An Interview with Catherine Tate
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That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash Office Ladies. I'm Jenna Fisher. And I'm Angela Kinsey. We were on The Office together. And we're best friends. And now we're doing the Ultimate Office Rewatch Podcast just for you. Each week, we will break down an episode of The Office and give exclusive behind-the-scenes stories that only two people who were there can tell you. We're The Office Ladies.

Hello. Hi there. Well, we have a really fun episode today. I know we say that a lot, but this one is fantastic. This is another one that's just going to put a smile on your face the whole time. It is. Here is what happened.

Catherine Tate joined us in the studio for an Office Ladies interview, and it's terrific. You know, we just picked up right where we left off. It was so fun to reminisce with her and catch up. She is hilarious. You are going to love hearing from her. And, you know, we all know her as Nellie on The Office, but she is such an accomplished artist. She is a writer, a director, an actor, a stand-up comedian. She's a great actress.

She has won several awards for her BBC sketch comedy series, The Catherine Tate Show. But she also played Donna Noble in the Doctor Who series. She's been in so many movies and television shows. And theater. Oh,

Oh, yeah. No, she won the Broadway World UK Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play for Much Ado About Nothing at the Wyndham's Theatre. And she also got the Best Supporting Actress for the Royal National Theatre production of Alan Akborn's Season's Greetings. And she does a live comedy show called The Catherine Tate Live Show. There's kind of nothing that this woman cannot do. Oh, and...

And she also starred as six different characters in Hard Cell. Oh, yeah. A Netflix original mockumentary sitcom set in a woman's prison that she co-wrote and co-directed.

And you can catch her in Queen of Oz, a sitcom she wrote and starred in as a disgraced member of a fictional British royal family sent to rule Australia. I mean, Catherine, you are so incredibly talented. My gosh. Just really how we snagged her for The Office.

Well, you're going to hear, but we were so fortunate. And she's also just an all-around fantastic person. Yeah. This might be the hardest I've laughed in an interview because she is so funny and relatable. And, you know, we cover a lot of ground in this interview. It's about her time in the office, plus what it was like to move from London to Los Angeles. And...

and some big life moments that happened along the way. And of course, we ask her the call sheet questions. This truly was one of my favorite interviews, and I cannot wait for y'all to hear it. Same. So let's take a quick break, and when we come back, it's Catherine Tate. Lady, I was first introduced to this product through like one of those...

internet ads and I'm absolutely crazy about it. Well let's tell everyone what it is. It's Boca. It is the best toothpaste. I mean I never thought I could feel so passionately about a toothpaste but it's also the best toothbrush I've ever used in my life. We really got excited about this toothpaste.

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or NHA. And this is a compound that rebuilds teeth without fluoride, which makes it really safe to swallow. Yes, it's non-toxic. It's fluoride free. It's free of parabens. For a limited time, Boca is offering listeners 15% off its best-selling toothpaste on Amazon and Boca.com with code LADIES15.

That's ladies 15. Make the switch to non-toxic Boca for the whole family. Sleeping through the night is my everything. It's like a goal. It is. You just got the new purple mattress. Tell everybody about it. I'm going to tell you the one we got. We got the purple restore premier mattress. We got the king size and here's the thing.

My husband and I are very different sizes. We are different shaped people and this mattress matches both of us. Well, I am very jealous that Purple sent you a whole mattress. I asked for the pillows and it is my favorite pillow. I just need to say one more thing, Jenna. As a woman of a certain season, these mattresses have thousands of air channels that allow free airflow. Hear me out. Cooler sleep.

And cooler sleep means deeper sleep. So you've got to get the Jelflex grid. It's what we have. OMG, it's amazing. Visit purple.com to find the perfect purple for you and enter code OFFICE10 to get 10% off. Hello! Hi! Hello!

Oh, this is special. This is special just to be here with you two. I know. In person. I know. It's not a phone-in. It's not a phone-in. You're right here. I'm touching your arm. Yes, you are. Don't do that. I'll touch your arm as well. That's a court injunction right there. Now you're like, I wish this was a Zoom. Oh dear, yeah, please. Why did I do Zoom? I'm going to go and call you from my car. I know they were going to touch my forearm.

Well, let's just jump right in. We're going to ask you the question we ask everyone from the top, which is how did you get your job on The Office? I got my job on The Office very, very, like, fortunately and amazingly by Greg Daniels going, would you like to be in The Office? Yes.

That's pretty rubbish story though. It was, do you know what? It was actually, there is sort of like an origin story to it because it was supposed to happen quite a long time before it did. Oh. Yeah. I kind of just got this message to say, look, we'd really like you to be in the office. And I was a huge fan. And I came out to Los Angeles and

Yeah.

So I go over to Los Angeles and it's not a scary place, but it's a strange place to me. I can't even remember if it was my first time to go to LA or maybe just my second. But it's a crazy place, especially if you come from somewhere like I do, like London, where we walk places and public transport is an actual thing. I know. I remember staying, I was staying, I mean, I guess it was a bit touristy, but I was staying in Sunset Beach.

What's it called? Sunset Plaza? Yeah, the strip. Yeah, the strip. Yeah, and I was staying at a hotel there. I was meeting someone up at the Chateau Marmont, which is not that... I could see it from where I was staying. And when I got... This has just epitomised this LA to me. And I walked out of the lobby and the doorman said, do you want a taxi, a cab? And I said...

Well, no, I'm just going up to Chateau Monmont so I can walk. And he said, oh, I wouldn't walk if I were you, ma'am. And I said, why not? And he said, because people will assume something bad has happened to you or that you're a prostitute. LAUGHTER

If you walk along the road, they will assume that your car has broken down. So you're in trouble. Or they will assume you're chatting for business. Let me tell you, I used to walk everywhere. I lived in West Hollywood and my car was crap and I walked everywhere. And I got a phone call from my agent one day and he said, is everything okay? Right.

