Brian Baumgartner found fame on “The Office” — and a $1 million fortune on Cameo.
Baumgartner, 48, was relatively unknown until he landed the role of bumbling accountant Kevin Malone on the US version of the hit sitcom “The Office,” which also starred Steve Carrell, John Krasinksi, Rainn Wilson, Mindy Kaling, Ed Helms and Bj Novak, among other now-beloved comic actors to have worked on the long-running NBC series.
The show ended after nine seasons in 2013, but that was just the beginning of Baumgartner’s career as Cameo’s “most bankable star,” so-dubbed in a recent Hollywood Reporter interview with the app’s founder and CEO, Steven Galanis.
The comedian reportedly charges $195 for each personal message he delivers on the platform, which allows fans to pay celebrities and other public figures to record personal video messages for themselves or, more often, as gifts for others.
And it’s no surprise that he’d enjoy a large corporate clientele base — given his role on the workplace comedy — for whom he charges $2,500 for each video.
Speaking to the BBC this week, Baumgartner called the gig “rewarding.”
“Here’s how I view Cameo: This is not about me, or about getting a message from me. I view it as an attempt from two people who want to make a connection.”
“They want to make a connection so they give this message from me because it brings them back to a moment that they shared together,” he explained, using an example of two people who once watched “The Office” together using his Cameo to reconnect.
“As long as I keep focused on that, and how much people seem to be enjoying it, then it’s been, actually very rewarding.”
Baumgartner also made an appearance on John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight” last Sunday during a season-long bit in which the host had the magic power to summon celebs with the snap of a finger.
“If this isn’t a Cameo, then just get the f- -k out of my phone,” Baumgartner told Oliver.
