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‘Chilled-out entertainers’ – multi-layered sitcom performances in the British and American version of The Office

This article explores the comedic performances of the main actors in the Original British sitcom format The Office, as well as in the American adaptation, The Office – An American Workplace. It analyzes each performance in relation to a prevalent ‘acting versus performance’ dichotomy within the sitcom genre in general, as well as being results of their respective localized sitcom production cultures. Employing detailed performance and textual analysis and based on qualitative interviews with the creative personnel of both versions, this study argues that due to the requirements of the format's mockumentary discourse, the performances of Ricky Gervais and Steve Carell are in fact multi-layered and aimed at different kinds of audiences. Furthermore, it identifies them as central to each version's interpretation of the format's distinct embarrassment comedy and examines the nuances of the performance styles as a method to localize the main character for a domestic audience, therewith reconciling some of the fundamental challenges in the process of transnational format adaptation.