A Closer Look At Angela Kinsey From The Office
Although we are aware that the colorful characters on "The Office" are fictionalized, it's still a genuine shocker to realize that some of the actors portraying these roles are absolutely nothing like the characters they play. This is certainly the case for Angela Kinsey, who is perhaps best known to the world for her role as Angela Martin from "The Office." In an interview with HelloGiggles, the actor confessed that she's nothing like her TV character. While Angela Martin is a stuffy stick-in-the-mud type, Kinsey is an extroverted (and hilarious) ball of sunshine.
In an interview with The New York Times, Kinsey even confessed that most fans are straight-up shocked to discover how loud and talkative she is in contrast to her "The Office" character. "Well, the minute anyone meets me, it's almost off-putting how chatty I am. I have outtalked people," she confessed. In fact, at times, she can be such a social butterfly in real life that Kinsey can sometimes scare people away. "I had a lady come up to me at Target and she just wanted to say, 'Hey, I love 'The Office,”" she shared. "And I started chatting her up so much, she was like, 'Actually I have to go.' So pretty quickly, people realize that I am not Angela Martin."
There are so many interesting facts to uncover about Ms. Kinsey. From her childhood dreams of working in comedy to her fears about "The Office" becoming a major flop, here are awesome facts about the actor that will make you an even bigger fan than you were before.
She grew up in Indonesia
Many fans of "The Office" might not know that Angela Kinsey grew up living in Indonesia. Although she was born in the U.S., her father took on a job in Indonesia when she was only a baby, so that is where she spent the majority of her formative years. In an interview with Travel + Leisure, Kinsey revealed that growing up in Indonesia was wonderful because it taught her how similar she is to people from other parts of the world. In fact, she thinks that traveling is one of the greatest learning experiences you can receive because it teaches you how similar we are from all walks of life. She wisely told the outlet, "The one thing that you see when you travel [is] how much more we're alike than different. Our differences are just so small in comparison to what we have in common."
As she revealed to "Good Morning America," the actor moved back to the United States when she entered her high school years. According to Kinsey, it wasn't easy adjusting to the culture shock. Because she grew up on a different continent, the comedian admitted that she often felt completely different from her peers. Yet over time, she learned to see her unique qualities as strengths rather than weaknesses. Eventually, Kinsey was proud to be labeled as "different."
Angela Kinsey's childhood dream
According to Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fischer's book, "The Office BFFs" (per Apple Podcasts), Kinsey always had a hilarious response during her childhood when she was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. According to Kinsey, her response was always to say, "Carol Burnett." For those who might be too young to know the name, Carol Burnett was one of the first women to break out in the male-dominated world of comedy.
Ever since her formative years, Kinsey knew that somehow, some way, she wanted to make a living by making people laugh. She even revealed in an interview with "Good Morning America" that comedy helped her make friends in school during a time when she was a bit of an outcast. Because she grew up in Indonesia, people regarded her as different. She said, "I recently watched 'Mean Girls' and it wasn't that extreme, but that's what I felt like. I grew up in this other country and a lot of the people I was going to school with, they didn't know where Indonesia was."
Fortunately, having a sense of humor helped Kinsey gain connections with classmates. It was then that she realized how much comedy is able to unite people. "One of the ways I would try to fit in is to tell a joke, you know, be the funny person," she revealed. "Comedy is what was the even playing field for me when trying to make friends."
Her early start in comedy before The Office
In an effort to fully grasp the art of comedy, Angela Kinsey revealed in "The Office BFFs" that she would go the extra mile to dissect humor. Even as a kid, she would study David Letterman's monologues and memorize them. Once the actor was old enough, she moved to New York City, where she landed a gig as an intern for Conan O'Brien. Grasping on to any opportunity possible in order to get her foot in the door, Kinsey, who later moved to Los Angeles, noted that she was "auditioning constantly" for acting gigs while simultaneously juggling more than one job at the time.
One of her jobs was working at the Io West theater. It was at that very theater that she would perform improv for three nights a week. According to the "Haters Back Off" actor, it was on the stage performing improv where she truly felt at home. She described her experience being a part of improv shows in "The Office BFFS," openly admitting, "I had been performing improv three nights a week for a decade. You know that annoying friend who was constantly handing you a flyer for their show? That was me."
