by Tim Troglen

Reporter

Hudson -- When the NBC sitcom "The Office" returns with new episodes Sept. 25, viewers might be able to catch a quick glimpse of a familiar face.

Hudson native and Ohio University student Stefan Kumor was an extra in two scenes of the comedy series.

But look quick.

"I'm just an extra," Kumor said. "I'm in it for no more than 20 seconds -- but I'll be on there."

Kumor's first scene will be near the beginning of the show. He is in a "font typing class" with actress Jenna Fischer, who plays Pam Beesly.

In the scene, Kumor, 21, said he is sitting behind a computer wearing "a blue velvet suit jacket and a white T-shirt with a fake-pink tie painted on it."

In his next scene, Kumor is walking through a hallway near the back of the classroom.

"It will be during the scene where she [Fischer] is talking with her posse," he said.

Kumor said the experience, which came about because he signed up with a casting agency in California over the summer, "was really exciting."

"I got to meet John Krasinski [who plays Jim Halpert] and Fischer, two of the main characters," Kumor said. "That was really cool."

Kumor said he was walking down a street behind two people who "looked familiar."

He said the two actors were looking around.

"I asked 'are you guys looking for the food?'" he remembered.

They were, and he gave them directions to the food area.

"Then I walked with them for a couple of blocks," he said. "They were really cool. We just talked. They were not arrogant in any way and were just down-to-earth people."

Kumor said one thing that impressed him about the experience, aside from meeting two of the show's stars, was how much work goes into shooting a five-minute scene.

"We had to be at the set from 7 a.m. until about 7 p.m.," he said. "But, we got free food, which is always good."

He said some of the scenes were shot 10 or 12 times each.

"Whenever they are doing a scene, they do it with noise -- and people talking," he said. "Then when the main characters come in, we had to act like we were talking, but not make any noise. That was really weird to do."

And while Kumor has left California for now to resume his theater and telecommunications classes at Ohio University, he hopes to make a return visit to Hollywood. But if his acting falls though, he's got another option -- his degree.

"I prefer to be an actor," he said. "But if things go bad, I have the back-up. You always need to make some kind of money."

Kumor said he has wanted to be an actor since he was a child.

However, he said sports took up most of his time and he was a bit nervous taking a shot at acting.

His mom, Cyndi Kumor, said it was a few words from a professor that changed her son's outlook.

"He took an acting class and the professor asked him to stay after class," she said. "He told Stefan he had raw talent."

And while her son was excited, mom was less than thrilled.

"I was not a happy camper," she said, laughing. "Why couldn't it have been either a math or science professor who told him that?"

But mom seems to have resigned herself to the fact that Stefan wants to act. And, Stefan is not the only family member who is getting "face-time" on a TV show.

Cyndi and her daughters Kali and Chlarissa went to a summer taping of the game show Deal Or No Deal, which aired locally Sept. 1.

"We were actually there and got to see the $1 million show and got some Howie bucks as they fell from the ceiling," Cyndi said. "We were just audience members, but we to see the first $1 million winner."

Stefan Kumor also has acted in independent films an several campus productions.

"But nothing along this line," he said of his experience. "This was a big production on a grand scale and they actually paid me -- but I would have done it for free."

And he said he wants to return to California next summer to find an agent.

"That's the first step to getting work," he said. "And where I can have lines and not be in the background."

And while the actor said it was important for him to get his career going, he said it was also important to him to thank his mom for her support.

"She has been the most helpful so far, " he said. "Without her I would not have been able to go out there."

E-mail: TTroglen@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3146