Phyllis Smith
Phyllis Smith (born July 10, 1951 ) is an American actress and casting director. She is best known for her role as Phyllis Vance in the US sitcom The Office and her critically acclaimed speaking role as Sadness in the original English setting of Everything Is Upside down . She plays a recurring role on the Netflix series The OA .
Early life
Smith was born in The Hill , a town near St. Louis in the US state of Missouri . She is the oldest of nine siblings.
Professional background
Phyllis Smith graduated from the University of Missouri – St. Louis in 1972 with a degree in primary education. In the 1970s and 1980s she worked as a dancer, cheerleader for the old St. Louis Cardinals football team, and as a burlesque dancer. About that, she said it was "no stripping, but I wore feathers." Due to a knee injury, she was forced to give up dancing. So she tried her hand at telemarketing, but she gave up this job after only three hours. She then worked as an actress and caster in Hollywood, California. Her first paid role was a guest appearance in the movie Caddyshack .
Career
Phyllis Smith was working as a casting rep for The Office when she was offered the role of Phyllis Vance, a character specially designed for her: a quiet saleswoman who often refuses to be hired by her boss, Michael Scott. For this role she received the Screen Actor Guild Awards in 2006 and 2007 in the category "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series". In June 2008, she and her fellow actors from Das Büro performed on Celebrity Family Feud . In 2011 she played a supporting role in Bad Teacher . In 2015, she set the sadness in the English original of the Pixar film Everything is upside down . For this achievement, she has received multiple praise from critics. Since 2016 she appears regularly in the Netflix telecast The OA .
Roles and appearances
Movies
| year | title | role | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Master Badger and his friends | Abigail's mother | Not mentioned in the credits / Only in the deleted scenes |
| 1994 | The princess and the leprechaun | Spokeswoman | Not mentioned in the credits |
| 1995 | The Thief and the Cobbler | Maiden of Mombassa | Not mentioned in the credits |
| 2005 | Virgo (40), male, looking for ... | Mrs. Stitzer | Not mentioned in the credits |
| 2006 | I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With | Marsha | |
| 2011 | Bad teacher | Lynn | |
| 2011 | Everything in butter | Nancy | |
| 2011 | Alvin and the Chipmunks 3: Broken chips | flight attendant | |
| 2015 | Everything is upside down | Grief (speaking role) | Annie Award |
watch TV
| year | title | role | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Arrested Development | Carla | Episode: " The Immaculate Election " |
| 2005-2013 | The office | Phyllis Vance | Won in 187 episodes : Screen Actors Guild Award / Best Acting Ensemble in a TV Series - Comedy (2007–2008) Nominated: Screen Actors Guild Award / Best Acting Company in a TV Series - Comedy (2009–2013) |
| 2006 | The Office: The Accountants | Phyllis Vance | Episode: "Phyllis" |
| 2008 | The Office: The Outburst | Phyllis Vance | Episode: "The Explanation" |
| 2013 | Trophy Wife | Mrs. Patty Steinberg | 3 episodes |
| 2014 | The Middle | Mrs. Huff | Episode: "The Sinkhole" |
| 2016-2019 | The OA | Betty Broderick-Allen | In (seasons 1–2): 12 episodes |
Video games
| year | title | role | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Disney Infinity 3.0 | Grief | Speaking role (original scoring) |
Production work
| year | title | role | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | A murderous friendship | Casterin | TV movie |
| 1994-1997 | Dr. Quinn - a passionate doctor | 88 episodes | |
| 1999 | Roswell | 1 episode | |
| 2000-2002 | Chaos City | 45 episodes | |
| 2005 | Leave it, Larry! | 10 episodes |
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Linda Tracy: It's never just another day at the office for UM-St. Louis alumna Phyllis Smith Archived from the original on November 16, 2011. In: University of Missouri-St. Louis (Ed.): UM St. Louis . , St. Louis, MOFall 2008, pp. 14-15.
- ↑ Jessica Grose : Questions for Phyllis Smith . In: Slate . June 23, 2011.
- ↑ Linda Ge: Brit Marling's Netflix Series 'The OA' Promises Mystery in First Trailer (Video) , The Wrap. December 12, 2016.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Smith, Phyllis |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American actress and casting director |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 10, 1951 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Missouri |