An office is for not dying. An office is a place to live life to the fullest, to the max, to...an office is a place where dreams come true. Dunder Mifflin introduced us to many characters we would be lucky to call coworkers in our own lives. Who are the best among those characters? Did Toby make the list? NO GOD PLEASE NO! Let's find out in our list of the top 10 best characters from The Office.
Character: Angela Martin
Resume:
Senior Accountant, Head of Party Planning Committee - Dunder Mifflin Scranton
Dundies Won - Tight-Ass Award, Kind of A Bitch Award
Mother - Bandit, Comstock (since given to Oscar), Diane, Ember, Lumpy, Milky Way, Mr. Ash, Petals, Philip (cat), Philip (human), Princess Lady, Sprinkles (R.I.P.)
Buys her clothes from Gap Kids or orders clothes meant for large colonial dolls from the American Girl store
Why we love them: It's refreshing to have at least one person in the office who actually focuses on their work and comes dressed appropriately in neutral colors (green and orange are whoreish). Angela incited a classic rivalry between Dwight and Andy and she loved every second of it. In the end, she could only end up with Dwight. Their secret love in the early seasons was one of the best story lines, as other characters uncovered evidence of it bit by bit.
Best Moment: Angela was at her best when she was running things for the Party Planning Committee.
Character: Kelly Kapoor
Resume:
Customer Service Representative - Dunder Mifflin Scranton
Dundies Won - Spicy Curry Award
Brands - The Business Bitch, The Diet Bitch, The Shopping Bitch, The Etiquette Bitch
Definitely over her ex, Ryan Howard
Why we love them: Is it poor form to lie about being pregnant or to threaten to kill yourself in order to get what you want? Perhaps, but Kelly is just trying to do what's best for her and Ryan, even if Ryan has a different opinion about what's best for him. At least Kelly acknowledges even she can't keep track of everything she says and that she is not easy to manage.
Best Moment: Kelly was on top of her manipulation game when Ryan returned after accepting the job in New York.
Character: Kevin Malone
Resume:
Bar Owner
Accountant - Dunder Mifflin Scranton
Dundies Won - Don't Go In There After Me Award
Drummer, Singer - Scrantonicity
Nickname - Kool-Aid Man
Why we love them: Even though he isn't exactly qualified for his job, Kevin always tries his hardest and we love him for it. Kevin represents the inner child in us that just wants to lie on the beach and eat hot dogs or see how many M&M's we can fit in our mouths.
Best Moment: I wonder if everyone still ate Kevin's famous chili after he scooped it back into the pot off the floor...
Character: Creed Bratton
Resume:
Quality Assurance, Acting Manager - Dunder Mifflin Scranton
Blogger - www.creedthoughts.gov.www/creedthoughts
Guitarist - The Grass Roots
Known Aliases - William Charles Schneider
Why we love them: Nothing gives the viewer pause as much as Creed's outlandish statements. Whether it's learning that he runs a fake I.D. business, transfers his debt to an alias (which happens to be the actor's real name), stole someone's identity, or that he has been a member of a number of cults (both as a leader and a follower), Creed is truly a wildcard. Most of the characters can easily be compared to people we have met in our own workplaces, but we are willing to bet you haven't encountered someone quite like Creed (if you have, please let us know).
Best Moment: Explore the inner workings of Creed's brain at your own risk.
Character: Stanley Hudson
Resume:
Sales Representative - Dunder Mifflin Scranton
Dundies Won - Great Work Award, Fine Work Award, Diabetes Award
Heart Attacks Suffered In The Office - 1
Crossword puzzle aficionado
Why we love them: The man never had a passion for selling paper, but Stanley always put his daughter first and still put in the work everyday so she could go to college. Not only did he loathe the work, but he also had to put up with a boss he did not respect and who was extremely ignorant. In all the time that Stanley had to deal with Michael Scott's incompetence, he only blew up at his boss once. Those crossword puzzles and dreams of Pretzel Day kept him level most of the time.
Best Moment: Don't get between Stanley and his pretzel on Pretzel Day.
Character: Andy Bernard
Resume:
Regional Manager, Sales Representative - Dunder Mifflin Scranton
Regional Director of Sales - Dunder Mifflin Stamford
Dundies Won - Doobie Doobie Pothead Stoner of the Year Award
Singer - Here Comes Treble
Alumnus, Admissions Director - Cornell University (ever heard of it?)
