The Office - Season 8 - Another Jenna Fischer interview

Jenna Fischer broke “Office” protocol.

Specifically, she was the first one to sit in the chair Steve Carell used to use during table reads for the NBC series.

“After Steve left, nobody would sit in his chair. It stayed completely empty,” she says. “Then one day, I was the last one in the room. There was the chair. It was empty. Since I’m pregnant and really uncomfortable, I plunked down thinking Steve would want me to stay there ... in, incidentally, the most comfortable chair in the entire room. Jaws dropped. People were in shock. Everyone said, ‘Jenna, you just sat in The Chair.’”

“I said, ‘Someone had to sit in it,’” Fischer says with a sigh. “Then I said, ‘Do you think Steve would want me to stand — a pregnant woman standing when there is a chair?’”

You revealed last week that your baby on the way is a boy. Will your pregnancy be written into the TV show?

Pam will be pregnant this season on “The Office.” The good news is I don’t have to hide behind file cabinets. I’m happy that I can freely waddle around and act like a pregnant person. The writers asked, “Would you be comfortable with us writing your pregnancy in?” I said, “Let me get to a place that’s safe and let’s do it.”

5 Is it sad without Steve Carell on the set?

We’re all aware that he’s not there. It’s so sad. All these little things make me cry.

I was very emotional in the weeks leading up to his leaving. When we read Steve’s second-to-last script, it’s the first time the character Michael Scott suggested he might leave. I cried at the table read. … I am excited to work with [cast newcomer] James Spader, who is a great guy. At the same time, everyone is rooting for Steve to win an Emmy this year. He has never won one for playing Michael Scott, and I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more.”

Source: Sun Times