As a longtime fan of NBC’s The Office who has watched all nine seasons of the comedy show 40-ish times through, I have devoted a weirdly large amount of time to its guest stars. The famous faces who have graced the halls of Dunder Mifflin Scranton over the year had as much of an impact as Steve Carell‘s Michael Scott, Pam (Jenna Fischer), Jim (John Krasinski), or Dwight (Rainn Wilson). What would Dunder Mifflin be with the presence of Charles Miner, Deangelo Vickers, Broccoli Rob, or Katie, the Hot Girl Who Sells Handbags? Perish the thought, TBH.
And so, for no reason in particular (other than the fact that I can’t stop thinking about them), here are 11 of the best guest stars to ever appear on The Office. There will be some obvious picks as well as some deep cuts. One true thing unites them: They are all equally incredible and with them, The Office might not be as great a show as we consider it to be to this day.
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Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell did not waste a single second of his time spent on The Office as Deangelo Vickers (the single best name in the show’s history), the first of many candidates to take over for Michael Scott as regional manager. Ferrell’s Deangelo appears in four episodes late in Season 7: “Training Day,” “Michael’s Last Dundies,” “Goodbye, Michael,” and “The Inner Circle.” Ferrell’s time spent onscreen with Carell makes for a glorious Anchorman reunion, with the two pals having what seems to be a ripper of a good time just doing great comedy. Ferrell plays Deangelo with the cool dimwittedness of both Garfield and Otie, making it utterly entertaining to watch as Deangelo rises and falls quickly in his regional manager role.
Idris Elba
Miner? I hardly know her!
Sorry, I don’t know what came over me. Dare I say the spirit of Michael Scott inhabited my body after seeing a photo of the incredibly dashing Idris Elba as Charles Miner, the short-lived Vice President of the Northeast Region of Dunder Mifflin. Charles steps into a role once occupied by Jan Levinson and then Ryan Howard — but while Charles’ predecessors had respectfully messy exits from Dunder Mifflin, this tall drink of water fares pretty well in the world of paper despite having to handle Michael’s shenanigans and both Kelly and Angela openly competing for his affection. Charles had to deal with Michael’s exit from Dunder Mifflin and the subsequent impact of the Michael Scott Paper Company on Dunder Mifflin’s business. While Charles left The Office after the Season 5 finale, “Company Picnic,” which saw him and the corporate team lose to Scranton in a game of volleyball, but he will never be gone from our hearts.
Amy Adams
Can you believe The Office snagged Amy Adams for a three-episode arc in Seasons 1 and 2? Granted, this performance occurs during Adams’ rise into full-on A-lister, falling between her acclaimed Junebug performance and her then-soon-to-be acclaimed performance in Disney’s Enchanted. But it’s so, so clear Adams is destined for great things during her short time on The Office as Katie, the traveling handbag salesman who ends up briefly dating Jim. There’s not too much screentime for Katie over the course of her three episodes (that would be Season 1 closer “Hot Girl” and Season 2 episodes “The Fire” and “Booze Cruise”), but Adams makes her a memorable character through her shades-of-Giselle-in-Enchanted peppiness and warmth.
Andy Daly
One of my favorite guest stars on The Office is Andy Daly, who appeared in the Season 3 episode “Ben Franklin.” This is the episode featuring dueling bachelor and bachelorette parties in the weeks leading up to Phyllis Lapin and Bob Vance of Vance Refrigeration’s wedding day. While Dwight locks in a stripper for Bob’s party in the warehouse, Jim decides to have some fun, securing a fictional Ben Franklin (Daly) from the Scholastic Speakers of America program to come to Phyllis’ bachelorette party in the conference room. Outfitted in a hilariously bad bald cap, fake belly, and knee pants, Daly cuts a curious figure as Mr. Franklin (real name: Gordon). He gets to make saucy historical references, hit on Pam, and even fuck with Dwight as the two get into a fact-check sparring match about the founding father’s life. Yahtzee!
Bob Odenkirk
The Office fans will know we were so. close. to getting Bob Odenkirk as Michael Scott. The Mr. Show and Better Call Saul star is one of many comedic actors who auditioned for the role before it eventually went to Steve Carell. But The Office wasn’t quite done with Odenkirk’s involvement in the show because, in the final season of the hit NBC comedy, Odenkirk reappeared in the episode “Moving On.”
In the episode, Odenkirk gets to show us his interpretation of Michael Scott through his character Mark, a similarly hapless doof who has somehow risen to the position of manager in an office setting. Mark is interviewing Pam for what she believes is a job which will allow her and the kids to move to Philadelphia to be with Jim, but is eventually revealed to essentially be another secretary job. It’s a great storyline that sees Pam realizing what she does and doesn’t want for the next chapter of her life and Odenkirk allowed to be his goofy, charming self, if only for the B-plot of one episode.
