As we all know, The Office has a very large ensemble cast, almost all of whom were completely unknown before they got their big break on The Office.  Some of the cast, I’m sure, will most likely use their roles on The Office to start a successful acting career.  I’m thinking about Rainn Wilson (Dwight), John Krasinski (Jim), and Jenna Fischer (Pam).  All three of them are already getting movie roles, and we all know that Steve Carell has been in several big-budget movies already.

Who I’m more worried about are the other Office actors.  Where will they go after The Office?  Sadly, they’ll probably go back to playing the type of roles they played pre-Office.  And what types of roles did they get?  Here’s a partial list, courtesy of IMDB.com:

 Leslie David Baker (Stanley)

• “Line of Fire” (1 episode, 2004) - Large Man
• “That ’70’s Show” (1 episode, 2001) - Janitor
• “Malcolm in the Middle” (1 episode, 2000) - Cop

   Creed Bratton (Creed)

• Secret Sins of the Father (TV Movie, 1994) - Gas Station Worker
• Seven Hours to Judgment (Movie, 1988) - Subway Worker
• Mask (1985) - Carnival Ticket Taker

  Oscar Nunez (Oscar)

• Glory Road (Movie, 2006) - Locker Room Janitor
• The Italian Job (Movie, 2003) - Security Guard
• “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (1 episode, 2000) - Male Parking Lot Attendant

  Kate Flannery (Meredith)

• Carolina (Movie, 2003) - Cafe Waitress
• “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (1 episode, 2002) - Cop #2
• Life Without Dick (Movie, 2002) - Crampy Legs Partygoer

  Brian Baumgartner (Kevin)

• “Everwood” (1 episode, 2005) - Contractor
• “Arrested Development” (1 episode, 2005) - Gun Vendor
• “CSI” (1 episode, 2003) - Dog Man

Now I hope this doesn’t come across as me making fun of these fine actors.  I just don’t see them parlaying their Office roles into major careers.  For their sake, I hope the writers strike ends soon and The Office returns to TV.

On a related note, I wonder how much these actors get paid per episode of The Office?  Does anyone know?  What about for the other roles they’ve paid?  I’m very curious, because I don’t think they could’ve supported themselves playing an occasional janitor or security guard.  They must have to have regular jobs between roles, but then when would they have the time to go to auditions?