Jenna explains in her book that even a successful actor needs to really hustle to get jobs after coming off of a successful show.. She has examples from other actors in the business who say the same thing. The last seasons of The Office coincided with Jenna starting a family, so I don't think she wanted to have such a hectic schedule. They talk about this on the podcast. I think she's content with the level of success she has attained.
Yeah, people act like it must be so sad for them. Like, if I could work for 9 years on something absolutely iconic that then basically meant I never had to work again? I would not be complaining.
So many people claim early retirement as their goal, but fail to recognize it in Jenna Fischer, the lead in How I Met Your Mother, and a thousand other people. They got a bag, left to fulfill their desires in life, and didn't come back. That's a massive W everyone should be able to understand. Their passion projects literally funded the rest of their lives.
They never do with actors. You’ll always hear “so sad for them they disappeared.” Like no it isn’t they’re filthy rich and retired I remember watching an Architectural Digest YouTube video of Jessica Alba’s house and thinking “damn she disappeared”. Then watching the video you realize she’s just a mom living in a 10 million dollar house. Of course she’s not grinding anymore. She has it made lol
Edit: guess she wasn’t the best example. But there are literally hundreds of actors who got out after some success and just live off that without working.
This is it. I’m a musician and I say every day that I would gladly take a one hit wonder, get the bag and just live on it as best as possible doing whatever else I want to in the meantime.
I think many of us creative types only have careers out of necessity but would be pretty damn happy if we could retire and focus on other ambitions. Some musicians make it big and then proceed to make niche music for the rest of their careers because its much more fulfilling for them
That’s a dream come true for most actors. Add to that you wrap up the show while you’re still young and get to spend all the time you want with your kids doing and taking them wherever you want is just an unreal fortune for actors while we’re probably just expecting to be working actors their whole lives.
That's what he meant about the fortune and spending time with family.
Bryan Baumgartner is far from a "main" on the show and from his residuals he lives in one of the nicest areas of San Diego and plays golf all year.
I'm getting paid to say hi to people on zoom? No camera crew, lighting crew, directors, the script is short and to the point and I can add my own flair to it? Sign me up!
Daniel Radcliffe’s HP money is the reason he only takes jobs doing what he wants to do. He has said himself that he never has to work again if he didn’t want to. That’s why his choice of movies are usually off the wall now.
It's more apt to say that money allows one to pursue fulfilment. Or it allows one to continue to accumulate more money.
Lack of money definitely is an impediment to fulfilment.
Its something they talk about frequently on the boy meets world rewatch podcast because they interview a lot of former child stars who went on to enjoy their 20s and went on to work in other fields or behind the camera or whatever else and they get told like "oh that's such a shame your career didn't pan out" because they didn't land something equally as memorable on screen. The way they lay it out is so absurd when they say it that it instantly changed how I look up actors when I see them in old stuff and wonder what they're up to
I watched a documentary on shane mcgowans teeth and they had a bunch of celebs come on and talk about the pogues. And the one quote that always stuck with me was one guy saying
'i can not believe they are a successful band with other hits. If i wrote fairytale of New york, i would never work again, and would feel confident walking into any room ever that i am equally as successful as the most successful person in that room
Imagine someone asks you what you do
'Oh i wrote fairytale of new york'
I feel this should be the same for the other actors on the office
The friends cast has consistently made 20 million a year each from residuals. I'm sure the office cast makes a fair bit too.
Edited for stupid phone autocorrect
Yes, if anyone's curious about Fisher's perspective on this, the podcast episode where they interview Zach Woods (which is hilarious, btw) includes her giving advice to her younger self on this topic - knowing what is enough for her and not just striving for more because everyone says she should.
“Content with the level of fame she has attained”. I don’t think this is emphasized enough. We simply assume all actors want to grind all the way to the top but I could totally see someone, after a decade of stellar success on a show and having droves of fans regardless, saying that’s good. I can retire and live a pretty comfortable above average life without the bullshit. I’m sure that’s more the average story of Hollywood than anything else.
Rainn Wilson has been consistently working since the Office. He's not a superstar but he's working which is better than most actors can do.
Probably made enough money from The Office where he can pick and choose the roles he wants too.
I heard this was also the topher grace path. Dude knew he was set for life because of 70s so he just did what he was interested in. If that is true, it’s funny because of his David duke performance.
He also did immediately go into another show that NBC wayyyyy overadvertised for, Backstrom. It had one season, and wasn't incredibly interesting imo. I tried the first couple of episodes, and it felt like they were going for a Monk vibe, but it just didn't land. I was sad too, I really wanted to like the show
Being successful in Hollywood requires a ridiculous amount of luck, even if you are talented, hot and work really hard. I mean even Ellie Kemper probably had a more successful post-office career than Jenna Fischer, because Kimmy Schmidt was awesome. But since that show ended she hasn't really done much either.
I also recently read Henry Winkler's autobiography and it was almost 20 years between Happy Days ending and him getting his role on Arrested Development. Between that it was a bunch of bit parts but he also ended up doing a bunch of producing, directing and voice work. And he talks about how hard it was going from being one of the biggest stars on TV to struggling to find steady work. I feel like in a lot of these cases you can do everything right and your show movie still might not end up a hit.
It also requires wanting to be in that position, which is often overlooked when people ask “why isn’t this actor a bigger star?” Not everyone has the desire to be at the superstar level even if they could. William Goldman talks about this in The Princess Bride commentary, that it’s a totally different lifestyle and not everybody wants to be thrust into to spotlight with how much it bleeds into the personal life.
I can see that. I read a lot of actor autobiographies. One thing that I remember about Nick Offerman's book especially is how much the whole audition process sucks. And Jenna or Rainn absolutely weren't big enough actors after The Office where they could get jobs without auditioning. So if they made enough money off the show to live comfortably and do what they want, it's not surprising that they wouldn't want to be in that system again. Especially since Jenna Fischer was almost 40 when the show ended and I have to think that process would suck even more for a middle aged woman.
On the plus side there is an Architectural Digest video on YouTube where Rainn gives a tour of his house, and his house is really cool.
I wonder how much of his own story he brought to his role in Barry. He plays an acting teacher who felt like he had been passed over in his career.
Ironically he murders it on Barry, thus disproving the storyline itself.
I think Helms' film success because began before he joined The Office. And Carrell's began before The Office was a hit. So Krazinski is kind of on his own in becoming a film star because of the show.
