepy Monotone
  • Fan of the Underdog: He seems to be a believer in this, as it's the reason he gives for making Andy Regional Manager.
  • Manipulative Bastard: He managed to talk Jo - previously established as far from stupid herself - into giving him her job. Jim is both amazed and quietly terrified by this.
  • Put on a Bus: In the season 8 finale, he convinces David Wallace to give him a new job, "helping" undereducated Eastern European high school gymnasts. He won't be seeing him again, but dear, oh dear, those poor gymnasts...

Nellie Bertram (Catherine Tate)

  • Book Dumb: By her own admission
  • The Bus Came Back: Originally one of a slew of cameos in the Season 7 finale, she came back for a plot arc later in season 8, where she's the head of Sabre's retail division
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Big time.
  • Jerkass Woobie: Nellie is a bitch who stole Andy's job and not only got away with it but basically kicked off a downward spiral that got him fired. On the other hand, we learn that she does have feelings that can be hurt and that her life is crappier than Michael Scott's was: Due to her shopping addiction shes maxed out all of her credit cards and is in serious debt, shes been rejected for adoption because shes unmarried, she doesn't have any friends or a social life and her family lives in the UK.
  • Karma Houdini: She gets away with stealing another person's job while being very ill-suited for it (which she herself admitted) , raising and lowering her employees' salaries at whim, being openly insubordinate and talking down to the CEO. Being Jo's friend and Robert's object of affection helps.
  • Pointy-Haired Boss: She's pretty incompetent, but gets by on being an old personal friend of Jo Bennett.
  • Rags to Riches
  • Samus Is a Girl: Tries to invoke this in "Tallahassee".
  • The Scrappy: Had a hatedom ever since she appeared in "Search Commitee", which became really vocal after she stole Andy's job.[1]

Cathy Simms (Lindsey Broad)

  1. ↑ Main criticisms include her being such a Karma Houdini it shreds any Willing Suspension of Disbelief to pieces, and the strong suspicion of her being a Creator's Pet (the praise given to Catherine Tate by Paul Lieberstein in his interviews did not help matters).
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