Following the legacies of all-time greats can be intimidating, but the cast of “The Paper” is up for the challenge.
“The Office” spin-off premieres Sept. 4, and stars Sabrina Impacciatore (who plays Esmeralda on the show) and Chelsea Frei (Mare) understand the “giant weight” on their shoulders.
“It’s so giant that you can use it to squat,” Impacciatore told The Enquirer over Zoom as she got out of her seat and actually began doing squats.
“And her glutes look phenomenal after doing these squats,” Frei said.
Embracing that pressure and subsequently letting go of it was Impacciatore’s strategy for being successful on the show.
“I have to not think about it,” Impacciatore, an Italian actor who starred on season 2 of “The White Lotus,” said. “I just trust (co-creator) Greg Daniels, that is a genius … and (co-creator) Michael Koman, that is this other brilliant creator with all of the (writers).”
“The environment was so powerful that you just had to fit in and to be widely free. That’s what I did, and I think that ‘The Paper’ is a different creature in the same universe − it’s a cousin.”
Here’s what Impacciatore, Frei and other stars had to say about creating “The Paper” ahead of its streaming premiere.
The quotes have been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
More on the pressure that comes with following ‘The Office’
Frei: I grew up being obsessed with “The Office.” I’ve seen every episode a million times. I love it so much, so, of course, being a part of that world is, first of all, dreams come true in the craziest way possible, but also you could let the pressure get to you. And I think the only way we were able to push through that and make something different was to put on these blinders that this needs to be its own entity and its own show and world.
Melvin Gregg (who plays Detrick): When we’re doing this show, you can’t really think too much about “Oh we have to live up to this,” because yeah you’ll create this pressure, and I don’t think you’ll create the best product. I just wanted to be honest and genuine to what we were creating. Once you’re done, you hope people receive it, but you just got to live in the space of what the story is and not think about the outside world because it doesn’t exist for our characters.
Building chemistry with fellow cast members
Question: You two (Gregg and Ramona Young) have a fun dynamic on the show. What went into building that rapport with each other?
Young (who plays Nicole): We were kind of just thrown into it. We hadn’t met until we were in the auditioning room doing our chemistry read. Greg and Michael were there and they were like, “You guys haven’t met each other in the lobby, right? You guys haven’t had a chance to talk?” And we were like “No.” So then they actually left the auditioning room and just let us get to know each other while there was a camera recording us.
Gregg: You’re (thinking) like “Oh, this is part of the audition.”
Young: Yeah, they made it seem like it wasn’t, but it kind of felt like it could’ve been.
Getting to know Ohio
Question: The show is set in Toledo, Ohio. I know Domhnall Gleeson (Ned Sampson) traveled to our newsroom in Cincinnati. How much did you know about Ohio beforehand and what went into the preparation to play a character living in the state?
Young: I really didn’t (know too much). It was a good opportunity to learn more about it. I kind of was on social media a lot looking up what people did there, what people posted about.
Impacciatore: Ohio to me, of course I’ve never been there, so I looked at all the pictures online of Toledo. I was looking over every picture. The only thing I told to myself, “This is simply a smaller reality in respect to LA.” (Los Angeles) is the only way I met the U.S. because I’ve been here for a few years back and forth, so I was relating more to smaller places in Italy. I think somehow smaller places and with a smaller community, they have the same dynamics everywhere in the world.
Gregg: I spent some time in Ohio. I filmed in Cleveland once, a film called “The Land,” and I lived in Cincinnati twice. I have a cousin from Cincinnati, so I spent time there on two different occasions.
The Enquirer: Since you lived in Cincinnati, I have to ask: Do you have a go-to Cincinnati chili order?
Gregg: I don’t. The first time I moved to Cincinnati was during 2007. I think it was like a crazy winter storm, a snow storm, and I was downtown and I was, kind of like, trapped. I couldn’t really go anywhere. And that was the reason that I moved back.
Learning more about the journalism world
The Enquirer: The show is, obviously, based on a newsroom. What did you guys do to prepare to be on-screen journalists?
Young: Melvin, Chelsea and I had an opportunity to interview some real local journalists. It was really helpful.
Gregg: It was very informative in regards to the dynamic of different departments within the newsroom and how they interacted and how they saw one another.
Inspiration behind your characters
The Enquirer: You both have really interesting and fun characters. What served as your inspiration?
Frei: When I first auditioned for it and was working on it with Greg and Michael Koman in the room, I didn’t know anything about the character. They were building it as we were going. So, then once I got cast and read the script, it was all of a sudden now I was getting all this amazing information to add to what we’d already been kind of creating together. The writing is just so good, so it’s not like we had to do much.
Impacciatore: For the audition, they sent me 11 pages of monologues, and this was to me the biggest sort of inspiration. When that sparkle happens, things just arrive. You become like a channel, and things kept arriving, and then Greg and Mike gave me the most incredible trust, freedom and I felt in the safest hands and I could go wild. I felt very protected, and this is exactly how I lived this experience. I didn’t watch the show yet, so I don’t know what I did.
Frei: I watched it. She’s really good.
The Enquirer: Yeah, I think I’m on episode 7, you’re incredible. (Side note: She is my favorite character.)
All 10 episode of “The Paper” premiere Sept. 4 on Peacock.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Stars of ‘The Paper’ on following legacy of ‘The Office,’ researching Ohio and more
Reporting by David Wysong, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
