​​Amy Adams Was Almost Rejected From The Office Due To One Concern

Like so many shows, "The Office" took a while to find its groove, eventually developing a style that, in many ways, came to define the early 2000s. By the Season 1 finale, "Hot Girl," the show had figured things out, as Michael (Steve Carell) and Dwight (Rainn Wilson) made absolute fools of themselves while Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam's (Jenna Fischer) will-they-won't they relationship became a major focus. It might not have featured the most memorable Michael moments, but it was certainly memorable in its own right — in large part because of guest star Amy Adams.

The episode, written by Mindy Kaling, was the first to feature Adams' Katy Moore, who would go on to appear in two further episodes from Season 2: "The Fire" and "Booze Cruise." In the latter, Jim breaks up with her and that's the last we see of Katy (and thus Adams) for the rest of the series. But it seems we almost didn't see Adams on the show at all as producers initially felt she looked too similar to Fischer's Pam.

Discussing Adams' first appearance on their rewatch podcast "Office Ladies," Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey (who played Angela Martin on the show) revealed that while Adams was Kaling's first pick to play Katy, the character was originally played by someone else. "Amy Adams was not the first person cast in the role," Fischer explained. "We originally shot 'Hot Girl' for an entire day with a completely different actress in the role of Katy. And unfortunately, she just wasn't quite right for the role." In the end, Kaling's first choice won out.

Throughout its nine seasons, "The Office" featured some pretty major guest stars both in front of and behind the camera. Legendary director and "Ghostbusters" star Harold Ramis helmed several of the very best "The Office" episodes, as did "Breaking Bad" actor Bryan Cranston. On the acting side, guests played some of the best characters on "The Office," with everyone from Idris Elba to Bob Odenkirk showing up. But Amy Adams was one of the show's first major guests, capping off the show's first season.

But if Adams was Kaling's first pick, why didn't the producers go with her right off the bat? Well, it seems several people thought she looked a little too like Fischer. "There was this concern that Amy and I looked too similar," Fischer added. "I guess one of the writers even said, 'I'm sorry. We can't cast her. She's like Jenna 2.0.' And so, they got cold feet and they cast someone else."

The actor went on to explain that once Adams was brought in to replace the original actor, the writers actually embraced the similarities between her and Fischer, with Michael Scott's "You're like Pam 6.0" line spawning directly from the behind-the-scenes conversations about the two actors' looks. "Hot Girl" may be considered among the worst "The Office" episodes by some, but it has always stood out for introducing Adams to the cast.