Dwight K. Schrute, (Acting) Manager Q&A

Meghan W.: Tell us about the accoutrements of Dwight’s office that we may have missed. Fake fireplace? Desk cupholders? What else?

Rainn: I don’t remember. Justin probably does, he was involved in the design of the office.

One thing you couldn’t really tell was that the chair and the Uday Hussein desk were really really tall and the visitors chair was really low to the ground so I towered above people. Very funny.

Justin: Yes, there was a fake fireplace. The fish tank with the piranha. There was a giant samurai armor. Velvet wolf painting. Lots of different samurai swords. A kind of a Spartan mask. A scorpion knife. Nunchucks. Dagger letter opener. And, most importantly, the handgun. (There might have been a few other things too I’m not remembering.)

In addition to it being funny and in Dwight’s character, I specifically wanted that kind of stuff in his office in order to hide the gun and make its firing later a surprise.

Audiences are smart enough to predict that a gun introduced early in a show will be fired later (“Chekhov’s gun”), so I did everything I could to make the gun seem just a minor part of the set dressing. I just specified a few of those things in the script –- our set dressers took it to the next, amazing level.

CP: I have noticed that Ed Helms (Andy) has been wearing some brightly colored red pants in recent episodes of The Office, including last night’s episode. Why? Why the red pants? They don’t match or look cool.

Rainn: It’s a constant back-and-forth between Ed and the wardrobe department to find funny fresh new clothes for Andy, clothes that reflect his preppy, Cornell, Yachtsman background but don’t get too silly and out-of-hand.

His outfit at the beginning of every episode is an adventure, that’s for sure.

Rob M.: Gabe’s “I wasn’t crying” face when leaving the break room was both hilarious and mortifying. How many takes?

Justin: I don’t remember, but yes, that face was AMAZING!

kreidy: Who came up with the idea that Oscar would refuse to say “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance? It was so perfect for the character.

Justin: I put that in my script. Some people have suggested it implies that Oscar is an atheist, but that wasn’t my intent.

I just figured he’s the type of guy who would resent being made to talk about God in the workplace, and he would very proudly, smugly, and publicly abstain.