by Lindsay Fahey

Created on: March 12, 2009   Last Updated: March 14, 2009

Guide to the characters of The Office

The Office is a phenomenal show that everyone should watch. It's witty, idiotic, amazingly uncomfortable, and completely addicting. The US version, which I'm guessing is what most people on this site watch, premiered in 2005. Ricky Gervais played the Michael Scott character in the UK Emmy award winning version of The Office. Most shows from the UK haven't translated well to US television, but The Office was the ultimate exception.

The main character of the show, which Gervais originated himself, is Michael Scott. (Gervais's character was David Brent.) Michael Scott is played by comic Steve Carrell, who lost out on a a spot on Saturday Night Live to Will Ferrell. I'm glad he did, because then Carrell might not have gotten the chance to play a really insane, lazy, stupid, and unaware Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin Scranton, and that would be a shame. The emmy award winning role has been the role of Carrell's career, and without all of Michael's goofy, silly, unorthodox, uncomfortable, albeit creative endeavors, The Office just wouldn't be the same.
Michael is the boss everyone loves to hate, except for Dwight Schrute, played by Rainn Wilson. Dwight lives on a Beet Farm with his cousin Mose, and is one of the most conservative and power driven characters television has ever seen. Being obsessed with Michael, and relishing in this Assistant to the Regional Manager position, Dwight is the second most absurd character on the show next to Michael, which makes him all the more fun to watch.
Next is Jim Halper, played to perfection by John Krasinski. Jim is your resident nice guy salesmen who is smart, sensitive, and utterly hates his job. Playing pranks on Dwight and not being able to take anything too seriously, Jim is also in love with engaged receptionist Pam. Pam Beesly is engaged to Roy of the warehouse. She is the resident office hottie, and often wears cardigans and pulls her hair back. She and Jim have a pseudo romantic relationship, much to the unawareness of her fiancee Roy, who works in the warehouse. Pam always gets the brunt of the work because she is a receptionist, although Michael would prefer to treat her as his personal conceierge.
Ryan Howard, the temp, and Michael's subsequent "crush" of the office, played by writer B.J. Novak. Ryan hates his job and everything about it, especially having to be at Michael's beck and call.
Those are title characters of The Office, although some of the more minor characters are

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