Leslie David Baker
Leslie David Baker | |
|---|---|
 Baker in 2007 | |
| Born | February 19, 1958 |
| Alma mater | Loyola University (B.S.) Spertus Institute (M.S.) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1998–present |
Leslie David Baker (born February 19, 1958) is an American actor. He is known for playing paper salesman Stanley Hudson in The Office for nine seasons.
Early life and work
Baker holds a BS in psychology from Loyola University Chicago and an MS in human services administration from Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership in Chicago.[1] He taught special education and played an office worker in OfficeMax commercials while working on his MS degree.[2] In Chicago, he worked for the Board of Education, the Department of Public Health, and the Office of Cable and Communications.[1]
Acting career
Baker moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990s.[1]
The Office
I still have the nine-to-five experience without the nine-to-five responsibilities. In the nine-to-five world, you don't have anybody who has your breakfast waiting for you in the morning, or lays out your wardrobe, or styles your hair.
Baker on The Office[1]
Baker had another audition scheduled on the day he was called back for The Office. On his way to the Office audition, he was caught in traffic though producers thought he had been in the bathroom and thanked him for his patience. "By then I was kind of sweaty, my clothes were rumpled, and I was cranky," Baker later said. "The character was written the way I was feeling that day, and I just let 'er rip. Two weeks later I got a call: 'You got the pilot.'"[1]
Baker's Office character, Stanley Hudson, is a sales representative for the fictional Dunder Mifflin paper distributor usually portrayed as a defiant, grouchy curmudgeon.[3] It was said that his performance was "a standout" on the show, and with "his monotone voice and calm demeanor, he played well against the off-the-wall nature of many of the other characters."[4] "Did I Stutter?" (season 4, 2008) has a focus on Baker's character; as with many supporting actors on The Office, some of Baker's scenes became memorable to fans.[5] Stanley is rarely, but sometimes, given a "soft side"; in "Stairmageddon" (season 9, 2013), Baker plays a tranquilized, and then giddy, Stanley.[3] At the conclusion of the series, Stanley says he is happy to be living in retirement in Florida.[6]
He was part of the Office cast which won Screen Actors Guild Awards in the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series category in 2007 and 2008.[7][8]
In December 2017, after several former Office actors expressed interest in a revival of the series, The Hollywood Reporter's Lesley Goldberg said of Baker, "Why wouldn't he return?!"[9] After The Office ended in 2013, The Hollywood Reporter said that Baker has had few roles;[9] Bustle said that he was "plenty busy with his other creative pursuits".[4]
Other work
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In 2001, Baker guest-starred in "That 70's Show" in season 3 episode 24 "Backstage Pass" as a janitor at the Ted Nugent concert[10]. In November 2011, Baker released the song "2 Be Simple" with an accompanying music video which features Baker in a bath robe dancing with scantily clad women.[11] "For reasons that remain unclear," wrote Jan Chaney of The Washington Post, "Baker has released ... a track destined to be the party anthem at all your yuletide throwdowns."[12] Cameron Matthews called the song's hook "infectious" with lyrics that "totally [capture] the daydreams of a middle-aged man in crisis."[13]
Baker appeared in Raven's Home as Principal Wentworth; previously, he had small parts in Scorpion and Life in Pieces.[4] He appeared on the CMT series Still the King and in the films Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017), in a voice role, and The Happytime Murders (2018).[9] He also appeared in a January 2018 advertisement for FileMaker Inc., a subsidiary of Apple Inc., as a farmer alongside former Office actors Paul Lieberstein and Kate Flannery.[14]
Filmography
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Maggie | Frank | Episode: "Cats" |
| 1999 | Action | Guard | Episode: "Love Sucks" |
| 2000 | Judging Amy | Uncle Vin Arlen | Episode: "Waterworld" |
