This ‘Office Space’ Star Got Himself Fired So He Could Appear in the Movie

The 1990s saw many popular sketches from Saturday Night Live being adapted into films, as studios posited the theory that they could stretch out a recurring sketch into a feature length story. The success of these adaptations varied drastically in terms of quality. While Wayne’s World and its underrated sequel were both met with critical acclaim, films like Coneheads and A Night At The Roxbury had to settle for being cult favorites. Among the most unique projects of this era was Office Space, a comedy from Mike Judge based on the Milton short films he had developed for Saturday Night Live. The popularity of the Milton animated sketches had drawn enough interest in Judge’s material, but Office Space had a very tumultuous casting process.

Judge may have proved himself as an accomplished storyteller with his work on Beavis & Butthead, but he was still untested as a live-action filmmaker. Ironically, this gave him more creative freedom, as 20th Century Fox was initially relatively uninvolved in the casting process, as the studio assumed that the film would be a financial disappointment. However, the studio began to change its mind, forcing Judge and his intended stars to take radical actions in order to get the film made. David Herman gave up a potential multi-year contract on MADtv in order to appear as Michael Bolton in Office Space.

Office Space

Three company workers who hate their jobs decide to rebel against their greedy boss.

Release Date

February 19, 1999

Director

Mike Judge

Runtime

89 mins

Main Genre

Comedy

Writers

Mike Judge

Studio

20th Century Fox

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David Herman Got Himself Fired From ‘Mad TV’

When Judge was first developing Office Space, he feared that writing roles for particular actors would be a mistake, as it was unlikely he would get any major stars attached to such a low budget project. Herman was the lone exception to this rule. Judge wrote the character of Michael Bolton with Herman in mind, as he had impressed him with his performance on the short-lived sketch show House of Buggin’ with John Leguizamo. House of Buggin’ was sadly canceled by Fox after just one season, and replaced with the new sketch comedy series MADtv. Herman joined the initial cast of MADtv in its first season alongside Phil Lamarr, Debra Wilson, Bryan Callen, and Orlando Jones.

While Herman was interested in appearing in Office Space, his seven year contract with MADtv barred him from working on a rival production. In order to work with Judge, Herman decided to scream off of his lines during a cast reading at MADtv, which resulted in him getting fired. Judge was able to fill in Herman’s work by giving him a recurring voice role on his series King of the Hill, which is often cited as one of the best animated series for adults. He also gave him the role of Michael Bolton, one of the funniest characters in all of Office Space.

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Getting himself fired from MADtv was one of the best moves that Herman could have made. Unlike Saturday Night Live, a show whose alumni often went on to have established film careers, the cast members of MADtv had a more challenging time breaking into other projects. Herman’s specific brand of awkward comedy wasn’t a perfect fit for MADtv, as he tended to work better in projects where he could bring more originality to the role. Michael Bolton is certainly one of those characters; while the part could easily have been a one-note character who just so happens to share a name with a famous singer, Herman turned the role into a hapless sad sack that makes Office Space a beloved classic.

‘Office Space’ Could Have Had a Very Different Cast

Herman managed to land a role in the film through trickery, but 20th Century Fox began to suspect that a bigger star should be attached to the film in order to guarantee its box office success. The studio suggested Ben Affleck and Matt Damon after Good Will Hunting became a surprise smash hit and earned serious award season acclaim and Damonwas considered for the role of Peter Gibbons in Office Space. While Damon has certainly proven in films like The Informant! and the Ocean’s Trilogy that he can have a sense of humor, Judge wanted Peter to be an everyman, not a movie star, and should serve as a character that the viewer could relate to. Thankfully, a successful audition by Ron Livingston ended up convincing Judge that there was no one better for the part.

Fox’s insistence on getting a star attached to Office Space resulted in the casting of Jennifer Aniston, as Friends was at the height of its popularity. Judge even went so far at to change the script at Aniston’s behest, and removed a graphic sex scene that he suspected that she would not want to film. Ironically, Aniston was thrilled at the opportunity to appear in Office Space, as she worried about being typecast in roles similar to Friends after the series wrapped. Office Space led to a diversification of Aniston’s work in the subsequent decade, including her acclaimed performances in The Good Girl and Rock Star.

‘Office Space’ Has Endured as a Cult Classic

Despite not being a massive financial hit when it hit theaters, Office Space found a second life on cable, earning it a significant cult following. A comedy film with no major stars certainly had trouble standing out in a decade where Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy, and Ben Stiller were so dominant, but eventually audiences came around to Judge’s unique brand of humor. In the decades since, Office Space has taken on a new life in the form of many popular Internet memes. Although not every comedy from the 1990s has aged well, Office Space is the perfect encapsulation of corporate mundanity, and continues to grow more relevant with each passing year. Anyone who has ever felt depressed, dejected, or ignored at their job will likely find something in Office Space that they can relate to. With its legacy in today’s world, it’s not hard to see why David Herman went to great lengths to ensure he was available to take on Office Space.

Office Space is currently streaming on Hulu in the U.S.

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