Jenna Fischer recalled her days filming The Office. The actress revealed on The Office Ladies podcast that the cast would IM each other and fans while filming episodes. The actors used their celebrity computers to send instant messages to their fans and when they had to message their fellow star cast members, they acted just like the real office. Fischer revealed that everyone on set got their AOL instant messages based on their characters’ names during the July 17 episode of the podcast, which she co-hosts with Angela Kinsey.
The Mean Girls actress revealed it was John Krasinski’s idea to set up the cast’s IDs so they could have fun messaging each other backstage.
Jenna Fischer reveals that John Krasinski installed IM on The Office set computers
In a conversation with Kinsey on The Office Ladies podcast, Fischer recalled that John Krasinski went to the set and installed AOL IM on the cast’s computers. Furthermore, she said that the accounts were set up with character names rather than real names. “John went to our computer and set up an instant message. When we got the internet, he did that so we could joke around in the background of scenes,” the Six Feet Under actress shared.
She added, “I went into work one day, and they said, ‘Look at this.’ And they showed me my little instant message screen and said my name was ‘receptionitis15,’ and I thought, ‘What’s that name?'” Kinsey also remembered how the IF actors created tutorials of the software. She also said that once the cast started working on IM, there was no looking back.
In addition to the lead actresses, other cast members including Steve Carell, B.J. Novak, Rainn Wilson, Leslie David Baker, Kate Flannery, Phyllis Smith, and Brian Baumgartner also enjoyed the software.
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Jenna Fischer shares her experience IM-ing fans while filming The Office
Jenna recalled that not only did she IM the cast, but she also sent messages to her fans through the software. The actress shared that initially, it was BJ Novak’s idea to do so, and he went for it. “We weren’t just IMing each other; I would IM with fans during scenes,” the Blades of Glory actress revealed.
She added, “Remember when we had MySpace? Somehow, I would get fans’ IMs through MySpace, and I would write things, and I would say, ‘When you watch the episode ‘Healthcare,’ there’s going to be a scene where Dwight is talking about hot dog fingers, and I’ll be IMing you during this scene.'”
Jenna Fischer played the role of Pam Beesly in the mockumentary, which earned her popularity among audiences worldwide. The Office aired for 9 seasons from 2005 to 2013.
Also read: Jenna Fischer says she shot for Mean Girls despite a shoulder injury; calls it the ‘weirdest experience’