| 2000 | Malcolm in the Middle | Cop | Episode: "Halloween Approximately" |
| 2001 | That '70s Show | Janitor | Episode: "Backstage Pass" |
| 2001–2003 | The Guardian | Teddy Desica | 3 episodes |
| 2002 | Just Shoot Me! | Man | Episode: "The Burning House" |
| 2003 | Malcolm in the Middle | Customer | Episode: "Stereo Store" |
| 2003 | Scrubs | Surgery Patient | Episode: "My Interpretation" |
| 2004 | Line of Fire | Large Man | Episode: "The Best-Laid Plans" |
| 2005–2013 | The Office | Stanley Hudson | 188 episodes |
| 2006 | The Office: The Accountants | Stanley Hudson | Webisode: "Stanley" |
| 2008 | Kevin's Loan | Stanley Hudson | Webisode: "Taste the Ice Cream" |
| 2012 | The Life & Times of Tim | Al Sharpton's College Roommate | Voice role; episode: "The Smug Chiropractor/Corporate Disaster" |
| 2013 | Key & Peele | Benjamin Button Man | 1 episode |
| 2014 | Marry Me | Jake's Boss | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2015 | The Exes | Officer Wilson | Episode: "Requiem for a Dream" |
| 2015 | Austin & Ally | Mr. Schxlumbraugh | Episode: "Duos & Deception" |
| 2016 | Scorpion | Judge Tanniston | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Still the King | Curtis | 9 episodes |
| 2017 | Life in Pieces | Gavin | Episode: "Chef Rescue Negotiator Necklace" |
| 2017 | Raven's Home | Principal Wentworth | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television | Captain Jackson #4 | Episode: "Trafficking and the Traffic King" |
| 2017 | Puppy Dog Pals | Rufus / Frank | Voice role; recurring, 15 episodes |
| 2019 | Fam | Mr. Kersey | 1 Episode |
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Road to Redemption | Tow Truck Driver | |
| 2005 | Elizabethtown | Airport Security #2 | Uncredited |
| 2014 | Wish I Was Here | Audition Actor #1 | |
| 2015 | When Duty Calls | Clyde Pierce | Television film |
| 2017 | Fallen Stars | Ron | |
| 2017 | Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie | Officer McPiggly | Voice role |
| 2018 | The Happytime Murders | Lt. Banning |
References
- ^ a b c d e Buscemi, Robert (June 4, 2007). "Office Face". Chicago. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
- ^ Ulster, Laurie (March 24, 2015). "'The Office' Cast: Where Are They Now?". Biography.com. A&E. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
- ^ a b Tedder, Michael (April 12, 2013). "The Office Recap: Stanley Takes the Stairs". Vulture. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
- ^ a b c Koch, Drew (February 9, 2018). "What's Stanley From 'The Office' Doing In 2018? Leslie David Baker Reunited With His Dunder Mifflin Co-Stars For Another Hilarious Project". Bustle. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
- ^ Perkis, Ed (2017). "The Office: Season 4". Cinema Blend. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
- ^ Hale, Mike (May 17, 2013). "'The Office' Ends the Way It Began: Modestly". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
- ^ "The 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". SAG-AFTRA. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011.
- ^ "The 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". SAG-AFTRA. Archived from the original on September 13, 2011.
- ^ a b c Goldberg, Lesley (December 20, 2017). "'The Office' Reboot: Who Could Return for NBC's Potential Revival?". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
- ^ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0720052/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_30
- ^ Hogan, Marc (November 30, 2011). "Stanley from 'The Office' Stars in Surreal Music Video". Spin. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
- ^ Chaney, Jen (November 29, 2011). "Leslie David Baker, aka Stanley from 'The Office,' has made a music video". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
- ^ Mathews, Cameron (November 29, 2011). "Stanley From 'The Office' (AKA Leslie David Baker) Releases Hot Music Video". Spinner. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
- ^ Matyszczyk, Chris (January 16, 2018). "Apple gets 'The Office' actors to make its FileMaker exciting". CNET. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
External links
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