Ricky Gervais
It was kinda inevitable that, at some point, the creator and star of the UK version of The Office (the one that started it all!) would show up on the U.S. version. But it took a long, long time for Ricky Gervais to appear and the show made sure both of his appearances had maximum impact.
Gervais appeared in two episodes in Season 7 as his Office character, David Brent, whose particular brand of comedy and outlook on the world is similar to Michael’s. So, it seems only right that his first appearance is in the cold open of “The Seminar,” which sees him cross paths with his American doppelganger. The two gents cross paths as David exits an elevator and Michael tries to get on it. Michael immediately picks up on David’s accent and the two get to chatting. The conversation ends with a bit of foreshadowing, as David asks Michael, “Any jobs going?” and Michael replies, “No, not right now.” But somehow, David hears about Michael’s job opening up because he’s back in “Search Committee” submitting himself to be the manager of the Scranton branch. Spoiler alert: He doesn’t get the job.
Jim Carrey
One of — if not the — most surprising guest stars appearing in The Office‘s nine-season run is Jim Carrey. The actor appeared in the late Season 7 episode “Search Committee” in a very brief appearance. Simply credited as “The Fingerlakes Guy,” the whole bit of Carrey’s character was that he was one of the many colorful folks in contention for Michael’s job as the longtime boss prepared to move out to Colorado to start anew with his fiancée, Holly. Over the course of the episode, we hear a few references to a candidate who just won’t stop talking about the Finger Lakes to the point it sours the titular search committee (Jim, Gabe, and Toby) on him. What starts out as an amusing runner about a faceless job applicant obsessed with a particular region of New York becomes a real winner when it’s revealed to be Carrey, who is stopped by the camera crew filming at Dunder Mifflin to briefly discuss why he was at the interview.
Christian Slater
I don’t know much about this world, but I know that if Christian Slater is a part of the introductory video for the company I work for, I’d probably feel pretty freakin’ great about that job. I mean, it’s Christian Slater! That guy’s no chump; he co-signs winners, baby!
Slater made a brief and glorious guest appearance as himself in the Season 6 episode “Sabre.” The gist of Slater’s role is that he, as a version of himself, is the tour guide through the corporate structure and policies of Sabre, the company which buys Dunder Mifflin as the regional paper supplier goes bankrupt. It’s an episode that gets Slater to say, “Have you ever tasted a rainbow? At Sabre, you will,” and for that, I’ll be forever grateful.
Jack Black, Jessica Alba, & Cloris Leachman
As a package deal, may I present to you one of the best cameos to ever grace The Office: Jack Black, Jessica Alba, and Cloris Leachman. The trio starred in the fictional movie “Mrs. Albert Hanaday,” which Pam, Jim, and Andy illegally stream on Andy’s laptop. While viewers are not treated to the entirety of “Mrs. Albert Hanaday,” from what we can piece together the movie is about a young woman (Alba) who brings her boyfriend (Black) home to meet her grandma (Leachman). What begins as friction between Black and Leachman’s characters soon blossoms into love and soon, the pair find themselves in a torrid May-December romance. Pam and Jim also, albeit inadvertently, use the movie to sort through a bit of tension in their relatively nascent romantic relationship, which confounds Andy with hilarious results.
Stephen Colbert
A Stephen Colbert appearance is always a gift, but when it also means we get a Daily Show reunion with The Office regular Ed Helms, well, it’s downright transcendent. Colbert appeared in the Season 9 episode “Here Comes Treble” as Andy’s former Here Comes Treble teammate, Broccoli Rob. Colbert manages to out-WASP the WASP-iest manager to ever grace the halls of Dunder Mifflin Scranton despite his brief time on “Here Comes Treble.” First making a surprise entrace during the newest generation of Here Comes Treble’s Halloween acapella performance before arguing via video call with Andy about who gets to claim George Michael‘s “Faith” as their signature song. Colbert’s Broccoli Rob is clad is a red pullover and gives his performance of “Faith” everything he’s got. It’s the makings of an unforgettable, perfect guest role.
Timothy Olyphant
It’s hard to believe the cameras didn’t keep breaking from all the hot, hot heat Timothy Olyphant was emitting as he burned up the polyester carpets at Dunder Mifflin Scranton for a two-episode Season 7 arc.
Olyphant played Danny Cordray, the hottest salesman at the second biggest regional paper supplier, Osprey Paper. Danny first showed up in “The Sting,” which revolved around Michael, Dwight, and Jim trying to squeeze top paper-selling tips from the hotshot in an undercover operation where Danny believed he was making an actual sale. Michael eventually just hires Danny, allowing him to return for “Costume Contest.” There, he not only charms the pants off his new co-workers, but it’s revealed he briefly dated Pam before never calling her back. Rude!
