Andy Bernard

Andrew Baines Bernard
Biographical Information
Gender	Male
Alias(es)	Nard Dog Bro Nard Boner Champ Ace Buzz Hubble
Personal Information
Relationships	Angela Martin (ex-fiancée) Jessica (ex-girlfriend) Erin Hannon (ex-girlfriend)
Siblings	Walter Bernard Jr. Sister (unnamed)
Parents	Walter Bernard Sr. Ellen Bernard
Professional Information
Occupation	Cornell Admissions Director Dunder Mifflin Branch Manager (former) Dunder Mifflin Regional Director of Sales (former)
Workplace	Cornell University Dunder Mifflin Scranton Dunder Mifflin Stamford
Production Information
First	Gay Witch Hunt
Last	Finale
Seasons	3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9
Portrayed by	Ed Helms

Andrew "Andy" Baines Bernard (born Walter Bernard, Jr. in 1973) is a fictional character played by Ed Helms in the television series, The Office. Andy is a Salesman at Dunder Mifflin. He enjoys singing acapella and playing the guitar.

Andy was a Salesman at Dunder Mifflin/Sabre until being promoted to Regional Manager, starting with Season 8. He is currently in no relationship. He was fired after Nellie stole his job causing Andy to react violently, but wins his job back after convincing David Wallace to buy out Dunder-Mifflin/Sabre and re-instate him as manager. He quits his job at Dunder Mifflin in order to start on the road of success as an actor, although he does not get accepted into the audition. He is now a main head Counselor at Cornell, the university he graduated from.

When first introduced, it was revealed that Andy had issues with anger management.

• In Gay Witch Hunt, he shouts and angrily kicks a wastepaper basket when he discovers that someone has placed his calculator in Jell-O.
• In The Return, he punches a hole in a wall out of frustration when Jim hides his cell phone. This results in Andy being sent to anger management training.
• In a deleted scene in Job Fair, he angry flails his golf club and tries to break it, but ends up hurting himself.
• In Sex Ed Andy believes that Erin and Gabe may be sexually active. Andy is mocked by his coworkers (Most noticeably Meredith who called him Pencil Dick) and throws a box of pizza at a wall and storms off.
• In Angry Andy Andy also punches the wall as in The Return. Andy grew up in a life of privilege and often fails to comprehend how less wealthy people live.
• He frequently mentions that he went to Cornell University (see Andy Bernard's academic career).
• "Like everybody," he hated golf lessons as a child and hung out at the sailing club instead (Job Fair).
• He tries to gain sympathy for personal reasons in the episode Andy's Ancestry and suggests to Darryl that he says that he lived in an apartment as a child.

Season 3

Andy is introduced in the Season 3 premiere, "Gay Witch Hunt", as a co-worker of Jim's at the Stamford branch. In the same episode he calls Jim "Big Tuna," in reference to Jim bringing a tuna sandwich on his first day at Stamford. He also reacts violently to being on the receiving end of Jim's practical joke.

In fact all of Jim's future tuna related nicknames such as but not limited to "Big Tuna" or just "Tuna" were coined by Andy and stemmed from this.

He is heavily obsessed with Call of Duty, and once remarked to Jim that he is "gonna kill [Jim] for real" for using sniper rifles ("The Coup", Season 3 Episode 3) on a close range shooting map.

When Andy transferred to the Scranton Branch, he told Jim that he found Pam attractive, which caused Jim to play a practical joke on Pam and tell Andy many things that were the opposite of what Pam finds to be attractive in a man ("The Convict", Season 3 Episode 9).

Andy serves as the main antagonist for a short time towards the office by constantly singing out loud, showing off and even pressures Michael to have Dwight fired for being late to work and lying (a decision Michael would later regret). Michael turns him down by finally telling him to stop bothering him, Andy replies by saying "Sorry I annoyed you with my friendship" and walks away.

Jim and Pam then play a practical joke and hide Andy's cell phone in the ceiling tiles (though Karen warned that it wouldn't be a good thing to do), he becomes extremely aggravated and punches a hole in the wall, for which he is sent to anger management counseling ("The Return", Season 3 Episode 13). Andy says the program is ten weeks but promises that he'd be back after five weeks before meeting the counsellor and leaving for the next little bit.

Season 4

After Karen leaves, Andy is the only member of the Stamford branch (excluding Jim) that remains in Scranton.

In the Season 4 premiere, "Fun Run", it is revealed that Andy has extremely sensitive nipples that are prone to chafing ("I'm petrified of nipple chafing. Once it starts it is a vicious cycle. If you have sensitive nipples, they chafe, so they become more sensitive, so they chafe more.")  Later in the episode, his nipples end up chafing and cause major bleeding.

