Q&A with Oscar Nunez

The premiere episode definitely has a lot of potential. There's the stuff from last season going into this season -- Dwight and Andy and Angela, and Michael and Jan with the baby -- but a weight loss contest episode ... seems like there's a lot of potential there. Although I'm not sure you need to lose weight.
It's a contest for the entire branch -- a challenge for each of the five branches to see which branch will lose the most weight. So Michael wants everyone to at least lose something. And it's a whole big, stupid team effort -- and those are the best, when the team does things.

So do you get a lot of "that's what she said" when people see you out in public, or is there a line or a phrase from the show people associate with you?
I think Michael -- or Steve -- gets that line a lot. People recognize me more for "Reno 911" and "Halfway Home" (the series he produced and starred in on Comedy Central), actually.

Is there a favorite episode or favorite scene from past seasons?
Definitely "Gay Witch Hunt" because I got to do stuff with Michael. There were so many good ones -- the one when the bird died and when Michael's boss died and it was like nobody cared...

OK, speaking of "Gay Witch Hunt", how many times have you been asked about your kiss with Michael?
Ha. Shh ... that wasn't the first time that happened. It really wasn't written for it to happen like that. And then we went to hug, and he got closer ... and closer ... and I thought "Oh, dear God, here we go!" It was totally improvised.

So was it just one take, or was it over and over again after he did it?
It was just one take. Everybody was able to keep from losing it until after, and the cameras were on us the whole time. It was a one-take deal, and it was pretty funny.

So is there a lot of improvisation that goes on on the set, or is it mostly stick to script?
Steve and Rainn and (John) Krasinski get to play a little, but the rest of us stick to script. It's definitely a written show.

And the writing is really good. It amazed me when I bought the DVDs for the first couple of seasons with how much good stuff was deleted. Some shows, the deleted scenes are crap. But with you guys, there's some really good stuff that gets cut.
It would be great if it were an HBO show -- you could go 30 minutes continuous without any commercial interruption.We shoot it every week, and we could have 30-35 minutes, and we could even stretch that. All told, we go 20-23 minutes long, and a lot of funny stuff gets cut.

Reading your bio, I see that you were a certified dental technician. So when did you decide that wasn't for you, and how did you branch off into acting?
Wow, that was a long time ago. I had to do something. I didn't have the guts to try and find a way to get paid to make people laugh. And my cousin owned a lab. When I was in school for it, it was fun. But I couldn't do it -- that was the real world. I absolutely hated it -- it was misery, when you would work in the lab, a lot of times you were there by yourself ... And I said "I cannot do this". So I went to New York and started taking some acting lessons.

OK, so if you had to pick one, would you rather be a dental technician or an accountant?
What a question. Would you rather have death by hanging or death by firing squad? Wow ... I guess ... hmm ... I guess I'd take dental technician, because there's maybe more money there if you open your own lab. They're both miserable -- but there's people that love to do both. The owner of the lab I worked at was very happy.

So is Oscar (the character) really happy doing what he's doing, or is he one of those people who gets through the day and is ready to go home by 5?
I think he pretends that he likes it. I think he likes the job, but not where he's working. He's got an accounting job, but he's got these co-workers -- it's a whole office of underachievers. Even the most normal people, Phyllis and Jim, should be doing something else.

So what are your plans for the premiere?
Well, I got an invitation and the cover is Creed in his underwear. It's outside in my car. We're going to a Hollywood pool hall to watch it.

So you're not one of those people who can't watch their own show they're in?
Are you kidding? I watch them all. I'll TiVo it if we're still shooting. But the first one is special. We'll get together and watch it at someone's house or something.

I had a friend who went to the convention last year and had a blast -- are there plans for another one this year?
You don't want to do it every year, because people would get burned out on it. But it was absolute insanity. We had a great time and hope to go back.

Now that Angela (Kinsey) has had her baby, is she one of those people who goes on and on about her baby, or does she kinda keep it to a minimum?
She cannot talk about anything BUT her baby! She brings the baby to work with her. We love (Isabel Ruby) dearly; she just hangs out. She's very cute.

So do you have any more projects that you're working on right now, or is it just "The Office" for now?
None to speak of. In June 2009 I have a movie with Sandra Bullock called "The Proposal". That's it for now.