The Office star Oscar Nuñez is reflecting on one of the most memorable moments in the show’s history — and how he completely didn’t see it coming.
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday night (September 26), Nuñez was asked what scene fans most frequently bring up when they meet him. Reflecting on the show’s nine seasons, Nuñez says it had to be the scene where he gets kissed by Steve Carell.
“People bring up the improvised kiss that he wasn’t supposed to do. You know he wasn’t supposed to do that, right?” Nuñez replied, referencing the scene from the season 3 episode, “Gay Witch Hunt.”
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Nuñez went on to explain that before the kiss, the pair had filmed the scene several times…but Carell was only supposed to hug him. After a while, they realized that everything was falling “flat.”
“The script says ‘Michael Scott hugs Oscar Martinez.’ So he did it three times and nothing’s happening. You’re allowed to hug someone…and so Steve is thinking, ‘The scene is flat, what do I do?'” Nuñez recalled.
On the fourth take, Carell decided to do something a little different — and leaned in to kiss an unsuspecting Nuñez.
“His big nose is coming closer and closer and I’m thinking, ‘Pick a side!’ Because when you hug someone you gotta put your head to the left or right. In my head, I’m going, ‘Oh…he’s not picking a side,'” Nuñez said.
He continued, “And then he kissed me and I [gagged]. I almost spit up but I saw everyone reacting really cool and naturally so we did it and they yelled ‘cut!’ And we didn’t have to do it again because all those were real reactions.”
Although it may have been uncomfortable at first, it’s gone on to become one of the show’s most memorable moments.
You can rewatch the iconic scene below.
