Warning: This post contains spoilers for Episode 13 of the Office Ladiespodcast.
Jan and 犯罪 ポルノ映画Michael may have walked so that Holly and Michael could run, but there's no denying that Jan's character on The Office was phenomenal.
Jan Levinson (formerly Levinson-Gould) was played by Melora Hardin, who called in to chat with former co-stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey on the latest episode of the Office Ladiespodcast.
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Hardin talked about everything from auditioning for The Officeto working with Steve Carell and Tim Meadows in "The Client" episode. And, of course, she dished on the memorable kiss that Jan and Michael shared after their long night at Chili's.
SEE ALSO: 'The Office' cast reminisces about Bob Odenkirk almost playing Michael ScottBefore discussing the episode, Hardin revealed that her audition for Jan was actually unplanned. "It was sort of a last-minute, like 'come in and read for this,' which I did, and I remember that I went in and literally looked at the sides right there before," she said.
The audition obviously went well, and Hardin was cast in the role, but at the time Jan was simply a guest star in the pilot who would possiblyrecur in future episodes.
"When we were filming the pilot I remember sitting at the tables with Greg Daniels and Steve Carell and we were all laughing at kind of how weirdly interesting Jan and Michael were together," Hardin explained. "We sort of were like, well, yeah that’s funny. If we get a pick-up and we get an opportunity to do more of the show than just the six [episodes] that we were doing... our first season, then it’ll be fun. We should have them hook up."
Melora Hardin as Jan Levinson and Steve Carell as Michael Scott. Credit: Justin Lubin / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images "We kind of felt like there was a little spark between them, and we kind of conjured it on the pilot," she added. In "The Client" episode, you really see the spark between them ignite.
For those who need a refresher, Season 2, Episode 7 of The Officeshows Michael and Jan pitching a client (Tim Meadows) over an Awesome Blossom, margaritas, and ribs at a Chili's restaurant. Jan spends the majority of the episode looking extremely pissed off, but in reality, Hardin could barely stop smiling during filming.
"The stuff that Steve and Tim Meadows did and the improv... it just flattened me," Hardin said. "I watched [the episode] with my husband and I just kept going, 'oh my god it was so hard to keep my face straight.' I was so amazed at how incredibly straight-faced I was, because every time we would cut I would just burst into laughter."
While the bulk of Jan and Michael's scenes take place in the Chili's, the episode does end with an unexpected kiss in a parking lot.
"I thought it was a great first kiss for the two of them," Hardin said. "I actually think the take that you see on there is the first time we did it, and it has everything it needs — it has the tension, it has the kind of 'wait that’s so wrong' and 'wait a second, I want more of that' thing that I think Jan struggled with the entire relationship with Michael."
"He gets to have the moment of victory, and she is like, 'oh, there’s more to this guy than I thought, and he’s not just this idiot," she said.
While Jan had a huge role in "The Client," the episode was also jam-packed with other noteworthy plot lines, including the big reveal of Michael's movie screenplay for Threat Level Midnight,and Pam and Jim's first "date," which included rooftop grilled cheese sandwiches and late-night headphone sharing. So you're definitely going to want to listen to the podcast episode in its entirety.
You can stream episodes of The Officeon Netflixand follow along with the podcast every week on Earwolf, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher.
Topics The Office