Before Josh Radnor became the face of Ted Mosby on How I Met Your Mother, he was hitting up auditions for all the big sitcoms rolling out in the early 2000s. One of his tries included going after the legendary Jim Halpert on The Office. Radnor recently shared about that audition, spilling the tea on the ups, downs, and why, despite giving it his all, the part slipped through his fingers.
Josh Radnor talks about auditioning for Jim on The Office
On a recent episode of the How We Made Your Mother podcast, Josh Radnor talked about his early grind, confessing he was chasing every big gig, including Arrested Development and The Office.
When it came to playing Jim Halpert, he admitted he was kinda lost at first. He didn’t know if the character was smart or just winging it. “I didn’t quite understand if he was smart or not smart,” Radnor told Jenna Fischer, aka Pam. During the audition, Radnor realized his improv might’ve made Jim look a little too clueless, definitely not what the show was aiming for.
“I was a little confused about whether he was part of the smart gang or not smart gang, and I remember I had a good audition, but my improvs were a little bit… I think made him too dim was kind of what I realized.”
Josh Radnor called his audition for Jim “not terrible,” but admitted it wasn’t quite the perfect fit. Capturing Jim’s blend of humor, sarcasm, and sweetness was tricky, especially without fully getting the show. Radnor said, “I just think I didn’t quite understand the tone exactly,” adding that, in the end, he thinks that “all landed in the right place anyway.”
The part ultimately went to John Krasinski, who portrayed Jim as the lovable prankster and Pam’s swoon-worthy love interest. He stuck with The Office for all nine seasons from 2005 to 2013, cementing himself as one of TV’s all-time sitcom legends.
Originally reported by Rishabh Shandilya on ComingSoon.net.
