Pam Beesly-Halpert
| Pam Beesly Halpert | |
|---|---|
| The Office character | |
Jenna Fischer as Pam Halpert
|
|
| First appearance | "Pilot" |
| Last appearance | "Finale" |
| Created by | Greg Daniels |
| Portrayed by | Jenna Fischer |
| Information | |
| Full name | Pamela Morgan Beesly |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation |
|
| Family | William Beesly (father, Rick Overton) Helene Beesly (mother, Shannon Cochran and Linda Purl) Penny Beesly (sister, Anna Camp) Sylvia Beesly (grandmother, Peggy Stewart) Jocelyn Webster (cousin) |
| Spouse(s) | Jim Halpert (m. 2009) |
| Significant other(s) | Roy Anderson (ex-fiancé) |
| Children | Cecelia "CeCe" Marie Halpert Philip Halpert |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
| Nationality | American |
| Based on | Dawn Tinsley |
Pamela Morgan Halpert (née Beesly; born March 25, 1979) is a fictional character on the U.S. television sitcom The Office, played by Jenna Fischer. Her counterpart in the original UK series of The Office is Dawn Tinsley. Her character is initially the receptionist at the paper distribution company Dunder Mifflin, before becoming a saleswoman and eventually office administrator until her termination in the series finale. Her character is shy, growing assertive but amiable, and artistically inclined, and shares romantic interest with Jim Halpert, whom she begins dating in the fourth season and marries and starts a family with as the series continues.
The character was originally created to be very similar to the British counterpart, Dawn Tinsley. Even minute details, such as how Pam wore her hair each day, were considered by executive producer, Greg Daniels.
"When I went in for The Office, the casting director said to me, 'Please look normal'," recalls Jenna Fischer. "Don't make yourself all pretty, and dare to bore me with your audition. Those were her words. Dare to bore me."
Heeding the advice, Fischer said little during the auditions, during which she was interviewed in character by show producers, in an improvisational format, to imitate the show's documentary premise. "My take on the character of Pam was that she didn't have any media training, so she didn't know how to be a good interview. And also, she didn't care about this interview," she told NPR. "So, I gave very short one-word answers and I tried very hard not to be funny or clever, because I thought that the comedy would come out of just, you know, the real human reactions to the situation...and they liked that take on it."
"When I went in to the audition, the first question that they asked me in the character of Pam — they said, 'Do you like working as a receptionist?' I said, 'No.' And that was it. I didn't speak any more than that. And they started laughing."
Fischer found herself creating a very elaborate backstory for the character. For the first few seasons, she kept a list of the character history revealed on-screen by the creators, as well as her own imaginative thoughts on Pam's history. She created a rule with the set's hair and make-up department that it couldn't look as though it took Pam more than 30 minutes to do her hair, and she formulated ideas as to who gave Pam each piece of jewelry she wore or where she went to college. Fischer also carefully crafted Pam's quiet persona. "Well, my character of Pam is really stuck," she explained to NPR. "I mean, she's a subordinate in this office. And so, I think that for her, the only way she can express herself is in the silences, but you can say so much by not saying anything."
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