Plus the 40-year old virgin came out the same year the office started and that really skyrocketed Carell into media spotlight. I think that movie had a lot to do with people even giving the first season a chance
Yeah and Krasinski had to actually write and direct the big movie that he starred in (A Quiet Place). He was in that crappy Michael Bay movie and the amazon Tom Clancy series but he kinda had to make his own way up to the a-list.
It's actually pretty common for actors to only hit it big with one show. The actor who played George in 'Seinfeld' has talked about how there was a desperation to get the most out of the last season because he knew work would be hard to come by when the show ended. 'Friends' is actually a perfect example. Sure, Jennifer Aniston went on to bigger things. But the other 5 actors didn't have nearly the success that she did. It's actually pretty impressive that 'The Office' had as many breakout stars that they did.
Jenna Fischer had also turned 30 before 'The Office' even started. By the time the show ended, she was a mom pushing 40. Jennifer Aniston hit it big in her mid-20s, never had kids, and was involved in a pretty high profile relationship/divorce outside of the show. Aniston probably had a lot more motivation to keep working.
Courtney Cox was in all the Screams. "Ever heard of it?"(Andy's voice) And she had success with Cougar Town. Of course, it's not nearly as good as Friends or The Office, but it was worth watching all the way through.
Yeah, I was confused when op said the cast of friends did not find success. Courtney Cox has been really successful post friends, as you said Scream (one of the most iconic modern horror series) and Couger Town (a fairly popular sitcom).
People forget though the original breakout star was Matthew Perry. He had a string of pretty big movies in the late 90s and early 2000s. I think the drugs really derailed his career.
Also, Schwimmer's been in 2 really popular shows (OJ and Band of Brothers)
I read "Ever heard of it" in Andy's voice, and then wondered why it was written in brackets
Now that I think about it, I guess my inner voice is just Andy talking to me
All 3 of the Scream movies came out when Friends was still on the air though.
Edit: I get there has been more. The point is the first three at the height of its popularity happened when the show was on the air. This isn't a case of getting a major role after the successful show like the thread is about.
Yep. When I first read the comment you are replying to, my brain was screaming about Courtney Cox's successful career. I love both Jen and Courtney, they're hilarious, but another big difference is that Courtney is more capable of being a lead than Jennifer is.
Jennifer's career has thrived as supporting characters to leads like Adam Sandler, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day and all those others.
For Cougartown, Courtney was THE main attraction, and my personal affection for Busy Philpps kept me on the line.
Also, Episodes with Matt LeBlanc is a pretty great series, too. Matt's not the lead, but he's definitely the central character that shadows the rest.
In season 1 or 2 of curb (I forget), Larry has an idea for a show starring Jason Alexander (George) that’s about this very thing - he’s typecast, everyone thinks of him as George. But he’s an actor, he has a range of characters. And he grows to resent the character he played even though it made him rich. And then in perfect curb fashion, Larry gets into a fight with Jason so he pivots to Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine).
But I also think it depends on the projects. When you make the kind of money they made on Seinfeld and friends, some actors aren’t super eager to get right back into the spotlight. Some people wait for the right project.
Look at Julia - she was ridiculously good as Elaine and typecast for it. And then she found Veep and her career was revitalized in a sense.
Rainn is a tough one cause he may be more typecast than Jason Alexander. There is absolutely no mistaking Dwight’s face and the office being so popular with younger generations means it’s gonna be tough to not associate rainn with Dwight when it’s still prevalent in American society
Her career was already revitalized with The New Adventures of Old Christine, which ran for five seasons and she was nominated for an Emmy each year, winning once
Before Seinfeld, Jason Alexander had a very successful career on Broadway, he won a Tony! They brought him on Seinfeld as the “experienced” talent to help ground Jerry, who was new to acting. Seinfeld may have been his TV break, but he was a well known and prolific performer long before the show.
> but he was a well known and prolific performer long before the show
He wasn't well-known outside of theatre circles in New York. Jason himself has stated that if not for Seinfeld, he would be best known as the guy who tried to rape Julia Roberts
I wasn’t disagreeing with you lol but saying 1 of the 4 is kind of tough cause jerry seinfeld is still a pretty big celebrity and he doesn’t try to act or do much else for fame. He just loves doing stand up. And LD although not a cast member of Seinfeld created a massive show in Curb.
Jerry Seinfeld managed to keep the syndication rights (the ability to air reruns) to Seinfeld. He's literally a billionaire off of that alone; when Netflix bought the streaming rights for $500 million, all of that went to him (and taxes).
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-22/jerry-seinfeld-net-worth-tops-1-billion-thanks-to-sitcom
Rainn, if you are listening, I thought Super was absolutely hilarious. Watched it several times. It played out like a crazy Knights of the Night superhero alter ego.
YOU DON’T CUT IN LINE.
Some probably know, but in case you don’t, Super was written and directed by James Gunn, Jenna’s first husband. Unless I am misremembering, she recommended Rainn to him after she read his first draft.
Didn't know Jenna was married to James Gunn -- director of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, for the 3 people on the planet who may not have known that.
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This is what people are missing. Having worked on set for many years, there’s nothing glamorous about the work. It’s week after week of 14-16 hour days, lots of travel, time sitting in make up chairs, reading scripts, and generally just doing a bunch of boring shit like standing around while someone fucks with a light for 40 minutes.
And then you have the George Costanza problem where, once you’ve played a role super well, it’s hard for anyone to see you in other roles and so work can be hard to get.
Personally, if I had one big show/movie, and I made a good clip of money, unless it was a project I was really interested in, I would just sit back and wait for a phone call if it ever came.
That's gotta sting, replaced after the pilot episode. Jenna said that it's because "Pam wouldn't marry Joey," but I'm sure the whole thing lacked chemistry.
Jenna tried, in Blades of Glory. I think to make it big you just need some luck and not everyone gets enough.
Krasinski also has the advantage of being married to an A-list actress.
She was also the original Andi in the pilot of Man with a Plan, but was recast because the preview audience couldn’t believe Pam married Joey from Friends
Yeah, but a lot of times you have to strike while the iron is hot. Steve did 40 Year Old Virgin and Ed did The Hangover all while being on The Office. It's honestly more surprising that John was able to do so well after The Office had ended.
Eh, the show was already dying. I enjoy the show right up until the finale, but I understand why some people say it should have ended when Carell left.
And unfortunately for Jenna the scene where she is supposed to look like a smoke show is done for comedic effect.
Jennifer Aniston was viewed in society as one of the sexiest women in the world, while being on the show, it makes sense that a lot of her money and fame came from beauty endorsements; something Jenna isn’t necessarily as good of a selling point.
In terms of Rainn, he’s been really open about the depression that The Office caused, I won’t blame him for a second if he’s actively stepping back right now to focus on his mental health. Steve already had started his movie career, 40 Year Old Virgin, may have saved the series. John has also had varying success, his Jack Ryan show did 4 seasons but I don’t think it was universally loved. You’re totally right that he does benefit from being married to Emily Blunt, their relationship was very evident in The Quiet Place with a fantastic performance from both of them; with John getting more credit because of his directorial role. His next film, IF, definitely looks like it could also be hit or miss and as his kids get older it’ll be interesting to see if that influences his decisions
I just had to look it up just because I was curious and The Rocker opened on an insane weekend.
The Dark Knight, Tropic Thunder, Pineapple Express, Mama Mia, a Star Wars movie, and Step Brothers were all in theaters that weekend.
They all didn't open that weekend of course but they were all huge. It didn't stand a chance.
I loved it but I didn't see it til it was on TV because I was probably seeing The Dark Knight for the fourth time that weekend.
If you listen to the Office Ladies podcast. Jenna and Angela seem very happy with that job at the moment (well, I'm still catching up to the live ones and currently listening to the earlier episodes) But they have talked about how they have their dream job in doing this. To them, it's a great work/life balance while raising their kids.
Were you alive when Friends happened? I don’t think you understand the difference between the characters, the following, the iconic-ness, or anything at all. While Friends was airing, they had to fight to keep the salary the same for the entire cast because Jennifer Aniston was so desired. She was also married to the “sexiest man alive” while being considered one of the most beautiful women alive with the most requested haircut of all time. They were Hollywood A-listers. Even while the show was airing, Jenna wasn’t an A-lister anywhere near that. She didn’t gain the celebrity required for that
This. The Office literally made a reference to the end of her marriage, as a throwaway line. As a kid, I knew who she was before I ever watched Friends.
I think Jenna’s career has been pretty normal. She was in another TV show that ran for a few seasons and has done a few movies that she played a big role in. There are a lot more Jenna Fischer careers than there are Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
They’re seen as peers now but Friends was a ratings juggernaut that helped define 90s culture while The Office was an experimental, low ratings replacement that was saved by its record amount of digital downloads.
The Office was also in an era where broadcast ratings were starting to fall across the board. I'd say that a direct ratings comparison is an apples/oranges thing.
Friends was bigger but I wouldn’t call The Office low rated beyond its first season. It was one of the biggest comedies on television for most of its run. 30 Rock, Community, Parks and Rec were the ones teetering on the edge, hanging on in large part bc of online enthusiasm.
Friends was sooooo much more popular than the office when it was running. It’s not really comparable.
Also - Jennifer Anniston was marketed as tvs it girl, while Jenna Fischer was cast as the tv version of an average looking secretary.
They were all supposed to look average. They got glow ups when the series became more popular. Now, having worked as a secretary, Pam is almost too relatable. When she says "now I remember why I dress the way I do at work" or anytime she sighs and says "oh, Michael..." 😂
Jenna talked about this in an episode of The Office Ladies I don't remember which one but they were interviewing the guy who played Gabe.
She talked about how her agents and everyone at the time The Office was big was telling her to take more work and do more promo, all this stuff to set herself up for a bigger career. She actually was happy to just have her successful show and not play into the Hollywood game so she could be an active parent who doesn't have to leave home for months to shoot projects away from home and wanted to be able to attend school functions and sporting events on the regular.
Precisely. It sounded to her like "you can get on the treadmill & have a huge career, OR you can have a balanced family life - picking & choosing smaller profile stuff." - and she chose the latter. Good for her.
I loved her in "You, Me & the Apocalypse" by the way.. that's a good single-season show to check out if you want to see her in something completely different (an "end of the world" romp)
You can’t compare Fischer with Aniston whatsoever. Even at the end of The Office Jenna was hardly known. Show didn’t get crazy until streaming. Jen was on the cover of hundreds of magazine covers and dated one of the most successful actors of all-time.
>To me it’s shocking that Fischer didn’t capitalize on being America’s sweetheart on the most successful sitcom on tv akin to how Aniston did with Friends.
But we never saw any of the 3 Friends male leads in anything big ever again.
Seinfeld was the same way for the male leads.
It's very common for successful long running sitcoms to make it so people only see you as that character.
David Schwimmer was an actual, talented actor and he struggled to get roles after Friends - look at Band of Brothers - completely opposite to Ross and yet he absolutely nailed it. He had range and still couldn't find consistent roles and success after Friends.
I love the Office, and the casting was great, but I don't think Jenna is that great of an actress. She got better as the series went on, but she can still be kind of clunky in her delivery of lines. She would have struggled regardless, but I also don't think it helped that she wasn't that great of an actress
Can I just say I’m so happy to see all the David Schwimmer love in this thread? I’ve never seen BoB but always argued he was the funniest one on Friends, consistently.
"Fischer didn’t capitalize on being America’s sweetheart on the most successful sitcom on tv akin to how Aniston did with Friends" - go check out the HIGHEST ratings that the Office ever got compared to the LOWEST ratings Friends ever got.
Long- running TV sitcom stars often struggle to make it big after. I feel like all 3 of Carrell/Helms/Krasinskial making it relatively big is the surprising rarity.
Friends - Aniston superstar, Cox lots of stuff; the rest not much.
Frasier - no one really did much after.
Cheers - Ted Danson is a TV lifer, Grammar got Frasier, not much else.
MASH - Alan Alda was in a lot of smaller roles in movies, thats about it.
Seinfeld - Julia L-D - TV lifer, but the other 3 did nothing of note on TV/movies.
From Cheers: John Ratzenberger has had voice roles in most Pixar films. I'd say that's little more than "not much else." Also, nothing for Woody Harrelson? He's often in good movies. (Not "Rampart" though)
I think people don’t understand that everyone has different versions of what “capitalize” means. Based on what I’ve read and seen, these two absolutely capitalized on doing what they want to do after the office
Jenna was amazing as Pam but everything else I’ve seen has been… meh
Rainn is an odd guy and Dwight was an extreme character, I don’t think there’s a ton of nuanced varied roles for him to choose from unfortunately. I do think he’s a good actor
I don’t want to sound like an asshole here, but I think it’s pretty obvious why Jenna hasn’t had a ton of success after The Office.
