The Office’s Pam & Jim First Kiss Scene Didn’t Go As Planned, But Made It to Final Cut
The director’s unexpected decision made one of the best scenes of the series even better than it could have been.
The Office is a cult comedy series that has long stood alongside genre legends like Friends, Community, and Seinfeld. It ended its run in 2012, but new fans continue to emerge – the show's relevance and success only seems to grow over the years.
Undoubtedly, one of the most important storylines of the series was the relationship between Pam and Jim.
As Pam and Roy's wedding approached, Jim clearly didn't know what to do, and he ended up confessing his love for Pam in the parking lot in one of the show's most emotional moments.
Pam, not expecting this confession, tells Jim that he is her best friend, but when he tells her that he wants more, they part – only to reunite soon after for a kiss in a dark, empty office.
The scene came out perfect, but a few adjustments were made during filming.
When Jim confesses his love to Pam and leaves, the scene does not stop. Director Ken Kwapis did not want to interrupt such an important and intense moment by yelling "cut," so in the very last moment he decided to just wait.
In the book The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide, Jenna Fischer, who played Pam, admitted that this was exactly what she needed, as she was lost in her character at that moment:
“When he walked away, I felt completely transported into a new reality. I was Pam, I was talking with my mother, and my heart was breaking.”
The relationship between Jim and Pam, on which the main plot of the first seasons is based, is by no means ordinary.
It doesn't follow the typical rom-com tropes and never stumbles into boring melodramatic cliches. The climactic kiss in the second season finale does not bring the characters together, but rather pushes them apart – for a long time after that, they are going to have to sort out their feelings about it.
Now, all fans of the sitcom know that Jim and Pam will eventually get married and have children, but in the good old days, viewers followed every twist and turn in their relationship and could only hope for the best.
Source: The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide