The Office star Jenna Fischer reveals why Amy Adams almost didn't get 'Hot Girl' role

The Office star Jenna Fischer has shared how Amy Adams almost didn't get her role in the first season of the comedy series because it was feared that the pair looked too 'similar'.

Jenna is most famous for her role as Pam Beesly in The Office from 2005-2013, while Amy only played a small role in the first season as an attractive purse saleswoman who captures the attention of the male Dunder-Mifflin employees.

However, the casting department had been unsure if Amy would be the right choice for the part because she favored Jenna who played a shy and amiable receptionist.

Reflecting on the casting choices for the episode titled, Hot Girl, Jenna and her co-star Angela Kinsey shared new secrets in their revamped Office Ladies rewatch podcast.

The pair explained that Amy wasn't actually for the first choice for the part as they stated: '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.

'But what we didn't share was that Amy Adams was not the first person cast in the role.'

Jenna noted: 'We originally shot "Hot Girl" for an entire day with a completely different actress in the role of Katy. And unfortunately, she just wasn’t quite right for the role. They had to let her go. We replaced her with Amy.

“I remember when Amy came on the set, she was so seamlessly Katy. She improvises a lot, you guys. We’ll get to it. But a lot of her improvs make it in. She just knew who this woman was.'

The actress then revealed that casting director Allison Jones had confirmed to her that Amy actually was everyone’s first choice to play Katy.

'But there was this concern that Amy and I looked too similar,' Jenna explained. '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.'

She continued: '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.' 

Indeed, the likeness between the pair ended up being commented upon in the show, as it inspired a line that saw boss Michael Scott (played by Steve Carell) to compare their looks and refer to Katy as 'Pam 6.0'.

'That was not part of the conception of Katy the purse girl,' Jenna added. 'And then that is why they added that line, "She's like Pam 6.0."'  

The 2005 episode centers around the shenanigans that ensued when Amy's character, Katy, attempts to try to sell knock-off purses which leads the show’s male characters to start vying for her attention.

Jim Halpert (played by John Krasinski) struck up a romance with Katy and she later returned in the Season 2 episodes ‘The Fire’ and ‘Booze Cruise’ before Jim broke it off because he was secretly in love with Pam. 

Jim and Pam ended up tying the knot in the Season 6 two-part episode ‘Niagara’ in 2009 after their romance garnered a huge fandom.

The Office Ladies podcast has been exploring each episode in order throughout the show's nine-season run.

Jenna and her co-star Angela launched the podcast in October 2019, where they both re-watch every episode and reveal new behind-the-scenes details. 

Back in October, Jenna revealed she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year.

The actress told fans that she battled Stage 1 Triple Positive breast cancer which she explained had been 'aggressive but treatable'. 

She posted a candid photo of herself with shorter hair after undergoing chemotherapy treatment - and implored her fans to get regular mammograms in an emotional post. 

She wrote: 'October is breast cancer awareness month. I never thought I’d be making an announcement like this but here we are. 

'Last December, I was diagnosed with Stage 1 Triple Positive Breast Cancer. After completing surgery, chemotherapy and radiation I am now cancer free. 

'I wanted a photo of myself in my patchy pixie looking happy and healthy to go along with this news. A big thank you to Angela Kinsey’s husband Josh Snyder for taking this photo. It’s just one example of the care they showed me during this journey.'

The star said the cancer had first been detected during a routine mammogram - with Jenna joking in an Instagram video about her appointment.

Dense tissue was found in her left breast and she was ordered to have a further screening - before she was diagnosed with breast cancer on December 1, 2023. 

She wrote in further slides: ‘Luckily my cancer was caught early and it hadn’t spread into my lymph nodes or throughout the rest of my body, however because of the aggressive nature of triple positive breast cancer it still required chemotherapy and radiation to be sure it didn’t return.

‘In February I began 12 rounds of weekly chemotherapy, and in June I started three weeks of radiation. And while I continue to be treated with infusions of Herceptin and a daily dose of Tamoxifen, I’m happy to say I’m feeling great.’

She said she hid her hair loss with some  ‘really great wigs' writing: ‘I’m making this announcement for a few reasons. One, I’m ready to ditch the wigs. Two, to implore you to get your annual mammograms.

‘You can also ask your doctor to calculate your Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score and get any additional screenings required. I’m serious, call your doctor right now.

‘My tumor was so small it could not be felt on a physical exam. If I had waited six months longer, things could have been much worse. It could have spread.

‘Seeing women post photos of their mammogram appointments on Instagram needled me into setting my own (which I was late for). I’m so glad I did. Consider this your kick in the butt to get it done.’

'As anyone who has had a cancer diagnosis knows, your life changes immediately.

‘It becomes all about doctor appointments, test results, treatments and recovering from treatments. Suddenly everything in your life is geared around one thing: fighting cancer.’

Jenna is married to Lee Kirk and the pair share a son Weston Lee, 13, and daughter, Harper Marie, 10. 

She also paid a sweet tribute to her husband in her final slide with a photo of the family celebrating the end of her treatment.