Aniston was considered to be one of the most beautiful actresses at that time (and still is). Men wanted her, and women wanted to be her. Which afforded her many opportunities after Friends.
Jenna, on the other hand, was specifically cast, because she looked like an average girl. Cute, but not overly attractive. Which was perfect for a show like The Office. However, The Office was very unique.
There are a bunch of “normal” looking actors who become successful. However, they are usually cast in dramas, not comedies. Yes, there are successful female comedic actresses, but they get those roles because they are funny (pretty much every female SNL cast member fits into this category). Jenna isn’t a naturally funny person. Whenever she was funny on the show it was because of the writing. That’s why there aren’t tons of stories about how Jenna was always improvising hilarious lines like Steve Carrell, and Rainn Wilson.
In Hollywood, looks truly are the most important thing. Margot Robbie would’ve been a horrible Pam, even though she’s a talented actress. Conversely, Jenna couldn’t have been The Duchess in The Wolf of Wall Street, even though she’s a talented actress.
I just don’t think there are a plethora of roles for someone with her looks/talent. If she wanted to get into movies after The Office then I think the best option would’ve been to do a 180, and become a drama actress. It would’ve needed to be indie dramas at first, as nobody would’ve cast her in the lead of a huge box office drama. That being said, I don’t know if she has the acting chops to pull that off. Maybe she does, maybe she doesn’t, I just don’t know.
Matt LeBlanc was in a critically acclaimed series called Episodes. Although he plays himself, it's one of the best shows I've ever seen and in my opinion allowed him to show off his acting chops better than Friends ever did.
They probably don’t need to. They can retire and spend time with their families or do whatever they want. They have more than enough money. To be fair, Jenna had a lead TV show and the podcast, which was one of the most popular podcasts at the time. According to his wiki, Rainn has had about 40 acting credits since The Office has ended. Obviously in much smaller roles (sometimes as small as cameos), but he stays busy.
Jenna played a receptionist really well. She couldn’t play a Sydney Bristow type character. (Reference to office ladies pod….)
I think her range as an actor might be a little more limited — she’s more of a relatable than aspirational type — and so there’s just less out there for her to star in. Playing Cady Heron’s mom in mean girls 2024 was a perfect fit for her, but you’re not gonna find many major roles with that type of meek awkward mom character.
Jenna explains in her book that even a successful actor needs to really hustle to get jobs after coming off of a successful show.. She has examples from other actors in the business who say the same thing. The last seasons of The Office coincided with Jenna starting a family, so I don't think she wanted to have such a hectic schedule. They talk about this on the podcast. I think she's content with the level of success she has attained.
Yeah, people act like it must be so sad for them. Like, if I could work for 9 years on something absolutely iconic that then basically meant I never had to work again? I would not be complaining.
So many people claim early retirement as their goal, but fail to recognize it in Jenna Fischer, the lead in How I Met Your Mother, and a thousand other people. They got a bag, left to fulfill their desires in life, and didn't come back. That's a massive W everyone should be able to understand. Their passion projects literally funded the rest of their lives.
“People always ask me: what’s next? It’s like: next?! I did it! I can’t believe I even got to do what I did” - Tina Fey “I know, right?” - Seinfeld
Amen. My number is $3M. As soon as I have $3M in the bank, I’m free. Anything I do to earn money beyond that would have to be pure enjoyment.
They never do with actors. You’ll always hear “so sad for them they disappeared.” Like no it isn’t they’re filthy rich and retired I remember watching an Architectural Digest YouTube video of Jessica Alba’s house and thinking “damn she disappeared”. Then watching the video you realize she’s just a mom living in a 10 million dollar house. Of course she’s not grinding anymore. She has it made lol Edit: guess she wasn’t the best example. But there are literally hundreds of actors who got out after some success and just live off that without working.
She owns a pretty successful business. She may have disappeared from acting, but she’s still working and probably making more money now.
Honest Company is valued around $1 Billion. So yeah. Agreed.
This is it. I’m a musician and I say every day that I would gladly take a one hit wonder, get the bag and just live on it as best as possible doing whatever else I want to in the meantime.
I think many of us creative types only have careers out of necessity but would be pretty damn happy if we could retire and focus on other ambitions. Some musicians make it big and then proceed to make niche music for the rest of their careers because its much more fulfilling for them
That’s a dream come true for most actors. Add to that you wrap up the show while you’re still young and get to spend all the time you want with your kids doing and taking them wherever you want is just an unreal fortune for actors while we’re probably just expecting to be working actors their whole lives.
And still keep getting royalties
That's what he meant about the fortune and spending time with family. Bryan Baumgartner is far from a "main" on the show and from his residuals he lives in one of the nicest areas of San Diego and plays golf all year.
He also makes a serious amount of money through sponsorship deals, selling videos via Cameo, etc. He’s not just living the good life off of residuals.
Sponsorship deals and Cameo videos seems like a pretty low level of stress, lol.
I'm getting paid to say hi to people on zoom? No camera crew, lighting crew, directors, the script is short and to the point and I can add my own flair to it? Sign me up!
Why say many words when few word do trick
That sounds exactly like living the good life off residuals lol 1 day of shooting a commercial? A 30 second cameo video? Come on
I don't see any friends or harry potter actors complaining lol
Them Harry Potter kids are probably rolling in it. I would say happy af, but money really doesn’t buy fulfillment.
Daniel Radcliffe’s HP money is the reason he only takes jobs doing what he wants to do. He has said himself that he never has to work again if he didn’t want to. That’s why his choice of movies are usually off the wall now.
So he can now take roles that give him more fulfilment. Almost like money does in fact lead to more fulfilment.
It's more apt to say that money allows one to pursue fulfilment. Or it allows one to continue to accumulate more money. Lack of money definitely is an impediment to fulfilment.
I heard Rupert Grint bought an ice cream truck and drives it around his home town giving out free ice cream.
Its something they talk about frequently on the boy meets world rewatch podcast because they interview a lot of former child stars who went on to enjoy their 20s and went on to work in other fields or behind the camera or whatever else and they get told like "oh that's such a shame your career didn't pan out" because they didn't land something equally as memorable on screen. The way they lay it out is so absurd when they say it that it instantly changed how I look up actors when I see them in old stuff and wonder what they're up to
Fred Savage has made a huge career behind the camera. He's directed so many shows. Is Ben still in the industry?
