With its third season now in the can, NBC’s hit Thursday comedy “The Office” — a mock-umentary series about a paper-company office in Pennsylvania — is assured of a place on the fall schedule.
And, as corporate executive Jan Levinson, Melora Hardin is assured of looking good and feeling good in her natty business attire.
“I wear all Theory suits,” she says. “They are very lovely suits, very comfortable. They look nice and fit my body very well. You need to be neat and clean and comfortable and still attractive.”
Although not all actors enjoy dressing like office dwellers every day, Hardin doesn’t mind.
“I like wearing the suits that I wear on the show. I like clothes that fit well and are classic. I think her suits are sexy.”
They must be a little bit sexy, because Jan has been having an off-again/on-again love affair with her underling, Scranton-based regional manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell). His bizarre sense of humor and social awkwardness could make one wonder why he caught the eye of the powerful, efficient Jan.
“Why is she attracted to Michael?” Hardin asks. “He comes barreling through all of the defense mechanisms she’s created in order to be this woman in the workplace and to be taken seriously. He’s like a bull in a china shop.
“That’s appealing to her, because there are a lot of people that are very intimidated by her. She’s strong; she’s powerful. She’s smart and good at what she does. But I think she has a weakness for crazy men. Jan is a woman with a hard exterior and a soft, gooey center.”
Birthplace: Houston on June 29.
Family cred: A former child actress, Hardin is the daughter of actor Jerry Hardin and acting manager Diane Hardin. She started her career at the age of 10 in the TV series “Thunder.”
TV cred: A frequent one-episode guest star, Hardin has had longer stints on “Quincy, M.E.,” “Little House on the Prairie,” “Tour of Duty” and “Monk.”
Movie cred: “Soul Man,” “The Rocketeer,” “The Hot Chick,” “Thank You for Smoking,” “The Violin” and the upcoming “You,” “The Dukes” and “The Comebacks.”
Music cred: She has put out two CDs as a singer.