Andy, who is interested in Angela, decides to ask her out on a date, and while she continues to turn him down, he remains determined. At one point, he gives her a cat that he found outside, which prompts her to finally say yes ("Money" Season 4 Episode 4).

Prior to "Did I Stutter?", Andy drove a Nissan Xterra, but then sold it to Dwight. Dwight then sold the car on

e-Bay for a profit.

In Goodbye, Toby he proposes to Angela, who replies with an unenthusiastic "okay." In this episode, he also refers to his parents as "Andrew and Ellen Bernard" who are actually named "Walter and Ellen Bernard." They are both later played by different actors. 

Season 5

Andy is constantly making wedding plans at work, completely unaware that Angela is having an affair with Dwight. When Michael tells him this in "The Duel", Andy challenges Dwight to a duel, which he wins by pinning Dwight to a hedge with his car. However, both figure out that Angela has been sleeping with both men and are mortified.

Season 6

He has spent almost every episode so far trying to impress Erin, the new receptionist. He succeeded in "The Delivery", though in the episode "Secretary's Day", Erin finds out from Michael that Andy was engaged to Angela which Andy had never told her, so they ended up breaking up. In Gossip after Michael spread the rumor that Andy was gay, he started to believe he actually was and went to Oscar for help. Andy becomes the first Dunder Mifflin/Sabre employee to learn the printers they sell can catch on fire (The Chump). He is also the first to be suspected of leaking the story to the press, which he vehemently denies (The Whistleblower). However, it is revealed he is one of least four others who leaked the story, though he remains the only one blamed.

Season 8

While on the elevator ride up, Andy believed Dwight felt resentment toward him so he hired Dwight to be second in command. A planking Kelly up on Andy's cabinet tells him that it was a smart move to which an annoyed Andy mutters "this has got to stop". He tasks Dwight with going around and stopping plankers. Andy is later confronted by Jim and Pam when they find a page in Robert's notebook with all their names on a list. Andy tries to persuade them that it is nothing bad at all and goes to prove it by asking Robert directly. Robert moves his name on the list and later takes out the employees on one list out for lunch, later stating that they are the winners and the others are losers - "winners, prove me right; losers, prove me wrong." After the Florida team return from their work in Tallahassee. He realizes Erin is currently in Tallahassee living as a maid, and goes to bring her back to Scranton. He breaks up with his current girlfriend Jessica, at first proclaiming he is gay and then stating his love for Erin. When coming back from Florida with Erin, he returns to the office with somebody else in his place of Regional Manager, (Nellie Bertram) and tries to get his position back. After him and Erin have a moment of rage Robert calls them into his office and fires Andy from Dunder Mifflin because he was insisting that he return to the job that was rightfully his. He then goes on to create 'Big Red Paper Company.'

Season 9

Andy is still the Regional Manager at Dunder Mifflin Scranton, but he has returned from going on a camping trip. He learned activities such as slacklining and survival skills. He ensures that he will be a "huge bitch" to Nellie Bertram.

Andy attends Pam's chore wheel meeting.

Andy finds out that his family has gone broke, and that his dad has left.  Andy is forced to sell the family boat to provide for the family.  He sells it to someone in the Bahamas, and decides to sail it there because sailing the family boat has always been his lifelong dream.  He takes three months off of work to sail the boat and everyone resents him, because he gets praised from David Wallace for great performance (because he lied to David).  David eventually finds out, but Andy does not get fired.

Erin dumps Andy for Pete whom she started seeing while Andy was on the boat.  Andy is very upset, and he tries many methods to break them up, but he is unsuccessful.

In the episode "Livin' the Dream", Andy decides to pursue stardom by quitting his job at Dunder Mifflin. Intending to eliminate his current job as a fallback, he asks Toby to enter falsified information into his employment record. After Toby refuses, Andy tries to grope him. He then intentionally brings up the fact that he lost the White Pages account ("Couples Discount") and starts an argument with David Wallace. After Wallace becomes enraged and finally fires him, Andy tops it off by defecating on Wallace's new car.

