Jenna Fischer reveals Amy Adams almost wasn't cast on “The Office ”because they looked too similar

Identify theft is not a joke, Jenna.

On a recent episode of her revamped Office Ladies rewatch podcast, Jenna Fischer revealed that Amy Adams almost didn't appear on a memorable episode of The Office because the casting department thought they looked too similar.

Adams appeared in season 1's "Hot Girl" episode, playing an attractive purse saleswoman named Katy who captures the attention of the male Dunder-Mifflin employees when she swings by the office in an effort to make a sale.

Related: The Office stars reveal Christmas episode scene that made everyone break: 'No one could get through it'

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

According to Fischer and former costar and podcast co-host Angela Kinsey, however, Adams was actually not originally cast in the role. “In our original breakdown of this episode, we mentioned that Amy Adams, who stars as the purse girl, Katy, was [episode writer and star] Mindy Kaling's first choice for the role," said Fischer. "But what we didn't share was that Amy Adams was not the first person cast in the role."

Despite being just about "everybody's first choice," said Fischer, "There was this concern that Amy and I looked too similar. And 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. But when it didn't work out, they decided to cast Amy and just lean into the fact that she and I looked similar because that wasn't the idea behind the role at first."

There's even a line in the episode from Steve Carell's boss Michael Scott that refers to Katy as "Pam 6.0," which was a sly nod to the casting debacle behind the scenes. "That was not part of the conception of Katy the purse girl," said Fischer. "And then that is why they added that line, 'She's like Pam 6.0.'"

Related: Nightbitch star Amy Adams, inside that Conclave stairwell scene, making Gladiator II's costumes, and more in EW's Awardist digital magazine

It all worked out well, as Adams was "so seamlessly Katy," said Kinsey. "She improvises a lot, you guys. A lot of her improvs make it in. She just knew who this woman was.” Much of the dialogue at the front reception desk was improvised, shared Kinsey.

Fischer and Kinsey are running back their rewatch podcast with a revamped version called Office Ladies Second Drink, which re-airs previous episode breakdowns with the bonus of brand-new material such as the Adams tidbit. Carell, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, Brian Baumgartner, and Kaling are among the former stars who've appeared as guests on the podcast.

As for Adams, she recently picked up her tenth Golden Globe nomination for her role in Marielle Heller's surrealist black comedy Nightbitch, about a stay-at-home mother who transforms into a dog. She's also courting Oscar buzz for the performance.

Listen to Fischer and Kinsey revisit the "Hot Girl" episode above.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly