Bratton, who stars in Jim Cummings’ “secretive” new series “The Screener,” recounts a cherished sitcom memory in a new interview with EW.

Creed Bratton recalls intense *The Office *scene he and John Krasinski shot ‘in each other’s faces’

Bratton, who stars in Jim Cummings' "secretive" new series "The Screener," recounts a cherished sitcom memory in a new interview with EW.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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February 13, 2026 4:00 p.m. ET

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Creed Bratton as Creed Bratton on 'The Office'. Credit:

Colleen Hayes/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

- While previewing his part in "secretive" new series *The Screener*, Creed Bratton reflected on one of his favorite scenes with John Krasinski on *The Office*.

- "He says he wanted to shoot it like a David Mamet play," Bratton recalled of an intense scene.

- The season 4 episode, "Survivor Man," saw his character get in the face of Krasinski's Jim.**

You never knew what to expect watching Creed Bratton play a version of himself on *The Office —* and Bratton himself never knew what to expect when playing opposite John Krasinski.

The actor recently spoke with * *to discuss his part in *The Screener*, the "secretive" new series from wunderkind writer-director-star Jim Cummings, which recently premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and also features Kumail Nanjiani, *Saturday Night Live *alum Jon Rudnitsky, and *Spy Kids *star Daryl Sabara.

While reflecting on his years playing the shifty, cryptic, fan-favorite quality assurance director loosely based on himself on the beloved NBC sitcom, Bratton lists the three names he remembers being most excited to see himself have lines with each week: "Really it was [Steve Carell], and John, and [Rainn Wilson]."

Creed Bratton, Kate Flannery, and Oscar Nuñez on 'The Office'.

Chris Haston/NBCU PhotoBank

When asked what made Krasinski such a special scene partner, Bratton gets right into the specifics.

"There's a scene I have with Krasinski, we shot a scene where I wanted cobbler, I was demanding a cobbler pie. 'Give me a cobbler!'" Bratton recalls. "He says he wanted to shoot it like a David Mamet play."

The scene in question takes place in "Survivor Man," the eleventh episode of the series' fourth season, which originally aired in 2008. The comedy of errors dexterously written by Carell and directed by future *Bridesmaids *helmer Paul Feig sees Krasinski's Jim utterly fail in his attempt to streamline a cascade of office birthdays into one shared party.

After being warned by a disapproving Angela (Angela Kinsey), Jim soldiers ahead, promising Meredith (Kate Flannery) a devil's food cake. The scene immediately cuts to Creed up in Jim's face in the break room, where the rapid-fire, stage-style dialogue cracks off.

"Jim, I hate devil's food," Creed quietly asserts. "Well, I think Meredith—" Jim ventures, before he's cut off by Creed, who snaps, "Screw Meredith. I don't think it's fair to let someone else pick the cake on my birthday." Jim corrects, "everybody's birthday," but Creed insists, "Today is actually my birthday, and I want to pick the cake."

The tense exchange they share inches away from each other's faces continues such, ending on a typically puzzling note from Creed: "Tell [Angela] it's for Creed. She'll know what that means."**

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"I said that, and the director said that, and John just said, 'Let's shoot it like a Mamet play.' Boom. And we're right there in each other's faces. I have spittle on my tongue, we went back and forth like this," Bratton recalls.

"We laughed so hard," he shares, laughing himself. "The thing is, it was intense when we were doing it, but we laughed so hard."**

Creed Bratton and John Krasinski play chess on 'The Office'.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter***.******"Survivor Man" was inspired by the Canadian reality series created by and starring survivalist Les Stroud. Later in the episode, Michael (Carell) crashes a company nature retreat in an attempt to prove he can fend for himself off the grid. Needless to say the hapless manager fails, becoming a parody of the competence exhibited by Stroud on his own series.

The survivalist revealed in a 2020 interview with *GQ* that *The Office *producers contacted him ahead of production on "Survivor Man" to tell him, "Michael Scott's gonna go out and try to be you. I couldn't have been more honored. This is a highlight of my career."

It's also a popular episode among the *Office *cast. In a 2021 episode of their rewatch podcast *Office Ladies*, Kinsey and Jenna Fischer recalled their own memories of making the episode. Fischer praised Carrell for choosing to maroon himself in the woods as the episode's writer.

"If I were writing an episode for myself, I would make it pajama day at the office where we all wear our pajamas and there are no stunts," she joked. "I would write a very different episode. So I applaud Steve for really going for it in the name of comedy."**

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Source: “EW Comedy”