An unforgettable cold open from the fifth season of the American adaptation of The Office sees Kevin Malone (Brian Baumgartner) comically spilling a giant pot of his "famous chili." Over a decade on from staining his suit and the office carpet, Baumgartner has shared how the messy moment came together.
Baumgartner appeared on the latest episode of the Office Ladies podcast, hosted by former co-stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, to reminisce about his time on the show, which included talking about the chili spill in Season 5 episode "Casual Friday."
"You know, people come up to me all the time, and that's the moment, more often than not, that is referred to," Baumgartner shared. "There are now for me two types of people. There are some people who are like, 'Oh my god, that is so hilarious. I love it.' And then there are people who are like, 'I can't watch it, it breaks my heart. I feel so bad for Kevin.' I think in truth it's somewhere in the middle. I think there's some physical comedy with a heartbreaking moment. I never could have imagined that that one moment that was shot alone with nobody else around would become what it has today."
Now "tremendously proud" of the spill sequence, Baumgartner again reminded listeners that his pot drop was shot in a single take.
"They had done obviously some prep, because this was going to be a mess, there was no question. And we'd rehearsed it. Obviously it was all about the moment of spill — having that look and feel as realistic as possible, and that it happened in generally the correct place for the cameras to be able to pick it up," he explained. "So [prop master] Phil Shea came to me, kind of like a secret, like, backchannel meeting, and he says, 'Alright, just so you know we only have three pieces of carpet. So we can't do any more [takes] than that.'"
However, the mess made following the drop was something that wasn't planned for. Baumgartner continued, "No one had any idea what would really happen, cause I was stained. And I remember probably my last public shower, but there were like — it felt like 14 people in the shower with me, peeling off clothes and handing me towels to get it off of my eyes and hair and everything... There was probably some tint for a couple of days, but the smell for sure at least 24 hours."
Baumgartner also shared that his move to try and scoop up carpet chili with various bits of office supplies was in fact improvised, while Kinsey revealed that a full eight minutes of his character sliding around in his saucy meal does exist.
You can hear more behind-the-scenes stories from the three in the player below. Earlier this year, Kinsey was spotted repping Toronto beer.
Baumgartner appeared on the latest episode of the Office Ladies podcast, hosted by former co-stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, to reminisce about his time on the show, which included talking about the chili spill in Season 5 episode "Casual Friday."
"You know, people come up to me all the time, and that's the moment, more often than not, that is referred to," Baumgartner shared. "There are now for me two types of people. There are some people who are like, 'Oh my god, that is so hilarious. I love it.' And then there are people who are like, 'I can't watch it, it breaks my heart. I feel so bad for Kevin.' I think in truth it's somewhere in the middle. I think there's some physical comedy with a heartbreaking moment. I never could have imagined that that one moment that was shot alone with nobody else around would become what it has today."
Now "tremendously proud" of the spill sequence, Baumgartner again reminded listeners that his pot drop was shot in a single take.
"They had done obviously some prep, because this was going to be a mess, there was no question. And we'd rehearsed it. Obviously it was all about the moment of spill — having that look and feel as realistic as possible, and that it happened in generally the correct place for the cameras to be able to pick it up," he explained. "So [prop master] Phil Shea came to me, kind of like a secret, like, backchannel meeting, and he says, 'Alright, just so you know we only have three pieces of carpet. So we can't do any more [takes] than that.'"
However, the mess made following the drop was something that wasn't planned for. Baumgartner continued, "No one had any idea what would really happen, cause I was stained. And I remember probably my last public shower, but there were like — it felt like 14 people in the shower with me, peeling off clothes and handing me towels to get it off of my eyes and hair and everything... There was probably some tint for a couple of days, but the smell for sure at least 24 hours."
Baumgartner also shared that his move to try and scoop up carpet chili with various bits of office supplies was in fact improvised, while Kinsey revealed that a full eight minutes of his character sliding around in his saucy meal does exist.
You can hear more behind-the-scenes stories from the three in the player below. Earlier this year, Kinsey was spotted repping Toronto beer.
