Jenna Fischer has been getting a lot of love recently here on Shared Darkness, but I’m sure you don’t have a problem with that. (You’d better not.) The secret to her success? Sure, sure, other than talent and charm? You might be surprised. Then again, it’s mentioned in the title above, so probably not. Here, I’ll let her explain, from a recent interview.

“The audition process for The Promotion was really funny. Jessika (Goyer), the producer, really hates it when I tell this story. I had only been on The Office; Blades of Glory hadn’t come out yet, or Walk Hard. I was in fact shooting Blades of Glory when I went on this audition. I went over and met (director) Steve Conrad and Jessika, and auditioned for the movie, and really felt like I connected with Steve. I was like, ‘I think he liked my work!’ But I didn’t know what was going to happen. So I got a call from my agent and he said, ‘Here’s the thing: they loved you, you’re their first choice, but…'”

“The role is of a Chicago nurse, struggling paycheck to paycheck,” Fischer continues, “so I showed up looking as real as possible. And they said you were great, loved the acting, but we’re not sure if you’re going to pop on camera. Like, are you a movie star? We need you to come back and do the same performance, but look really hot! Eww, right? So I’m on the set of Blades of Glory, and the day we shot the lingerie scene was the day of my callback for this movie, so I had hair and glamorous eyelashes and I wore this low-cut, red blouse that on every audition I wear it I get cast. I was told, ‘Harvey and Bob (Weinstein) are going to watch the tape on their jet while they’re going somewhere, and we’ll let you know if you’re OK.’ And so I did and felt like such an idiot! Because I’m all glammed up, and reading this realistic dialogue about nursing and struggle. But they called and said thank you so much, that was perfect, you have the role, you have the job. So it wasn’t just the audition, it was also my red boobie shirt that got me the role,” which Fischer later confides makes her look “kind of like a sexy Minnie Mouse.” The kicker? “Of course when I made the movie they made me look like a real Chicago nurse,” she says with a shrug. “Sometimes that’s part of it.”