John Krasinski Refused To Let Jim Kiss Cathy
The Office: John Krasinski says he refused to let Jim Halpert kiss Cathy, the temporary office administrator, as it would've pushed the fans too far.
John Krasinksi says that he refused to let Jim kiss Cathy, the temporary administrator, on an episode of The Office. Krasinski starred in all nine seasons of The Office as Jim Halpert, the aloof, sarcastic, and charming salesman who carried a torch for receptionist Pam Beesley (Jenna Fischer). Eventually, the two characters hooked up and eventually were married. During The Office season 8, Pam was pregnant with Jim's second child and had to take maternity leave, where she hired and trained Cathy (Lindsey Broad) as her temporary replacement.
In season 8, episode 16, "After Hours," Jim is on a business trip with his co-workers, including Cathy, who starts to put the moves on him. Jim can see that she's making advances and attempts to rebuff them, eventually getting the help of his co-worker Dwight (Rainn Wilson), who shows up to Jim's hotel room where Cathy has invaded. Dwight scares Cathy off before anything can happen, but apparently there were plans for at least a kiss to transpire during those moments in the hotel room.
In a new book about the show, "Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office" (via New York Post), Krasinski says that he refused to let Jim kiss Cathy, however. Krasinski says he was "saying things that I never thought I’d say before, like, I’m not going to shoot it" to producer Greg Daniels. He was protective of not only Jim's reputation, but also his reputation with fans who loved his character and loved Jim and Pam's relationship. He explains that having Jim kiss Cathy would've pushed fans "too far away" by showing Jim cheating on Pam and his fear was that they'd never come back. Read Krasinski's quote from the book below:
“My feeling is there is a threshold with which you can push our audience. They are so dedicated. We have shown such great respect to them. But there’s a moment where if you push them too far, they’ll never come back. And I think that if you show Jim cheating, they’ll never come back.”
Meanwhile, Broad continues to receive harassment for portraying Cathy on The Office, which is a tragic outcome for the actress, but begs the question of how much worse it would've been if they had kissed. Daniels had another take on the episode, even though he eventually agreed with Krasinski, saying “I feel like that kind of worry was good in terms of the fans’ engagement. I think they knew what was coming." The producer went on to say that he "needed to worry" the fans with a potentially bad ending, creating suspense over the outcome so that "they were happy when they got a good ending.” Thankfully for fans, they most definitely got that, although it was still fraught with some bumps along the way toward the season 9 finale.
Like most actors who portray a beloved character over the course of multiple seasons in a huge show, Krasinski took ownership of Jim Halpert. Violating what fans expected or, in the least, liked about Jim, needed to be protected. Of course, suspense is always needed in order to keep audiences interested in any popular show, including The Office, but when fans connect with a character with a deep passion, keeping the sanctity of that character is paramount. Like all the characters of The Office, Jim remained Jim, just as Pam remained Pam, and Dwight remained Dwight, etc. They all faced challenges, even if it was an advance from another co-worker, but responded in a way that was consistent with their character, which sounds exactly like what Krasinksi was doing here.
Next: The Office: Why Jim Proposed To Pam At A Gas Station
Source: New York Post
