Andy Bernard

Andrew Baines "Andy" Bernard Jr., is a fictional character played by Ed Helms in the television series The Office.

Characteristics

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 his calculator has been placed in Jell-O.
In The Coup, he is angry at Jim's incompetence at a World War II video game and shouts, "I'm going to kill you for real. The game is over. I'm really going to shoot you."
In Branch Closing, he angrily throws a stack of napkins and stifles screams of frustration when he learns that the Stamford branch is closing.
In The Return, he punches a hole in a wall out of frustration when Jim and Pam hide his cell phone.

It is the final incident which results in Andy being sent to anger management training.

Andy grew up in a life of privilege and fails to comprehend how less wealthy people live.

He frequently mentions that he went to Cornell University (see Recurring jokes below).
His father took him fishing on a 42-foot Bayliner yacht (Traveling Salesmen).
"Like everybody", he hated golf lessons as a child and hung out with the sailing club instead (Job Fair).

Season 3

Andy is a co-worker of Jim's at the Stamford branch. He calls Jim "Big Tuna", because of the sandwich that Jim ate on the first day at Stamford, and reacts violently to Jim's Jell-O practical joke.

He is heavily obsessed with Call of Duty, and is heavily critical of weapon choice in the game. He once made the remark to Jim that he "will kill [Jim] for real" for using sniper rifles.

He thinks Pam is hot and serenaded her, based on advice that he got from Jim, which Jim rigged to describe everything she disliked. He frequently name-drops Cornell, his Alma mater. He is a good singer and sang with an A cappella group - Here Comes Treble - at Cornell. He sucks up to Michael Scott quite often, which begins to annoy Michael. He was in anger management counseling for punching a hole through the wall between Michael's office and the conference room, in a fit of rage after Pam and Jim stole his cell phone and hid it from him in the ceiling. While looking for the cell phone, he reaches for Phyllis' drawer, and she closes it before he could look inside. He stated "I don't trust you, Phyllis." He recorded himself singing all 4 parts to "Rockin' Robin" on his cell phone. When he returns from anger management, he requests that everyone call him Drew, not Andy. In the last episode of season 3, he changes Jim's nickname from Big Tuna to Big Haircut because Karen made Jim get a haircut for his interview with David Wallace.

Season 4

Prior to "Did I Stutter?", Andy drove a Nissan X-Terra, but then sold it to Dwight. Dwight then sold the car on e-Bay for a profit. Andy has since gotten past his rivalry with Dwight. Andy begins to date Angela in the episode Money after giving her a cat and in Goodbye, Toby he proposes with her unpleasantly accepting, which Dwight takes very hard since he was still in love with Anglea.

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 fence with his car. However, both figure out that Angela has been sleeping with both men and are mortified. After that, they both break up with Angela for cheating on them.

Season 6

He has spent almost every episode so far trying to impress Erin, the new receptionist, but has not succeded yet. In Gossip after Michael spread the rumor that Andy was gay, he started to belive he actually was and went to Oscar for help.

Recurring jokes

Andy went to Cornell and is smug about it.
- "I went to Cornell. Ever heard of it? I graduated in four years, I never studied once, I was drunk the whole time." (talking head interview, Gay Witch Hunt)
- "You should be an English professor at Cor-not University." (sparring with Dwight, The Merger)
- "I started the main Frisbee golf club at Cornell. Where I went to college." (to Jim, The Convict)
- "Football: Cornell/Hofstra: Slaughter." (sucking up to Michael, The Return)
- "I graduated from anger management the same way I graduated from Cornell: On time." (talking head interview, The Negotiation)
- "He's classy. He gets me. He went to Cornell." (Michael, Beach Games)
- "The capital of Maine is Montpelier, Vermont, which is near Ithaca, New York, where I went to Cornell." (interviewing with Dwight, The Job)
- "Three months ago, I was nowhere. I was just a Cornell grad, in anger management." (talking head interview, The Job)
- "That school? Cornell." (talking head interview, Launch Party, deleted scene)
- "I got into Cornell off the Wait List." (talking head interview, Branch Wars, deleted scene)
- "Andy, was that coordinated by the Cornell Study Abroad Office?" (Angela, Dinner Party, deleted scene)
- The rear windshield of Andy's car has a Cornell sticker. (Chair Model, Did I Stutter?)
- Andy introduces himself to the client as "Andy Bernard, Cornell '95." (Job Fair)

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 A cappella.
- 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", he serenades Angela with a rendition of 'Take a Chance On Me' by ABBA.
- In "Moroccan Christmas", Andy teaches himself to play a sitar.
- 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.

Angela defaces Andy's car.
- In 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.
Andy tries, but invariably fails, to impress Erin:

- In Niagra, Andy has a dance-off with Erin, only to to tear his scrotum while doing a split.
- 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 request 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 massacare by her cat. However, he appears to succeed at the end when he brings in the twelve drummers drumming.

Deleted scene.

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 revealed in Shareholder Meeting that he received a 1200 on the SAT and that he had slacked off much in Cornell in Gay Witch Hunt. It is revealed that he is a legacy (his previous family attended Cornell), so they may have pulled some strings to keep him in.

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

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 had arrived, Andy was attracted to Angela, which angers Dwight and at the same shocking some employees (who cannot understand how he is attracted to her). He also originally proposed to her. But after realizing Angela has been sleeping with both Dwight and him, he becomes furious and cancels the wedding planned. 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 pulled on him. He always referred Jim to "Big Tuna" and keeps a close relationship with Jim. At times, however, both get annoyed with each others' 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.

Mentioned In

Cocktails, though not by name. Karen says, "There is one [employee] in anger management."