--- name: "Phyllis Smith" canonical: "https://film.one/person/phyllis-smith" fi1m_id: "phyllis-smith" imdb_id: "nm0809613" tmdb_id: 169200 wikidata_id: "Q508280" roles: ["Actor"] born: "15 August 1949" reviewed_on_fi1m: 4 average_fi1m_score: 67 average_as: "actor" average_over: 4 updated: "2026-10-05T12:10:03.690128+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Phyllis Smith ## Identity Phyllis Smith - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/phyllis-smith - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** phyllis-smith - **IMDb ID:** nm0809613 - **TMDB ID:** 169200 - **Wikidata ID:** Q508280 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Smith, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q508280, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0809613/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/169200 Actor. Born 15 August 1949 in Lemay, Missouri, USA. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 15 August 1949, Lemay, Missouri, USA - **Active:** 2005–present - **Frequently works with:** [Amy Poehler](https://film.one/person/amy-poehler.md), [Meg LeFauve](https://film.one/person/meg-lefauve.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 67, as actor, over 4 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 77 (1), 2010s 61 (2), 2020s 68 (1) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 67 to 64 across 4 titles - **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 1 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 1 of 2 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Comedy 4, Animation 3, Family 3, Adventure 2, Drama 1, Fantasy 1 - **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $2,899m across 3 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Smith, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q508280, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0809613/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/169200 ## Streaming the US now - **Disney+:** [*Inside Out*](https://film.one/film/inside-out.md) (87), [*Inside Out 2*](https://film.one/film/inside-out-2.md) (68) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Phyllis Smith > Phyllis Smith makes a hesitant voice funny without making the person behind it look foolish. Her quiet delivery gives *Inside Out* much of its warmth; we rate her most highly when a film allows that uncertainty to matter. In *Inside Out* (2015), Phyllis Smith’s Sadness has to make herself heard beside Amy Poehler’s insistently cheerful Joy. Smith does not try to match the volume. Her hesitant delivery makes Sadness funny while taking her feelings seriously, a distinction the film needs if its kindness is to mean anything. We are allowed to laugh at how she speaks without being encouraged to dismiss what she says. That soft-spoken, deadpan manner had an earlier home in *The Office* (2005–2013), where she played Phyllis Lapin/Vance. The part was written for her after directors noticed her line readings while she was working in casting. It is a useful clue to her appeal: the way she delivers a line matters as much as the line itself. Her supporting turn as Lynn Davies in *Bad Teacher* (2011) then caught a producer’s attention and led to her being cast as Sadness. Pete Docter puts that delivery to particularly good use in *Inside Out*. Poehler gives Joy a brightness that can become exhausting, so Smith’s quieter presence is welcome. We were moved by Sadness because Smith’s hesitant delivery never asks us to think less of her. With Bill Hader’s Fear and Lewis Black’s Anger adding their competing temperaments, the control-room exchanges feel like family discussions. Smith helps make those conversations funny enough that the film can talk about difficult feelings without becoming a chore. *The OA* (2016) gave her a recurring dramatic role as Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Broderick-Allen, rather than another place in a comedy ensemble. But Sadness remains the clearest reason for our regard, even though *Inside Out 2* (2024) is a less rewarding film. Kelsey Mann’s sequel is kind, funny and carefully made, but follows the first film’s route too closely. The return of a familiar voice cannot by itself supply a fresh story. Start with Docter’s film, with the caveat that it sometimes explains what its actors have already made us understand. ## Biography Phyllis Smith is an American actress and casting director. Born on 15 August 1949 in St. Louis, Missouri, she graduated from the University of Missouri–St. Louis in 1972 with a degree in elementary education. She began her career as a dancer and cheerleader for the St. Louis Cardinals before a knee injury led her to work in casting in Hollywood. Smith was employed as a casting associate on the television series *The Office* (2005–2013) when she was offered the role of Phyllis Vance, a character created for her. She received Screen Actors Guild Awards for ensemble performance in a comedy series in 2006 and 2007. She voiced Sadness in the Pixar films *Inside Out* (2015) and *Inside Out 2* (2024), and appeared in *Bad Teacher* (2011) and the Netflix series *The OA* (2016–2019). *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (4) - *Inside Out 2* (2024), Fi1m 68, as Sadness (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/inside-out-2.md) - *Inside Out* (2015), Fi1m 87, as Sadness (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/inside-out.md) - *Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked* (2011), Fi1m 35, as Flight Attendant — [page](https://film.one/film/alvin-and-the-chipmunks-chipwrecked.md) - *The Office* (2005), Fi1m 77, as Phyllis Lapin — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-office-2005.md) ## Complete filmography (16) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Dream Productions* (2024), series, as Sadness (voice) - *Inside Out 2* (2024), as Sadness (voice) — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/inside-out-2.md) - *Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar* (2021), as Delores - *The OA* (2016), series, as Elizabeth 'Betty' Broderick-Allen - *Riley's First Date?* (2015), as Sadness (voice) - *Mind Candy* (2015), as Sadness (voice) - *Inside Out* (2015), as Sadness (voice) — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/film/inside-out.md) - *Trophy Wife* (2013), series, as Mrs. Steinberg - *Butter* (2012), as Nancy - *Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked* (2011), as Flight Attendant — Fi1m 35, [page](https://film.one/film/alvin-and-the-chipmunks-chipwrecked.md) - *Bad Teacher* (2011), as Lynn Davies - *The Middle* (2009), series, as Ms. Huff - *I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With* (2006), as OA Lady - Marsha - *The 40 Year-Old Virgin* (2005), as Andy's mother — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/the-40-year-old-virgin.md) - *The Office* (2005), series, as Phyllis Lapin — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-office-2005.md) - *Arrested Development* (2003), series, as Carla — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/tv/arrested-development.md) ## Gallery - ![Phyllis Smith](https://film.one/media/person/11406/gallery-73a443cecf0e.jpg) Phyllis Smith — StacyD at https://www.flickr.com/people/ctrlaltstacy/, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Phyllis_smithOct07.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Phyllis Smith Inside "The Office" at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, North Hollywood, California. (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/11406/gallery-7bad5b4643eb.jpg) Phyllis Smith Inside "The Office" at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, North Hollywood, California. (2009) — Kristin Dos Santos, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Phyllis_Smith.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Phyllis Smith](https://film.one/media/person/11406/gallery-a7c7f5446940.jpg) Phyllis Smith — Image via TMDB - ![Phyllis Smith](https://film.one/media/person/11406/gallery-7571944149dd.jpg) Phyllis Smith — Image via TMDB - ![Phyllis Smith](https://film.one/media/person/11406/gallery-a8bf735cddae.jpg) Phyllis Smith — Image via TMDB --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/phyllis-smith