It’s not much of a secret now that a book has been written about it, meaning the fact that John Krasinski wore a wig during The Office. The reason though is something that people might not readily guess, so Nina Starner of Looper comes out and says it, he was wanting to shoot a movie with George Clooney titled Leatherheads. As such, he would have needed a 1920s haircut, which means that it would have looked out of place in the show, which he was still actively filming. As a result, John asked if he could wear a wig, which was initially shot down since it was believed that it wouldn’t allow him to keep Jim’s natural look. When he went ahead and wore a wig to speak to the showrunner Greg Daniels though, Daniels was pretty adamant in his opinion that it wouldn’t work. When John took off the wig and revealed that he’d been wearing it while they were talking, with Greg being none the wiser, it was obvious that Daniels couldn’t really say no any longer and he gave the okay for the wig, short and simple. It’s funny thought that there’s no mention of the movie Jarhead, which starred Jake Gyllenhaal and also featured Krasinski at one point, especially since the actors had to take on the look of US Marines with their high and tight look. Of course it’s possible that they were wearing specialized caps, but it doesn’t appear likely.
In any case Krasinski is far from the only one that’s ever worn a wig for a part since actors tend to do this all the time for various roles as one role might call for their character to be bald or another might call for a full head of hair that’s styled for a certain period. Adam Chitwood of Collider had more to say on this matter. Imagine being a woman whose hair has to be piled atop her head in a popular fashion that was in style back in the Victorian era, the neck strain alone it might cause is enough to make a person wince. But hairstyles are still something that a lot of fans tend to notice when it comes to TV shows and movies and some will go nuts upon realizing that one character or another aren’t in keeping with the times or the setting. As far as The Office goes, everyone was made to look very plain, drab, in other words ordinary, since the feeling is that in an office space such as Dunder Mifflin the idea is that there’s not much extravagance and people are encouraged to look professional and business-like at all times. It does sound a bit boring since a lot of offices have those folks that are all about flash and pomp but will still get the job done, though obviously the show was going for realism on a scale that would put it right up there with the average office worker.
For one of the most popular shows on TV during its time The Office did in fact win big with its depiction of the average office worker, as many people actually grew to like those characters that were seen as more run of the mill and didn’t really stand out as much, or wouldn’t have in a regular office setting. In a big way this allowed their personalities to exude in a greater manner since not wanting to focus on their plain clothing and looks made it so much easier to notice them for the kind of people they were. Whether this was done with a purpose or it was a happy side effect it was successful without question since people came to care about the characters in a big way that made the show among the most popular series of the past two decades. People still talk about this show today and it’s obvious by writing about The Office that a lot of us are still enamored of the series and would love to see it come back, if only it could come back in the same way as it was left. That’s not entirely possible obviously since things were moving forward before the final episode came around and gathering everyone together for another few seasons doesn’t sound feasible in the least. But it’s still a testament to how the show made so many people care that some would actually try to plead a case for such a reunion.
Learning that most of the cast are a lot more flamboyant in real life isn’t too surprising since their personalities on screen are a good indication that they’re anything but droll or even mildly boring. But dulling down their looks was a way to get that kind of acting to come forth and really make a mark in the annals of pop culture, and a lot of people are likely thankful for it.
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