David Wallace is a fictional character in the American comedy series ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series of ...

'', portrayed by

Andy Buckley Andrew P. Buckley Jr. (born February 13, 1965) is an American actor and financial analyst best known for his role as David Wallace on the NBC comedy series ''The Office'' from 2006 to 2013. Early life Buckley was born in Salem, Massachusetts, ...

. Wallace is introduced in the second season as the new

chief financial officer The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financi ...

Dunder Mifflin Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, Inc. is a fictional paper and office supplies wholesale company featured in the American television series ''The Office''. It is analogous to Wernham Hogg in the British original of the series, and Papiers Jennings ...

. Wallace is named after

David Foster Wallace David Foster Wallace (February 21, 1962 – September 12, 2008) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and university professor of English and creative writing. Wallace is widely known for his 1996 novel ''Infinite Jest'', which ...

, a favorite author of

John Krasinski John Burke Krasinski (; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom '' The Office''. He also served as a producer and occasional director of the series throughout its nine ...

and executive producer Michael Schur. The other characters almost exclusively refer to him by the full name "David Wallace", rather than by, for example, simply his first name. His character is established as a wealthy executive at the corporate headquarters in New York with an opulent suburban home, wife, Rachel, and two kids – one son and one daughter. Despite his differing lifestyle from the members of the Scranton branch, David tolerates and understands the eccentricities and flaws of Regional Manager Michael Scott, and appreciates employees

Jim Halpert James "Jim" Duncan Halpert is a fictional character in the U.S. version of the television sitcom ''The Office'', portrayed by John Krasinski. He is introduced as a sales representative at the Scranton branch of paper distribution company Dunder M ...

and

Toby Flenderson ''The Office'' is an American television series based on the British television comedy of the same name. The format of the series is a parody of the fly on the wall documentary technique that intersperses traditional situation comedy segments w ...

. He is let go in the sixth season following the absorption of Dunder Mifflin by Sabre. He later sells his patent for a toy vacuum, called "Suck It," Daniels, Greg (Creator)
Ellickson, Owen
( writer), "

Fundraiser Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

." ''

,''

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...

. Episode 22,

Season 8 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

. Aired on April 26, 2012. to the U.S. military for $20 million and subsequently acquires Dunder Mifflin for an undisclosed sum of money, becoming

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...

in the eighth-season finale, "

Free Family Portrait Studio "Free Family Portrait Studio" is the twenty-fourth episode and season finale of the eighth season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'', and the show's 176th episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC on May 10, 2012. ...

Character history

Seasons 2–3

David is introduced in "

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thro ...

" during a meeting to discuss the financial standings of the branches as the new CFO—the previous one having resigned due to allegations of sexual harassment from his secretary (as outlined in the episode "

Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...

"). Craig, Regional Manager at the Albany branch, blurts out that Michael and their supervisor

Jan Levinson Janet Levinson (formerly Levinson-Gould) is a recurring fictional character from the US television series '' The Office'', portrayed by Melora Hardin. She is the no-nonsense Vice President of Northeast Sales at the paper distribution company Dun ...

, Vice President of Sales, slept together after Jan criticizes Craig's performance. This prompts Michael to formally apologize and say he was only joking, and compliments Jan on her professionalism, which Wallace accepts. Schur, Michael (writer) & Daniels, Greg (director), "

". ''

'',

. Episode 16,

season 2 Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * ''2econd Season ''2econd Season'' is the second and most recent album by Atlanta-based rapper Unk. Release It was released on November 4, 2008. Guest Performers The album features gu ...

. Aired on February 9, 2006. In the third-season episode "

Cocktails A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely acros ...

", Wallace hosts a cocktail party at his home that Jan, Michael,

and

Dwight Schrute Dwight Kurt Schrute III () is a fictional character on '' The Office (U.S.)'' and is portrayed by American actor Rainn Wilson. Dwight's character was a salesman and the assistant to the regional manager, at the fictional paper distribution compa ...

attend, which David later leaves to play basketball outside with Jim. Lieberstein, Paul (writer) & Abrams, J.J. (director), "

". ''

'',

. Episode 18,

season 3 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

. Aired on February 22, 2007. He invites Michael to interview for a corporate position in the same-season episode, "

Beach Games "Beach Games" is the twenty-third episode of the third season of the American version of ''The Office'', and the 51st of the series. In this episode, the office goes to a nearby lake for some "beach games". It is revealed that Michael (Steve ...

