Steve Carell's Appearance in the Finale of “The Office” 'Was a Big Reveal' — Even for the Cast: 'Swore Us to Secrecy'

"His appearance was huge," the actor's costar, John Krasinski, said

The Office cast is reflecting on Steve Carell’s final appearance on the show.

On Wednesday, May 15, John Krasinski, who played Jim Halpert on the sitcom, stopped by the Office Ladies — a rewatch podcast hosted by his former costars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey.

Related: John Krasinski Reveals What He 'Stole' from the Set of The Office but Has 'Always Lied' About

The trio gave their perspective on Carell returning for the series finale in 2013 after his 2011 exit.

“Guys, do you remember? Again, maybe I'm remembering wrong 'cause I'm 98 years old, but do you remember that we — Greg [Daniels] hadn't talked to Steve officially about the end. Do you remember this?” Krasinski, 44, said of one of the show writers wanting to incorporate Carell’s character in the final episode.

According to Krasinski, the idea had been tossed around but never finalized because Carell was busy with other commitments.

“[Daniels] had thrown it out to Steve in the beginning. Am I remembering this right? And then as we got closer to the end, it was like, so is Steve gonna [do it?] And I remember he was shooting something,” Krasinski said.

Related: Steve Carell Is 'Excited' That The Office Spinoff Is 'Happening' — but He 'Will Not Be Showing Up'

“It wasn't like he didn't want to do it. It was just like scheduling and all that,” he added, noting that Daniels, 60, was too “nice” to pressure Carell into agreeing.

“And then the whole Steve reveal was kind of a big reveal for us, too. Like his appearance was huge.”

However, some had a heads up.

“He told us very close to when it was gonna happen. He, I think he got you, me and Rainn [Wilson] aside, John, and he told us a couple days before, but then we — he swore us to secrecy,” Fischer said.

The memories seemingly came rushing back to Krasinski, who agreed: “That’s right.”

Related: The Office Reunion! Steve Carell and John Krasinski Are Together Again in Video Filming New Movie IF

Kinsey added, “And Jenna told me that Rainn pulled her aside and said, ‘Jenna, you cannot tell Angela!’ ”

Fischer joked that she “was so scared” to hold on to such a big secret.

According to Kinsey, despite the rumors around the set, she didn’t know about Carell’s return until she walked into hair and makeup and saw him for herself.

The Office alums recalled their time together as “the best.”

Krasinski had been visiting the podcast to promote his new film, IF, which he stars in and directs. Carell also stars in the family comedy.

“I wrote it with him in mind,” the Quiet Place star revealed.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“I think he's the funniest person I've ever met in my life. So that wasn't hard to write for him. But it was also weird. I would laugh extra hard while writing thinking of my friend Steve saying these things,” Krasinski said.

“And then it would immediately bring me back to the set of The Office, And I would remember deliveries of not only his lines in the show, but lines off camera, like bits that he would do. And I was like, oh my God, he's gonna be great.”

IF is in theaters on May 17.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.