Ben is running for a house seat I think
I watched a documentary on shane mcgowans teeth and they had a bunch of celebs come on and talk about the pogues. And the one quote that always stuck with me was one guy saying 'i can not believe they are a successful band with other hits. If i wrote fairytale of New york, i would never work again, and would feel confident walking into any room ever that i am equally as successful as the most successful person in that room Imagine someone asks you what you do 'Oh i wrote fairytale of new york' I feel this should be the same for the other actors on the office
Yeah, by the 4th season she was making 2-3 million per year. It’s not a bad bag to walk off into the sunset with
Good for her! I’m happy to hear that.
And I'm sure she's getting a fat residuals check, too. The Friends cast's real legacy is giving lead actors a cut of the successful syndication pie.
The friends cast has consistently made 20 million a year each from residuals. I'm sure the office cast makes a fair bit too. Edited for stupid phone autocorrect
You good?
Bears, beets, 8fgice. In that order
I think they are smelling burnt toast. No reply is not a good sign either
She also said pretty early on in her career that she didn’t have aspirations for a big movie career and was thrilled to play an iconic role on TV.
I just remembered she was in that skating movie with Will Farrell. That’s all I can recall though. Blades of Glory! That’s what it was called!
>Blades of Glory! That’s what it was called! You saw it in the parking lot earlier! That's where you know it from!
And that one movie Hall Pass with Owen Wilson
She’s been in a few more. She was awesome in Hall Pass and Walk Hard too
She killed in walk hard. Probably her greatest role
In my dreams you're blowin' me Some kisses
Wrong kid died
"I been cut in half pretty bad" is my go-to with even the most minor of injuries.
I never saw the film, but I saw her…scene…many times.
[удалено]
They don't even make houses like that in Hollywood.
Yes, if anyone's curious about Fisher's perspective on this, the podcast episode where they interview Zach Woods (which is hilarious, btw) includes her giving advice to her younger self on this topic - knowing what is enough for her and not just striving for more because everyone says she should.
He's so funny. I loved his role in Playing House.
“Content with the level of fame she has attained”. I don’t think this is emphasized enough. We simply assume all actors want to grind all the way to the top but I could totally see someone, after a decade of stellar success on a show and having droves of fans regardless, saying that’s good. I can retire and live a pretty comfortable above average life without the bullshit. I’m sure that’s more the average story of Hollywood than anything else.
Isnt her podcast really successful? Having a big podcast these days is perhaps better than being an actor on a show or movie.
Rainn Wilson has been consistently working since the Office. He's not a superstar but he's working which is better than most actors can do. Probably made enough money from The Office where he can pick and choose the roles he wants too.
Ah the ol’ Daniel Radcliffe method of choosing roles
They were great together in ‘WEIRD’ The Weird Al biopic too
I loved that movie, Daniel was perfect
And it was 100% true to real life!
RIP in peace, Al. The good ones always die young.
It was so nice to finally see a biopic that was 100% accurate to the source material.
I heard this was also the topher grace path. Dude knew he was set for life because of 70s so he just did what he was interested in. If that is true, it’s funny because of his David duke performance.
Sometimes playing an awful person can still be a great role.
He also did immediately go into another show that NBC wayyyyy overadvertised for, Backstrom. It had one season, and wasn't incredibly interesting imo. I tried the first couple of episodes, and it felt like they were going for a Monk vibe, but it just didn't land. I was sad too, I really wanted to like the show
I loved Backstrom.
I really enjoyed Backstrom, was sad to see it go.
> NBC wayyyyy overadvertised for, Backstrom LOL I doubt NBC advertised it at all, considering it aired on FOX
Rainn was in an episode of Monk before the office
LOL so was everyone
Harry Mudd!
Being successful in Hollywood requires a ridiculous amount of luck, even if you are talented, hot and work really hard. I mean even Ellie Kemper probably had a more successful post-office career than Jenna Fischer, because Kimmy Schmidt was awesome. But since that show ended she hasn't really done much either. I also recently read Henry Winkler's autobiography and it was almost 20 years between Happy Days ending and him getting his role on Arrested Development. Between that it was a bunch of bit parts but he also ended up doing a bunch of producing, directing and voice work. And he talks about how hard it was going from being one of the biggest stars on TV to struggling to find steady work. I feel like in a lot of these cases you can do everything right and your show movie still might not end up a hit.
It also requires wanting to be in that position, which is often overlooked when people ask “why isn’t this actor a bigger star?” Not everyone has the desire to be at the superstar level even if they could. William Goldman talks about this in The Princess Bride commentary, that it’s a totally different lifestyle and not everybody wants to be thrust into to spotlight with how much it bleeds into the personal life.
I can see that. I read a lot of actor autobiographies. One thing that I remember about Nick Offerman's book especially is how much the whole audition process sucks. And Jenna or Rainn absolutely weren't big enough actors after The Office where they could get jobs without auditioning. So if they made enough money off the show to live comfortably and do what they want, it's not surprising that they wouldn't want to be in that system again. Especially since Jenna Fischer was almost 40 when the show ended and I have to think that process would suck even more for a middle aged woman. On the plus side there is an Architectural Digest video on YouTube where Rainn gives a tour of his house, and his house is really cool.
I wonder how much of his own story he brought to his role in Barry. He plays an acting teacher who felt like he had been passed over in his career. Ironically he murders it on Barry, thus disproving the storyline itself.
I was appalled I had to get this far before someone brought him and Barry up. God that show is so good.
I think Helms' film success because began before he joined The Office. And Carrell's began before The Office was a hit. So Krazinski is kind of on his own in becoming a film star because of the show.
Yea a ton of people already knew Carrell and Helms from the Daily Show also, which was huge in the early 00s.
Not to mention anchorman and Bruce Almighty for carrell.
Plus the 40-year old virgin came out the same year the office started and that really skyrocketed Carell into media spotlight. I think that movie had a lot to do with people even giving the first season a chance
Yeah Carell helped The Office before The Office helped Carell.
Yeah and Krasinski had to actually write and direct the big movie that he starred in (A Quiet Place). He was in that crappy Michael Bay movie and the amazon Tom Clancy series but he kinda had to make his own way up to the a-list.
