Dakota Johnson Describes Her Cameo In ‘The Office’ Series Finale Like “Crashing Someone’s Birthday Party”

Thanks to her recent turns in “The Lost Daughter,” “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” and the upcoming “Persuasion,” Dakota Johnson is having a career moment right now. But Johnson has had other outstanding roles over the years, too, like her precocious dancing student in Luca Guadagnino‘s “Suspiria” remake or Ralph Fiennes‘ maybe-daughter in “A Bigger Splash.” And of course, there’s her time as Anastasia Steele in the “Fifty Shades Of Grey” franchise.

READ MORE: Dakota Johnson Talks “Crazy” ‘50 Shades’ Drama & Says She “Signed Up To Do A Very Different Version” Of The Film

But Johnson has had numerous memorable cameos, too, like her first role as an adult as a Stanford one-night stand for Justin Timberlake‘s Sean Parker in “The Social Network.” Or, nearly as brief, her role in the series finale of “The Office.” In the two-part finale, Johnson plays a woman named, well, Dakota, who has replaced Brian Baumgartner‘s Kevin Malone in the accounting department. In a video interview with Vanity Fair, Johnson broke down her time on “The Office” set for the finale, and how despite being in the final shows for just a few minutes, she ended up on set much longer than anyone anticipated.

“I somehow got myself into being in the season finale of “The Office,” because I was a fan of “The Office,” of course,” she said during the interview. “I’m in it for, like, three minutes and I spent two weeks on that set. I was there everyday, all day.” Being a fan of the show, that must have been fun for Johnson, but also a little awkward. “I felt like I was crashing someone’s birthday party when they actually didn’t really mean to invite me,” she continued, “like they did it just to, ‘yeah sure, come!,’ and then I was stuck there.”  

So, Johnson felt like the odd one night during the finale’s shooting, but there were some silver linings. “I did meet Rainn Wilson, and now I always run into him on planes,” Johnson commented.  

Despite ending in 2013 after nine seasons and 201 episodes, “The Office” remains a super-popular TV show endlessly rewatched by fans.  Peacock currently has exclusive streaming rights to the show, but “The Office” continues to air on TV on Comedy Central.

As for Johnson, catch her next in Carrie Cracknell‘s take on Jane Austen‘s “Persuasion,” premiering on Netflix on July 15.