And I said, why? And he goes, I've repeatedly seen you walking down Santa Monica Boulevard. What's happened to you? He goes, is everything okay? And I said, I just like to walk. Yeah. You're toxic now. You're like your strange walkie lady. I know.

This is true. And what's funny to me is that the Sunset Strip is kind of the most walkable area of Los Angeles because there are restaurants and shops and things within walking distance of one another. Unlike most of the rest of the city, which is so spread out. Where you do have to drive, which I still can't, but I know that's one of your questions later on. Yeah.

Thank God for Uber, that's all I'm saying. Oh, my gosh. What a culture shock, though. It was such a culture shock. Because it's also Los Angeles is not a place that gives up its secrets easily. You know, you've kind of got to be on the inside of it. You've kind of got to know people. Because, I mean, there's some places, I don't know, but it was at the time, this was like over 10 years ago, there are some places where you'd walk past, you wouldn't even know that they're restaurants anymore.

You know, it's like you've got to know it's a restaurant and then you've got to sneak in, write your name on a secret piece of paper. And then in three days, they'll call you and say you can come in. So I just want a sandwich somewhere. You know, I just want to know where I'm going and know what, you know, I'm very fond of it now because I'm very used to it now. But but

But anyway, so I go to Los Angeles. They invite me over. And I remember specifically you were on hiatus. And I guess it might have been you were on hiatus for Thanksgiving. Okay. Or you had a week off. And the office was decorated for, I think it was called, was it called Moroccan Christmas? Yes. Right. Yeah. So the office was all like that. Everyone was, you know, gone. I didn't meet anyone. I sat really bizarrely.

He said, you want to come in? And he got me to sit in Michael Scott's chair. And I was there sitting there. Oh my gosh. And I was like, oh my God, and I took this little photo. I was like, I couldn't believe it because I didn't know anything about what he had planned. And we were talking about it and he said, well, look, this is my idea. I've got an idea for you to come in. And he said, it won't happen yet because I've got a show that I'm going to want to start up and running. And I think it was Parks and Rec. Right. Yeah. But he said to me,

This is my idea. And he said, you know, the character of Angela. And it was around about the time that Angela and Andy were getting together. Yeah. And at the time, his idea, his nucleus of an idea at the time was...

For a character. Now, whether or not it develops into Nellie, I don't know. I don't know whether that happens. He said, but I would like you to come in and disrupt their relationship. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, we would have had a love triangle. Wow. Yeah. Yeah, I'm certain that's what he kind of had in mind. Anyway, that was a good few years before I joined. And then I guess Parks and Rec really took off. And then it just sort of kind of went quiet.

And then I just didn't think anything of it anymore. You know, I was just like, I held on to it, but you don't want to keep chasing. And then honestly, and then it was a good couple of years later, they then went, definitely, we do want you to come over now. And all I knew was that Steve was leaving and that they were kind of...

It was almost like the way I got introduced, it was almost like it was an interview on camera. It was an audition on camera. Yeah. You know what I mean? The whole search party episode. The whole search party episode. Yeah. And then I found out the day after, because I came in and filmed, I flew over because I remember I was doing a play at the time and they let me off for a couple of days to come out in rehearsal, come over and film those scenes. Yeah.

And I remember the last, the second day that I filmed, I came home. My agent rang and said, you want to go out to dinner? And then he said, they've given you the job. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, they've given you the job. But I wasn't free.

I wasn't free from when you started filming again. And I was starting to be free for the last 10 episodes. And that's how Nelly came in. Now, whether or not had I been free, I could have started straight away. I don't know. Yeah, it was pretty exciting. Wow. It was pretty exciting. Well, I want to talk about how Nelly does come in. Yeah. It's in the episode Tallahassee. Yes. And it is one of my favorite speeches that you give. We have a clip. I'm going to play it. Right.

Say, so who's leading this thing anyway? So who's leading this thing anyway? Say, I can't wait to meet him. I can't wait to meet him. Him, you say? Don't think a woman can be a leader? Oh, I... You poor, simple boy.

Expected a man, did you? Strong, powerful, huge, whopping penis. Wow, sorry to disappoint, but my huge, whopping penis is right here and I'm not afraid to use it. Do you know, that is a quote I most get asked to write on a photo. No! No!

Like sometimes, because I do Comic Cons, because I was in a sci-fi show and I get a lot of Office fans. They come up and they go, could you put a quote? And I go, is it the penis one? And they go, yeah. LAUGHTER

If I'm ever asked to do like a commencement address at a university, I want to lead with that quote and see how many people out there know what I'm doing. Right, right, right, right. It's a big swing, but I'm going to take it. That's a good one. In that episode, you came in and you were front and center. Right, right. Right away. What was that like? Oh, it was pretty nerve wracking. I have to say because...

those episodes being filmed, they were kind of split episodes because half the cast was supposed to be in Tallahassee. Yeah, right. And half the cast were back in the office. So I didn't join with everyone. Or in the bullpen. Or in the bullpen or anywhere where I was familiar with anyone from the office. And I remember my first day I started, no one knew I was starting. Oh, gosh. No one knew I was starting. So I was kind of like, I'm thinking, well, I

I'm sure they've got me a trailer, but maybe not. I don't know. I don't know how long I'm staying. And I think maybe I found Steve Burgess, but I didn't know who he was. And I was like, hi, I've come to join the office. And he was like, oh, hello, yes. And because I knew Emily and John was in the cast that were in Tallahassee, there was a sort of point of contact there. So that was great. Yeah.

But I also remember, you remember the lovely caterers? Yes. The lovely caterers. Well, they didn't know who I was. And they said to me when I was queuing up, you know, no, this is from the office. And I said, no, no, I'm from the office. I've just joined today. And they goes, you work in the office? And I go, yeah. They assumed I meant production offices. And they wouldn't give me anything.

