Where are the cast of the US version of The Office now?
How The Office made megastars: As fans mourn actor Mark York, FEMAIL reveals how the cast of the US version went on to become Hollywood success stories – including John Krasinski, Mindy Kaling and Ed Helms
- Billy Merchant actor Mark York has died aged 55 after ‘brief, unexpected illness’
- Tributes flooded in from Mark’s The Office co-stars today following the sad news
- Running from 2005 to 2013, The Office won 5 Emmys and had 42 nominations
- The cast of familiar faces has gone from strength to strength following show
Tributes flooded in from The Office cast today following the sad news that their co-star Mark York has died at the age of 55 after a ‘brief and unexpected illness’.
Mark, from Ohio, played Billy Merchant, the owner of the building in which the fictional paper company Dunder Mifflin was located, in the US version of the comedy.
According to his obituary, Mark had been focusing on working as an inventor in recent years and had secured two patents, with his last acting credits appearing to be his Office episodes in 2009.
Co-star Jenna Fischer, who portrayed soft-spoken receptionist Pam throughout the sitcom’s nine seasons, led the tributes on Twitter, writing: ‘Mark was a lovely man and a pleasure to work with. Very funny every time. Much love to his family.’
Running from 2005 to 2013, The Office won 5 Emmys and had 42 nominations, including six for Steve Carell, who played woeful boss Michael Scott for seven seasons.
And the cast of familiar faces, which included John Krasinski, Mindy Kaling and Ed Helms, has gone from strength to strength following the show’s triumph.
Here, FEMAIL reveals how the stars of the US version of The Office went on to become Hollywood success stories, with their own shows, director jobs, blockbuster movies and even an Oscar nomination…
Tributes flooded in from The Office cast today following the sad news that their co-star Mark York (pictured right) has died at the age of 55 after a ‘brief and unexpected illness’
MICHAEL SCOTT (OSCAR-NOMINATED STEVE CARELL)
Running from 2005 to 2013, The Office won 5 Emmys and had 42 nominations, including six for Steve Carell (pictured right, in 2019), who played woeful boss Michael Scott for seven seasons (pictured left)
One of the biggest stars to come out of The Office was Steve Carell, who portrayed bumbling boss Michael Scott, who was himself based on Ricky Gervais’ character David Brent in the BBC original.
The American mockumentary followed the everyday lives of employees of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, of whom Scott managed until the seventh season.
Steve’s character departed the show after proposing to HR representative Holly Flax, before moving to Colorado with her so they could take care of her ageing parents.
The Office continued for a further two seasons without Steve, before ending in 2013 with its ninth season.
Following his appearance on the show, Steve, 58, has gone on to become one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors.
He has starred in blockbusters such as Evan Almighty, 2007, Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011), Foxcatcher (2014), The Big Short (2015) and Welcome to Marwen (2018).
Following his appearance on the show, Steve, 58, has gone on to become one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors. Pictured with Channing Tatum in the movie Foxcatcher
The actor has also been the voice of Gru in the Despicable Me and Minions films since 2010. In 2021, he’ll reprise his voice role in Minions: The Rise of Gru.
But while he’s known for his comedic chops, Steve proved he could nail a more dramatic role in Foxcatcher, which saw him nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal as convicted murderer John du Pont.
Foxcatcher is the real-life story of millionaire du Pont who in 1996 shot dead Dave Schultz (played by Mark Ruffalo), the coach of the Olympic wrestling team that the heir had set up.
But Steve’s not only a hit in the movies, as he also still appears on the small screen and has most recently starred in the Apple TV+ drama The Morning Show alongside Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.
The Massachusetts native has also accomplished something that often evades Hollywood stars: a long and successful marriage.
He’s been married to American actress Nancy Carell since 1995, with the pair sharing two children Elisabeth Anne Carell, 19, and John Carell, 16.
Nancy occasionally guest-starred on The Office until 2011 as Carol Stills, a real estate agent and former girlfriend of her husband’s character, Michael Scott. She also had a brief appearance in the movie Bridesmaids.
JIM HALPERT (HOLLYWOOD A-LISTER JOHN KRASINSKI)
The cast of familiar faces, which included John Krasinski (pictured on the show, left, and in May 2021, right), Mindy Kaling and Ed Helms, has gone from strength to strength following the show’s triumph
John Krasinski launched his acting career playing Jim Halpert on the NBC mockumentary sitcom over nine seasons.
Fans grew particularly attached to John’s lovable character and his on-screen wife Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer), following their relationship from an office flirtation to marriage and then children.