She went into a deeper discussion about her improv comedy career while guest starring on a podcast hosted by her "The Office" co-star Brian Baumgartner, "Off the Beat with Brian Baumgartner." According to Kinsley, "The Office" producer Greg Daniels came to several of her shows and supported her. Interestingly enough, she and Daniels knew each other quite well before "The Office" because she was related to the producer through her previous marriage.
Why she thought The Office would be a total 'disaster'
Believe it or not, before the U.S. version of "The Office" became the outrageously acclaimed and beloved sitcom it is today, many people were under the impression that the American remake would be a total dumpster fire. Almost everyone was rooting against the show because the original British series was so cherished and respected across the globe. Since several TV shows from the BBC network at the time had been adapted by U.S. productions and had been major failures, the odds were stacked up against "The Office." Even Angela Kinsey openly confessed that she assumed the remake would be a major failure.
"I remember trying to suppress an 'uh oh' look on my face," she said on "The Office BFFs" while recalling the moment producer Greg Daniels told her he was remaking the British series. "A few other major networks tried to bring BBC shows to the United States and failed." She added, "I loved the BBC version of 'The Office' and was worried that making it for an American audience would be a disaster. But I also felt that if anyone could pull it off, it would be Greg."
Although she had major confidence in her long-time friend Daniels, she couldn't help but feel a nagging fear that told her this U.S. reboot would fall flat. In fact, according to the actor on Brian Baumgartner's podcast, "Off the Beat with Brian Baumgartner," she admitted that she was anticipating for the show to be canceled only a few episodes in.
Kinsey initially auditioned for a totally different Office character
It's hard to imagine Angela Kinsey playing anyone else but the stick-in-the-mud accountant Angela Martin on "The Office." She plays the role with such deadpan perfection that she was practically destined for the part. But believe it or not, she had initially auditioned for a totally different role on the beloved sitcom. According to Kinsey, she tried out for Pam!
While it's hard to believe that anyone other than Jenna Fischer could play the role of the kind-hearted receptionist, Kinsey said that "every female comedian" she knew was auditioning for the part of Pam. A few weeks later, Kinsey got a call from casting director Allison Jones, who said she was better fit for another role. "The producers of 'The Office' wanted to see me again for a new role, the prickly lady in accounting," she said on an episode of "The Office BFFs." "Allison told me the creative team thought I was right for the world of Dunder Mifflin, just not quite right for Pam."
While she didn't end up getting the role of Pam, she did end up becoming best friends with the actor who plays her, Jenna Fischer. According to the actors, once they began their super close friendship, they could never do scenes together without dying of laughter during each take. It got to the point where, as the seasons went on, the besties had to be separated. "They stopped putting us in scenes as much because we laughed so hard," Kinsey confessed in an interview with Seventeen. "You'll notice that in some of those middle seasons Pam and Angela are not seen together again," said Fischer.
How going to Scranton makes her feel like one of The Beatles
Although there are fans of "The Office" around the world, some of the most die-hard fans of the NBC sitcom come directly from Scranton, Pennsylvania. Scranton is as integral to the series as any other character at Dunder Mifflin, although the series was admittedly shot in Los Angeles, per Trift. According to Angela Kinsey, while speaking on "Off the Beat with Brian Baumgartner," one thing she really wished would have happened on the series was to be able to film a scene in real-life Scranton, Pennsylvania. And although they were unable to do so, this doesn't mean that Kinsey has never stepped foot into the small town. In fact, according to the actor, one of the greatest moments of her entire life was getting the opportunity to go to Scranton.
"That is one of my favorite weekends of my life," she revealed on the podcast. "And guys, that includes becoming a mother." She added, "That's just how much fun this weekend was. It was just a blast."
The actor said that when she got to go to Scranton with her cast mates, they were treated like royalty by everyone they crossed. "I remember Ed Helms turned to me ... and he said, 'Ang, this might be the closest we ever come to being a Beatle.'"
