One of the things that made The Office so funny was its cast of over the top characters. Many of the characters were pretty funny themselves, but only a few of them had self-aware humor. Most of the biggest laughs on the show came from the ridiculous antics that the employees of Dunder Mifflin would get up to. While some of the time these characters knew they were being funny, often it was the characters who were completely oblivious to their own humor that made us laugh the most.
No matter why they had us laughing, we’ve put together a list of The Office’s funniest characters and ranked them.
10. ANDY BERNARD
Andy Bernard was definitely a character who was lacking in self-awareness. He might have wanted to be clever and funny, but in reality, he was mostly just pathetic and lacking in charm.
This is where the funny things about Andy Bernard truly lie. Andy was so out of touch with who he was that this often led to hilarious moments. Plus, he could react in over-the-top ways, such as when he punched the same wall in the office, two times.
9. MEREDITH PALMER
Meredith Palmer often made her coworkers uncomfortable with her lack of social awareness, but this often made audiences laugh. Meredith often showed up to work wearing unacceptable outfits, and she always had alcohol around.
Meredith’s lack of pride and the embarrassing situations she often got herself into made her pretty dang funny. While she wasn’t the most overtly funny character on the show, Meredith definitely brought a lot of laughs.
8. ANGELA MARTIN
Angela might seem like a character who doesn’t belong on this list, but there were so many times were Angela made viewers laugh. Her uptight personality and judgmental ways made for a lot of hilarious moments. Plus, sometimes she could pull out a wild card and shock her fellow coworkers with her astute sense of humor such as when she made fun of Michael brutally during the roast episode. Angela is definitely not someone who thinks a sense of humor is a virtue, and this is part of what made her so damn funny.
7. KEVIN MALONE
Kevin was a character who was easy to laugh at. He was definitely the least intelligent of the employees at Dunder Mifflin, and everything went over his head. Kevin’s sense of humor wasn’t too refined, either, as he would usually go for a dirty joke or innuendo. One of the funniest moments from the show is when Kevin drops his famous chili all over the floor at the office, and this is just one of many scenes where Kevin made viewers laugh. The show definitely would not have been nearly as funny if Kevin Malone wasn’t a character.
6. OSCAR MARTINEZ
Oscar might not be an outright funny character, but his use in the narrative as a foil character made for a lot of great comedy. Oscar was often one of the more rational and normal characters on the show, but his know-it-all attitude often led to some funny jokes.
Plus, his more stable nature allowed for a lot of great back and forth between the three members of accounting. His sexuality and all the things he had to put up with from his coworkers because of it also lead to some cringey, but hilarious, moments.
5. KELLY KAPOOR
Kelly Kapoor is a character who almost always made you laugh when she was on-screen. She was vapid and shallow, and her love of pop culture made her the perfect conduit for relevant jokes. Many of her lines from the show such as, “first of all, how dare you,” are extremely memorable and quotable. Kelly was one of the more consistently funny female characters on the show, and she brought a different kind of humor than some of the older, more conservative characters.
4. RYAN HOWARD
Ryan Howard started out being a more reasonable character on the show, but he developed over time to be a complete narcissist and jerk. The fact that he was such an awful person is part of what makes him so funny. Plus, the fact he went from working at corporate to being a temp again is one of the funniest things that could have happened to him. Ryan always thought he was smarter and better than he really was, and his lack of self-reflection made it easy to laugh at him. The relationship between Kelly and Ryan was also one of the worst and most hilarious on the show.
3. JIM HALPERT
Jim Halpert is one of the characters on the show who was genuinely funny himself. He had a great sense of humor, and he was always making quippy lines and jokes. Plus, his physical humor when he would make faces at the camera often made the show.
One of Jim’s greatest qualities was how funny he was, and he was always making jokes about what was happening around the office. As far as being self-aware about their own sense of humor, Jim definitely is the funniest.
2. DWIGHT SCHRUTE
Dwight is another character on the show who consistently brought laughs. He didn’t always realize he was being funny, but his ridiculous lifestyle always brought laughs. Whether it was yelling “Michael!” or saying, “identity theft is not a joke, Jim,” Dwight has so many funny lines and moments from the show, it’s nearly impossible to choose which are the best. Dwight is truly one of the funniest and most iconic characters on the show.
1. MICHAEL SCOTT
Michael Scott has to be at number one on this list because his particular brand of humor is really what made the show what it was. Michael was oftentimes annoying and offensive but at other times endearing and caring. He was definitely unaware of how weird he was, and his antics made viewers laugh over and over again. Michael Scott might not have always been likable, but he was almost always consistently funny.
