‘The Office’ Star Brian Baumgartner Shocks Fans on ‘Celebrity Jeopardy!’
The Office fans tuning into Celebrity Jeopardy! on Wednesday (October 4) night were surprised to hear that Brian Baumgartner’s real voice is very different from his beloved character, Kevin Malone.
“Wow, I had no idea that Brian Baumgartner doesn’t actually sound like Kevin!” wrote one viewer on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum. “As Jon Lovitz would say, “ACTING!” Boy, he had me completely fooled on The Office. I really thought he was, well, y’know, a moron.”
Baumgartner played Kevin on the hit NBC sitcom from 2005 to 2013. His character was part of the accounting department at the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin and was known for his lack of communication skills, naïveté, and child-like optimism.
On the show, Baumgartner spoke with a very distinct, slow, raspy tone, which is much different from his real-life voice, which is very clear and dignified. And some fans are still only just finding out, which was certainly the case during the recent edition of Celebrity Jeopardy!
Long-time fans of The Office will have noticed Baumgartner’s voice change over the course of the series as Kevin’s character grew and became a more significant part of the show.
The actor was asked about this transformation in a 2020 Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), explaining, “It was a progression. Based on HOW the writers started writing Kevin. It came from me… and my nerdy/ actory justification has always been… Kevin was shy with the cameras around in the beginning, and as he became more comfortable- more of his true self came out.”
Tonight on #CelebrityJeopardy!: Brian Baumgartner spills the beans about his chili cookbook! 🧑🍳🌶️ Get the full scoop at 8/7c on ABC and Stream on Hulu. pic.twitter.com/Kjtpbz0C2B
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) October 4, 2023
“It came as a big shock,” another fan wrote in a previous Reddit post about Baumgartner’s real voice. “He didn’t just scratch up his words but he used a different voice as well. Much talent. A truly underrated actor.”
“I wondered how much he changed his voice for his character. I’m not surprised that he sounds different but I am surprised at how different he sounds! He is a talented actor!” said another.
“It’s even weirder to watch the bloopers cause he’ll break character pretty often while wearing the Kevin costume. It’s pretty jarring,” added another commenter.
Baumgartner competed against Abbott Elementary’s Lisa Ann Walter and Veep’s Timothy Simons during Wednesday’s episode. Walter took home the win and moved on to the semi-finals.
During the episode, the sitcom star said he asked for advice from his good friend Aaron Rodgers, who won Celebrity Jeopardy! back in 2015. Unfortunately, the NFL star’s tips didn’t pay off.
“I play a bit of golf, Ken,” Baumgartner told host Ken Jennings. “Well, I played a bunch of golf for a while with Aaron Rodgers, who I called before showing up here to try to get some advice. Clearly with my zero points thus far, I got no help. But yeah, we play a lot of golf together.”
Celebrity Jeopardy!, Wednesdays, 8/7c, ABC