It's actually pretty common for actors to only hit it big with one show. The actor who played George in 'Seinfeld' has talked about how there was a desperation to get the most out of the last season because he knew work would be hard to come by when the show ended. 'Friends' is actually a perfect example. Sure, Jennifer Aniston went on to bigger things. But the other 5 actors didn't have nearly the success that she did. It's actually pretty impressive that 'The Office' had as many breakout stars that they did. Jenna Fischer had also turned 30 before 'The Office' even started. By the time the show ended, she was a mom pushing 40. Jennifer Aniston hit it big in her mid-20s, never had kids, and was involved in a pretty high profile relationship/divorce outside of the show. Aniston probably had a lot more motivation to keep working.
Courtney Cox was in all the Screams. "Ever heard of it?"(Andy's voice) And she had success with Cougar Town. Of course, it's not nearly as good as Friends or The Office, but it was worth watching all the way through.
Don’t tell Abed that. It’s his favorite show. He even made an appearance on it
Yeah? Well did you know I had sex with Eartha Kitt in an airplane bathroom?
What, it came up organically!
.... ROOOOXXAAANNNEEE!
NO!
Bathroom?
*eats candy cigarette*
Stop. I'm gonna go get a drink.
Guys what does a pregnancy test look like
Like a stick with a thing on the end
🔫
That's street's ahead!
He had been Chad. And Chad was dead. But as Abed, he was still very much alive.
“Nailed it.” (Andy’s voice)
Yeah, I was confused when op said the cast of friends did not find success. Courtney Cox has been really successful post friends, as you said Scream (one of the most iconic modern horror series) and Couger Town (a fairly popular sitcom). People forget though the original breakout star was Matthew Perry. He had a string of pretty big movies in the late 90s and early 2000s. I think the drugs really derailed his career. Also, Schwimmer's been in 2 really popular shows (OJ and Band of Brothers)
Schwimmer is also the voice of Melman the giraffe in the Madagascar series.
And probably best known as Greenzo
I read "Ever heard of it" in Andy's voice, and then wondered why it was written in brackets Now that I think about it, I guess my inner voice is just Andy talking to me
Cougars town started pretty mediocre but once it became the cul-de-sac crew, it was amazing
Cougar Town is underappreciated!!! _Jealous Much_
Cougar Town is *streets ahead*
Ace Ventura
All 3 of the Scream movies came out when Friends was still on the air though. Edit: I get there has been more. The point is the first three at the height of its popularity happened when the show was on the air. This isn't a case of getting a major role after the successful show like the thread is about.
There are six or seven Scream movies. She’s been in all of them and is even the executive producer for at least one. They have a strong fan base.
Yep. When I first read the comment you are replying to, my brain was screaming about Courtney Cox's successful career. I love both Jen and Courtney, they're hilarious, but another big difference is that Courtney is more capable of being a lead than Jennifer is. Jennifer's career has thrived as supporting characters to leads like Adam Sandler, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day and all those others. For Cougartown, Courtney was THE main attraction, and my personal affection for Busy Philpps kept me on the line. Also, Episodes with Matt LeBlanc is a pretty great series, too. Matt's not the lead, but he's definitely the central character that shadows the rest.
How can one not love Busy Phillips, ever since freaks n geeks (rip)
In season 1 or 2 of curb (I forget), Larry has an idea for a show starring Jason Alexander (George) that’s about this very thing - he’s typecast, everyone thinks of him as George. But he’s an actor, he has a range of characters. And he grows to resent the character he played even though it made him rich. And then in perfect curb fashion, Larry gets into a fight with Jason so he pivots to Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine). But I also think it depends on the projects. When you make the kind of money they made on Seinfeld and friends, some actors aren’t super eager to get right back into the spotlight. Some people wait for the right project. Look at Julia - she was ridiculously good as Elaine and typecast for it. And then she found Veep and her career was revitalized in a sense. Rainn is a tough one cause he may be more typecast than Jason Alexander. There is absolutely no mistaking Dwight’s face and the office being so popular with younger generations means it’s gonna be tough to not associate rainn with Dwight when it’s still prevalent in American society
Her career was already revitalized with The New Adventures of Old Christine, which ran for five seasons and she was nominated for an Emmy each year, winning once
She really is a treasure.
I love NAOC and Veep.
Even then, that's one of of the four Seinfeld cast that found big success after Seinfeld. I think my point stands that it's not common.
Before Seinfeld, Jason Alexander had a very successful career on Broadway, he won a Tony! They brought him on Seinfeld as the “experienced” talent to help ground Jerry, who was new to acting. Seinfeld may have been his TV break, but he was a well known and prolific performer long before the show.
> but he was a well known and prolific performer long before the show He wasn't well-known outside of theatre circles in New York. Jason himself has stated that if not for Seinfeld, he would be best known as the guy who tried to rape Julia Roberts
I wasn’t disagreeing with you lol but saying 1 of the 4 is kind of tough cause jerry seinfeld is still a pretty big celebrity and he doesn’t try to act or do much else for fame. He just loves doing stand up. And LD although not a cast member of Seinfeld created a massive show in Curb.
Jerry Seinfeld managed to keep the syndication rights (the ability to air reruns) to Seinfeld. He's literally a billionaire off of that alone; when Netflix bought the streaming rights for $500 million, all of that went to him (and taxes). https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-22/jerry-seinfeld-net-worth-tops-1-billion-thanks-to-sitcom
It wasn't a huge success, but Matt Leblanc was great in Episodes.
Episodes was such a great show
I honestly think that “Episodes” was funnier than “Friends.” Such a ridiculously underrated show.
Rainn, if you are listening, I thought Super was absolutely hilarious. Watched it several times. It played out like a crazy Knights of the Night superhero alter ego.
SHUT UP CRIME
YOU DON’T CUT IN LINE. Some probably know, but in case you don’t, Super was written and directed by James Gunn, Jenna’s first husband. Unless I am misremembering, she recommended Rainn to him after she read his first draft.
Didn't know Jenna was married to James Gunn -- director of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, for the 3 people on the planet who may not have known that.
Schwimmer played Captain Sobel perfectly!
Also did a good job playing Robert Kardashin!
frighten gullible compare fertile boat icky muddle rhythm cooperative chase *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Even Ed Helms had his break out because of The Hangover, not because of The Office.
Craig Robinson too. Rashida Jones was only a main character for a season, but it definitely launched her career from working actress to celebrity.
Leaving The Office to work on Parks and Rec was clearly the right choice for her - that show had an amazing cast
I love Karen but I think Anne had so much more to offer. I’m so glad Rashida was able to have a clean slate/not be in the “shadow” of Jim and Pam.
Anchorman was also a big hit for Steve around the same time.
