Photograph courtesy of NBC
Jenna Fischer's trajectory would puzzle most career counselors. She once declined a movie role to care for her sick cat. She sang in a Spice Girls–like band that turned out to be a front for a call-girl service and played a role in a sex-ed film for just-released mental patients. And she turned down a $30,000-plus promotion as a clerical temp so she could focus on acting. Yet in the end, the St. Louis native's professional inclinations paid off. Today Fischer is a household name, in large part thanks to her role as Pam Beesly, the soft-spoken secretary on NBC's The Office. (A special one-hour episode of The Office starring Jack Black airs on February 1, after the Super Bowl.) Fischer recently took a break from production to talk careers with SLM readers.
What was your first job, back when you attended Nerinx Hall?
I worked at Long John Silver's. That was the worst place. In my opinion, any type of foodservice job is just the worst. I definitely learned from being at that job to say, "Please," "Thank you" and "May I?" when ordering fast food … When I was in college, I worked at Mickey’s Carwash for three summers. It’s the longest job I ever had in St. Louis, because I tended to get fired or quit other positions ... I also worked at Victoria’s Ice Creamery, which is no longer there. It’s a Starbucks now. I was a soda jerk. I made all the Sundays, floats and shakes. I loved that job.
At Truman State, there wasn't a broadcast division, but you found a way to work in the field.
In college, I worked at the local TV station, KTVO. I wasn’t an on-camera person, but I followed a reporter, just schlepping around equipment. I also ran the cameras for their live news telecasts in the evenings … You might think, ‘Oh, I’m stuck in a small town, what is this ever gonna do for me?’ But sometimes you can have more hands-on experiences in a smaller market, and then you take that experience to a bigger market.
After driving out to L.A. in a beat-up Mazda hatchback with your cat, you worked in temp positions for years. What did you take away from those experiences—other than the ability to type 85 words per minute?
What I didn’t do was I didn’t work in the entertainment industry as a secretary. I specifically chose to work in downtown Los Angeles in non-entertainment jobs. I think that in the end, to be playing the character of Pam, it was very valuable. I worked for investment bankers, sales people, employee evaluators. I lived the character of Pam for five years. I still draw on that experience in my characters. It’s also why I make certain choices in my personal life.
What would you tell others stuck in that type of job, one like Pam’s?
There are two different groups of people. There is one group of people who have a very clear idea of what they want to be doing. I had a very clear idea: I knew I wanted to be an actress, and I knew these jobs were a stepping stone toward that goal ... But I think there’s a second group of people that don’t know what else they want to do, but they just don’t want to do what they’re doing. For those people, I’d say stockpile a nice bit of money and see if your company has a leave-of-absence program and then do something like what Pam is doing—go off for three months and take an internship program. See what opportunities are available to you through your company or if it’s possible to grow out of your position to one you would be happy with, which is what Pam is trying to do.
When you first moved to L.A., you worked as a telephone psychic. Can you share a little about that experience?
When I agreed to be a telephone psychic, I approached it from the angle that I was just going to give people really good advice. The problem was that nobody wanted advice; they just wanted to know what lottery numbers to play that week. So I would just look around my house and read whatever numbers I'd see. I'd be like, "11 ... 24." That just made me feel guilty, so I quit after two days.
What career would you be doing if not acting?
That’s tough. Besides pet care, there’s nothing that I’m really passionate about except acting. Two things: I think I would either be a vet technician—not a vet, because I wouldn’t want to have to perform surgeries—or I could actually see myself as an executive secretary.
In approaching which projects to take, you said one thing you really look at is whether “this is a group of people who I want to spend several months with.” What else do you look at in taking a new job?
Some jobs come with opportunities. This movie with Michael Douglas [Solitary Man] is shooting in New York City, and I’ve never lived in New York or had the opportunity to stay there for a long time. The movie company is going to put me up in an apartment for two weeks. But sometimes there are opportunities that come with a job that make it more attractive. I was asked if I wanted to do a movie for a month in Costa Rica, and I might have thought more seriously about it except my cat was sick at the time. I knew I couldn’t leave him for a month.
On the show, Pam bottles up her emotions and expresses herself with these great facial expressions. Did you behave similarly in real-life office jobs?
What you see on TV is very similar to how I was in offices. I was very withdrawn. I didn't make a lot of friends in the office. I would spend my lunch hour reading a play or working through this book called The Artist's Way. I was there to do my work and not to be social. But now that I'm in the career that I like, I'm very involved and social with the cast and crew.
Is working on the set at The Office like many other offices in certain ways?
Like most offices, all of the guys talk about their fantasy-football teams, and the women want to strangle them. But Steve [Carell] doesn't participate in fantasy football; he comes over and talks about shopping and Target with the girls. We really like Steve during fantasy-football time.
Pam and Jim's relationship is a highlight of the show. As boss, what would be your policy on love in the workplace?
Gosh. You know, it's hard — especially for people who work a lot. Where are you going to meet people? Either through friends or at work. So I would not have a policy against romance, but I think it's probably a good idea that you have to file something with HR.
What other policies or perks would you add?
I would give people the option of a 90-minute lunch, if they wanted to stay a half hour later in the day or come a half hour earlier. I found that when I was working in an office it was very difficult to go anywhere and have a meal in under an hour. Also sometimes there are those errands that can only be run during the day. If people had a 90-minute lunch, they could accomplish a lot of things mid-day and actually take less time off for appointments and things.
Why are office-based comedies so popular?
I feel like family comedies are always going to be No. 1, because it's so easy for us all to relate to those. But I think the office is like another family, and we're starting to figure that out.
