‘The Office’ stars recall filming Pam’s big crying scene with Dwight

On the surface, The Office is a goofy and lighthearted workplace comedy. But at its heart, the show contains layers of drama, intimate relationships, and complex characters who aren’t afraid to be vulnerable.

The parking lot scene in “Casino Night” is a perfect example of how well The Office handled more serious scenes. But it certainly wasn’t the only time the show went deep. On the latest episode of the , former co-stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey talked about filming “Back From Vacation,” which features a touching scene between Pam and Dwight.

For those who need a recap, “Back From Vacation” mainly focuses on an intimate photo of Jan that Michael accidentally circulates after they return from their trip to Jamaica. While Michael tries to get all copies of the photo deleted, Pam tries to help Jim navigate his first argument with Karen.

Though Pam clearly enjoys spending time with Jim again, the circumstances aren’t ideal and all the Karen talk clearly takes a toll on her. Towards the end of the episode, Dwight finds Pam crying in the hallway and he attempts to comfort her. (You can watch the scene here, starting at 1:12.)

“Angela, I watched this scene and it just brought tears to my eyes, because I remember shooting it so clearly,” Fischer said. “This was like early on in the show, and whenever we had these really emotional scenes like the parking lot scene between Jim and Pam we would just kind of shut down everything. And I remember that we shut down the set and we took hours prepping and shooting this crying scene.”

“It was really important to Greg [Daniels, The Office showrunner] that I really be crying. They did not want to put fake tears in my eyes. He wanted me to really go there,” she explained. “This is a really big challenge for an actor. And so what they did was they made everything really quiet and no one talked to me for about a half hour. I put on the saddest music I could find, and it was sad because it was personal to me… It was music that brought up memories of breakups — music that I listened to at different times in my life when I was having a particularly hard time — so it would bring up a lot of emotions.”

Image: the office / nbc / netflix

Image: the office / nbc / netflix

Fischer explained that she’d spent the previous week creating the perfect crying playlist, and before shooting this scene she sat alone and listened to it until the tears arrived. “Then Kelly, our first [assistant director,] came and took the headphones away from me, and they started rolling. And that’s how they were able to begin the scene with me crying.”

“When you play a scene, Angela, and you have dialogue and connection with a person, a lot of times that will bring the emotion out of you. But it’s really hard to start a scene in a full cry, because you would just have to get yourself there,” Fischer said.

“That’s so true,” Kinsey replied. “It’s really hard because you’re basically taking yourself emotionally from zero to 60.” Kinsey recalled a similar crying scene she had to do when filming Haters Back Off, and then shared a helpful trick she learned in acting class.

“I took this acting class and it was talking about emotional journeys,” Kinsey said. “The acting teacher encouraged us to pick a song — one song — because sometimes on set you don’t have the luxury of being able to go listen… So everyone picked one song, and in your mind you sing that one song, and by the end you should be in that emotional place. And it worked for me.”

The song Kinsey chose to sing in her head was Lefty Frizzell’s, “That’s The Way Love Goes.” And though Fischer had a whole crying playlist for that episode, she recalls listening to a Ben Folds song to help her cry as Pam. 

“I had a whole Pam soundtrack that I would listen to on my drive to work for during season 3 when her and Jim were estranged,” Fischer added. “It was Norah Jones. She’s just so soulful and wishing and a little lost.”

Though music is a common tool that actors use to help them cry, it was Rainn Wilson’s performance as Dwight that made both Fisher and Kinsey emotional when rewatching the scene.

Image: the office / nbc / netflix

Image: the office / nbc / netflix

“I remember you guys doing this scene, and I remember it from the filter of your BFF. I remember you were really anxious about it. You really wanted to get it right, and you were doing all the prep,” Kinsey said. “And in rewatching it, Jenna, it made me tear up, it’s so beautiful. And I think I see Rainn as Dwight tearing up. But surely Dwight wouldn’t tear up, but I think Rainn, your friend, is tearing up watching you cry.”

“Angela, it’s making me get choked up when you say it, because this is a little bit of a place where the line blurred between the Rainn that you and I know and Dwight,” Fischer replied. “Rainn simply couldn’t do that scene without empathizing with Pam. Every time we did a take he teared up when I cried harder. It was like Rainn Wilson the man was incapable of sitting next to a person in pain without feeling their pain, and this is a thing that we know about Rainn. It’s a thing that we love about Rainn, and when I saw it in the scene it just made me miss Rainn so much, because that’s who Rainn is to me on a personal level.”

“Yeah, I just saw Rainn,” Kinsey said. “I just saw him, and he’s tearing up, and he has to snap back to Dwight and say the line, ‘You’re PMSing pretty hard, right?'” she laughed.

“One of my favorite things he does as Dwight in this scene is he takes his jacket off, and you’re positive he’s going to wrap it around Pam, and he ties it around his own waist so awkwardly,” she continued.

Image: the office / nbc / netflix

Image: the office / nbc / netflix

“Yes, that was in the script,” Fischer laughed. “That’s the other thing. All the little beats, all the little moments — him putting his jacket around his waist, giving the handkerchief, awkwardly putting his arm around her shoulder. All of that is scripted, all those moments.” 

“It was a beautifully written scene, and they gave us great time to figure it out and shoot it,” Fischer said. “I’m really proud of that scene. It’s one of my favorites from the series.”

Be sure to listen to the full podcast episode to hear more behind-the-scenes stories about filming the “Back From Vacation” episode and learn more crying tips from Kinsey and Fischer.

You can stream episodes of and follow along with the podcast every week on , , or .