They're like, this is cast only. I'm like, yeah, this is for the, no, this is for the program, The Office. And I go, no, no, no, I'm in it. And because, of course, I'm wearing kind of office gear, you know, we all wear office gear, but I was so unfamiliar to them. And for ages, I used to, it took a while for craft services as well. For a while, I used to have to get Craig Robinson to go and get me a bagel because they wouldn't let me open the cream cheese. Yeah.

And they finally, because it was a while before I was then on the TV, wasn't it? Because you film a few episodes ahead. And then when I started being on the TV, they were so lovely to me. But they genuinely thought I was a typist trying to chance my arm in for a free meal.

I did not realise they were so protective of our food. They were very protective and very, very lovely. And then for a while, I think they kind of used to just go, oh, let her have it, let her have it. It's the lady from the production office. She keeps coming down for the oatmeal in the morning, but let her have it. It's like, okay, we've left her some.

So it was, to your question, Sian, it was nerve wracking because I wasn't just snuck in or introduced. I was just right there. And she was a brash in your face, very un-nuanced kind of character, you know, at the beginning, you know, which is why I do love the way the softer side came in. But...

Yeah, I just had to kind of like go for it, you know, just like hold my breath and go, okay, well, here we go. Take a swing, you know. Well, I want to say Nellie had a lot of amazing speeches. And I have my favorite. It's from the lice episode. Oh, God. You know, when I was in the makeup truck, I walked into the makeup truck.

genuinely thought they'd shaved Meredith's hair. Oh, yes. It was so good. It was extraordinary. I remember pulling her aside going, you know, you didn't have to do that. I mean, we would have stood up for you. For God's sake. You know what I mean? They really did ask her to, though. That's the crazy thing. That was maybe what it was then. Oh, maybe that's what it was. And I was going, you don't have to do that. You don't have to. And then when I walked in, I thought, well, she's capitulated. OK, here, we have to watch this one.

Is that all? No. No, that is not all. Let me tell you what real life is like. The men dry up and the nights get lonely. The only calls on your machine are from collection agencies about that pair of motorcycle boots you've never even worn. You stalk your old high school boyfriend online, go to his daughter's soccer games and make a scene. You buy a diamond ring for yourself, wear it on your right hand and tell yourself you're all you need. One day...

You're alone, tired, at your feet a dying bird. Where did it come from? Why did you kill it? Is it because in some strange way it is you? Thank you all for your concern. That is one of the best speeches. Yeah, that was a good one. That was funny. You're so good. But that's the writing as well. I mean, we had gifts, didn't we, every day? We had gifts of writing. During our rewatch...

I would see how you were delivering material, and I thought, she must be improvising that or something. Like, it was so well delivered. And I'd go to the script, and it was, like, scripted for you. And the two-hander of what they were giving you and how you were delivering it was just...

Chef's kiss. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Love it. Yes. We have just grown to love the character of Nellie so much. And we're seeing these episodes for the first time. I haven't seen them since they aired. What a delicious, like, crazy, wonderful lady. Definitely. Oh, gosh, I love it. I mean, I do get a lot...

In America, it's definitely what people know me for. I mean, I'm bowled over by the fact that it came off air, well, off NBC, like over 10 years ago. But it is, I don't know whether it was COVID, people watch it, it's like a comfort show, but people watch it on repeat, it seems. You know, the amount of people who go, I just have it in the background and I love it and I get to the end and then I start again. So I'm recognised a lot as Nellie, but I do get this a lot. Oh my God, are you Nellie?

I hate your character. I get that a lot at airports. People are like, I hate your character. They're so delighted to tell you. You're so good. You're so good. But I hate her.

Because she is, you know, yeah, she's pretty in your face. Well, speaking of, reviewers of The Office have written that the character of Nellie had some of the boldest moves at Dunder Mifflin. And, Angela, you made a list. I did make a list. She's checking it twice. Here we go. She literally took someone's job because they didn't show up for work. Right. If the chair is open, the job is open. That's right. She kissed Toby to make him stop talking. Yeah.

She told Andy that he was related to Michelle Obama. She pretended to interview Dwight on the radio. Oh, that episode is so great. That's so great. She set up Aaron and Pete. And spoiler alert, she's going to take Ryan's baby. Right. Did you have a favorite Nellie storyline?

I have to say the one thing I thought was going to sort of like conclude was me and Toby. Did you think you would maybe end up together? I kind of did because we shot a lot of stuff that didn't get used, you know, because we shot stuff that just, you know, you have the luxury of shooting stuff. And then, of course, you've only got, you know, 20 odd minutes in the show.

But like, for example, this is the other thing that I get a lot, which I really chef's kiss to the people who cosplay me as sexy Toby. Yes. Yes. It's amazing. Sexy Toby. It's so funny. And they do it because what's so funny, and I've watched the episode since because my daughter is a huge Office fan. So many young people are now. Huge, huge. I've only now got proper, you know, kudos from being in the office. Yeah.

She was too young when I was doing it. And I've been watching it with her because she genuinely loves it. And I don't know if you remember, they kind of got me like a joke wig. Yeah. It was almost like a Frankenstein. Yes, it was. It was a Frankenstein wig. And I,

because your eyes are always drawn to yourself on screen when you know what was going on in your head at the time. And they didn't pull away enough in time for me. I'm tugging, we're sitting in the office room, you know, in the break, not the break room, the conference room, whatever it is. And I'm tugging at this wig trying to get it to cover my forehead. But I guess I would have, I did love the Toby storyline because it was such fun working with Paul.

And I did, I kind of thought it would be funny for them to, I just have to say the character of Toby, I just think the idea of having someone so...

So inoffensive that someone hates, you know, because Steve's character hated him so much. I just think it's so funny and no explanation. I just hate you. It's very funny. But that says a lot about me. Well, I have a great photo of us. I need to send it to you. We're on set. Are you Nancy Reagan? Yes. And Erin as the dog? Yes. Yes.

