'The Office' star Brian Baumgartner 'wanted to distance' himself from Kevin Malone after nine seasons

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Brian Baumgartner is explaining his career decisions.

"The Office" alum recently shared that after eight years on the show, he tried to take on roles that were different from his character Kevin Malone.

"I wanted to distance myself," Baumgartner told Entertainment Weekly. "I thought, 'I don't want to be Kevin Malone forever.'"

Brian Baumgartner found it hard to distance himself from character Kevin Malone in "The Office." (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer)

He went on to explain that several roles he took after "The Office" ended were similar to his character’s. 

"I spent a long time turning down roles that I felt were too similar or wanted a similar sort of feeling and character," he said.

‘THE OFFICE’ STAR BRIAN BAUMGARTNER TO MAKE $1 MILLION IN 2020 FROM CAMEO BOOKINGS, CEO SAYS

When the hit show continued to air on streaming platforms, Baumgartner realized that it would be hard for him to completely separate himself from Malone.

"It all just built this momentum," he continued. "Which was like, 'Well, I don't think I'm going to be escaping this one anytime soon.'"

Despite trying to separate himself, Baumgartner was in the top three celebrities on Cameo in 2021, according to USA Today. He charged $195 per personalized video on the video app. 

Baumgartner played Kevin Malone for nine seasons on "The Office." (Photo by Byron Cohen)

Baumgartner told the outlet that playing Malone was defining for him because filming the show took the majority of his time in his 30s.

 "'The Office' being 10 years, nine seasons, I mean, I was essentially on the show the entirety of my thirties," he explained.

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"I mean, it was a decade. To give people perspective, that's like progressing from high school through college and then a couple of more years," Baumgartner continued. "It's such a long period of your life, and you establish such deep relationships and obviously, such close identification with those characters."

Baumgartner remembers his time on the fan-favorite show as a "blessing."

"The Office" concluded in 2013 after eight years. (Photo by Paul Drinkwater)

"I consider it a blessing, especially the amazing fans who talk about how ‘The Office’ gave them comfort, how it helped them during a difficult time," he said. "I mean, countless stories, way more than I can mention. That's an amazing thing."

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"The Office" ran for nine seasons from 2005 to 2013. The show starred Steve Carrell, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, Angela Kinsey, B.J. Novak, Jenna Fischer, Mindy Kaling, Phyllis Smith, Oscar Nunez, Craig Robinson, Ellie Kemper, Ed Helms and Leslie David Baker.