The Office
Jack Black and Jessica Alba made Edgar Guest appearances inThe Officeseason 5 , but their cameo number in the form of a unique situation . The NBC situation comedy , which ran from 2005 to 2013 , hosted visits from several notable actors during its tenure . Black and Alba ’s cameos , however , stood out from the quietus considering the circumstances surrounding their presence . The pair appeared in 2009 ’s " Stress Relief , " a two - parter direct by Jeffrey Blitz and written by Paul Lieberstein , who fiddle Toby Flenderson in the series . Here ’s the Jack BlackThe Officecameo excuse .
" Stress Relief " commence with the memorable , yet chaotic , cold opened that featured Dwight testing his co - workers ' fire safety preparation , resulting in Stanley ’s heart attack . by from the side effect from Dwight ’s stunt , Pam was dealing with the tautness among her parent ’s marriage . To cheer her up , Jim asked if they could observe a bootleg pic on Andy ’s laptop computer . The movie wasMrs . Albert Hannaday , which starred Jack Blackand Jessica Alba as Sam and Sophie , an engaged couple . While Sophie introduced Sam to her grandmother Lily , play by Cloris Leachman , he fall deep in sexual love with the elderly charwoman . scene from the love - Triangulum movie continued to weave with Pam ’s conflict throughout the instalment .
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The stakes were high for the two - part episode considering it wait on as the follow - up programme to Super Bowl XLIII . At the request of NBC , Lord Greg Daniels need to train a standalone character of installment that would receive young viewers while satisfying existing rooter ofThe Office . The sitcom was already a major winner for the net , but all party notice that big fame names puff greater care . According toThe post : The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s , an oral chronicle write by Andy Greene , names like Ben Affleckand Matt Damon were throw around . Granted , the Edgar Albert Guest appearance had to agree with the blue - choker Scranton setting , so the serial develop a fake movie with the Jack BlackThe Officecameo as well as Jessica Alba ’s appearance .
The “Stress Relief” Guest Stars Purposely Didn’t Interact With Office Characters
At no point did Black , Alba , or Leachman directly interact with core character fromThe Office . This was a calculated decision by Daniels and his crew in an effort to have democratic names without disquiet from the small paper company . By creating a fake movie with the Jack BlackThe Officecameo , the celebrities were able-bodied to run a rendering of themselves as a way to draw in a new segment of the audience . In doing so , it keep the primary subplots ground in reality .
The crew ofThe Officeshared in Greene ’s novel about how unmatched it was to film theMrs . Albert Hannadayscenes ( which is n’t the only fake movie onThe Officesince Threat Level Midnight ) since the look was so different from what they were used to . Blitz shared that some early draught of the fake moving picture featured a martial arts element , but that finicky idea was abandoned . He did reveal that Leachman was very excited for her scenes , particularly when it do to make out with Black ’s fictional character . In the end , the determination pay off for all involved . " Stress Relief " was viewed by most 23 million people , making it the most - watched episode ofThe Officein the show ’s history .
Why The Office Has So Many Cameos
The Jack BlackThe Officecameo is n’t the only surprisal celebrity appearance that has come about on the funniness series , but outside of viewership numbers , why didThe Officefeature so many celebrity guest appearances ? Other actors like Ricky Gervais , Jim Carrey , and Ray Romano have also appear , and Will Ferrell had a several - sequence stint on the show asMichael ’s short - live replenishment , DeAngelo . Usually , The Office ’s cameo tie in directly to the plot line itself , and showrunners were particular about making sure that the cameos were stylized to fit the blue - shoe collar air of Scranton , Pennsylvania . For example , Ricky Gervais indicate up simply because he created the original UK version ofThe Office . The with child stunt cast came in the form of the sequence " Search Committee , " which saw a modest group search for Michael ’s switch . The stunt casting in that instalment alone cued up the appearance of Will Arnett , Catherine Tate , Ray Romano , Jim Carrey , and James Spader ( who had a foresighted run on the series as Robert California ) . WhileThe Office ’s celebrity cameosdidn’t ever sheer into overuse soil , they did expend the trick often enough and made sure that it almost always fit with the plot line .
