Adam Scott is promoting his new movie, The Whisper Man, which drops on Netflix on August 28. It’s a crime thriller based on a novel with the same name. Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, and Michael Keaton also star. After watching the trailer and reading the wiki summary, I am all in. This is exactly my type of movie.
Adam recently stopped by The Tonight Show to chat about the film with Jimmy Fallon. He mentioned that he spent the summer filming season three of Severance in New York. His wife, Naomi, and two children, Graham, 19, and Frankie, a rising high school senior, joined him. While in town, Frankie enrolled in an acting program. She had an unexpected experience in her first class when her dad’s 2003 audition tape for The Office was played along with John Krasinski’s. The best part? Adam’s tape was used as the “What not to do” example. From The Hollywood Reporter:
Adam Scott‘s audition tape for The Office is now part of the curriculum in a prestigious acting class, he revealed during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. But it’s not all good news for the actor, as he joked his audition is an example of “what not to do.”
On Thursday night’s episode, Scott shared that his daughter participated in an acting program over the summer in New York while he and his family were in town as Scott films the third season of Severance.
On the first day, Scott recalled, the teacher showed Scott’s Office audition and John Krasinski’s Office audition.
“And then he put it to the class like, ‘OK. Let’s discuss why he got the job, and he didn’t,’” Scott said.
Scott added that the teacher “had no idea” his daughter was in the class and that she was “mortified” by the experience.
But Scott has found a silver lining to what happened.
“I’m just happy to know that, like, in a prestigious acting class, I’m the subject of what not to do,” he joked to Fallon.
Ultimately, the teacher realized who Scott’s daughter is: “When she was walking out, the teacher stopped her,” he recalled. “He’s like, ‘Hey, um, do you know one of them? Like, what…’ and then he kind of put two and two together with her last name, and he felt terrible.”
Though Scott didn’t land the Jim Halpert role on The Office, he went on to work with Office writers Mike Schur and Greg Daniels on fellow NBC comedy Parks and Recreation.
This story cracked me up. I’m sure poor Frankie was mortified, but she probably wasn’t as embarrassed as her teacher was when he figured out his student’s identity. It’s nice to see Adam has such a good sense of humor about himself. He originally auditioned for a different role on Parks and Rec, a character named Josh who was supposed to be Ann Perkins’ love interest. It all worked out for him in the end, though. Both he and Krasinski were perfectly cast in their respective shows. I can’t imagine anyone else playing Jim Halpert or Ben Wyatt.
Here’s the video of Adam and John’s screen tests. Peacock released a compilation of screen tests as a bonus feature in 2021. I cued it up to start with Adam’s audition at 1:32. John’s is right after it, so it makes for a great back-to-back comparison. I had no idea how many people auditioned for The Office. Other actors who read for roles include Seth Rogen (Dwight), Bob Odenkirk (Michael), and Kathryn Hahn (Pam), who also ended up on Parks and Rec. Hahn’s Pam is so different from Jenna Fischer’s portrayal. It’s so trippy watching other actors give their spin on a character.
Photos are stills from The Whisper Man credit: David Lee/Netflix and credit: Getty and Avalon.red
That was fun to watch! Adam ended up in the perfect place at Parks and Rec. 💗
OMG! Being used as an example of ‘what not to do’!!