Any The Office fan might recall Season 2 Episode 4 of the hit series in which Ryan, played by Newton native, B.J. Novak, starts an office fire by leaving a cheese pita in the toaster oven for too long. The episode was also written by Novak who wore many hats during his 9 seasons on The Office-including every task from Ryan’s portrayal to Executive Producer to writing and directing several episodes.
Novak’s high school days primed him for those 8 years on “The Office” working under the direction of prankster and “world’s greatest boss,” Micheal Scott. As a Newton South High School student, alongside John Krasinski, Novak was the mastermind behind a highly publicized prank which occurred in 1997.
Novak and some friends recorded over the MFA’s audio guides to provide their own commentary. B.J. broke down the prank in 2006 while on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno:
While touring an art exhibit, B.J. and his friends replaced the guided audio tour narration with their own recording. What was supposed to be an explanation of Chinese art instead turned into an audio of celebrity impersonations, paint sniffing, and movie reviews. Guests listening through their headphones were wildly confused but equally amused.
And you can actually listen the B.J. Novak MFA prank audio in the clip below. The switch begins about 3-minutes in, but its hard to notice at first with Novak’s brother Jesse, putting in the work to include similar music in their audio takeover.
The MFA welcomed him back (with no hard feelings) to breakdown the prank and share how his time in Mass. sprouted the seedlings for his successful career in Hollywood. Today, Novak holds many accolades and has worked on a variety of projects from movies to podcasts, books and more from The Mindy Project to the acclaimed 2022 film Vengeance.
On March 1, Novak and his Newton High classmate and friend, Amir Dehestani, chatted with a sold-out crowd about the legendary prank. Novak and the MFA are on good terms, and the museum notes that this prank offered a rich learning opportunity, stating, “In 1997, the actor, writer and comedian recorded over audio guides for an MFA exhibition—a stunt that both confused countless innocent visitors and showed us that even the pettiest and most sophomoric pranksters among us can leave an impact on a historic institution.”