I said, "Excuse me, are you looking for mousey? Or are you looking for tacky?" I showed them that huge hole. So I walked into that audition, and I lifted my dress. It's in Hollywood, I work in the valley." He says, "Just get in the car and go." In the process of going to that audition, because it was a huge corporate office that I worked in, I ripped a big hole in my nylons. He said, " Phyllis, they are looking for a mousey woman, and she is works for the superior court." I said, "Oh, man. A friend of mine worked in the casting office of one of the court shows. I had taken a commercial class here or there. I was trying, when I first came out to Los Angeles, not only to be a dancer, but to also get into commercials. As it turns out, through a number of jobs trying to keep my head above water and pay the bills, I wound up in casting. When I got too old to compete with the 18 year olds, and I had to have knee surgery.Now they have the surgery where you can get back on the skis, or whatever, but when I had my knee injury, it ended my career. When I was young, I always wanted to be a dancer. Was acting something you'd always wanted to do? I know you were a dancer, and then you worked as a casting director. I'm not sure how you got the part as Phyllis. But hopefully we can pull another couple of seasons out of the bag. We are only in the middle of out tenth episode. Its at the table that you find out you are having an affair with someone, or that you are getting married. Not only for the show, but also for our characters. That is when we find out what the writers have in mind. We have our table reads midweek, Wednesdays or Thursdays. I have become very territorial about my space there. Oddly, in real life, we go, "Um, would you mind.Getting out of that chair." Because every chair has its own feel to it. Is that what you guys call it? I have never heard that term before. You don't talk to your manager the same way you talk to your desk clump person. We are still now just trying to figure out these characters, with Andy being the manager. Each of us had a different relationship with Andy, when he was at a clump, at the desks, with Stanley and I. Phyllis Smith: That is always interesting, too.
He seems to be pulling you all together, rather than pushing you all apart. I like what is happening with Ed Helms' character, Andy, in the boss' seat. Who knows? Maybe we will make Bob Vance a little jealous. Hopefully, somewhere along the line, I will be hooked up with him. I have been a fan of his for so many years. Because I'd love to have that opportunity. I'm looking for my first big scene with James Spader, one-on-one. Phyllis Smith: So far, she hasn't had to do much. They have a real challenge ahead of them.Ĭan you give us a hint as to where your character is headed this season? Getting to watch the writers decide which direction all of the characters will go.
I am enjoying watching his character develop and grow. The process is different than it was with Steve Carell, I believe.
James Spader brings a different kind of energy to the set. How are you handling the changes at The Office? James Spader has joined the Dunder-Mifflin staff as the new regional manager, Robert California, and Ed Helms's Andy has taken over boss duties from Michael Scott (the recently departed Steve Carell. We also chatted about Season 8 of The Office, which is currently airing Thursday nights on NBC, and returns with an all-new Episode October 20th.Īs you may know, there have been some big changes on the sitcom in the past year. We recently caught up with the NFL cheerleader-turned-casting director-turned-actor to chat about the movie. This month, Phyllis Smith co-stars opposite Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake in the hilarious comedy Bad Teacher, coming to Blu-ray and DVD October 18th. Phyllis Smith offers insight into the currently airing eighth season of the NBC hit comedy The Office