Oh, good, good, good. Yeah. You must have sent it to me. I have a bunch from that day. I guess I just got. So funny. And then I have to tell you, speaking of daughters that love The Office, when I told my daughter that we were talking to you today, she goes, Mom, what are you doing? I was like, oh, you know, Catherine's coming in. She goes, get out, Skylar.

Skeleton Man. Oh, yes. She yelled from the hallway. That is another, I would say that's number two in what I'm asked to sign. To write down. Yeah. Get out Skeleton Man. I mean. My teenager yelled it down the hallway. Okay.

Has the fact that the office, the American office, is now on Netflix in the UK, has that shifted things over there for you in terms of being recognized for Nelly? Because, I mean, I was telling Angela, I can't believe we get to interview you today. You're like the Carol Burnett of London, of England.

of England. It's like over here we know you for The Office but over there you're this whole other phenomenon. I have been watching your sketch show before you came on the show. So we were fans. Oh, bless you. To be honest, I think The Office...

I was amazed. It wasn't on... It was kind of like on a little cable show before it came on Netflix at home. So not that many people had seen The American Office at home. But suddenly, and it must be Netflix, everyone watches it. But I don't know. I just think the young people caught on to it early. Yeah. The younger people caught on to it earlier. But yeah, it definitely has...

I definitely get recognised much more now for The Office. Yeah, it must be Netflix, yeah. Yeah. Well, I have to ask you about the scene in Fundraiser where Nellie doesn't know how to eat a taco. Oh, God, I remember the spit bucket that I had to have for that. I bet. And they were also, they were so, I don't know if they...

No, they must have known because they were always so good, weren't they, about art department and props and stuff about... Because I didn't eat meat. And so they made like, you know, the...

sure whatever it was the you know the pretend meat stuff but even so there's only so many tacos you can slide sideways into your mouth and then have to keep doing it you know but there was a bigger and I remember it because you start by being really um respectful of like I'm spitting something out sorry but at the end of it I was literally just like spitting it down in front of Craig spitting it out in front of him yeah I was wondering how many of those you had it was a lot oh yeah yeah

Well, you had had a taco, right? No, I'd never had a taco. For real? Yeah. Wait. So when you did this scene, that was your actual first taco? That was my first taco. Oh, my gosh. I mean, I had heard of them. I knew they didn't have eyes. I'd never eaten a taco. Is it not a thing?

It's not as big at home, no. It's becoming so now, but at the time, no. No. No. And now Mexican food, my daughter absolutely, it's her favourite food is Mexican food.

But we sort of have to wait till we come here to get really, well, better than we get at home anyway. Yes, sure. Actually, they're going to Mexico, so they're going to get some really good tacos. I can't believe. There was a lot of moments, I guess, on the show where it was your real life too. My real life, yeah. Can't drive. Don't know what a taco is. Yeah, let's talk about can't drive. Yeah, I know. Isn't that crazy? I astound myself sometimes. I sometimes wake up and go...

It's absolutely ridiculous that you can't drive. It's ridiculous. Well, I wasn't surprised that you couldn't drive when you were doing the show because, you know, you were visiting. Sure. It's true. I lived in London for a period of time and I had no car. Sure. And it was absolutely not a problem. But it wasn't that you couldn't. That's true. I couldn't. Well, I don't know.

I don't know, because then I'd be on the other side. And I don't think we want that. But so you had to kind of learn how to drive to do our scenes. I know they put the car on. They put it on a rig, didn't they? Yes, it was. What episode was that? That was Andy's Ancestry. Right. They put it on a rig. And then they also, I remember, they wanted you to eat a salad.

That's right. There's a big salad, too. And I've never had a salad before. The salad is almost the size of the whole console. It's a big thing. It's huge. Yes. But then there was a moment where there were a couple of things where, and they didn't even make them in the episode. I don't know why. But they said, you know what? We got this dead end street and we're going to need you to actually drive a little bit.

I wish I had footage of it. Catherine, I was legitimately scared. I had a hard time performing because it was like, we are going to hit a curb. We're going to hit... I know they've cleared the street. I know it's a dead end, but I did not have full confidence that we weren't going to end up in a lawn. Right. It was so funny to me, though. Like, it was... Considering how usually...

very, very on it they are in terms of insurance. Yes. Yes. On a TV show. Safety meeting. They just suddenly go, yeah, okay, have a go. We might catch something. Yes, that's what

You know, we might get lucky. She might do it. It was such method acting for me because you're truly terrified. They really put me in a car with someone who could not drive it. Yeah. That was so fun. Yeah. Well, that's your definition of fun. So wait, does everyone in your family drive but you? Yep. Yep. Absolutely. You don't need to drive. My daughter doesn't actually. She's following my footsteps as I'm following my mom's footsteps. My mom didn't pass her test when she was in her 50s.

So, I mean, I'm on track. No, but here, well, everywhere now it's so much easier. But when I was living here and doing the office, I don't know if you know this, but I was the only person who arrived on set with a driver. I do remember. I do remember. Because at the time, Ubers weren't really a thing as much as they sort of like some people knew about them, but you couldn't rely on them. And I had my driver, Sandy, who looked like Father Christmas.

and he turned up and that was the other thing that I kind of felt set me apart a little it's like she's turning up with a fancy driver and it's just because I'm too stupid to drive but that's the thing on movies and other shows that was the thing you get driven you get driven and it's because they really don't trust the actor to get themselves there they don't trust you to wake up on time they send someone to knock on your door

door and get you in a car on time so that you are on time. It's a whole time management thing on sets. But on The Office, we never got that. But it's on all TV here, isn't it? Isn't it a union thing or it's just a culture thing? Or maybe I'm wrong about that. I know another friend of mine, she was on a TV show here, assumed she would be driven

but wasn't. No. I've always driven myself. For TV. For TV. Yeah, you're right. You're right. That's true. But film, it's like, what's the difference? Do they just think TV actors are much more reliable than film actors? It might be. It might be what it is. Film actors, they're crazy movie stars. They're not going to get here. Yeah. But the TV actors, they're the meat and veg of the industry. Also, the TV actors, it's like, we're here for 24 weeks, maybe. Right, right. Movie actor, you might be

Exactly. Who knows if he's going to show up? Send them a car. Yeah. But at home, interestingly, film, TV, anything commercial, they don't trust you to do anything. Always a driver. Always send you a driver. Always send you a driver or a cab. Yeah. Never expected. I mean, we are not trusted one bit at home. So kudos to the TV industry here for giving you all such a confidence boost. Get your ass to work. Okay. So...

