Best known for playing Ryan Howard on “The Office”, B.J. Novak was at the Peet’s Coffee and Tea in Town and Country today while visiting a friend in Palo Alto.

Nominated for seven Emmys, production of “The Office” has been put on hold as the writer’s strike continues. Novak has been using the time off to picket, wait, read, and watch movies, trying to “stock up on life experiences”.

Although originally hired as an actor and writer, Novak was promoted to a supervising producer of “The Office” in 2005. As part of his job, he and the other producers “act as a board of directors” by helping with casting, editing, and making directing suggestions. “It’s not hard to do both [acting and producing],” Novak said.

Another part of his job involves watching new episodes multiple times as they go through the editing process, so Novak does not often watch the show on NBC Thursday nights. His favorite moment in “The Office” so far was when Ryan got the job in corporate (Season 3 finale). He says to expect “exciting things for Ryan”, but admits that he will not know about specific plans until a few months in advance.

As for his favorite “Office” character, Novak is a big fan of Toby, who is in charge of Human Relations at the Scranton branch. “If I was not on the show, Toby is why I would watch it,” Novak said. “He’s so unique, real, and subtle…every time Michael [Scott, played by Steve Carrell] says ‘Toby’, it’s funny.”

As the famous Michael Scott (Carrell) once said, “So Ryan got promoted to corporate, where he is a little fish in a big pond. Whereas back here in Scranton I am still top dog in a fairly large pond. So who is the real boss? The dog or a fish?” In Palo Alto, the fish rules.