Since the comedy ended in 2013, John has seen big screen success of his own – appearing in Away We Go (2009) with comedian Maya Rudolph, DreamWorks’ Monsters Vs. Aliens (2009), and Big Miracle (2012) alongside Drew Barrymore.
He’s also featured in Dreamgirls, Monsters University and A Quiet Place – which he co-wrote and directed, while his wife Emily Blunt starred alongside him.
The pair are currently involved in A Quiet Place Part II, with Emily starring in the movie, set to be released this month, and John directing it.
But John doesn’t only have a passion for acting and directing, with the father-of-two also worked as an executive producer alongside Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Merchant on the popular Spike series Lip Sync Battle.
Fans grew particularly attached to John’s lovable character Jim Halpert and his on-screen wife Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer), following their relationship from an office flirtation to marriage and then children. Pictured, the two together
The Jack Ryan action star has had four Emmy Award nominations and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
John, who shares two children with wife Emily, was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018.
During lockdown, he created his COVID-19 quarantine web series Some Good News, which launched on March 29 and ran until May 2020.
It amassed 2.55M subscribers thanks to segments such as a virtual prom featuring performances from Billie Eilish, The Jonas Brothers, and Chance the Rapper, as well as a virtual graduation with speakers Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and Malala Yousafzai.
He kicked off his show by chatting with his co-star from The Office, Steve Carell, with the two stars reminiscing about their favourite scenes from the sitcom, which was celebrating its 15 year anniversary.
John explained he got his big break on the popular programme, admitting: ‘I was a waiter when I got that job, I was 23 years old.
‘After the pilot, I went back to waiting tables because I was sure nothing was going to happen with it. We all kind of came into it with that vibe. I remember none of us had done anything huge.’
‘It’s such a happy surprise that after all these years people are still tuning in and finding it today, it’s pretty cool,’ agreed Steve, who prior to being cast as Michael Scott was primarily a sketch comedy performer.
PAM BEESLY (SITCOM STAR AND PODCASTER JENNA FISCHER)
In the show, Jenna Fischer (pictured right in 2019) played Pam Beesly (pictured left) – Dunder Mifflin’s soft-spoken receptionist, who is an aspiring artist, and Jim’s love interest
In the show, Jenna Fischer played Pam Beesly – Dunder Mifflin’s soft-spoken receptionist, who is an aspiring artist, and Jim’s love interest.
Jenna has continued to have success in sitcoms, featuring in You, Me and the Apocalypse (2015) and the Ellen DeGeneres-produced ABC show Splitting Up Together (2018) opposite Oliver Hudson.
She and fellow co-star Angela Kinsey also started a podcast together, dedicated to all things The Office.
Launched in 2019, the podcast Office Ladies delves into behind-the-scenes stories while the pair watch an episode from the show.
Writing about the launch of the project on her Instagram, she said: ‘My bff @angelakinsey and I are excited to be teaming up with @earwolf to bring you our new podcast Office Ladies!
‘Each week we will watch an episode of The Office and tell you all the behind-the-scenes scoop and trivia…the kind of stuff that only two people who were there can know.
‘There might be some tangents about our lives, our friendship, our cats and our Target runs. We will also answer your questions!’
Jenna is married to screenwriter Lee Kirk, her second husband, and the couple have two children.
DWIGHT SCHRUTE (MOM STAR RAINN WILSON)
Rainn Wilson (pictured right in April 2021) brought oddball paper salesman Dwight Schrute (pictured left) to life on The Office – but he’s remained a familiar face in the world of comedy ever since
Rainn Wilson brought oddball paper salesman Dwight Schrute to life on The Office – but he’s remained a familiar face in the world of comedy ever since.
Most recently, Rainn had a recurring role on sitcom Mom in both 2019 and 2020. The show features Anna Faris who struggles to deal with her bad-influence of a mother, played by Allison Janney.
The American actor, 55, has also enjoyed some triumphs on the big screen – featuring alongside Kate Winslet and Susan Sarandon in 2019 film Blackbird.
He voiced the evil wizard Gargamel in Smurfs: The Lost Village in 2017 and had a role in science fiction action film The Meg in 2018.
In 2020, Rainn joined the cast of drama series Utopia, appeared in the thriller Don’t Tell a Soul and voiced Lex Luthor in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.
Off screen, Rainn’s been married to writer Holiday Reinhorn since 1995, with the pair sharing a 17-year-old son.
