The Office’s cast and crew tended to keep inside the confines of its administrative-style set, suggesting that the show’s production environment was less dangerous than those of action and thriller genres. But the vintage mockumentary was as humorous and daring. There were a few occasions when The Office cast and crew ventured outdoors for some scenic filming, but there were several risky consequences.
The Office captured priceless moments on set throughout its nine seasons and more than 200 episodes. Two of such were the brutal “Beach Games” episode and the “Work Bus” episode, which the show’s stars described as a near-death experience. In reality, some cast members got sick during the out-of-office episode filming since they had to retake scenes multiple times. Here is a glimpse of the terrifying encounter.
What Afflicted The Office Cast During The ‘Beach Games’ Episode Filming?
The Dunder Mifflin employees and regular cast members recorded outside for a competition in the 23rd episode of The Office, season 3. The episode “Beach Games” revolves around Steve Carell’s character, Michael Scott, a regional manager who tries to pass on his job after learning about a corporate promotion. He comes up with a plan to select a deserving successor by holding a competition outside of the workplace.
Nonetheless, while the coworkers compete with one another for the top spot, several events unfold during the episode. According to Mashable, Jenna Fischer, who portrayed Pam, and Angela Kinsey, who played Angela, discussed the difficulties they faced when filming the “Beach Games” episode on an edition of the Office Ladies podcast.
One of the games Michael Scott created for the occasion is the hot dog eating contest. He arrives with eight hundred hot dogs, and when his colleagues take part, Ed Helms (Andy) wins. Andy was up to thirteen hot dogs. One of the cast members thought Helms’ recurring position on the program was inappropriate at first. He did, however, encounter another difficulty while filming the hot dog scenario since it was more complex than it seemed. As disclosed by Angela Kinsey on the podcast:
In her explanation, Angela Kinsey brought out the difficulties Ed Helms, Brian Baumgartner, and Leslie David Baker had in getting through the hot dog in between takes. The actors reportedly gagged and puked into spit buckets during the lengthy filming of the scene. The spit buckets, in Helms’ opinion, made things worse. He reported that having to spit out chewed food annoyed him and that it kept making him gag.
Two injuries were documented by the cast of “Beach Games” on set.
Although the cast members were severely affected by the hot dog sequence in the Beach Games episode, it wasn’t the most stressful aspect of filming. During the filming of the sumo wrestling scenario, which was one of the games Michael Scott set up, Ed Helms and Leslie David Baker were injured. Recalling, Jenna Fischer said:
In the “Beach Games” episode of The Office, did the cast face more obstacles?
As certain cast members recorded several stunts alone, there was a lot to unpack from their time on the outdoorsy episode set. In addition to his fingernail and hot dog problems, Ed Helms also filmed a sequence in which he fell into the water while wearing a sumo suit and floated away. The scenario was actually filmed both during the day and at night.
Like his co-stars, the actor amassed a respectable net worth from the show. Therefore, he decided to pull off the prank alone. As a result, he floated in the water for almost 45 minutes. In the second stunt captured on camera, Jenna Fischer (Pam) performed the hot coal walk. She reported that her feet sustained damage, even though the coals weren’t actually burning.
The Office crew looked for other ways to start the beach fire because of fire rules.
Angela Kinsey, the director, revealed that Harold Ramis made large holes in the earth and positioned a light box within them. Afterward, they applied orange and yellow gels to the top of the light box to simulate flames.”
