Her and Michael got very close and Pam knew Michael well enough to translate his nonsense. In later seasons, however, she becomes more honest and forward with Michael and will often make sarcastic comments toward him, while also translating his speech to the rest of the staff. She will do extra, unnecessary work (such as making a casket for a dead bird or paper doves for the Office Olympics) to make other people happy.ĭespite the abuse she takes from Michael, she never goes any further than calling him a jerk in the pilot. Pam is usually happy to abandon her work if asked to do something else by Jim. Michael has criticized Pam for simply forwarding calls to voice mail without answering and (in a deleted scene) for not sounding enthusiastic enough when speaking on the telephone.
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However, in the pilot episode, she breaks down crying when Michael pulls an ill-advised prank by telling her that she will be fired. Pam does not want her current job to become permanent, remarking that "I don't think it's many little girls' dream to be a receptionist." Pam is apathetic toward her work, evidenced by her frequent games of FreeCell on her office computer. Their open-ended engagement has become one of Michael's running gags and a sore spot for Pam. All of these things must inform the character and we need to see changes in the way she moves, speaks, dresses, etc." Character history Seasons 1–3Īt the beginning of the series, Pam and Roy have been dating for eight years and engaged for three years. "She is in a loving relationship, she has found her voice, she has started taking art classes. "I have to approach Pam differently ," she explained in Season 4, a defining season in which her character finally begins a long-awaited relationship with Jim and is accepted into the Pratt Institute. Originally meek and passive, the character grew more assertive as the seasons passed, prompting Fischer to reassess her portrayal. And so, I think that for her, the only way she can express herself is in the silences, but you can say so much by not saying anything." "I mean, she's a subordinate in this office. "Well, my character of Pam is really stuck," she explained to NPR. Fischer also carefully crafted Pam's quiet persona. She created a rule with the set's hair and make-up department that it couldn't look as though it took Pam more than 30 minutes to do her hair, and she formulated ideas as to who gave Pam each piece of jewelry she wore or where she went to college. For the first few seasons, she kept a list of the character history revealed on-screen by the creators, as well as her own imaginative thoughts on Pam's history. And they started laughing." įischer found herself creating a very elaborate backstory for the character. "When I went into the audition, the first question that they asked me in the character of Pam-they said, 'Do you like working as a receptionist?' I said, 'No.' And that was it. "So, I gave very short one-word answers and I tried very hard not to be funny or clever because I thought that the comedy would come out of just, you know, the real human reactions to the situation.
![pam the office season 8 pam the office season 8](https://www.thelist.com/img/gallery/the-stunning-transformation-of-jenna-fischer/intro-1524073772.jpg)
And also, she didn't care about this interview," she told NPR.
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"My take on the character of Pam was that she didn't have any media training, so she didn't know how to be a good interview. Taking heed of the advice, Fischer said little during the auditions, during which she was interviewed in character by show producers, in an improvisational format, to imitate the show's documentary premise. "Don't make yourself all pretty, and dare to bore me with your audition. "When I went in for The Office, the casting director said to me, 'Please look normal'," recalls Jenna Fischer. Even minute details, such as how Pam wore her hair each day, were considered by executive producer, Greg Daniels. The character was originally created to be very similar to the British counterpart, Dawn Tinsley.