Nancy Carell Recalls Her “Very Fun” But “Nerve-Racking” Cameos on ‘The Office’

Over the course of its nine seasons, The Office featured a wide variety of talented guest stars. But one of the show’s most satisfying cameos was Steve Carell’s IRL wife, Nancy Walls Carell, who played real estate agent Carol Stills in seven episodes of the series.

“Every day I come across, ‘I was today years old when I realized Steve was married to Carol, the real estate agent.'” Carell told Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey on the latest episode of Stitcher’s The Office rewatch podcast, Office Ladies.

Carell called in to talk about her time on The Office, her husband Steve, and the Season 7 episode “Sex Ed,” which shows Michael calling all his ex-girlfriends (including Carol) after a herpes scare.

From meeting Steve and sharing the screen with him as Michael Scott to what the duo stole from set and more, here are five takeaways from Fischer and Kinsey’s chat with Carell.

On Meeting Steve and Being Cast on The Office

Whenever Office Ladies welcomes a special guest from the series, Fischer and Kinsey ask what brought them to The Office. In Carell’s case, she was obviously married to the show’s star, but showrunner Greg Daniels knew he wanted to include her somehow as far back as the pilot.

“You know, I think I remember when you guys were shooting the pilot, talking to Greg Daniels, and he just said, ‘If anything ever came up, would you be interested in doing it?’ And I said,’ Sure, yeah,'” Carell said. “I was open to it. And then I think Carol came up, Steve thought it would be good, and Greg thought it would be good. So that’s how it happened.”

Fischer noted that before Carell’s role on The Office she was a cast member on Saturday Night Live, had been on The Daily Show, and studied improv at Second City in Chicago, which is where she met her special someone.

“With my teacher, Steve Carell,” she said, much to the surprise of Kinsey and Fischer. “I mean, Steve was sort of he was on the main stage. He was a big shot. But a lot of time the actors on the main stage would teach classes at the training center. So he taught one of my levels. You take five levels at the training center. So he was one of my teachers. We did not date until after.”

On Sharing Scenes With Steve as Michael Scott

Carol first appeared in Season 2 of The Office, and her run on the show stretched until the series finale. When asked what it was like acting with her husband, here’s what Carell had to say.

“It was very fun, but it was nerve-racking, you know, because this is your established show. He’s so good. I was just trying to maintain, you know what I mean? Like, I just didn’t want to screw up royally. That was my mindset. So if you see that character, it’s very kind of — she’s pretty subdued,” Carell explained.

Wondering if it was hard to see Steve as the often immature, occasionally problematic, borderline obnoxious boss? “Yeah, it was it was weird because, I mean, I had to also be somebody who was attracted to him enough to date him. So I was thinking, like, what? How bad was my marriage that I thought this was a good guy to date?” Carell said.

“All I can think is [Carol’s] husband had to be the worst person on earth. And then she, met Michael at the — they were at the rink and she sees him with kids, right?” she reflected. “So I think that sort of, you know, warmed her heart a little bit. And maybe she had a really neglectful husband who didn’t even spend any time with their kids? There had to be something there because otherwise, I mean, definitely he he was a quirky, quirky person that you wonder why she would date him.”

On What the Carell Family Swiped From Set

Another classic Office Ladies question is what, if anything, The Office stars swiped from set. Carell spoke for herself and Steve, but her answer may surprise you.

“You know what? No. I don’t think Steve took one thing,” Carell said. Not even Michael’s desk Dundie. Though he he did frame a signed hockey jersey the cast gave him at his wrap party, Carell noted, “He probably wasn’t sure if like anybody was going to need it again. Because, you know, it wasn’t the last episode.” A respectful king.

On Her Favorite Office Episode She Filmed

When it comes to favorite Office memories as Carol, Carell is a big fan of the holiday episodes. “I have to say, they were all so much fun, like for very different reasons. ‘Diwali’ was so much fun to shoot because they had to teach me how to dance, you know? I had to be dancing. And I remember it was Mindy’s parents who played her parents on that,” she explained. “And they were the sweetest people. So that was so great. I loved, I think ‘A Benihana Christmas’… I think it was Harold Ramis directed that. I mean, he was one of my idols and just the nicest guy, too. So I loved that one.”

“I loved the last one, Jenna, I think when I sold your house,” Carell said, referencing the series finale. “The couple I had to shoot with all day, I mean, we were standing there for the entire day, just laughing. I don’t know. I can’t even pick one. It was so much fun.”

On Getting Recognized as Carol Stills

When asked if Carell gets recognized as Carol when she’s out and about, the actor explained she’s not usually stopped on her own. But when she’s with Steve, it’s a whole different story.

“Every day I come across, ‘I was today years old when I realized Steve was married to Carol, the real estate agent.’ Or if somebody recognizes Steve — I take a lot of pictures in my life of people with Steve. And they’ll hand me the camera and they’ll say, ‘I know who you are, too.’ Like, oh, thanks. Thanks so much,” Carell said.

“Nancy, you and my husband, Lee, need to have drinks sometimes because, you know, he was the lactation consultant. Clark, in an episode of The Office, and it happens to him,” Fischer said. “Well, all my husband gets is, ‘You’re not Dwight!’” Kinsey added.

Before she said goodbye, Carell considered The Office’s enduring popularity and how special it was to have played a part in it. “What an amazing thing, though, huh? I mean, when you think about it, like that is just mind blowing. It’s just it’s very fortunate. Just amazing. It was really like a lightning in a bottle kind of show, wasn’t it?” she said. “Like just every element came together so beautifully. Sort of that once in a lifetime.”

Be sure to listen to the full episode of Office Ladies to hear more behind-the-scenes stories about “Sex Ed.”