Nellie has a lot of interesting romances. Right. It starts off with this weird kind of Dwight Todd Packer thing in Tallahassee.

And I found a blooper of the three of you. Oh, really? Yeah. So Todd Packer is really trying to impress Nellie. Right. And Dwight, competing for her in his own way, pretends to sleep and snore and does this heavy breathing thing. And the three of you could not get through it. Oh, really? I was going to show it to you. The nightlife in Tallahassee is killer. Yeah. But I got to tell you, since my move to Florida, I've really got...

It's like a narwhal. Their death throes. Jesus.

So you guys just got so tickled. And it just delights me. I love watching the bloopers. I love seeing how much fun we had. Was there a scene that was difficult for you to get through that stands out? I really remember, and I've got a feeling it was the scene, you know, when Andy comes in after being the janitor?

And he comes in and he talks about David Wallace has told him something. And everyone's assuming he's hearing voices. And we're going, oh, do you see David Wallace in that? I remember that. And I remember the person for me who sticks out the most is John being a beast.

Because John would be crying laughing. Yeah, with his shoulders going. It'd be your shot. And he would just be doing this. You're doing the shoulders. The shoulders and you've just got to carry on. And then I remember that particular scene crying with laughter about doing that. And I think that I probably bury my head somewhere so that you can't see me. Oh, yeah.

Would you ladies be okay if we took a break so I can use the potty and then we'll come right back and maybe talk about work bus? Yes. Oh, we have to talk about work bus. Death bus. Yes. All right. One moment. Take a break. I remember going to the bank with my dad when I was...

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View important disclosures at acorns.com slash officeladies. Here's one thing I do in my closet at the end of summer. I put all the tank tops and stuff like that in the back, and then I pull forward all the sweaters. I do the same thing, but I go up. I have a big shelf that you can only reach with a stepstool. I would never be able to reach it, probably. Not even with a stepstool. Not even with a stepstool. Well, shifting your wardrobe from summer to fall can be a challenge, but luckily, Quince has timeless and high-quality items that...

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That's Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash officeladies to get free shipping and 365-day returns. quince.com slash officeladies. We are getting ready to plan some travel for the holidays, and so we've started to look on Airbnb. We love to stay at an Airbnb because when you travel with children and your family, it is nice to have a kitchen. It's nice to have...

You all in one area. You know, I've talked about this before. Family of five, it's a little tougher. Like we can't all pile in one hotel room. Yeah. So it's nice to have some space. And we love an Airbnb. We found an Airbnb that was literally down the block from Lee's brother's house. Yeah. It was amazing. We could walk in between the two houses, but then we all had our own space.

I really like being able to get up in the morning and have a cup of coffee and eat breakfast, and I'm not in a public space. I don't have to go get fully dressed to go down to breakfast. Right, yes. Or find breakfast. Airbnb offers the perfect accommodation whether you're traveling with friends, family, or on your own. Consider Airbnb for your next adventure.

Okay, should we talk about work bus? Yeah. Oh my God, Jenna. You were on the bus. And I thankfully managed to get off it, as we all did. But Jenna, that episode.

I remember it so distinctly. And that's one of the episodes that I look at. And every time I watch it and I say to my daughter, right there, right there, because they had nothing to cut away to. They kind of had to use the footage. Do you remember of when we just veered off? Yes. And we all slammed into each other. We all slid into each other. And I just have this image of just Ellie careering towards me and her in her wheelchair, roller chair, and me going down the steps. I mean,

I mean, it was absolutely extraordinary. It's easy. And do you remember when, I mean, we were so dramatic, but we did actually, the window smashed and Creed fell down and kind of pranked and we didn't know if he was okay. Do you remember that? I do remember that. Oh my God, I do remember. It was Creed. We thought something had happened to Creed, but he was just laying there. He was on the bottom. But he had been knocked over and he was covered in glass. Yes.

And that was a wild, wild episode. Well, I remember after that, we've talked about this. We were all like, that's the craziest thing that's going to happen to us today is that we went all piled on top of each other. And then Jenna is the one that was like, do you guys smell something funny? And I was in the front and I was like, I don't smell anything. And then she says, everyone's like, oh, classic Jenna.

Yeah, yeah, I do. Yeah. With her sinuses and her allergies, smell something. But then we were all breathing in carbon monoxide. Because I remember, I remember you stand, because you were kind of like in the middle or towards the back. Yeah. I was down the front. I was down the front. And I do remember.

you going come and please guys please smell come and smell come and smell and I remember as people were going oh like this anyway and I remember walking down and I remember you going thank you for validating me and I'm standing there going I'll smell it for you Jenna and then I'm like no actually I can smell something but I do remember you going because she was people were acting as if you were a mad person yes they were

I was one of them. I was like, Jenna, it's fine. It's fine. We've all had a crash. What else is going to happen? Of course, that's not dislodged anything, you know, in the whatever it was. Oh, it was crazy. They put the AC. We were so hot. They put the intake for the AC right by the... It was picking up the exhaust and blowing the exhaust in. This moving tin can. Oh, my goodness. Yeah. That was really crazy. It was really, really crazy. Yeah.

