‘The Office’s Bob Vance Weighs In on Whether or Not He’s the Scranton Strangler

Bob Vance was one of the more mysterious characters on The Office. While he originally seemed like an affable blue-collar guy who loved to plug his business whenever he introduced himself — “Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration” — as more details emerged about Phyllis’ husband, the darker the character became.

In one episode, Phyllis (Phyllis Smith) admitted that she and Bob liked to go out to bars, wait for men to hit on her and then have Bob beat them up. Meanwhile, at their wedding, a dead-eyed Bob threatened Steve Carell’s Michael Scott with a similar kind of menace. There was also a reference to a grand jury investigation of Bob, and, of course, some seemingly coordinated Pretzel Day shenanigans between him and Phyllis. 

Clearly, Bob had flexible morals that have caused the Office fandom to speculate whether he was in the mafia, or maybe even the infamous “Scranton Strangler.”

What does Bob himself think? We asked actor Robert Shafer to weigh in.

To start, how did you get the part of Bob Vance?

I auditioned. It was Halloween, and Hollywood was jammed. There was no place to park, and I was the last guy of the day. After the audition was over, there were three girls standing outside dressed as angels. I thought, “Maybe that’s an omen.” 

I got a callback a couple of weeks later, and Phyllis was there. I think she had a voice in casting me because, the next morning I was on set with my first iteration of “Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration.”

Funny enough, at the same time, I had an offer to be the Maytag repairman. In order to get the 100 grand that came with it, though, I had to do 250 public appearances in one year — like at malls and Lowes and Home Depots. I don’t think I would have lasted a week! I was telling my agents, “I really want to do The Office,” and they were like, “That show isn’t going to make it. It’s going to get canceled.” They wanted their commission. They didn’t care that I’d be tortured. I thought Bob Vance might be a recurring character, though, so I wanted that. 

Funny thing was, my mom and dad, their names were Bob and Phyllis. Not only that, but Phyllis Smith was my mom’s maiden name too. It was some heavy synchronicity. 

Had you met the other Phyllis Smith — that is, the one who wasn’t your mom — before The Office?

One time. She was a casting director, and I was reading for her for a half-hour sitcom about Elvis. I wanted to be a part of it because it was a period piece, and I love that era. I would have been one of Elvis’ friends, but I was terrible. I sucked. I never brought that up to her. 

What was Phyllis like to work with?

She’s a great person. Most of the scenes I was in were parties with her, so I made all of my scenes about her. Everything was about Phyllis — I’m there to love her, protect her, put her on a pedestal. 

Do you have a favorite episode?

“Phyllis’ Wedding” is, of course, my favorite because I’m the most involved in that one. We watched that episode live at Greg Daniels’ house. It was a party. Phyllis and I were standing outside, and Harold Ramis came walking up because he and Greg Daniels were friends. The first thing out of Harold Ramis’ mouth was, “Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration.” I said, “Mr. Ramis, that’s my line!” 

Later, when we were watching the episode and it got to the moment where I grabbed Michael’s hand and said, “If you ever lay a hand on Phyllis, I’ll kill you,” that killed the room, Harold Ramis included. To me, that guy was a comedy god and to see him crack up like that was a big win.

Next time you watch it, you can see Michael is trying to get his hand away from me, but he can’t because I have a death grip on him. That wasn’t in the script. 

The online fandom has some crazy theories about Bob. Some think he’s in the mafia. What do you think?

Maybe something fell off a truck here or there, who knows? I never played that, though.

What about the Scranton Strangler?

No. Bob Vance was a killer, though. He was a Marine Corps Combat Infantry Officer in Vietnam. Phyllis mentions that in “Phyllis’ Wedding.” Not the Scranton Strangler, though. Toby gets my vote on that, or one of the Schrutes. Mose is a prime candidate in my opinion.