Has extremely sensitive nipples
Why we love them: Andy wears many hats as a character. At first, he was the annoying co-worker to Jim in Stamford. When he was transferred to Scranton, he became the newest brown-noser kissing up to Michael and getting on his nerves. He was also a rival to Dwight, had relationships with Angela and Erin, served as the resident office musician, and even took over as Regional Manager. More often than not, we were laughing at the Nard Dog, not with him, but every once in a while, he would also provide a heartwarming moment, like in the series finale when he said "I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them."
Best Moment: "And I'm also sorry that a lot of people here for some reason think it's funny to steal someone's personal property and hide it from them. Here's a little newsflash! It's not funny! In fact, it's pretty freakin' unfunny!"
Character: Pam Beesly
Resume:
Office Administrator, Sales Representative, Receptionist - Dunder Mifflin Scranton
Sales Representative - Michael Scott Paper Company
Dundies Won - Longest Engagement Award, Whitest Sneakers Award
Artist - Three months at the Pratt Institute
Why we love them: Pam has the best character arc and shows the most growth over the course of the show. When we meet her, she is unsure of herself. She wasn't being completely honest with herself when it came to the relationship she was in and what she wanted out of her job. Pam evolved as she started to figure out all of those aspects of her life and it gave us the confidence to do the same thing in our lives. She is also a sweetheart with a great sense of humor. It's just too bad she isn't allowed back at Chili's ever again.
Best Moment: Pam opening up and being more direct about what she wants was a beautiful turning point for the character. You go, Pammy!
Character: Jim Halpert
Resume:
President of New Acquisitions - Athlead
Regional Co-Manager, Sales Representative - Dunder Mifflin Scranton
Sales Representative - Dunder Mifflin Stamford
Dundies Won - Jim Halpert Award, Best Dad Award
Favorite Snack - Jell-O
Why we love them: Jim is that character designed to connect with the audience the most. You can feel that connection every time he looks into the camera as if to say to us "are you seeing this?" We have all been in a job we don't love with co-workers who annoy us, so we can relate to Jim and his need to pull pranks just to get through the day sometimes. Also, his romance with Pam is one for the record books.
Best Moment: Are Jim's pranks impressive or does he really just have too much time on his hands?
Pam and Jim were teased to us for so long, but it paid off in this moment that made us stand up and cheer.
Character: Dwight Schrute
Resume:
Regional Manager, Acting Regional Manager, Assistant to the Assistant to the Regional Manager, Assistant to the Regional Manager, Sales Representative, Safety Officer - Dunder Mifflin Scranton
Owner - Schrute Farms
Owner - Scranton Business Park
Salesman - Staples
Volunteer Sheriff's Deputy - Lackawanna County
Senpai (which is equally as respected as a sensei) - Goju Ru Karate Dojo
Dundies Won - Promising Assistant Manager Award
Why we love them: How would we describe Dwight in three words? Hard-working, Alpha male. Jackhammer. Merciless. Insatiable. He is the authority on all things safety, bears, beets, and Battlestar Galactica. Dwight is one of the most instantly recognizable and iconic characters to come out of The Office. Is Dwight Schrute the greatest TV character of all time? False, there is no way to definitively rank fictional characters.
Best Moment: The employees of Dunder Mifflin were lucky to have Dwight around to protect them...
...but sometimes Dwight took his protective instincts too far.
Character: Michael Scott
Resume:
Regional Manager, Sales Representative - Dunder Mifflin Scranton
Founder/Owner - Michael Scott Paper Company
Film Writer, Director, Editor - Threat Level Midnight
Songwriter - The Diwali Song, Goodbye Toby, Total Eclipse of the Fart
Winner of Over 17 Dundies
Flaws - Sings in the shower, spends too much time volunteering, occasionally hits someone with his car
Why we love them: World's Best Boss isn't just a mug that Michael found at Spencer Gifts, it's a lifestyle. Michael understands that he has many responsibilities as Manager that go beyond the typical job duties. He is a motivator, friend, entertainer, and lover. His wealth of knowledge, sage quotes, and informative meetings were always just what his employees needed to get the job done. The Office has many lovable characters, but the entire concept of the show revolves around the incompetence and insensitivity of Michael. Many fans lost their interest in the series all together when Michael left.
Best Moment: Some of the most hilarious and cringe-worthy moments on The Office were results of Michael's crass characters.
Now let's end this with a bang...
Image Credits: NBC Universal
