Some actors' commitment to their characters ends when the filming stops. Not Brian Baumgartner, who plays lovable accountant Kevin Malone on The Office. He takes his dedication to his role all the way to MySpace. In Part One of this MeeVee exclusive interview, we asked Brian about his infamous MySpace page, his interactions with fans, and landing the role of a lifetime.
How did you get involved with The Office? Did you audition for the role of Kevin, or did the producers seek you out?
I was very lucky. They were looking for people relatively unknown. I’d done very little in terms of television. It actually gave me an advantage over people who had been out here a long time.
Most of the cast is actors you sort of recognize from other shows, but who weren't well known previously. Is that part of the show's cult appeal?
Right. It’s been crazy because of the cult nature of the show, we started out and the ratings were not that great. We were really searching for an audience. But the people that have been with it from the beginning are just maniacally for it because they feel like they started with it from the beginning and saw the show grow.
A lot of people don’t know this, but we’re up against Survivor and Ugly Betty; our competition has been pretty intense in the various time slots we’ve been in. In the 18-34 range — I’m sounding like a network executive now — we actually have the highest rating out of any of those shows. It’s those people who are younger and get the humor, or the humor appeals to them. The younger demographic is so Internet-savvy. All the sites that have been created and the MySpace thing as well - there's definitely a community behind the show.
You've definitely built a rabid fan base. Whenever I write about The Office, I get tremendous reader response. (something about their online fanbase)
For me, it’s an extension of the show and the communicating with the fans as the character. (laughter) I understand that no one thinks it’s really Kevin. Well, who understands what people think? I’m sure some people are still skeptical that it’s actually me. It’s been fun and we’ll see where it goes. ...All these other websites created about the show have really generated a huge amount of interest. It’s crazy. Almost 500,000 people read the blog that I write on MySpace.
Jenna and Angela and others on the show who write [on MySpace] are sort of doing a behind-the-scenes look at the show. My thing... it’s just Kevin. I’m really not giving out any tidbits of information. (laughter) I’m sort of messing around. People are so engaged by the show, storyline, and the character; they think the character is funny. To have 500,000 people, that’s pretty significant.
Article comments