The Office star Melora Hardin fondly recalled her time with the late Michael Landon on the set of Little House on the Prairie. 

Landon, who pᴀssed away from pancreatic cancer in 1991 at the age of 54, not only starred in the iconic 1974-1983 series but also worked as a writer and director. 

Hardin landed a role in season 5 as Belinda, a classmate of Albert Ingalls (Matthew Labyorteaux), the son of Landon’s character, Charles Ingalls.

‘He was just so warm,’ Hardin said on the Still Here Hollywood with Steve Kmetko podcast. ‘He was so sweet. He made all the kids and adults, everybody, feel like he had really chosen you. And he just let you do your thing.’

Hardin returned for the 1983 TV movie Little House: Look Back to Yesterday as Michele.

‘And when he ever gave you direction, you never felt admonished by him. He just was lovely,’ she continued, adding that Landon knew ‘how to talk to kids.’ 

The Office star Melora Hardin fondly recalled her time with the late Michael Landon on the set of Little House on the Prairie; (seen in 2023)

Landon, who pᴀssed away from pancreatic cancer in 1991 at the age of 54, not only starred in the iconic 1974-1983 series but also worked as a writer and director; (Pictured: (back row l-r) Melisssa Sue Anderson as Mary Ingalls Kendall, Michael Landon as Charles Philip Ingalls, Melissa Gilbert as Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder, Linwood Boomer as Adam Kendall (front row l-r) Matthew Laborteaux as Albert Quinn Ingalls, Karen Grᴀssle as Caroline Quiner Holbrook Ingalls, Lindsay or Sydney Greenbush as Carrie Ingalls)

She also praised the Highway to Heaven star for creating a ‘community feeling’ on set. 

Looking back on her role as Belinda, Hardin remembered how her character was tormented by Nancy, the troublemaking adopted sister of Little House on the Prairie’s infamous Nellie Oleson  

‘My character was Belinda, and she got locked in the ice house by the new Nellie [a.k.a. Nancy], who was just as mean as the old Nellie,’ Hardin said on the podcast. 

Read More Little House on the Prairie cast explains why the beloved series wouldn’t work today,

As for her role as Michele, she shared a memorable milestone: her first onscreen kiss with co-star Matthew Labyorteaux.

‘I played his love interest and, actually, Matthew and I had our first screen kiss together,’ Hardin revealed. 

‘And he’s still a very good friend of mine and the godfather of my second daughter.’

Hardin is best known for playing Jan Levinson on The Office, where she brought her unique mix of ambition and awkwardness to the role of Michael Scott’s on-again, off-again love interest. 

She also played Trudy Monk, Adrian Monk’s wife, on the hit show Monk, adding a sweet and quirky touch to the character. 

‘He was just so warm,’ Hardin said on the Still Here Hollywood with Steve Kmetko podcast. ‘He was so sweet. He made all the kids and adults, everybody, feel like he had really chosen you. And he just let you do your thing;’ (Landon in 1976)

Hardin returned for the 1983 TV movie Little House: Look Back to Yesterday as Michele; (seen in 1980)

‘And when he ever gave you direction, you never felt admonished by him. He just was lovely,’ she continued, adding that Landon knew ‘how to talk to kids’

Hardin is best known for playing Jan Levinson on The Office, where she brought her unique mix of ambition and awkwardness to the role of Michael Scott’s on-again, off-again love interest

Over the years, she’s appeared in a ton of different projects, including 24, The Bold Type, and Hannah Montana: The Movie. 

The podcast comes after she revealed there is potential for the US Office to ‘return as a film’ as she gave an update on the series this week.

The Steve Carell-fronted show, which ran for nine series from 2005 to 2013, is said to be returning to screens after writers Matthew Belloni and Jonathan Handel previously claimed creator Greg Daniels is working on a comeback.

Now, Melora, who starred on the series as Jan Levinson, has admitted that she has ‘ran some ideas past Greg.’

Speaking in an interview with The U.S. Sun, she explained: ‘That is up to Greg, because he is the maestro. I would certainly show up. I think a lot of us would.

‘I would love to make a film because then it would just be quick and we would do it. I think we could bring everybody back for that.’

She added: ‘I actually have talked to Greg about some ideas. I thought this would be funny if Jan was like a self-help guru because she was so kind of flawed.’