When most people think of the hit TV sitcom, “The Office,” Michael Scott’s wild antics or Jim and Pam’s love story is what first comes to mind.
When I think of “The Office,” (and I’ve watched the entire series 4 times, thanks to Netflix), one shadowy man comes to mind.
His name? Creed Bratton.
Creed is, in his own words, the “quabity assuance” director at Dunder Mifflin. He is a deviant and arguably the most eccentric character on the show. On many occasions, he engages in illegal activities, tells wildly false stories to others in the office, and is unclear on what is happening around him (probably because of his past heavy drug use).
One of the reasons Creed is so underrated is because he is hardly ever seen on the show. When he is shown, which is usually once an episode, he says something that seems completely out of the blue. This adds to the mysterious nature of his character that is not seen in other shows. "The Office” is already a weird show, but somehow, Creed makes it weirder. Everything that comes out of his mouth is absolutely insane and often times, makes little to no sense at all which is part of his charm.
No one really knows a lot about Creed, himself included, and that’s part of what makes him such a great part of the show. Mostly, the things Creed says are incredibly vague, leaving viewers to wonder if Creed is even being serious about what he’s saying. He is shown during Andy’s performance of “Sweeney Todd” dictating a play review over cellphone. Whether or not he’s actually doing that, who knows? Maybe its just a part of the fantasy world he lives in that only makes sense to him, because it certainly doesn’t make sense to anyone else around him.
Creed has multiple dimensions of his character, all of which are mysterious and extremely shady. He is a known kleptomaniac, which is portrayed a few times during the series. He once started a collection for a co-worker who lost their job and then was seen pocketing the money he collected. During a toy drive, he took a toy out of the collection box and walked away with it. Nothing this man ever does is explained or justified, which makes him all the more captivating.
Perhaps my favorite Creed episode is "Search Committee: Part 2," where Creed is named acting manager, since he has been in the office the longest. He does a horrible job, but the best part is, no one expected him to do anything other than that.
Creed takes control of the office for a few days, with his first order of business being to purchase a new car with "NEW MGR" on the license plate. He hops out of the car, tosses his keys behind him with, of course, no one to catch them.
He then proceeds to start a meeting without calling one, blindly creates acronyms, and purposely drops some of Dunder Mifflin's largest clients after years of "patronizing" the company. This episode is one of the reasons I love Creed. Instead of sitting idly by in the background of the office, Creed becomes the most important person in the episode.
Creed's character on the show seems way too odd to be a real person, but the real Creed Bratton may not be so different from his character on the show. Creed and his character on the show share the same birthdate, birthplace and similar personalities. One of the show's writers, B.J. Novak, said that the Creed on the show and the real Creed Bratton are almost exactly the same person, with the exception of Creed's on-screen deviance.
So, the next time you watch "The Office," keep an eye out for Creed Bratton. He's a hidden gem of the show and I can almost guarantee he will surprise you.