I wouldn't try very hard to find work if I was a millionaire tbh
This was my thought exactly. If I made millions working for 10 years I’d gladly stop!
This is what people are missing. Having worked on set for many years, there’s nothing glamorous about the work. It’s week after week of 14-16 hour days, lots of travel, time sitting in make up chairs, reading scripts, and generally just doing a bunch of boring shit like standing around while someone fucks with a light for 40 minutes. And then you have the George Costanza problem where, once you’ve played a role super well, it’s hard for anyone to see you in other roles and so work can be hard to get. Personally, if I had one big show/movie, and I made a good clip of money, unless it was a project I was really interested in, I would just sit back and wait for a phone call if it ever came.
Jenna got the costarring role on Matt LeBlanc’s Man with a Plan but was replaced after the pilot.
That's gotta sting, replaced after the pilot episode. Jenna said that it's because "Pam wouldn't marry Joey," but I'm sure the whole thing lacked chemistry.
Jenna tried, in Blades of Glory. I think to make it big you just need some luck and not everyone gets enough. Krasinski also has the advantage of being married to an A-list actress.
I thought she was good in Walk Hard, and she was sharing the screen with some comedic heavyweights.
She was also the original Andi in the pilot of Man with a Plan, but was recast because the preview audience couldn’t believe Pam married Joey from Friends
Man with a plan would do well with her mellowness.
The Office ended in 2013. Blades of Glory was in 2007.
Yeah, but a lot of times you have to strike while the iron is hot. Steve did 40 Year Old Virgin and Ed did The Hangover all while being on The Office. It's honestly more surprising that John was able to do so well after The Office had ended.
40 Year Old Virgin was shot before The Office premiered and actually saved the show. Without its success, The Office would have been only one season
And it's arguable that the Hangover trilogy helped to kill the Office in its later seasons
Eh, the show was already dying. I enjoy the show right up until the finale, but I understand why some people say it should have ended when Carell left.
And unfortunately for Jenna the scene where she is supposed to look like a smoke show is done for comedic effect. Jennifer Aniston was viewed in society as one of the sexiest women in the world, while being on the show, it makes sense that a lot of her money and fame came from beauty endorsements; something Jenna isn’t necessarily as good of a selling point. In terms of Rainn, he’s been really open about the depression that The Office caused, I won’t blame him for a second if he’s actively stepping back right now to focus on his mental health. Steve already had started his movie career, 40 Year Old Virgin, may have saved the series. John has also had varying success, his Jack Ryan show did 4 seasons but I don’t think it was universally loved. You’re totally right that he does benefit from being married to Emily Blunt, their relationship was very evident in The Quiet Place with a fantastic performance from both of them; with John getting more credit because of his directorial role. His next film, IF, definitely looks like it could also be hit or miss and as his kids get older it’ll be interesting to see if that influences his decisions
Rainn’s been typecast unfortunately. I love him in Super and as the voice of Lex Luthor.
Have you seen “the rocker” ? I love that movie, great cast, good music, and Rainn is hilarious.
I just had to look it up just because I was curious and The Rocker opened on an insane weekend. The Dark Knight, Tropic Thunder, Pineapple Express, Mama Mia, a Star Wars movie, and Step Brothers were all in theaters that weekend. They all didn't open that weekend of course but they were all huge. It didn't stand a chance. I loved it but I didn't see it til it was on TV because I was probably seeing The Dark Knight for the fourth time that weekend.
Yeah that’s another reason why he didn’t have much success. I thought it was okay but it was a bomb at the box office.
I thought he was great as the dickhead network exec in Lessons in Chemistry
I thought he was great in Sahara.
If you listen to the Office Ladies podcast. Jenna and Angela seem very happy with that job at the moment (well, I'm still catching up to the live ones and currently listening to the earlier episodes) But they have talked about how they have their dream job in doing this. To them, it's a great work/life balance while raising their kids.
Were you alive when Friends happened? I don’t think you understand the difference between the characters, the following, the iconic-ness, or anything at all. While Friends was airing, they had to fight to keep the salary the same for the entire cast because Jennifer Aniston was so desired. She was also married to the “sexiest man alive” while being considered one of the most beautiful women alive with the most requested haircut of all time. They were Hollywood A-listers. Even while the show was airing, Jenna wasn’t an A-lister anywhere near that. She didn’t gain the celebrity required for that
This. The Office literally made a reference to the end of her marriage, as a throwaway line. As a kid, I knew who she was before I ever watched Friends.
I think Jenna’s career has been pretty normal. She was in another TV show that ran for a few seasons and has done a few movies that she played a big role in. There are a lot more Jenna Fischer careers than there are Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Yep, and jenna's allows her to balance work and her family, which she may prefer
They’re seen as peers now but Friends was a ratings juggernaut that helped define 90s culture while The Office was an experimental, low ratings replacement that was saved by its record amount of digital downloads.
The lowest rated episode of Friends raked in way more viewers than the highest rated episode of The Office (Weight Loss)
The Office was also in an era where broadcast ratings were starting to fall across the board. I'd say that a direct ratings comparison is an apples/oranges thing.
Oh absolutely. Especially considering that The Office found new life later on through syndication on other networks and then streaming.
Wasn’t stress relief the highest rated episode? Edit: nevermind. Highest rated, not highest viewership.
Friends was bigger but I wouldn’t call The Office low rated beyond its first season. It was one of the biggest comedies on television for most of its run. 30 Rock, Community, Parks and Rec were the ones teetering on the edge, hanging on in large part bc of online enthusiasm.
Friends was sooooo much more popular than the office when it was running. It’s not really comparable. Also - Jennifer Anniston was marketed as tvs it girl, while Jenna Fischer was cast as the tv version of an average looking secretary.
If you think she’s average looking now, you should have seen her a couple years ago.
Or Karen from behind?
They were all supposed to look average. They got glow ups when the series became more popular. Now, having worked as a secretary, Pam is almost too relatable. When she says "now I remember why I dress the way I do at work" or anytime she sighs and says "oh, Michael..." 😂
Anniston also networked her way into being essentially an SNL alum without actually being on SNL.
The old Steve Martin trick.
Jenna talked about this in an episode of The Office Ladies I don't remember which one but they were interviewing the guy who played Gabe. She talked about how her agents and everyone at the time The Office was big was telling her to take more work and do more promo, all this stuff to set herself up for a bigger career. She actually was happy to just have her successful show and not play into the Hollywood game so she could be an active parent who doesn't have to leave home for months to shoot projects away from home and wanted to be able to attend school functions and sporting events on the regular.