ANGELA MARTIN (PODCASTER ANGELA KINSEY)
The judgemental and cat-loving head of accounting in The Office, Angela Martin (pictured left), was played by Angela Kinsey (pictured in March 2020)
The judgemental and cat-loving head of accounting in The Office, Angela Martin, was played by Angela Kinsey.
Since the show’s end, she’s had a starring role in Hulu’s parody comedy series, The Hotwives of Orlando (2014), and was a series regular on the Netflix comedy, Haters Back Off, which ran for two series from 2016 and followed the oddball family life of a fictional YouTube star
She’s also appeared on New Girl and Fresh Off the Boat, as well as Your Family or Mine.
In 2018, made a guest appearance on Splitting Up Together with Jenna before launching their podcast together.
ANDY BERNARD (HANGOVER STAR ED HELMS)
He’s now, perhaps, more known for his role in the Hangover movies – but before Ed Helms’ (pictured right in 2019) jump to the big screen, he portrayed Dunder Mifflin employee Andy Bernard (pictured left)
He’s now, perhaps, more known for his role in the Hangover movies – but before Ed Helms’ jump to the big screen, he portrayed Dunder Mifflin employee Andy Bernard.
Playing the part from 2006, the Cornell graduate fell for co-worker Angela Martin but eventually lost her to Dwight Schrute.
Ed, 47, found box office success starring in The Hangover trilogy (2009 – 2013), alongside fellow American actors Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis.
Then in 2013, another blockbuster opportunity came in the form of We’re the Millers, with Ed playing the bad guy who’s chasing Jennifer Aniston’s, Will Poulter’s, Emma Roberts’ and Jason Sudeikis’ characters – with the four forming an unlikely family.
Another big acting role arrived in 2017 when he provided the voice for Captain Underpants himself in Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie.
In 2018, Ed featured in American comedy Tag, with Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm and Isla Fisher.
The film sees a group of five friends, who have been playing the game of tag for 30 years, decide to join in one last game before the wedding of their undefeated player.
Ed, 47, found box office success starring in The Hangover trilogy (2009 – 2013), alongside fellow American actors Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis (pictured together)
But despite his big screen triumph, Ed still enjoys appearing on TV, featuring on sitcoms like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Mindy Project and Arrested Development.
He has recently been seen on the Netflix action comedy Coffee and Kareem with Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Little Gardenhigh.
The actor is incredibly private, refusing to reveal the name of his wife and daughter when asked in TV interviews, but previously admitting that he is ‘happily married’.
In October 2020, it was announced that Harrison Ford and Ed are set to work together on a new movie titled The Miserable Adventures of Burt Squire Aboard the Horn High Yo.
According to a studio synopsis from STXfilms, the film starring Ford, 78, and Ed is ‘inspired by a true story’ of a ‘family man … in the midst of a midlife crisis who embarks on what he hopes will be a dream sailing vacation, but ends up shipwrecked in the Atlantic Ocean with Ford’s charming but unhinged sea captain.’
STXfilms’s Adam Fogelson said in a statement that the combination in the aquatic film makes for comedy gold.
‘There’s no one better than Ed Helms to play an everyday guy who gets saddled with every comedic misfortune life could throw his way,’ Fogelson said, ‘and Harrison is going to create yet another memorable and iconic character as an unhinged sea captain.’
Fogelson added: ‘Instead of a road-trip comedy, we can’t wait to see these unlikely buddies in this seafaring comedy.’
KELLY KAPOOR (MINDY KALING, OWN COMEDY SERIES)
Not only did Mindy Kaling (pictured right in April 2021) feature as fashionista Kelly Kapoor (pictured left) on The Office, she also served as a producer and a writer for the comedy
Not only did Mindy Kaling feature as fashionista Kelly Kapoor on The Office, she also served as a producer and a writer for the comedy.
Thanks to her appearance on the show, her career went from strength to strength, with Mindy leaving the sitcom at the start of its ninth season to focus on producing and starring in her own series The Mindy Project, which debuted on FOX in September 2012 and ran for six series until 2017.
But it’s not only on the small screen where Mindy has found her success, with the actress, writer and producer quickly becoming a familiar face in Hollywood due to roles in several popular movies.
In 2018, she appeared in Ocean’s 8, opposite a star-studded cast which included Rihanna, Anne Hathaway, Sandra Bullock and Helen Bonham Carter.
She then joined British Actress Emma Thompson in the 2019 Late Night film about a presenter of evening television.
Mindy has also lent her voice to cartoon movies such as 2012’s Wreck-It Ralph and 2015’s Inside Out.