But then we did get to eat pie. And I also have a very vivid memory of my pie being delicious. Yes. And I have a great picture of us. Oh, really? There was by Laverne's Pies and Tires. Tires fixed also. Tires fixed also. There was an old timey truck and me, you and Kate did like. I remember that. We sort of posed like sexy. Were we trying to be sexy land girls or something?

Oh, you've got to send me that. I hadn't thought about that in years. It's really funny. I was like, what are we? It's like this old rust iron kind of truck. And we're trying to look seductive, leaning up on it. Thinking we'll get our spin-off show. Exactly. Sexy land, ladies. Whoop, whoop.

You talked earlier about Nellie's softer side, and I have really enjoyed that. I love her friendship with Pam. Yes. And I just watched the episode Starmageddon, where she kind of serves as Pam's surrogate counselor. Yeah. And I just loved those scenes. I love her desire to adopt and that whole journey and her tenderness toward Aaron. Yeah.

And also, even how she's so kind to Dwight when he's feeling anxious in that Christmas episode. Yeah. Can you talk a little bit about her softer side? Yeah, I thought it was a really, you know, it's really nice to have a counterpoint and a balance. And also just as an actor to not just come out and be so outrageous, you know, that you can ground the character in a bit of...

a bit of reality and make her someone that she wouldn't be so obnoxious to spend a bit of time with you know so it was really nice to yeah to do that I did love it because I used to

you know sometimes go really should she say this should she say this kind of stuff and they'd be like yeah no yeah yeah yeah you know she's British or whatever but it was yeah it was such a nice thing to make her fully rounded and also that she as you say spoiler alert that she gets her baby she does she gets a baby anyway she doesn't get her baby she gets a baby she's so happy to get that baby too I know I know very cute very lovely and

Yeah, it's just nice to flex a different muscle, isn't it? When you're in the tapestry of a show like that and you're used to just turning up and doing one thing, it's really nice to do something else. I loved it when I got to be a different shade of bitch. Right, right, right, right. It just got always the same. Yeah. No, it is. I mean, yeah. When you think back on your time on The Office, what kind of memory comes up for you the most?

I guess it's genuinely having the feeling of, you know, when there's certain times in your life, not even, they're fleeting moments because I think we're, as humans, we're essentially quite selfish and self-involved. But I remember dropping my daughter, sometimes dropping my daughter off to school

In America, in Los Angeles, and we were living there. And my mom was living with me. She'd moved over and everything was good. And I remember then going, and now I'm going to go and work on The Office. And I just remember having a really crystallized moment of gratitude and appreciation. And it's kind of because the show is so loved by people, you can dip into that every day, can't you? Because you go, oh my God, for a tiny little part. And I

on the coattails of all of you people that were

were there and set up and everything. And I was so privileged and honoured to just come in and coast on the coattails of this fantastic show with this fantastic cast. But I used to really just go, it was one of those pinch me moments, because it was the only time I've ever watched a show and then been in it, watched a show, loved it, been obsessed by it and then been in it. And you don't, that kind of doesn't often happen. Yeah. You know, and so I guess I've brought away this

tiny little piece of being part of something so much bigger than my own career. You know what I mean? That I'm a tiny little part in this institution. And so that's a kind of more philosophical thing. I didn't nick anything. I didn't steal anything. You didn't take anything? No, and I listened to you all and you're going, we took so much stuff and Phyllis didn't get her best bushiest beaver thing. But

But I didn't take anything. I took nothing. But you know what? I found this out about two years ago. They did some job lot, I guess, auctioned stuff from the props, right? Yeah. One of the things they were selling was my notebook, I guess. What? Like a notebook from Nelly's desk. Right, Nelly's desk. Notebook. But did it have your real scribbles in it? Yes. It had my real scribbles in it.

And it had on it. And because we went online and looked, I was like, oh my God, you better, I said to my husband, you better buy that. Because can you imagine? Imagine if I'm going, I'm so bored. Do you know what I mean? I don't know, I didn't know what I was going to say. And we looked online and do you know what? One of the things we could zoom in and see was an address. Oh no. It was an address. And do you know what it was? It was the place...

of our first date. Isn't that crazy? Like you had written it? I'd written down who's going to... And this is when we were friends. We were just friends. I shouldn't say date, but I remember the time and him going, oh, do you want to... Because he's a writer and I was like, oh, I'm writing this show. Do you want to do it? Because he was a dad from the school and blah, blah, blah. And I remember we met at this Tex-Mex place and I still didn't eat a taco. Yeah.

I was like, I have a salad. But that is so amazing. That's that moment in time. It had the Tex-Mex address like 8 p.m. Isn't that funny? It is so crazy. Did you get the book? No. He wouldn't bid enough for it. Were you surprised when you came on the show how much background work we had to do? How much you had to sit in the background of other people's stuff? Oh my God, yes. Did anyone warn you? No. No.

I did not know. We were there all the time. All the time. But of course, that's what made the show. Because we felt like we lived there and we worked there and we were these people. And actually, it would have been such a different experience if all you did was these isolated scenes. Oh, for sure. It would have just not been the same. But at the time, it was literally... And because a lot of the time I was with Stanley and Phyllis. Yeah. And I remember her saying, which is true, you know, she always used to have her sides in her desk. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She wouldn't.

And they would always, they would get me into these habits of going, just, you know, just put the sweets in your, the candy. Yes. And they'd fill up their thing with Coke. Yeah.

I would go over to Phyllis's desk, open her drawer, look at her sides and grab a Tootsie Roll. Right, right, right, right. Oh, so good. Yeah, so good. And I guess, yeah, the other thing I took from the office was what I didn't expect when I left the office was that I have an American life now because I met my husband, not at the office, but I met my husband because I was over here living. During that time. During that time. And it wasn't until, you know, years later we got together. But had I not...

