Interview: Jenna Fischer’s Bad Jobs & Boobie Shirts

The Promotion is a very good and subtle comedy about two regular-ish guys (Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly) who are trying to land the same coveted job as the manager of a new supermarket, and the quiet desperation they each suffer through when they fear they won’t get that gig. The Office star Jenna Fischer stars as Scott’s wife, and she recently sat down and talked to us about the film, her worst jobs and her magical boobie shirt.

What kind of bad or unrewarding jobs have you had? We’ve heard you’re a great typist.
I liked being a secretary. I was a secretary for five years in various offices and I loved it. If I didn’t have a career in acting, I would want to be the secretary to the President of the United States. What is the biggest job you can shoot for as an assistant? I think I could do it. I could do it! I could anticipate his or her needs! I would be great! I would wake up before they do and go to bed after they do! Totally dedicated to administrative assistant work. I really did like it. I like filing, I like organizing things – not in my personal life, but I like going to work and working on an Excel spreadsheet. My Christmas list is an Excel spreadsheet – any reason to make a spreadsheet.
I liked offices and office work, so to get an acting job set in an office was my dream come true – to combine my two loves. Even still, if you take me to a Staples, I’ll get lost in there. The variety of post-it notes are amazing to me. I love all “officey” things. I know it’s weird, but those were not sucky jobs to me.

I didn’t like catering very much. Catering is so weird. I would always be sort of offended when people would look right through me and I was basically a moving food table, but then if they talked to me – I didn’t want anyone to talk to me, either. I was like “Please don’t ask me any questions. Don’t ask me what’s in it, I don’t know. I’m gonna make it up.” I’m at a wedding, everybody gets chicken, don’t ask for the sauce on the side. Just don’t, because I don’t want to have to walk back to the kitchen and get sauce in a little cup and remember where you’re sitting, because you look like every other person at every other wedding that I’ve done for the last two years. So I was a very grouchy caterer, but as a result, when I’m at an event that’s catered, I do not ask for my sauce on the side. I am polite but not too chatty with the catering staff, because I’ve been there – your feet hurt and your knees hurt and it’s awful.

You wrote, directed and starred in Lollilove.
I’ll never do it again. I just learned from doing that that I’m an actor. I approach work very emotionally – what’s the emotion here, what’s the relationship here? That’s part of being a director, but the director is also supposed to think about how it looks, how you place things visually, paint a picture, and my brain just did not want to do it. I didn’t want to think about it, because then when I had to go in and act, it made me very self-conscious. So I like having the tunnel vision of just focusing on character and relationship and emotion. It hurt my brain. My brain is not big enough for it.

How about the writing?
I’ll never do that again either. That was horribly painful as well. I didn’t like it. But what was great about doing the movie was how much I appreciate anybody who can conjure up something from nothing, who can write, anybody who can direct and tell a story visually and also any crew member. Directing a movie, you have such an appreciation for what everyone on the set is doing, and how things don’t happen in a vacuum. The actor is not the most important thing to the movie. They just aren’t. Sometimes you get treated like you are, but that’s just a way to baby you so you stay calm and sedate. But you aren’t actually very important, and that’s a really good thing to know in Hollywood, I think. It keeps the perspective.

How did you like working with Steve Conrad?
I read his script and I was completely blown away. I love his writing, and I love The Weather Man and I love The Pursuit of Happyness. I was dying to meet the man behind the words. Then I met him and he’s just so laid-back and he’s like, so groovy. He’s just so, like, handsome and artistic and [lowers voice] quiet-talker. He’s like, really thoughtful and writery.

I could just listen to that man talk forever. My relationship with him is like that of a college student with a hot professor, and I just can’t wait to go to that class so I can hang on his every word. That was what shooting this movie was like for me. “I can’t wait to get to Professor Conrad’s class.” I love Steve. He’s completely crushable, for sure.

What was the audition process like for The Promotion?
Jessica, one of the producers, really hates it when I tell this story. I had only been on The Office. I was shooting Blades of Glory when I auditioned for this movie. The role is of a Chicago nurse, struggling paycheck to paycheck, so I showed up looking as ‘real person’ as possible.

I really felt like I connected with Professor Conrad (laughs). I got a call from my agents and they said ‘they loved you. You’re their first choice, but here’s the thing. We’re not sure if you’re going to pop on camera, like ‘are you a movie star.’ So we need you to come back and give the same performance, but look really hot.” I’m like “she’s a Chicago nurse!”

The day we shot the lingerie scene in Blades of Glory was the day of my callback for this movie. So I had “hair” and glamorous eyelashes and I wore this low-cut red blouse that I wear on every audition and every time I wear it I get cast – I’m not even joking you. I felt like such an idiot. I’m all glammed up and I’m reading this realistic dialog about nursing and struggle. Then they called and said “thank you, that was perfect, you have the job.” So it wasn’t just the audition, it was also my red boobie shirt that got me the role.

You got to work with Lili Taylor?
I only had one very tiny scene where we run into them on the street and we go get ice cream. I got to sit in a car with her – it was really hot out, so we sat in a car with air conditioning for about two hours while we waited for them to set up the shot and oh, I just talked her ear off. That was my two hours with Lili Taylor, and I’m sure they are two hours she wishes she could get back, but for me, they were totally thrilling.

You’ve said you’d like to do every movie for the rest of your life with John C. Reilly.
It’s true. I would like to do every movie with John C. Reilly. He has this talent where if you’re doing a scene with him, you’re like “oh, that was a really good scene, he’s a really good actor.” But then you watch it on the monitor, though, and there is something that happens through the camera that intensifies his performance. He is truly a great film actor, and I don’t know what he’s doing. I’ve done two movies with him now, and I’m watching him, trying to figure out what it is that happens between live action and on film. He doesn’t know. I’ve asked him, he says “I’m just acting.”
He’s really brilliant and, in addition to being a great actor, he’s a really, really great man. He’s a good partner to work with and he mentored me a lot on Walk Hard. He gave me a lot of advice about the business, about being in the business for so long, how to stay sane, how to stay rested, how to have a life in addition to work. He was my little guru.

What’s the best advice he’s given you?
After working for a long time on a project, disappear for a long time into life. I think that’s really important. Try to avoid going back to back to back to back on projects. That recharging period is crucial to your artistic life. Also, to not get wrapped up in the superficial aspects of the business because then you won’t have anything to inform your work, if you’re too spoiled or someone drives you everywhere. Knowing what it feels like to be stuck in traffic and be subjected to standing in a line and waiting for a table - these are all emotions that are necessary to have in life in order to express them in your acting. Basically, don’t live a spoiled life just because you could.