There are just two episodes left of NBC's The Office, and Angela Kinsey says they are among the most important for her character.
After nine years of playing Angela, the judgmental accountant with an affinity for cats, Kinsey tells The Hollywood Reporter she's happy where her character ends up on the finale.
"There’s one moment coming up that I love so much, but I can’t tell you," she says. "I’m so excited for fans of the show to see."
Kinsey admits she has had trouble letting go of her character, saying the cast cried and embraced each other after completing the final scene. While shooting the Fox pilot The Gabriels, she found herself being a bit too harsh to her onscreen children, just as Angela would be.
"I was like, 'I’m so sorry. I’ve played a bitch for nine years,'" she recalls telling her director.
Read the rest of THR's conversation with Kinsey, where she reveals more details about the emotional final day of shooting and shares what idea she pitched to the writers that didn't make it into the final season.
The Hollywood Reporter: You’ve wrapped on The Office. Are you happy where Angela ends up?
Angela Kinsey: I’m really happy with it. When Greg [Daniels] announced this was going to be the last season of our show, and he was going to write to a real end, even though it was bittersweet, we were happy our show has a true ending.
The head writers of our show invited each castmember into the writers' room to pitch ideas and to tell what hopes and dreams we’d always had for our characters. Some of those things were incorporated, and it’s going to make these last two episodes really meaningful.
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THR: Are you able to share what ideas you pitched for, or would that be a spoiler?
Kinsey: I can’t share all of it. One that I pitched that we never got to see is Phyllis and Bob Vance’s house, because I figured it was the tackiest place ever. I was so thankful that Greg Daniels has set the bar for these creative collaborations. I think it’s one of the true successes of our show. I know a lot of shows don’t have that back and forth between the writers and the actors. He did a special thing for our show by having that.
THR: Were you surprised by this season as far as where Angela went?
Kinsey: An interesting twist for me is this coming together of Angela and Oscar. It’s actually really sweet. I am now going to go live with Oscar, so you’re going to see Oscar’s apartment and us being roommates. Part of me wishes there were a spinoff of just Angela and Oscar [laughs].
THR: Who were your favorite Office characters for Angela to play off of?
Kinsey: I love my scenes in accounting. Angela, Oscar and Kevin are all this misfit family. We sort of joked that I’m the mom and Oscar’s the dad and Kevin is our idiot kid. The three of us have sat next to each other for nine years. As friends, we’ve gotten to know each other so well back there in the corner.
I absolutely love doing scenes with Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute). There’s just as spark there and we really have a good time. We both go for it and know and trust Rainn is going to be right there with me.
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THR: In your mind, do you see Angela as a good person?
Kinsey: I think she’s a good person. She’s someone who makes decisions based out of fear, so that’s why she’s quick to judge and quick to be insensitive. Some people need rules in life because it makes them feel safe. If you’re someone who breaks the rules – like Jim – she can’t stand you. Dwight follows rules. That’s what they’ve always had in common.
THR: Now that the show is done, do you still carry Angela around with you? Or have you put her aside?
Kinsey: She’s still with me. I did a pilot for Fox called The Gabriels. Jason Winer was the director and I had moments where I was interacting with my children and I would have to reprimand them, and Jason would say “OK, Angela, that was a little too harsh.” I was like “I’m so sorry. I’ve played a bitch for nine years.”
THR: Can you share what the last day of shooting like?
Our very final scene was the whole cast. Greg wanted us to all be together, which was really special and so amazing that we got to have that. We were in the bullpen of the office in the very last scene. It was Saturday night at nine o’clock at night. We knew all day this scene was coming and now we were finally in it.
It’s our final scene ever. We were emotional going into it and we all had to focus to get through the scene. Then our crew began to gather around the stage. And you could just feel that energy in the air. They yelled "cut, cut," and Greg Daniels said “That’s a series wrap on the cast of The Office.”
We all just disintegrated. We all began to cry and hug each other and hug the crew – these people that we’ve been together for nine years. It was a really special moment, and I’m glad we got to do it together like that.
The Office airs a one-hour episode Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. Its finale airs May 16 from 9 to 10:15 p.m. ET.
