Aussie actor and comedian Felicity Ward is following in the footsteps of Ricky Gervais and Steve Carell as the new face of The Office franchise, with The Office Australia launching today.
It’s a massive role for Ward to be stepping into, with the franchise already having a global platform and other versions, especially The Office UK and The Office US garnering cult followings and launching stars like Gervais, Carell and John Krasinski to icon status among the show’s fans.
But Ward can rest easy after receiving a message of support from one of the biggest names to come out of the show – something she still can’t believe.
“I messaged Jenna Fischer,” Ward tells 9honey.
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“Only because I knew that her and Angela Martin, who do the Office Ladies podcast, knew about the show.”
Understanding Fischer is such a big star – with an Instagram following of 3.5 million at the time of writing – Ward didn’t expect a response.
So it was a massive surprise when she not only received a message back, but Fischer was so excited to support Ward, her new role and the new The Office Australia,
“She wrote back straight away and she was like, ‘We are so excited for you, we are rooting for you. We think there’s room for a thousand spin-offs on this show, here’s my email, we’ll get you on the podcast,” Ward explains.
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Every The Office Australia cast member and how you know them
“So yeah, I’ve been in touch with Jenna Fischer and she’s an angel.”
Asked what it felt like to be in touch with THE Pam Beesley, Ward says she couldn’t believe it.
“It was the best, I can’t believe she even messaged back,” Ward explains.
“She’s just a miraculous, beautiful, angel lady.”
Ward is following in the footsteps of Gervais’ David Brent and Carell’s Michael Scott as the franchise’s newest bumbling boss Hannah Howard.
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While she’s been in touch with Fischer, Ward hasn’t been as lucky with her fellow leads.
“I absolutely have not been in touch with Steve Carell or Ricky Gervais for advice … I’m sure they don’t answer their own emails.”
While she hasn’t been able to receive any sage advice from her predecessors, Ward thankfully says she doesn’t feel much pressure about stepping into such big shoes.
,The Office UK and The Office US) are both so incredible in their own way and then there’s like 10 other versions and then there’s our version, so it’s I think it’s just our own little show,” Ward explains.
“I don’t know, I don’t feel pressure because I don’t google myself or the show or read any comments, so I’m fine.”
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Ward kisses the air as she adds in jest, “I’m living in delusion, baby”.
Ward is right, it’s an entirely new show of its own and one of the biggest differences is that the lead role is a woman, something Ward says is refreshing.
“One of the great joys of this show is that, if anything, Hannah Howard is bad for the feminist movement,” she says.
“What I will say is, it is a joy to play an incompetent woman. Often women or female roles are the most competent person in the room, and Hannah is so bad at her job. She should have been fired every single day she’s in the office,” Ward says.
“So it is so lovely to play a female chump, it’s just a joy, it’s an absolute joy.”
The Office US cast: Then and now
It wasn’t long ago that Ward watched the final cuts of the show come together, and it has brought her so much joy and she hopes that joy is shared by viewers.
“I have such affection for it, and I have such affection for everyone in the show and everyone who worked on the show, and how hard we worked on the show and how quickly we had to work on the show, so it was just like revisiting all of my friends … and I hope that other people feel like that too when they watch it.”
All eight episodes of THE OFFICE premiere globally (excluding the US) on Prime Video on October 18, 2024.
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