Why she loves playing a character who's so unlike herself
Many people are quick to dismiss Angela Martin from "The Office" as an uptight shrew. And although she admittedly softens a bit as the series progresses, there's no denying one of her favorite hobbies of all time is judging others.
But according to Angela Kinsey, because she is so different than the character she portrayed at the Scranton paper company, it was refreshing getting to transform herself and take on a totally new persona. "Playing 'the b***h' was super fun, because in real life, I'm actually super chatty and kind of a dork, so it was great to channel this other side of me," she confessed during an interview with HelloGiggles.
This is not to say that playing the role of Angela Martin didn't come with its setbacks. While being a cast member on "The Office" was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Kinsey that she is forever grateful for, sometimes it can be a bit challenging when fans have a hard time separating her real-life self from her character. In fact, according to Kinsey, she would often scare fans away because they'd assume she'd be just like her bad-tempered character. "People would see me and not approach me," she told Page Six of her interactions with fans. And while people would delightfully call out the names of her co-stars, they'd rush for cover whenever she'd approach. "Then I poked my head around, and they're like, 'Oh no, Angela's here. We better behave.'"
She has a YouTube channel with her husband
When Angela Kinsey isn't busy working on her podcast "The Office Ladies" with her co-host, Jenna Fischer, she's busy co-starring on hubby Joshua Snyder's YouTube channel, "Baking With Josh & Ange." Joshua is a skilled baker who crafts the most gorgeous cookies we've ever seen. He and Kinsey set up a baking channel on YouTube, thanks to Kinsey's previous co-star Colleen Ballinger.
For those who don't know, Colleen Ballinger is the hilarious mastermind behind the popular YouTube channel "Miranda Sings." The satirical YouTube character became so popular that Ballinger got her own Netflix series called "Haters Back Off," which focuses on Miranda's life. It was on the set of that Netflix series that Ballinger encouraged Kinsey and her husband to start their own YouTube baking channel! "He came and visited me on set," she said of her husband while speaking to PeopleTV, "and he brought these cookies that he made. And Colleen was like, 'He made these? These are so good!' She was like, 'You guys should do this!'"
The about page on their official website describes the pair as "a husband and wife baking duo," noting, "Josh bakes and Angela chats while trying her best to keep up." How adorable is that?
Why she thought she was going to get fired from The Office
While appearing as a guest star on her "The Office" co-star's podcast "Off the Beat with Brian Baumgartner," Angela Kinsey and Brian Baumgartner, who played Kevin, reminisced about the time when they assumed they were going to get fired from the beloved NBC series.
According to Kinsey, she, Brian, and Oscar Nuñez, who played Oscar Martinez, became incredibly close while filming "The Office." Because they all worked as Dunder Mifflin's accountants, Kinsey said it was as if they were all on their own "separate show" without the rest of the cast since they were all in their own section of the office. One particular day, the three of them were feeling extra chatty while filming. According to Kinsey, they had a conversation that was so loud, they ended up accidentally interrupting a scene that was being filmed.
Fortunately, the three didn't face any serious repercussions for disrupting the scene, and the actors got to stay on the series until the very last episode. When it came to the series finale of "The Office," Kinsey told Celebs.com she was extremely emotional and started sobbing before they even did their table read for the last script. "I was a wreck," she admitted. We totally get it!
How Angela Kinsey is connected to Paul Lieberstein
While Angela Martin from accounting and Toby Flenderson in the HR department might not interact all too much on "The Office" (unless Angela is on her way to complain about Michael's antics), the actors have a close relationship in real life. According to Angela Kinsey, while speaking to Brian Baumgarter on his "Off the Beat with Brian Baumgarter" podcast, she was related by marriage to the actor who plays Toby, Paul Lieberstein.
Kinsey used to be married to Warren Lieberstein, who is Paul Lieberstein's brother. Warren even made an appearance on the NBC sitcom when he played Toby's brother, Rory Flenderson! According to People, the pair split up in 2009. Fortunately, according to Kinsey, she and her former husband are still as close as could be, and their friendship lives on to this day. She revealed to HuffPost, "I'm really fortunate because my ex and I are very good friends and I talk to him every day."