Who did Mindy Kaling play in The Office? Actress advises spin-off series cast to “try not to laugh”

The Office star Mindy Kaling has some advice for the cast of the new upcoming spin-off series. On Wednesday, May 15, the actress, who was also one of the writers of The Office told SiriusXM’s Morning Mash Up, said that she has just one piece of advice for the main cast: not to break in front of the camera. The actress said:

"To me, the biggest advice I give is try not to laugh. I ruined so many takes just because I’d be laughing at Rainn Wilson and Steve Carell because I would just … I was not professional."

Kaling played the role of Kelly Kapoor, the chatty Dunder Mifflin Scarnton customer service representative who had an affinity for shopping and gossip.

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Mindy Kaling's Kelly Kapoor was an office gossip

Mindy Kaling played the role of Indian-American Dunder Mifflin Scarnton customer service representative Kelly Kapoor on NBC's The Office. Kelly was more or less the office it-girl who was always up to date with the current trends and always thought of herself as the hottest in the room.

Kelly was a true blue gossip and always ran her mouth about the latest juicy piece of news, going on long one-sided conversations about something or the other. She has an obsession with shopping, reality television and Briget Jones' Diary. Mindy Kaling's Kelly Kapoor simply craved attention.

Kelly has spent around two years in juvie for stealing her ex-boyfriend's dad's boat when she was a kid and even gave Jim and Dwight bad customer reviews because she was mad at them.

Kelly is irresponsible at her job, and due to her habit of excessive talking, she even learned to tune herself out of certain conversations, having no recollections of some of the things she might've said.

Kelly Kapoor also maintained a sometimes toxic, on-again, off-again relationship with The Office writer, director, and executive producer B. J. Novak's character Ryan Howard, who started out as an office temp. Kelly marries and divorces Ryan on a whim before running off with him at the end while still being a married woman.

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"Learn not to break on camera": Mindy Kaling's advice to 'The Office' spin-off cast

The Mindy Project's Mindy Kaling appeared on Wednesday's episode of SiriusXM’s Morning Mash Up and expressed her thoughts on the brand new Office spin-off and her experience on the original show.

As mentioned above, Kaling advised the new show's cast to keep it together and not ruin takes like she did because she couldn't stop laughing at her co-stars. The actress explained:

"I was supposed to be horrified all the time, but really it just made me laugh,"

Kaling even noted how there were a few scenes where she might have been laughing on camera that made it to the final show. However, Kaling said that the new cast was in "such good hands" with The Office showrunner Greg Daniels who will also be helming the spin-off. Kaling added:

"I'm assuming that cast is gonna be as funny as the one we had, and there's so many great brains behind it, so that would be my thing is just learn not to break on camera."

The office spin-off will be set in the same universe as the original show and is all set to begin production this July. Peacock's synopsis of the show reads:

"The documentary crew that immortalized Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch is in search of a new subject when they discover a dying historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it with volunteer reporters,"

The show will star Domhnall Gleeson of Ex-Machina fame alongside The White Lotus star Sabrina Impacciatore. The new spin-off will also be co-created and executive-produced by Michael Koman and a returning Greg Daniels.