‘I Don’t Want To Be Kevin Malone Forever’: The Office Star Brian Baumgartner Reveals How Iconic Role Affected His Career, Wants to Distance Himself From the Image

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The American NBC Sitcom The Office has been developed into a household name by now. There’s hardly anyone who doesn’t have any knowledge about the show. One of the most iconic characters of the show was Brian Baumgartner’s, Kevin Malone. The aloof and healthy Kevin Malone was a favorite of many and gained immense popularity through the show’s long run but that had a cost. In a recent interview, Kevin Malone confirmed that his role as Kevin Malone surely affected his career as for a long time he was being subjected to similar kinds of roles.

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Brian Baumgartner wanted to distance himself from Kevin Malone
Brian Baumgartner as Kevin Malone

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The Office affected Brian Baumgartner’s career:

Kevin Malone Brian Baumgartner
Brian Baumgartner was inspired by Keith Bishop of the British counter series

While speaking to Entertainment Weekly in a recent interview, Baumgartner revealed that after the show ended, he wanted to distance himself from the character of Kevin Malone as he didn’t want to be in the character forever. He also revealed that after the show’s end, he was offered some similar kinds of roles which he had to turn down every time:

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“I wanted to distance myself,”  Brian Baumgartner reflects. “I thought, ‘I don’t want to be Kevin Malone forever.’ I spent a long time turning down roles that I felt were too similar or wanted a similar sort of feeling and character.” 

Also Read: The Office: John Krasinski Recalls Awkward First Audition

He continued that although he wanted to distance himself from the image of Kevin Malone, his hopes died as the fans continued to pour their never-ending love for the series and also for his role. He understood that he can’t escape The Office image of him for a long time now:

“It all just built this momentum,” Baumgartner said. “Which was like, ‘Well, I don’t think I’m going to be escaping this one anytime soon.'”

Thanks to the love and support, the show still garners from its fans, Kevin Malone’s name is not gonna separate itself from Brian Baumgartner’s personality anytime soon.

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The Show is a blessing for Brian Baumgartner:

The Office is a household name now
The Office Finale Episode

According to Brian Baumgartner, the immense popularity of the show owes to its long run of 9 seasons for 10 years and also revealed that it took the entirety of his thirties:

“The Office being 10 years, nine seasons, I mean, I was essentially on the show the entirety of my thirties,” he said. “I mean, it was a decade. To give people perspective, that’s like progressing from high school through college and then a couple of more years”

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The Kevin Malone actor further revealed that with such an amount of time involved with a show, there’s a deep bond and close relationship developed with the other fellow actors and the other members associated with the show:

“It’s such a long period of your life and you establish such deep relationships and obviously, such close identification with those characters.” 

Despite wanting to distance himself from the character, Brian Baumgartner can’t deny that the show has been a blessing for him as he loves when people around him talk about the show and how it has helped them:

“I consider it a blessing, especially the amazing fans who talk about how The Office gave them comfort, how it helped them during a difficult time, I mean, countless stories, way more than I can mention. That’s an amazing thing.”

The Office starring various other actors like John Krasinski, Steve Carell, B.J. Novak, Angela Kinsey, Jenna Fischer, Phyllis Smith, Leslie David Baker, Oscar Nuñez, Craig Robinson and Ellie Kemper was an American remake of the British sitcom by the same name focusing on the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company and ran successfully on NBC from 2005 to 2013.

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All the seasons of The Office can be streamed on Peacock

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Read More: The Office: How It’s Unique From Other Sitcoms

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Written by Subham Mandal

Articles Published: 1081

Subham Mandal is currently working as a content writer for FandomWire with an ardent interest in the world of pop culture. He has written more than 1000 articles on different spheres of modern pop culture and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. He’s also an experienced student journalist having demonstrated work experience with the Times of India. He aspires to be a column writer in the future.