Got that job and lived in that place and my daughter gone to that school. Yeah. Crazy. It's meant to be. I know. Meant to be. Angela, do you want to ask your call sheet questions? I do. I love them so much. So here we go. Okay. Number one, what was your first entertainment job? Meaning the one I got paid for.

Sure, sure. Or just the one I found most entertaining. Your first one. What springs to mind? I think it would have been on a show before I went to college. And it was a sitcom called Surgical Spirit. And I was someone's girlfriend. Like the mum in it had a son and I was his girlfriend. I think that's the thing I would have got my first paycheck from. And how old were you? I would have been like 18.

And did you already know entertainment was what you wanted to do with your life at that point? I definitely did because I deferred a year when I got into drama school. So I had a whole year before I knew I was going and this was the summer before. So I like walked into college with like TV credit. Yeah, I've been on the television. Did you even, you barely needed. Right. I mean, what can you tell me? Yeah, I've done it all. In your three year course. Yeah.

All right, next question. Do you speak any other languages? How did you come to speak so many languages? Well, do you know what it was? I think it comes back to wanting to be an actor because I realized I like to do voices. And I also realized that I was able to

pick up languages very quickly because I was able to imitate the accent quite quickly. It boosted me because people thought I could speak better than I could and it boosted me to do better actually than I did. But French I speak pretty fluently because I studied in France and lived in France. I lived in Spain for a bit because I was a nanny when I was about 19. I was a nanny.

in Madrid. And I used to have an Italian boyfriend. And because if you've got one of the sort of those languages, they kind of branch off pretty quick, especially Spanish and Italian. If you're learning them, it's kind of easy to see the pieces. But I've just got that brain for sort of languages in a way that I don't have a brain for like maths or indeed driving. Oh, my gosh. I'm not spatially aware, but yeah, I can pick up a language. All right. Question number three.

What's a place you've been to that you absolutely loved? Oh, my goodness. There's a lot. There's a lot. There's a lot. I have to say New Zealand is pretty amazing. And I also love France.

I love Australia. Yeah. I really do love Australia. Sydney is quite fantastic as a city. It's really just beautiful. And it's just sort of got my heart. Bondi Beach has got my heart, which is extraordinary for someone who is pale and ginger and would never go swimming, you know, before nine o'clock at night or, you know, after five o'clock in the morning. Great times to avoid sharks. Fantastic.

Feeding time for the sharks. Feeding time. Bondi Beach was my friend's absolute favourite place on the planet. Yeah, it's really genuinely got my heart in a way that I never thought it did. And I've been to some really fantastic places.

But for properly what has your heart, it's Bondi. Did you go there on holiday or work or how did you find it? No, I've been there for work a couple of times because what I didn't realise, I wish someone had told me, I wish someone had told me years and years ago that I was pretty well known in Australia and New Zealand. I had genuinely no idea. And I went over and toured one of my shows, my comedy shows, and it was like being a rock star. I was playing stadiums.

And I just was like, why didn't anyone tell me? Because I genuinely would have moved to Australia years ago. So I've been out there a few times. And then I've just done a show out in Australia called Queen of Oz. So we went and we lived about six or seven months. And so it was just, yeah, it'd never been a place where I was thinking, what is it so far? You know, it's such an obvious thing to say, but it's a schlep.

But then when I got there, I just couldn't believe how much I loved it. In fact, sometimes me and my husband go because he's from LA and I'm from London. I mean, it's hardly really meeting in the middle, but I've worked out meeting the middle. I'm saying it's somewhere like Boston. But we go, well, maybe just, you know, because LA is his, London is mine. Let's have Australia for ourselves. Let's let Sydney be ours. That's so romantic. It's very romantic. It'll never happen, but it's nice. Yeah.

All right. Let's see. Next question. What do you like to do on the weekends? I think mainly in my life, I'm defined more by what I don't do and what I don't like by what I do. If you ask me what I like, I'd go, I'd struggle. But if you ask me what I don't like, we'd be here all day. So I can tell you what I don't do at the weekend. Yeah, I love it. I don't like to cook at all. It's not just the weekends. I don't like cooking, which baffles me why I've just been offered a cooking show. Yeah.

I think someone heard me on the radio talking about how much I hate to cook and they went, we should actually put this on TV. And it's like, I'm not sure you quite understood my feelings about not liking to cook. I would watch you hate cooking. It's not even hating. It's proper, like, it's like a primal. It gives me rage. Proper, like, rage, this idea. And what I find doubly awful is like with a family and children, you're expected to do it three times a day. And I find that astonishing.

And that's why I'm a huge advocate for breakfast cereals three times a day. I mean, because that's what I would eat. I'm not... I digress. Okay. I'm not cooking at the weekend. You're not cooking. I'm not cooking any day, to be honest. Mum, I don't cook. Literally, I've got a T-shirt going, Mum, I don't cook. So don't come up with me that I'm hungry. If you want pure rage, ask me for a snack. Right. Oh, it infuriates me. It really does. And in a strange way, because...

I didn't think I was so unmaternal that I just didn't have the instinct to give people nourishment. But I clearly do. Yeah, no, awful. I hate cooking. I don't want to exercise. You know, I don't want to, I don't mind ambling about, but I don't want to do that. I don't want to socialise. No!

So don't ask me to barbecue and expect me to throw something on it. That's not happening. I just like think I'm actually I'm quite a natural hermit. I'm a natural loner. I'm definitely not a pack animal. I'm a loner. I'm a lone wolf. And my weekends are if I had my own way, I would sit in front of Netflix or the TV. I'm sure other subscription services are available and eat stuff I don't have to cook.

