GOLDEN GLOBE AND OSCAR NOMINEE, AMY RYAN, CLOCKS-IN AT DUNDER-MIFFLIN, REPRISING HER GUEST-STARRING ROLE AS THE NEW HR REPRESENTATIVE IN THE EMMY-AWARD WINNING COMEDY "THE OFFICE"

GOLDEN GLOBE AND OSCAR NOMINEE, AMY RYAN, CLOCKS-IN AT DUNDER-MIFFLIN, REPRISING HER GUEST-STARRING ROLE AS THE NEW HR REPRESENTATIVE IN THE EMMY-AWARD WINNING COMEDY "THE OFFICE"

Universal City, CA � June 30, 2008 � Golden Globe and Academy-Award nominee Amy Ryan reprises her guest-starring role as Human Resources representative, Holly Flax, for multiple episodes in season five of the Emmy-Award-winning comedy "The Office." Amy Ryan's character, Holly Flax, was introduced in the season four finale episode, "Goodbye, Toby," as Toby Flenderson's (played by Paul Lieberstein) human resources replacement.

"The Office" season five premieres Thursday, September 25 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on NBC and picks-up from last season's finale, in which Holly Flax (Amy Ryan) joined the Dunder-Mifflin office the day of Toby's big going away party and seemed to strike a special friendship with Michael Scott (Golden-Globe Winner, Steve Carell) and Kevin Malone (Brian Baumgartner).

"Amy gave the character of 'Holly' an openness and matured innocence that exposed a new side of Michael (Steve Carell). She placed her character right on his level. With her, we now go into our fifth season with the possibilities of our first," said Paul Lieberstein, who was recently promoted to executive producer for season five and previously served as co-executive producer of "The Office."

Amy Ryan returns to the big screen this October in Clint Eastwood's "Changeling," opposite Angelina Jolie. She will also star in Paul Greengrass' adaptation of the novel "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone," opposite Matt Damon, which is set for release in December. Ryan also completed the independent films "Bob Funk" written and directed by Craig Carlisle and "The Missing Person" also written and directed by Noah Buschel, both due out in 2009.

Ryan received critical acclaim for her role as Helen McCready in the 2007 film, "Gone Baby Gone," opposite Casey Affleck, Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris. Her sympathetic portrayal of an otherwise despicable character was recognized with Academy Award, Golden Globe and SAG nominations in the Best Supporting Actress categories. Additionally, Ryan garnered Best Supporting Actress awards from the National Board of Review, Broadcast Film Critics Association (Critic's Choice Awards), New York Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics and the Film Critics Societies of Boston, Washington D.C. and San Francisco. Ryan's previous film work includes; "Dan in Real Life," directed by Peter Hedges, "Capote," directed by Bennett Miller, "War of the Worlds," directed by Steven Spielberg, "Keane," directed by Lodge Kerrigan and "You Can Count on Me," directed by Kenneth Lonergan.

In television, Ryan's credits are extensive, with over thirty guest star performances and over eight series regular or recurring characters on primetime television shows. Most notably, she starred for five seasons as Officer Beatrice "Beadie" Russell on the critically acclaimed HBO drama "The Wire." On Broadway, she is a two-time Tony nominated actress for her performances in "Uncle Vanya," in 2000 and "A Street Car Named Desire" in 2005, opposite John C. Reilly. She also starred in "The Distance from Here" in London's West End.

"The Office" is executive-produced by Ben Silverman, Greg Daniels, who developed the series for American audiences, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Howard Klein and is a production of Deedle-Dee Productions, Reveille LLC in association with Universal Media Studios.