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Local actor has part tonight in 'The Office'

October 30, 2008 12:36 am

SHOOTING an episode of "The Office" that airs tonight at 9 on NBC, actor and Stafford High grad Tug Coker learned a lesson.

Given the choice in a scene filmed for TV, take salad over steak every time.

"I'm out here working hard to learn all I can about this business," said Coker, from Los Angeles. "Picking the right meal is just one more thing."

The problem is that you eat an awful lot of any entree in 20 takes of a lunch scene.

"I almost finished a second steak before we were done," he said. "I had teased ['Office' stars] Jim Krasinski and Jenna Fischer about picking salads, but they had the last laugh."

Coker, a U.Va. graduate whose whose parents John and Linda live in Fredericksburg, is thrilled to be appearing in one of the highest-profile comedies on television.

For an up-and-coming actor, even one with New York and Washington stage experience under his belt, TV credits are big in making it to the next level.

"I moved out here two years ago from New York because what I found was that the best stage roles were going to actors with TV and movie experience," said Coker. "It's all about finding marquee names that put customers in the seats."

Just before leaving the Big Apple, Coker took a first step toward that higher profile with a guest-starring role on the NBC drama "Law & Order," playing a cagey killer.

"It was a really great experience and helped to build up my reel," he said of the video that can lead to future roles.

Tonight, he plays the fun-loving brother of Jim Halpert (Krasinski), joining Halpert and his sweet fiancee, Pam Beesly (Fischer), for lunch.

Coker said he didn't initially realize the strong strong resemblance between himself and Krasinski.

Though he missed star Steve Carell, who had a different shooting schedule that day, Coker got to know several other cast members and has hopes of returning for a future episode.

"Whether that happens or not, being on a well-known show like this can really help to open some new doors for me," he said.

Coker has worked hard to get where he is. After college, he sought training at the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University's Loeb Drama Center and the Moscow School of Art and Theater, earning a master's degree in fine arts.

But his on-the-job training came in plays ranging from "Medea" to "A Streetcar Named Desire" to "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

"Do a show like 'Midsummer' 57 times and you start to really get it," he said. "You learn how to connect directly with an audience."

The actor earned good reviews in the play "Take Me Out," which had a strong run at the Studio Theater in Washington in the summer of 2005.

He was OK with nudity the play called for--baseball players in a locker room--though having friends and teachers in the audience made some performances a little extra difficult.

He has had other television gigs: several episodes on the soap opera "The Guiding Light" as an EMT; an episode of the CW show "The Game;" several episodes of the NBC Web-based series "Gemini Division" with star Rosario Dawson; and a role in an NBC pilot, "NY-70," which didn't get picked up.

To help pay the bills, Coker does part-time promotional work for General Motors.

But the good-natured, well-spoken young man--his agency doesn't like him giving his twenty-something age for fear of limiting job offers--spends most of his days seeking the next big role.

"Just like half the people in this town."

Rob Hedelt: 540/374-5415
Email: rhedelt@freelancestar.com