Craig Robinson reveals the surprising feedback from “The Office” creator that sent him into a panic during audition
Craig Robinson reveals the surprising feedback from “The Office” creator that sent him into a panic during audition
Ryan ColemanMon, September 7, 2026 at 10:00 PM UTC
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Craig Robinson as Darryl Philbin for ‘The Office’Credit: Chris Haston/NBCKey Points -
Craig Robinson is looking back on his anxious audition for The Office.
After series creator Greg Daniels praised a musical sketch Robinson made with Jerry Minor, Robinson tells EW he had an unexpected reaction.
“Instead of me going, ‘Oh, good job,’ you know, that should pump me up, I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, I’m not going to be as funny as that,’” Robinson recalls.
Craig Robinson is an iconic part of TV history thanks to his role on The Office — but a compliment from the show’s creator nearly ruined his audition.
Though it happened over two decades ago, Robinson tells EW, “I remember even going into the audition. It was Greg Daniels, and he had seen a video I made with Jerry Minor, everybody knows Jerry, everybody loves Jerry.”
The video in question was a raunchy one. Before The Office, Robinson was a rising but relatively unknown talent, having appeared in small, single-episode roles on series like Arrested Development, Friends, and The Bernie Mac Show. Minor, meanwhile, was a more established star, with stints on Mr. Show and Saturday Night Live to his name. “Somebody’s F---ing My Lady” sees Robinson tootling out a schmaltzy tune on a piano while he and Minor duet about, well, the title says it all.
Daniels had seen the video, and was apparently a big fan. That wasn’t welcome news to Robinson.
Greg Daniels at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘The Paper’ in 2025Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty
“He was like, ‘It doesn’t get any funnier than that.’ He said this in front of everybody, you know, like 13 people behind him, he’s in the front and they were behind, somebody’s reading with me,” Robinson explains.
He continues, “Instead of me going, ‘Oh, good job,’ you know, that should pump me up, I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, I’m not going to be as funny as that.’”
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It evidently didn’t hinder his comic capabilities too much, as Robinson landed the role of warehouse manager Darryl Philbin, who develops one of The Office fans’ favorite comedic dynamics with star Steve Carell over the course of nine seasons.
Robinson recalls the first time he experienced the British series of the same name on which the American Office is based. “I saw it on a plane, it was so drab and colorless, I don’t even know what made me stop to look at it, because it’s not typically something that I watch,” he reflects. “I was like, ‘This is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.’”
Craig Robinson and Steve Carell on ‘The Office’Credit: Dean Hendler/NBCUniversal via Getty
Robinson previously opened up about his on-set relationship with Carell, who starred as the inept office boss Michael Scott for seven seasons.
“One thing comes to mind that Steve said in the moment — He could just turn it on and off, but one thing that comes to mind, which I didn’t even realize he said until I saw it on the show — it was on the lady clothes episode,” Robinson recalled.
Season 3’s “The Negotiation” sees Darryl hardball Michael into giving him a raise. When Darryl tells Michael to make it happen, ‘Captain,’” Carell improv’d without missing a beat, “I am making it happen, ‘Sergeant.’” Though Robinson doesn’t remember “reacting to that. I saw it [later] and was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ The genius of that in that moment. That was all him coming up with that.”
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
