How to Audition for ‘The Office’ Revival, 'The Paper'

Not to be confused with Prime Video’s Australian adaptation of “The Office,” Peacock’s “The Paper”—with creative team Daniels and Michael Koman at the helm—moves the story to a tiny, struggling newspaper that exists within the same universe as Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and his team. On “The Paper,” the documentary crew that chronicled Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton, Pennsylvania, office delves into its new subject: the Toledo Truth Teller, a dying, albeit historic, Midwestern newspaper. Led by editor-in-chief Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson), the publication must be revived by him and his volunteer staff, despite their overall lack of knowledge on how to make that dream a reality. After all, only one of Ned’s employees is an actual full-time reporter. The rest of the crew consists of accountants and sales professionals pulled from the paper’s parent company, Enervate, making up a ragtag team laced with high jinks and chaos.

Season 2 features:

• Domhnall Gleeson as Ned Sampson 
• Sabrina Impacciatore as Esmeralda Grand
• Oscar Nuñez as Oscar Martinez 
• Chelsea Frei as Mare Pritti 
• Melvin Gregg as Detrick Moore
• Gbemisola Ikumelo as Adelola Olofin
• Alex Edelman as Adam Cooper
• Ramona Young as Nicole Lee
• Tim Key as Ken Davis
• Eric Rahill as Travis Bienlien
• Duane Shepard Sr. as Barry Strokes

Jon Lovitz, Andy Richter, and Lisa Gilroy joined Season 2 as notable guest stars.

Leslie Woo (“Silicon Valley,” “King of the Hill”) is the primary casting director behind “The Paper.” Veteran TV and comedy casting director Allison Jones served as the CD for the original series, and her insights into how she finds new comedic talent are something all interested actors should keep in mind. 

“When I started out, I used to watch every ‘Law & Order’ show so I could learn New York actors,” Jones told us. “Now I just watch everything, and you can track [talent] down on the internet…. [T]he streaming stuff, the stuff on YouTube, the stuff on Funny or Die. There are millions of places to look.”

She added: “It has always been, and it always will be, legwork, I think. Just doing your homework and watching as much TV as you can and seeing who was that guy who delivered that line. We do it on commercials, too. We see someone we like on a commercial and have to track them down.”

For Frei, Impacciatore, and Young, landing their roles meant navigating a secretive casting process and intense pressure.

Frei went into her audition completely blind, reading dummy sides for what was cryptically labeled “The Untitled Greg Daniels/Michael Koman Project.” Coming off the painful cancellation of a previous strike-casualty show, she decided to “just let it float into the world,” she told Glamour. “I knew nothing, which I think was probably best because I am truly one of the biggest ‘Office’ fans of all time.” Her relaxed approach led to a successful hour-long improvisation with the creators and a chemistry read with Domhnall Gleeson.

Impacciatore, on the other hand, told Vulture she had never seen “The Office” and had to watch episodes on a flight to Italy before being tasked with 11 pages of English monologues. Struggling with her second language, she chose to “just be like an animal and follow my instincts,” she says. “I didn’t remember the lines...and I started to improvise.” The creative team loved her performance so much they rewrote the character as an Italian expat.

As for Young, she endured a cryptic, months-long gauntlet. “It started as several self-tapes with no character description, no character name, no real sides,” Young told EnVi. After a chemistry read, a creator interview, and a final lunch with the writing staff, she officially secured the job “without even really knowing what the show was about.”

Let fear fuel your passion: Gleeson recognizes acting can be scary at times, but actors must be willing to step outside their comfort zone if they truly want to tap into their raw talent. Only then can they step into who they are meant to be onscreen. “As an actor, you should feel like you’re wrestling the material, like it’s using up your energy and your resources. You should be drained by the process,” he told Time. “I think the key is not to be comfortable.” 

Trust the universe: Like so many other actors, Young’s internal state often contradicts itself. “There’s a side of me that’s very like, ‘Yeah, I’m down for whatever. I’m comfortable with whatever. Let’s just do it.’ And then there’s also a side of me, internally, that's hesitant and doubtful, and they’re constantly battling each other,” she told Lo’ammi. But, deep down, she finds great peace in trusting that the powers that be will guide her exactly where she’s meant to be. “Things happen when they’re meant to happen,” she told Flaunt. “I focus on working on myself and being prepared, and when I’m ready, the universe will bring me to the next thing.” 

Fill your time wisely: For those who aren’t established, acting can include a lot of downtime, but as Frei told Glamour, actors must stay creative because self-production and self-motivation are key to sustaining momentum. Frei said, “In years where acting is really slow, I’ve really leaned on writing and creating stuff with friends and making my own opportunities. As time has gone on, I’ve seen the bigger picture of, there’s going to be ups, but there’s going to be a whole lot of downs, so how can you fill that time?” 

Hold tight to your dreams: Many actors feel like they’ve failed if they don’t hit it big early in their careers. But as Impacciatore told Vanity Fair, success doesn’t hinge on age; it hinges on dedication and belief in your own talent. “Commitment is always worth it. Even when you are struggling a lot, when everything goes very wrong, you have to commit. That’s the moment you have to commit even more. It’s going to bring fruit,” she explained. “The other lesson is to be faithful to who you are. To try to figure out your nature and to be faithful [to who you are] teaches you to do something real. You are not faking anything.” 

Treat every opportunity with respect: Nuñez has carved a place for himself in the comedy world, but he almost let pride get the better of him in the early days of his career. “I auditioned for an Off-Broadway play back in the ’80s,” he shared with Inc. “I auditioned for it, and I got to be the stand-in. I don’t know what happened, but I kind of took it as an insult, because I’m insane, and instead of being happy about it, I didn’t take the part. I let my ego get the better of me, and, like, a week after, I’m like, What was I thinking? Why did I turn it down? What is wrong with me? So kids, don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.”