". Celotta, Jennifer (writer) & Lieberstein, Paul (writer) & Ramis, Harold (director), "

". ''

'',

. Episode 23,

. Aired on May 10, 2007. However, it is revealed in " The Job" that the interview is for Jan's position. Jan discovers they are planning to fire her and angrily confronts Wallace. Security escorts Jan out of the building, interrupting Karen's interview. In a somewhat awkward exchange, Michael reveals to Wallace that he will be rescinding his vie for the position out of respect for Jan, with whom he is romantically involved (though Wallace already told Michael he would not be getting the job). Wallace instead appoints

Ryan Howard Ryan James Howard (born November 19, 1979), nicknamed "the Big Piece", is an American former professional baseball first baseman. Howard spent his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, from to . He is ...

, who has an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the

University of Scranton The University of Scranton is a private Jesuit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1888 by William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. In 1938, the college was elevated to university status and took th ...

, to the position. Lieberstein, Paul (writer) & Schur, Michael (writer) & Kwapis, Ken (director), " The Job". ''

'',

. Episode 24,

. Aired on May 17, 2007.

Seasons 4–5

In the fourth-season episode " The Deposition", a deposition is held when Jan sues Dunder Mifflin for firing her under

wrongful termination In law, wrongful dismissal, also called wrongful termination or wrongful discharge, is a situation in which an employee's contract of employment has been terminated by the employer, where the termination breaches one or more terms of the contr ...

. Wallace's testimony reveals that Michael is appreciated but was not a serious contender for Jan's replacement. This hurts but mollifies Michael, and prompts him to side with Dunder Mifflin in the lawsuit. Wallace sincerely apologizes to Michael following the end of the deposition. Lewis, Lester (writer) & Farino, Julian (director), " The Deposition". ''

'',

. Episode 12,

season 4 Season 4 may refer to: * "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock'' See also * * Season One (disambiguation) * Season 2 (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

. Aired on November 15, 2007. In the fifth-season episode " Crime Aid", Wallace uncovers the relationship between Michael and Scranton's new HR representative Holly Flax (

Amy Ryan Amy Beth Dziewiontkowski, known professionally as Amy Ryan, is an American actress of stage and screen. A graduate of New York's High School of Performing Arts, she is an Academy Award nominee and two-time Tony Award nominee. Ryan began her pr ...

) and transfers her back to New Hampshire. Grandy, Charlie (writer) & Celotta, Jennifer (director), " Crime Aid". ''

'',

. Episode 5,

season 5 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

. Aired on October 23, 2008. To appease Michael following his loss, he sends Michael on a business trip to

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers, near the Longitude, longitudinal centre of Nort ...

, but just as the trip ends Michael scolds Wallace for sending her away anyway. Forrester, Brent (writer) & Einhorn, Randall (director), "

Business Trip Business travel is travel undertaken for work or business purposes, as opposed to other types of travel, such as for leisure purposes or regularly commuting between one's home and workplace. According to a survey, 88% small business owners e ...

". ''

'',

. Episode 8,

. Aired on November 13, 2008. He later meets Michael to evaluate the success of the Scranton branch and how it can be applied to the rest of Dunder Mifflin during the

financial crisis of 2007–2008 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...

, only for Michael's personality to render him unable to provide anything of use. Celotta, Jennifer (writer) & Holland, Dean (director), " The Duel". ''

'',

. Episode 12,

. Aired on January 15, 2009. However, he enlists Michael in scouting out a Dunder Mifflin competitor called Prince Family Paper, to which Michael and Dwight discreetly carry out, acquiring information on their clients, finances, and more. Novak, B. J. (writer) & Kelada, Asaad (director), " Prince Family Paper". ''

'',

. Episode 13,

. Aired on January 22, 2009. In " Golden Ticket", Michael uses the golden ticket concept from ''

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1964 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka. The story was originall ...

