The moment Kathy Bates intimidated an entire cast on ‘The Office’
There are many reasons to love Kathy Bates. She’s one of the finest actors of her generation, possessing a natural dramatic skill that would make the great thespians of old envious. Having first cut her teeth on Broadway before making her segue onto the silver screen, there’s no surprise that her talents are so extraordinary.
The stage background handed Bates the experience she needed to dazzle audiences worldwide. Moving into feature films, Bates’ list of credits speaks for itself, clearly displaying that there is nothing she cannot do regarding character acting.
Whilst Bates has delivered a string of iconic roles in the likes of Titanic, The Waterboy, Fried Green Tomatoes and American Horror Story, none is more important than that of the chillingly psychotic Annie Wilkes in the 1990 Stephen King adaptation Misery. Arguably the greatest on-screen Stephen King villain of all time, the power of her performance leaves an indelible imprint on every viewer. Even the great Anthony Hopkins was left amazed: “I think Kathy Bates in Misery is the most brilliant piece of mad acting I’ve ever seen,” he commented.
Given that Bates’ reputation precedes her, more often than not, those in the cast of her projects are anxious about meeting her. This was most felt on season 6 of the American version of The Office when Bates was the guest star as Jo Bennett, the CEO of Sabre, the company that buys Dunder Mifflin. It transpires that most of the cast and crew were so nervous that they felt intimidated by the Hollywood star.
In Andy Greene’s book, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s, Kate Flannery, who played Meredith Palmer, revealed her apprehension about working with Bates. She said: “Kathy Bates was intimidating initially. I’m a huge fan, so in my mind, I was trying to get the movie Misery out of my head; my God. But eventually, she did warm up and was lovely, but I think it was daunting on both sides initially.”
However, this was unfounded, as the ever-humble Bates was equally as nervous about meeting her new colleagues as she knew she was coming into a “well-oiled machine”. This account comes from the editor of The Office, Claire Scanlon, who recalled: “I remember when Kathy Bates spoke, her voice was trembling at first. We were shocked. We were so excited to be working with freaking Kathy…she said, ‘You guys are like a well-oiled machine; it is daunting coming into this group.'”
Everything went smoothly, though, with the show’s producer Randy Cordray confirming what we knew all along: “She was a total professional and a dear, sweet woman.”
