Office Management

It used to be a big leap from TV to movies. Studios figured who'd pay to see someone you could see every week for free? Eventually they figured an actor appearing on TV gets your movie a lot of free publicity.

So now it's not unusual for TV actors to star in movies in their free time. And The Office, though not a huge hit, has thrown a lot of its cast onto the big screen lately. Let's look at how they're doing.

Steve Carrell, who plays the lead, Michael Scott, has carved out a pretty successful movie career: The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Little Miss Sunshine, Dan In Real Life, Get Smart and others. I'm almost surprised he's stuck with the show.

John Krasinski (Jim Halpert), with his sly charm and offbeat looks, has had his shot, but so far keeps coming up with duds. After three major appearances, License To Wed, Leatherheads and Away We Go, is it three strikes and you're out?

Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute) has done a lot of supporting work, but when he got to be the lead--The Rocker--the film disappeared pretty quickly. He'll keep working, but I'm guessing no one will be betting a major film on him any time soon.

Jenna Fischer (Pam Beesly) is pretty cute, but after The Brothers Solomon and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, she could use a hit.

B.J. Novak (Ryan Howard) is also a writer on the show, and though he hasn't broken out in movies yet, did okay in a small part in Inglourious Basterds.

But the big surprise is Ed Helms (Andy Bernard), front and center in The Hangover, one of the biggest comedy hits ever. It may be a one-off, but I'm guessing people all over town are sending him scripts right now.