'' to discount random clients 10% on their paper, only for all of them to end up with Blue Cross, the Scranton office's largest client. This discount creates a major financial hit for the branch, angering Wallace, who comes down to the branch. However, Wallace is informed that Blue Cross was so delighted by the discount that they are going exclusively with the company for all their office supplies, and praises Dwight, whom Michael has begged to take the fall for the idea. Kaling, Mindy (writer) & Einhorn, Randall (director), " Golden Ticket". ''

'',

. Episode 19,

. Aired on March 12, 2009. After Ryan's dismissal in the fourth-season finale, Wallace hired Charles Miner to replace him in " New Boss". However, Charles has a stricter management style that angers Michael into calling Wallace. Ultimately, Michael travels to New York to confront Wallace, as he feels his years of service and loyalty to the company should give him greater freedom than Charles is allowing. Wallace's appeasements to Michael do not satisfy him and he resigns. Eisenberg, Lee (writer) & Stupnitsky, Gene (writer) & Feig, Paul (director), " New Boss". ''

'',

. Episode 20,

. Aired on March 19, 2009. Michael then founds the

Michael Scott Paper Company "Michael Scott Paper Company" is the twenty-third episode of the fifth season of the television series ''The Office'', and the 95th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 9, 2009. In the episode, ...

, and begins to take clients from Dunder Mifflin, which drives Wallace and Miner to try to buy out the company. Wallace initially offers $12,000, then $60,000, before he concedes to Michael, who changes his mind and wants Dunder Mifflin to rehire him, Pam and Ryan instead. Grandy, Charlie (writer) & Carell, Steve (director), " Broke". ''

'',

. Episode 25,

. Aired on April 23, 2009. Wallace and Charles are later seen at a company picnic, Wallace expressing anger when Michael accidentally discloses the closing of the Buffalo branch as part of their sketch comedy show. Lieberstein, Paul (writer) & Celotta, Jennifer (writer) & Kwapis, Ken (director), "

Company Picnic "Company Picnic" is the fifth season finale of the American comedy television series ''The Office'', and the 100th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on May 14, 2009. In the episode, Michael plans to ...

". ''

'',

. Episode 28,

. Aired on May 14, 2009.

Seasons 6–8

In the sixth season episode " The Meeting", Wallace meets with Jim, who is interested in advancing in position at the company. Michael's over-protectiveness of the status quo in Scranton leads Wallace to not consider Jim to take over the branch, but instead share the managerial position with Michael. Shure, Aaron (writer) & Einhorn, Randall (director), " The Meeting". ''

'',

. Episode 2,

season 6 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

. Aired on September 24, 2009. Michael handles "big-picture" decisions, while Jim focuses on "day-to-day" tasks—a split that comes to a head when the two clash about how raises will be dispersed among the employees in "

The Promotion ''The Promotion'' is a 2008 American comedy film written and directed by Steven Conrad. A look at the quest for the American Dream, it focuses on two grocery store managers vying for a promotion. The film premiered at South by Southwest in Marc ...

". Celotta, Jennifer (writer & director), "

". ''

'',

. Episode 3,

. Aired on October 1, 2009. Wallace later informs the company that bankruptcy rumors highlighted in ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' are "conjecture", but privately informs Jim of the impending insolvency of the company in "

Murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

." Chun, Daniel (writer) & Daniels, Greg (director), "

". ''

'',

. Episode 10,

. Aired on November 12, 2009. In the episode " Scott's Tots," Stupnitsky, Gene (writer) & Eisenberg, Lee (writer) & Novak, B. J. (director), " Scott's Tots". ''

'',

. Episode 12,

. Aired on December 3, 2009. Wallace addresses an issue with a new Employee of the Month program that Dwight helped Jim create. After Dwight sabotages the program, Wallace calls Jim seemingly enraged, but later confesses he is merely venting because of the company's precarious situation. The financial situation of Dunder Mifflin is resolved in "

Secret Santa Secret Santa is a Western Christmas tradition in which members of a group or community are randomly assigned a person to whom they give a gift. The identity of the gift giver is to remain a secret and should not be revealed. Deriving from the ...

" when Wallace calls Michael and announces that the company has a potential buyer, even though he himself would be let go. This buyer is revealed in the episode "

Sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as the ...