Recurring jokes

• Andy went to Cornell and is smug about it. For more details, see Andy Bernard's academic career.
• Andy has a wide range of musical talent, which showcases Ed Helms' real life musical talent. Dwight often makes fun of him because of this.
  • Andy frequently breaks into acappella.
  • In "The Convict", Andy plays "The Rainbow Connection" on the banjo in a "sexy, high falsetto voice" in an attempt to woo Pam.
  • In "Back From Vacation", Andy plays Michael's steel drum.
  • In "Launch Party", Andy, with his Cornell buddies singing harmonies via speakerphone, serenades Angela with a rendition of ABBA's "Take a Chance on Me"
  • In "Moroccan Christmas", Andy teaches himself to play a sitar.
  • In "Michael Scott Paper Company", Andy, playing a banjo, breaks into a musical duel rendition of "Country Roads" with Dwight to compete for Erin's interest.
  • In "Cafe Disco", Andy engages in a talented dance-off with Kelly.
  • In "Crime Aid", Dwight calls Andy a "singing buffoon". Also, for the Roast of Michael Scott, Andy sings "What I Hate About You".
  • In "The Duel", Dwight imitates Andy's singing by yelling "lalalalala" in his face.
  • In "Niagara", Andy has a dance off with Meredith, but unfortunately tears his scrotum on his car keys while attempting a split.

• Angela defaces Andy's car.
  • In a deleted scene from "Safety Training", Angela calmly walks around Andy's new car and scratches it with her key.
  • In "Dinner Party", Angela smashes her ice cream cone against the side of Andy's car in disgust.
• Andy consistently dresses in a "preppy" style, with khaki pants, matching striped or patterned neckties and shirts in bold colors. In Women's Appreciation, Dwight calls Andy a "preppy freak." Notable fashion choices include:
  • In "Traveling Salesmen", Andy wears a navy blue Nantucket rope bracelet.
  • In "Beach Games", Andy wears J.Crew Madras shorts.
  • In "Chair Model", Andy wears green socks to match his green necktie.
  • In "New Leads", Andy wears red pants.
  • Throughout a number of episodes, Andy dons bow-ties in various colors.
• Andy tries, but invariably fails, to impress Erin:
  • In "Murder", during a murder-mystery type game, Andy asks out Erin while seemingly in character. This leads to confusion, so Andy backs off.
  • In "Secret Santa", Andy requests Erin for secret Santa and gives her the Twelve Days of Christmas. This backfires when Erin shows up with a scratch on her face and tales of a bird massacre by her cat. However, he appears to succeed at the end when he brings in the twelve drummers drumming.

Trivia

• According to the flyer in "Did I Stutter?", Andy's office extension is 1022.
• Andy prefers Drew when he returns from anger management.
• The writers created the Web site AngelaAndy.com in the character of Andy Bernard as he prepared for his impending wedding to Angela. The site was periodically updated during the course of Season 5.
• It was shown that, in a deleted scene from "The Convict", Andy was a model and actor as a baby, but "didn't want to make a career out of it", despite having done so.
• It was revealed in "Shareholder Meeting" that he received a 1220 on the SAT.
• In a deleted scene from "Branch Wars", Andy reveals that he was originally wait-listed at Cornell and that his father donated a building to get him in.
• Andy was originally named Walter Jr. by his parents, but was then renamed Andrew at the age of 6, his parents believing that his younger brother better exemplified the Walter Jr. name.
  • Another bit of trivia, the writers made a continuity error about Andy's father; in "Goodbye, Toby", Andy introduces his father as Andrew Bernard. Presumably they forgot about this when they later named him Walter for the purposes of the joke.
• Andy has a sister. He mentions that his kilt in "St. Patrick's Day" was originally his sister's field hockey skirt.
• In the same episode, "St. Patrick's Day", In a talking-head interview about his upcoming first date with Erin, it is hinted that he enjoys the show "How I Met Your Mother", when he says his first date with her has to be perfect, because that is the date that his supposedly future children will want to hear.
• Andy has a tattoo of a dog with the word "Nard" on it on his bottom. (The Incentive)
• After Michael left, Andy took over as the regional manager of the Scranton branch.
• Darryl reveals that Andy's nickname in the warehouse was "Jelly Roll".
• Andy took women's studies at Cornell and wrote a companion to The Vagina Monologues called The Penis Apologies. (The Inner Circle)
• Andy graduated from Cornell in 1995. This would place his year of birth at 1973, making him 40 years of age (as of 2013). However, in Livin' the Dream, Andy stated that he was 38 years of age.
• Andy revealed that he was obese as a child but never talks about it to anyone (Livin' the Dream).
• In the season 6 episode 'Secretary's Day' Andy says that if it weren't for secretaries he would not have a step-mother.
• Andy is known for being unsuccessful at sales within Dunder Mifflin, however the quarterly sales figures above Kelly's desk in season 6 episode 2 'The Meeting' show him to be the branch's leading salesperson.
• Andy spoke to the press about the printers catching on fire. When Jo confronts the office, demanding to know who did it, Phyllis calls Andy "Norma Rae", trying to make him confess (Whistleblower).
• He owns 7% of Gamma Labs who make g fuel
• He appears to love the environment since he drives a 2008 Toyota Prius and later, a 2010 model of the same car.

