John Krasinski reveals his favorite episode of The Office

And while we have to assume that classics like “Dinner Party” or “The Dundies” might have flicked through the actor’s head, he ended up going with a pretty understandable choice: “Diversity Day,” which was the show’s second episode—but its first that tried to move out of the shadow of the U.K. original. “If I’m honest, I remember the pilot of The Office was word-for-word the British show at the time,” Krasinski told the crowd. “It made no sense to any of us because I think there are actually British jokes in there that don’t even apply [to Americans].”

“Diversity Day,” on the other hand, sticks firmly in his memory, setting the moment when the show steered straight into a more American take on the material:

I remember that day when [the diversity sensitivity counsellor played by Larry Wilmore] comes in and says, ‘My name is Mr. Brown,’ and Michael says, ‘I’m not gonna call you that.’ It was that moment combo’d with Kelly slapping him [for his impression of a bodega owner] where I said, ‘Oh my God, we’re a part of something totally unique — and I don’t think anyone will watch this. But I knew it was really good and I [remember thinking] we were a part of something special.

[via Vulture]