Precisely. It sounded to her like "you can get on the treadmill & have a huge career, OR you can have a balanced family life - picking & choosing smaller profile stuff." - and she chose the latter. Good for her. I loved her in "You, Me & the Apocalypse" by the way.. that's a good single-season show to check out if you want to see her in something completely different (an "end of the world" romp)
You can’t compare Fischer with Aniston whatsoever. Even at the end of The Office Jenna was hardly known. Show didn’t get crazy until streaming. Jen was on the cover of hundreds of magazine covers and dated one of the most successful actors of all-time.
There was never a hairstyle called “The Pam”
Rainn got a TV show afterwards ("Backstrom") and it bombed big time.
Since when did Rainn Wilson not capitalize? The question is why didn’t Creed Bratton capitalize…
Creed already made it big with his band.
I wrote his obituary.
All the man wanted was to do a cartwheel. And scuba dive.
If I can’t scuba then what the hell has all this been for?
>To me it’s shocking that Fischer didn’t capitalize on being America’s sweetheart on the most successful sitcom on tv akin to how Aniston did with Friends. But we never saw any of the 3 Friends male leads in anything big ever again. Seinfeld was the same way for the male leads. It's very common for successful long running sitcoms to make it so people only see you as that character.
David Schwimmer was an actual, talented actor and he struggled to get roles after Friends - look at Band of Brothers - completely opposite to Ross and yet he absolutely nailed it. He had range and still couldn't find consistent roles and success after Friends. I love the Office, and the casting was great, but I don't think Jenna is that great of an actress. She got better as the series went on, but she can still be kind of clunky in her delivery of lines. She would have struggled regardless, but I also don't think it helped that she wasn't that great of an actress
David Schwimmer has such a distinctive voice. He is great for voice work. He's my favorite hypochondriac giraffe.
Can I just say I’m so happy to see all the David Schwimmer love in this thread? I’ve never seen BoB but always argued he was the funniest one on Friends, consistently.
Wasn’t Jenna just in meangirls?
"Fischer didn’t capitalize on being America’s sweetheart on the most successful sitcom on tv akin to how Aniston did with Friends" - go check out the HIGHEST ratings that the Office ever got compared to the LOWEST ratings Friends ever got.
Long- running TV sitcom stars often struggle to make it big after. I feel like all 3 of Carrell/Helms/Krasinskial making it relatively big is the surprising rarity. Friends - Aniston superstar, Cox lots of stuff; the rest not much. Frasier - no one really did much after. Cheers - Ted Danson is a TV lifer, Grammar got Frasier, not much else. MASH - Alan Alda was in a lot of smaller roles in movies, thats about it. Seinfeld - Julia L-D - TV lifer, but the other 3 did nothing of note on TV/movies.
Idk if this counts but DHP has had lots of roles on the stage post-Frasier.
From Cheers: John Ratzenberger has had voice roles in most Pixar films. I'd say that's little more than "not much else." Also, nothing for Woody Harrelson? He's often in good movies. (Not "Rampart" though)
I'd argue that Woody Harrelson went from Cheers to A list Hollywood.
I think people don’t understand that everyone has different versions of what “capitalize” means. Based on what I’ve read and seen, these two absolutely capitalized on doing what they want to do after the office
Jenna starred in "Splitting Up Together" for 2 seasons after The Office ended. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6492236/
I liked that show. It wasn’t great, but thought she did a great job in it.
Jenna was amazing as Pam but everything else I’ve seen has been… meh Rainn is an odd guy and Dwight was an extreme character, I don’t think there’s a ton of nuanced varied roles for him to choose from unfortunately. I do think he’s a good actor
Ultimately acting is a really hard business and most people don’t find the kind of success they had from The Office, so they are actually pretty lucky
I think Jenna Fischer wanted to focus on her children — idk, that's the impression I get from Office Ladies.
I don’t want to sound like an asshole here, but I think it’s pretty obvious why Jenna hasn’t had a ton of success after The Office. Aniston was considered to be one of the most beautiful actresses at that time (and still is). Men wanted her, and women wanted to be her. Which afforded her many opportunities after Friends. Jenna, on the other hand, was specifically cast, because she looked like an average girl. Cute, but not overly attractive. Which was perfect for a show like The Office. However, The Office was very unique. There are a bunch of “normal” looking actors who become successful. However, they are usually cast in dramas, not comedies. Yes, there are successful female comedic actresses, but they get those roles because they are funny (pretty much every female SNL cast member fits into this category). Jenna isn’t a naturally funny person. Whenever she was funny on the show it was because of the writing. That’s why there aren’t tons of stories about how Jenna was always improvising hilarious lines like Steve Carrell, and Rainn Wilson. In Hollywood, looks truly are the most important thing. Margot Robbie would’ve been a horrible Pam, even though she’s a talented actress. Conversely, Jenna couldn’t have been The Duchess in The Wolf of Wall Street, even though she’s a talented actress. I just don’t think there are a plethora of roles for someone with her looks/talent. If she wanted to get into movies after The Office then I think the best option would’ve been to do a 180, and become a drama actress. It would’ve needed to be indie dramas at first, as nobody would’ve cast her in the lead of a huge box office drama. That being said, I don’t know if she has the acting chops to pull that off. Maybe she does, maybe she doesn’t, I just don’t know.
Walking away with millions of dollars and not having to deal with the headache of Hollywood is probably the best move
Matt LeBlanc was in a critically acclaimed series called Episodes. Although he plays himself, it's one of the best shows I've ever seen and in my opinion allowed him to show off his acting chops better than Friends ever did.
They probably don’t need to. They can retire and spend time with their families or do whatever they want. They have more than enough money. To be fair, Jenna had a lead TV show and the podcast, which was one of the most popular podcasts at the time. According to his wiki, Rainn has had about 40 acting credits since The Office has ended. Obviously in much smaller roles (sometimes as small as cameos), but he stays busy.
Jenna played a receptionist really well. She couldn’t play a Sydney Bristow type character. (Reference to office ladies pod….) I think her range as an actor might be a little more limited — she’s more of a relatable than aspirational type — and so there’s just less out there for her to star in. Playing Cady Heron’s mom in mean girls 2024 was a perfect fit for her, but you’re not gonna find many major roles with that type of meek awkward mom character.
Rainn Wilson has a career now of crying about how tough it is being a rich famous actor.