Quotes

• "Big Tuna is a super ambitious guy, you know? Cut your throat to get ahead kind of guy, but I mean I'm not threatened by him. I went to Cornell, you ever heard of it? (laughs) I graduated in four years. I never studied once. I was drunk the whole time, and I sang in the acappella group, 'Here Comes Treble.'" ("Gay Witch Hunt" Season 3 Episode 1)
• "OK. Who put my calculator in Jell-O? Good one. But uh, seriously, guys who did this? Seriously guys, who did this? I need to know who put my calculator in Jell-O, or I'm gonna lose my freaking mind!" ("Gay Witch Hunt" Season 3 Episode 1)
• "And I'm also sorry that a lot of people here for some reason think it's funny to steal someone's personal property and hide it from them. Here's a little newsflash! It's not funny! In fact, it's pretty freakin' unfunny! Oh, my God!" <punches wall> ("The Return" Season 3 Episode 13)
• "Not only is Erin really sweet and cute... she smells like my mom." ("Niagara" Season 6 Episode 4)
• "Oh, it is on like the prawn who yawns at dawn." ("Casual Friday")
• "We trade on the New-York Stock Exchange, ever heard of it? It's in New-York"
• "Name repetition, personality mirroring, and positive reinforcement."
• "I just want one motherf*cking delicious moment!" ("Free Family Portrait Studio")
• "Gotta burn those boats. So I need you to put down that I was fired for theft and/or groping weiners."
• "I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them."

Extended Family

• Howard Bernard- Paternal Grandfather (silenced whistle blowers)
• Elizabeth Clark- Paternal Grandmother (slept with JFK, did not fornicate, merely slept)
• Jonathan Dorest- Maternal Grandfather (Founded Connecticut Communist Party)
• Catherine Potter- Maternal Grandmother (Typist, world record holder for one handed typist)
• Walter Bernard- Paternal Great- Grandfather
• Patricia Coffee- Paternal Great- Grandmother (Passenger on HMS Titanic)
• Charles Dorset- Maternal Great- Grandfather (Lost run for Senate 3 times in a row)
• Jane Plum- Maternal Great- Grandmother

Appearances

Andy has appeared and had lines in every episode since the character's introduction in Gay Witch Hunt with the following exceptions:

• The Convention - did not appear
• Ben Franklin through Cocktails - did not appear (character was in anger management training)
• The Deposition - speaks only in a deleted scene
• "Blood Drive"- mentioned only
• The Target- mentioned only
• Lice- did not appear
• Suit Warehouse- mentioned only
• Customer Loyalty- mentioned only

Relationship with other Employees

• Dwight- Since the closure of the Stamford Branch, Andy and Dwight have had strained relations for some time, stemming from attempts to appease Michael and date Angela. Some time later, both have somewhat became closer and cooperative with each other, but still consider each other rivals.
• Angela- Before Erin arrives, Andy is attracted to Angela, which angers Dwight. He originally proposes to her, but after realizing that Angela has been sleeping with both Dwight and him, he becomes furious and cancels the planned wedding. Since then, Angela and Andy have stayed away from each other.
• Erin- Andy is greatly attracted to Erin and often attempts to surprise her and go all out, only to sometimes backfire. Andy shows his love with his presents in Secret Santa.
• Jim- Jim is the first employee to meet Andy and at times is unaware of the pranks Jim pulls on him. He always referred to Jim as "Big Tuna" and keeps a close relationship with him. At times, however, both get annoyed with each other's antics.
• Michael- Like Dwight, Andy is very close to him, only Michael does not cherish the relationship as much. Previously, Michael was severely annoyed with Andy's attempts to please him, resulting in Andy to punch a hole in the wall and going off to anger management. Eventually, Michael becomes somewhat friendly with Andy, but still sees Dwight closer.
• Darryl Darryl and Andy become good friends throughout the show, even though at times Darryl can get very agervated with Andy. As seen in the lotto Darryl becomes very upset as the whole wharehouse crew quits because they win the lottery and Darryl’s ex-wife leaves him. Darryl tells Andy to fire him or give him the manger position claiming it’s the only way he’ll be happy. He later tells Andy how he deserved the spot, but Andy then tells him that he wasn’t even in consideration for the spot because of Darryl’s recent laziness and slacking off. Darryl excepts this and they go back on to good terms.

See also

• Andy Bernard's academic career

Mentioned In

• Cocktails, though not by name. Karen says, "There is one [employee] in anger management."
• Blood Drive, by Oscar.
• The Target, by Pete.
• Suit Warehouse, by Pam.
• Customer Loyalty, by Nellie.