Mindy Kaling reveals 'frenemy' from The Office duped her into wearing jeans to film premiere

Mindy Kaling was duped into wearing jeans at the premiere of The 40-Year-Old Virgin by someone she describes as a "frenemy at The Office."

The actress and writer reveals the reason behind her inappropriate dress in Sicker in the Head: More Conversations About Life and Comedy, a new book of interviews by Judd Apatow, who directed 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), in which Kaling plays the ex-girlfriend of Paul Rudd's character.

"I didn't know you're supposed to hire a stylist for the movie premiere," Kaling tells Apatow in the book. "I had a frenemy at The Office, and I asked this person, 'Hey, what do you wear to a premiere?' And they said to me, 'Oh, just wear jeans and a T-shirt. It's L.A. so nobody really gets dressed up for these things.' I was like, Okay, cool, because I didn't want to seem thirsty wearing a gown while everyone was dressed down. So, I showed up in a tank top and jeans with some earrings, and everyone there looked so good — they had been styled to perfection — and I was like, I've been f---ing duped by this frenemy of mine. That...felt like a missed opportunity, and then after that, I became really into fashion."

Kaling, who does not reveal the "frenemy" by name, also tells Apatow that she can't bear to watch her performance in the film, which stars her Office cast mate Steve Carell.

"It feels like I had this great opportunity and I blew it, because I didn't know what it was like to be on camera," says the actress. "I only shot for two days, but I have two really vivid memories of that movie. One was that I was sitting across from Paul Rudd, who, for the record, is ten years older than me but now looks fifteen years younger than me, so that I don't love. But I was sitting across from Paul Rudd, and I was supposed to be talking to him, but I started looking into the camera. And I remember, at one point, you had to come over and really nicely tell me, 'Hey, you can't look into the camera.' And I didn't even know I had been doing it. I was just so nervous — I couldn't believe that I'd been picked to do this with all these funny people. The second memory was in Video Village, and it was you and Seth (Rogen) and Paul and Elizabeth Banks, and you all had such a great rapport. I didn't want to seem like I was hovering and trying to laugh along, so I sat a couple of rows back and watched you guys. I love the movie, but whenever that scene comes up, I fast-forward through it."

The just-published Sicker in the Head also includes interviews with David Letterman, Gayle King, Jeff Tweedy, Jimmy Kimmel, Margaret Cho, Pete Davidson, Tig Notaro, Whitney Cummings, Whoopi Goldberg, and Will Ferrell, among others.

Related content:

• The Mindy Project's Mindy Lahiri taught me to love fashion — and myself in the process
• Judd Apatow tells Kelly Clarkson how she became a swear in The 40-Year-Old Virgin
• Mindy Kaling channels female comedy legends with Legally Blonde, Veep, and Insecure Halloween looks