While both feature some of the greatest comedy performances of all time, The Office and Bridesmaids also share talent with several overlapping actors. Both are critically acclaimed with Oscar nominations and Emmy wins, also becoming influential for kickstarting certain waves of comedy films and shows. The Office (2005-2013) paved the way for several subsequent deadpan mockumentary comedy shows like Parks & Rec, Modern Family, and more recently BlackAF, most of which incidentally happen to feature actress and The Office alum Rashida Jones. On the other hand, Bridesmaids (2011) was instrumental in revealing the financial and blockbuster viability of female-led comedies.
Bridesmaids was co-written by star and former Saturday Night Live cast member Kristen Wiig, whose comedic tones are reminiscent of the same writers behind The Office. Unsurprisingly, Bridesmaids director Paul Feig is notable for directing a wide array of The Office episodes, possibly being responsible for bringing on so many Office actors. Aside from The Office and Bridesmaids overlapping with actors and talent from Saturday Night Live, they both have a connection to the Judd Apatow camp of stars. Bridesmaids is produced by Apatow so is included in his filmography, while many of The Office’s actors have gone on to star in Apatow’s features.
As two of the most popular comedy projects in the same era, it’s no surprise that The Office and Bridesmaids overlap in so many behind-the-scenes aspects. Many of the actors in both got their start in comedy improvisation groups like The Groundlings or Second City and even performed with each other at the same time, which makes sense considering The Office, which also shares cast members with Brooklyn 99, and Bridesmaids both relied on great comedic timing and improv for some of their most iconic jokes. Here’s a breakdown of every actor from The Office that also appears in Bridesmaids.
Ellie Kemper
Ellie Kemper was introduced as a recurring character, Erin Hannon, at the end of The Office’s fifth season, replacing Pam as Dunder Mifflin’s receptionist after she leaves for the Michael Scott Paper Company. While only playing a small role in the beginning, Kemper’s role became increasingly more substantial as her dynamics with the rest of the characters and actors grew. Aside from assuming her job role, Erin also takes over Pam’s part as the young, single female in the office. Erin is more heavily featured when she dates Andy, Gabe, and eventually Pete over the next four seasons. The Office characterizes Erin as a highly naive, childish, overly nice addition whose silly antics charm the likes of season nine manager Andy Bernard, but annoy most of her coworkers.
After only a season on The Office, Kemper was cast for the Bridesmaids role of Becca, a similarly naive, newly-married bridesmaid of Lillian. As one of the six leading women, Kemper has a substantial role in which she uses the same comedic tone from her character in The Office. Becca tends to stick with Lillian’s cousin Rita throughout most of the wedding season, learning much about married life from the cynical mother of three boys who hates her husband. Following the acclaim of her performances in The Office and Bridesmaids, Kemper went on to star in the titular role of the comedy series The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt for four seasons.
Andy Buckley
Though not properly featured as a recurring character until season 3 of The Office, Andy Buckley memorably plays one of the show’s most normal, level-headed characters in David Wallace. As Dunder Mifflin’s Corporate Chief Financial Officer and Michael Scott’s boss, David Wallace continuously appears when the Scranton Branch does something overly absurd, Michael has to be reprimanded, or a significant Dunder Mifflin change or event occurs. Andy Buckley was another Groundlings improv group alum, having been in the troupe at the same time as Bridesmaids star Melissa McCarthy. Though Buckley’s Bridesmaids role isn’t speaking, he briefly reoccurs at a few wedding events as Helen’s husband and Doug’s boss.
Nancy Carrell
Another unnamed, brief cameo in Bridesmaids by an actor from The Office is that of Nancy (Walls) Carrell who had a season 2 recurring role as Carol Stills. As the wife of main cast member Steve Carrell, a former Saturday Night Live player, and Second City troupe member, Carrell got the role of one of Michael Scott’s girlfriends. Carrell’s cameo in Bridesmaids is even shorter than her stint on The Office, appearing in a close-up shot as Helen’s unnamed tennis partner at the country club. The scene she appears in is a short tennis match between Helen, Annie, Carrell, and Annie’s unnamed partner.
Wendy McLendon-Covey
Also a veteran of The Groundlings, Wendy McLendon-Covey later appeared in a guest role in The Office in the season 4 episode “Business Trip” as Concierge Marie. Michael believes the hotel he is staying at in Canada is a fancy, foreign place where the concierge is a classy prostitute. Michael, Oscar, and Andy end up at a bar that Marie is also at, leading to her hooking up with Michael at the hotel that night. McLendon-Covey’s one-episode role in The Office is much less significant than her main role as Rita, bridesmaid and cousin to Lillian, played by Luca‘s Maya Rudolph. Rita plays the cynical, exhausted wife and mother of three boys, whose tragically unhappy home life plays for some of the biggest laughs of the movie. During McLendon-Covey’s time with The Groundlings, she was a classmate of her Bridesmaids co-stars Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig.
Hugh Dane
Hugh Dane, who sadly passed away in 2018, was celebrated as the series-long recurring character Hank in The Office. Hank was the Scranton Business Park’s, and incidentally Dunder Mifflin’s, security guard, who surprisingly seems to have had even less patience for the office than Stanley. One of Hank’s biggest episodes involved Jim Halpert (A Quiet Place director John Krasinski) accidentally locking the employees in the building, having to call Hank to let them out while none of them can remember his name. Though Dane had a relatively minor role in The Office, he makes a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in Bridesmaids. When Annie first meets Megan, Dane’s unnamed character is incidentally standing right next to her, leading Megan to mistakenly assume he’s her boyfriend. Though he doesn’t speak in the role, Dane’s obvious annoyance with the two characters is reminiscent of his character’s lack of patience on The Office.
Jessica St. Clair
While both are extremely minor roles, Jessica St. Clair is also a veteran of both The Office and Bridesmaids. Her character in The Office was Casey Dean, another contestant on the singing reality TV show that Andy auditions for in the ninth and final season’s “A.A.R.M.” She befriended Andy in line for auditions before attacking a security guard, never to be seen again on the show. St. Clair also plays Whitney, the owner of the bridal shop wherein the iconic food-poisoning puking scene occurs in Bridesmaids.