She then joined British Actress Emma Thompson (pictured together) in the 2019 Late Night film about a presenter of evening television
More recently, six-time Emmy nominee Mindy is working with friend Reese Witherspoon once again after it was revealed she’s co-writing the long-awaited Legally Blonde 3 film.
She said it’s been ‘really fun to imagine’ Reese’s iconic character Elle Woods at age 40, as she recently discussed penning the script for the third installment.
The 41-year-old told Access Hollywood: ‘I love the franchise so much. I love Elle Woods as a character. And when Reese [Witherspoon] asked me if I wanted to write it, I was like, “Absolutely!”
‘I can’t wait to see what people think of the way we’ve written Elle Woods at 40. How Elle Woods is at 40 versus when she was 21 has been really fun to imagine.’
It was revealed last May that Mindy and Parks and Recreation writer Dan Goor signed on to write a new script for the comedy.
Mindy teased a little more on The Today Show back in October: ‘It was really daunting because it’s such an iconic movie. The thing that made it the most appealing was the fact that she’s now 20 years older.
‘So what is like the 42-year-old version of Elle Woods? Like what is she like? Is she as chipper? Has life gotten her down at all? Has she become cynical at all? Or is she exactly the same?’
‘For me, I thought making her that age and having her gone through the same kinds of things that I’ve gone through as a 40-year-old, made it fun.’
The original Legally Blonde premiered in 2001, starring Reese, 44, as UCLA sorority girl Elle Woods, who miraculously gets into Harvard Law School to win back her ex, before accidentally discovering her passion for law.
The hit comedy was followed by the 2003 sequel Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
Reese and Mindy starred together in the 2018 feature adaptation of A Wrinkle In Time, and they’ve appeared in each other’s shows The Mindy Project and The Morning Show.
Single mother Mindy has two children, Katherine Kaling, 3, and 8-month-old Spencer Kaling.
RYAN HOWARD (WRITER AND DIRECTOR B. J. NOVAK)
American actor B. J. Novak (pictured right in 2020), 41, started as a writer on the sitcom before stepping in front of the camera as the sleazy and egotistical office temp (pictured left)
American actor B. J. Novak, 41, started as a writer on the sitcom before stepping in front of the camera as the sleazy and egotistical office temp Ryan Howard.
Since The Office, he has continued both acting and writing, even releasing a collection of short stories in 2014, titled One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories.
He’s also worked as a director on The Mindy Project and for the upcoming thriller Vengeance.
And his success doesn’t stop there, with the writer and actor also having plenty of popular movies under his belt.
He featured in 2012’s The Smurfs 2, 2013’s Saving Mr Banks, alongside Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson, followed by a role in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 2014.
The actor has fostered a close friendship with Mindy Kaling since first meeting in their mid-twenties on the set of The Office in 2004.
The on-again, off-again couple have maintained a purely platonic relationship for years, and the best-selling author is godfather to Mindy’s children.
ERIN HANNON (AWARD-NOMINATED ACTRESS AND AUTHOR ELLIE KEMPER)
Ellie Kemper plays receptionist Erin, pictured, from season five to nine. Ellie, pictured right in December 2019 in New York
In The Office, Ellie Kemper plays sweet-tempered Erin Hannon, who is hired to replace Pam when she becomes a saleswoman in season five.
Erin is a positive presence in the office and is well-liked by the rest of the team, especially Andy, who becomes infatuated with her. During the show, she reveals she was adopted and has never met her birth parents.
She dates Gabe Lewis, who is played by Zach Woods for most of season seven, but the pair later break up, leading to Erin dating Andy, and then Pete Miller (played by Jake Lacy) who joins the company in season nine.
In the finale, Erin is reunited with her birth parents during a Q&A for the mockumentary.
After The Office ended, Ellie, now 41, moved on to play Kimmy Schmidt in The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock from 2015 to 2019.
She was nominated twice in a row for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on Kimmy Schmidt.
As well as her TV career, Ellie is no stranger to the big screen. In 2011, she starred in the cynical romantic comedy Bridesmaids, starring Saturday Night Live comedians Kirsten Wiig, Maya Rudolph and The IT crowd Chris O’Dowd.
The next year she played Ms Griggs in the 21 Jump Street reboot, and in 2016, she voiced Katie in The Secret Life of Pets. She is currently filming the reboot of Home Alone, the release date of which is still to be revealed.
Ellie, who is a mother-of-two, published her first book, My Squirrel Days in 2018.
She is married to comedy writer Michael Koman, who has worked on late night shows including Late Night with Conan O’Brien, for which he wrote for seven years.