That sounds like a great weekend. Yeah. And read astrology things. Read astrology blogs because I love an astrology. Yeah, I love that. What is your sign? Sagittarius. Okay, I'm Pisces. Oh, you are? I'm a Cancer. You are. Why did you say it that way? Do you feel bad for me? No, I don't feel bad for you. I don't feel bad for you or your soulful water signs. Yes, that's true. Yes, your soulful water signs. That's why you're so compatible with each other. Oh. Yes, your water signs. I didn't know that. Yeah.

Okay, last question.

Might be a real roll of the dice now. Go on. Favorite midnight snack that you don't have to cook? That I don't have to cook. First of all, I'd like to ask who the hell's eating at midnight? That's really bad for you. Snack, genuinely, anything I don't have to cook. Yeah. Anything out of a packet, out of a bag. Love a packet. Cereal. I do like cereal. Go-to cereal. Everybody eats cereal at midnight. What's your favorite? Well, we have one at home. I don't know if you have it here. It's called Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes.

Crunchy nut cornflakes. Kellogg's crunchy nut cornflakes. It's basically cornflakes with nuts and honey. Yum. It's called Honey Bunches of Oats. Oh, it is? In the States. Of oats? There's no oats in it, though. Oh. Tricked you. I don't know. Come on. Maybe it's not the same. No. It sounded like you described Honey Bunches of Oats. So what's Honey Bunches of Oats? I'm about to go and buy it right now. It's very good. It's my husband's favorite cereal. So it's oats. It has crunchy clusters. Yeah.

And like cornflakes that also are crunchy. Yeah, no, these are just pure. Can I just say one of the things, my abiding memories of the office? Yes. Was the kitchen messy.

where I counted on my first day 27 different varieties of cereal because obviously that's my code to meal. 27 varieties of cereal you had in that kitchen. Yeah, yeah. Not the on-screen kitchen. The kitchen where we could go and make a snack. 27. I could not believe.

Believe it. But also like nine milks. There was like soy milk, oat milk, whole milk, 2%, skim. There were all the milks as well in the fridge. It was just like heaven to me, yeah. I was going to say, imagine how many more you could have counted had they not kicked you out. Oh, imagine before they went, no, come on, she's upstairs. She's upstairs in the production office. Get back up to your sex. I'm sure there was about 52. It's probably 52.

There was a whole other cupboard, but they didn't let you stay in there long enough. I was only counting the first shelf and then they kicked me out. No. So breakfast cereal. It would be breakfast cereal. Yeah. An American breakfast cereal because you have this. It was a Trader Joe's apple and cinnamon one. And it became my like crack. Like Apple Jacks.

I don't know. I've never tasted Apple Jackson. I don't know what Fruity Pebbles are and all that kind of thing. I don't want Fruity Pebbles. You don't want Fruity Pebbles. I don't want Fruity Pebbles. You can't go wrong with Cheerios. Cheerios are very nice. Angela is a spokesperson for Cheerios. I've done a commercial for Cheerios. You have? Yes, you would love it. Oh, my God. I ate Cheerios all day. I did, genuinely. And I actually love Cheerios. So I was like eating. I was so with such gusto eating, eating, eating. And Zach Woods directed the spots. No. Yes. And it's me and Phyllis and Leslie.

And I didn't know that. Yeah. That would be the perfect thing to do. You should. Cheerios people. You should. A cereal campaign. A cereal campaign. Oh, I'm all for cereal. I mean, my daughter was raised on it. Yeah. Oh, Catherine, this was so amazing. Oh, thank you so much. I'm so delighted. Thank you for coming. This was just the best. A pleasure. You're such a just joy to be around. Thank you. It's because we don't see each other that often. I know. Oh, no.

You talk to people who see me every day. It's like, oh, God. What's next for you? What are you? And, you know, we didn't even really get to talk about how varied your career is. Oh, don't worry. Stand up and sketch. Thank you. Oh, I do it all. Yes. I've just done a play and I'm about to do another one actually next year. You are? Yeah, I'm going to do another play. I like plays. Yeah. Because you get your days free. And, yeah.

Yeah. Oh, Jenna and I should come see your play. We must. Wouldn't that be a fun road trip? I love it. Is that your favorite? Do you have a favorite? I don't think I do. Do you know what my favorite thing is? To do lots of different things. To do lots of different genres. Because I, you know, listen, we're always grateful for the... Do you know, I was listening to the one you did with Phyllis and it was so interesting that you said...

A teacher you had said, work begets work. Don't turn work down. It's really interesting, that thing, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. It's really interesting. My teacher always would say, say yes. Really say yes. Say yes. That's very interesting. And I do think that is the mentality of most actors, isn't it? Because even however successful you've been and however fortunate the things that you've managed to do are, I think everyone's got that mentality of being a jobbing actor. Yeah.

Because what we absolutely know there isn't is job security. And I remember when I was at college, they used to say, oh, here's the thing. You're only as good as your last job. I disagree. I think you're only as good as your next job, unfortunately, in this industry. You know what I mean? It's so cutthroat and it's so immediate and stuff's gone and that's it and you missed it. And there's so much stuff that people are consuming. And when people always say, what's your favorite job? And I always go, my next one. Yeah.

But that's going to be the one. Yeah. But my next one, because I think forward, you know, and it's lovely to reminisce. Yes. But the joy is the journey, I think. Yeah. Journey and cereal. My autobiography. What was my nickname in high school? Oh, thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. How amazing is Catherine? I mean, I smiled the whole time we were talking. The whole time. The whole time.

Well, a huge thank you to Catherine Tate for spending her morning with us and also to you all for listening and supporting Office Ladies. We just love you. We hope you have a good one and we'll see you next week.

Thank you for listening to Office Ladies. Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey. Our executive producer is Cassie Jerkins. Our audio engineer is Sam Kiefer and our associate producer is Ainsley Bublico. Odyssey's executive producers are Jenna Weiss-Berman and Leah Reese-Dennis. Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton. Music