", the titular episode of the company who has acquired Dunder Mifflin. Wallace is shown to be an unfocused reduction of his formerly employed self when Michael meets him to discuss Michael's displeasure of Sabre's policies. Instead of searching for work, Wallace labors on a toy vacuum called "Suck It" that picks up children's clutter. Michael is clearly disturbed by Wallace's new lifestyle and leaves. Kaling, Mindy (writer) & Einhorn, Randall (director), "

". ''

'',

. Episode 13,

. Aired on December 10, 2009. Celotta, Jennifer (writer) & Krasinski, John (director), "

". ''

'',

. Episode 15,

. February 4, 2010. In "

Whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

", Wallace, one of the five whistleblowers in the story, reveals to the documentary crew that he helped spread the story of the Sabre printer fires after several old clients complained to him. He is shown wearing a "Suck It" hooded sweatshirt; when he tries to do his spiel for Suck It, the documentary crew abruptly cuts him off mid-sentence. Lieberstein, Warren (writer) & Sullivan, Halsted (writer) & Lieberstein, Paul (director), "

". ''

'',

. Episode 26,

. May 20, 2010. In the seventh season, Michael leaves Dunder Mifflin and, in a deleted scene, engages in a webcam conversation with Wallace to say goodbye. When Michael informs him he is leaving for Colorado to be with Holly, Wallace initially assumes Michael was fired, as Wallace had been, and that Michael was simply making a face-saving statement. When Michael insists this is the truth, Wallace expresses shock that Michael would willingly leave a job in the current economic climate. Wallace's remarks make Michael uncomfortable, and he cuts off the conversation. Daniels, Greg (writer) & Feig, Paul (director), "

Goodbye, Michael "Goodbye, Michael" is the twenty-second episode of the seventh season of the American comedy series '' The Office'' and the show's 148th episode overall. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 28, 2011. In the episode, Michael ...

" (producer's cut). ''

'',

. Episode 22, season 7. May 12, 2011. In the eighth season,

Andy Bernard Andrew Baines Bernard is a fictional character from the NBC comedy television series ''The Office'', portrayed by Ed Helms. He is introduced in Season 3 as the Regional Director in Charge of Sales at the Stamford branch of paper distribution c ...

becomes Scranton's new regional manager and later that season is fired from Dunder Mifflin. Spitzer, Justin (writer) & Scanlon, Claire (director), "

Angry Andy "Angry Andy" is the twenty-first episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series ''The Office''. It was written by Justin Spitzer and directed by Claire Scanlon. The episode aired on NBC in the United States on April 19, 2 ...

". ''

'',

. Episode 21,

season 8 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

. April 19, 2012. Wallace tells Andy that he sold his invention "Suck it" for $20 million to the US Military,Ellickson, Owen (writer) & Rogers, David (director), "

". ''

'',

. Episode 22,

. April 26, 2012. and Andy convinces him to buy out Dunder Mifflin. Lieberstein, Warren (writer) & Sullivan, Halsted (writer) & Chun, Daniel (director), "

Turf War A turf war is a fight over territory or resources, or may refer to: Music * ''Turf Wars'', a 2007 album by the Canadian band Daggermouth * "Turf War", a song on the 2001 album '' Filmtracks 2000'' by American composer Bill Television * '' Turf ...

". ''

'',

. Episode 23,

. May 3, 2012. Wallace becomes the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Dunder Mifflin and reinstates Andy as Scranton's regional manager. Novak, B. J. (writer & director), "

". ''

'',

. Episode 24,

. May 10, 2012.

Season 9

Wallace appears in the show's

series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, or ...

. He returns to Scranton to appear on the panel held for the office, where he openly expresses his dislike for the documentary, comparing it to a documentary on how food is made, saying "It's kinda disgusting. You learn a lot, but I didn't wanna know any of it." Wallace later meets with Oscar Martinez, where he offers to contribute to Oscar's campaign for

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

Reception

Upon his return in season eight, many reviews were extremely positive. A review from TV Equals noted that "I'm not totally convinced that David Wallace's story is as simple as the one he tells, but maybe that's just because I'd love any excuse for him to work his way back into the story lines for ''The Office''." Michael Tedder from ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

'' called Wallace "always-welcome".

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, David The Office (American TV series) characters Fictional business executives Television characters introduced in 2006 Male characters in television