‘The Office’: Steve Carell Would Play This Character if He Wasn’t Michael
Steve Carell has played a number of memorable characters over the course of his career. However, one of his most iconic is undoubtedly Michael Scott. For seven years, Carell portrayed the often bumbling, yet lovable, manager. Lending his incredible comedic abilities and genuine nature to the character, Carell helped The Office become one of the most beloved TV shows of all time.
Which character in ‘The Office’ would Steve Carell want to play if he wasn’t Michael Scott?
It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Carell in the role of Michael Scott. The Second City alum was able to embody the role so well, that it feels like the role was made for him. On the other hand, it’s equally challenging to envision Carell playing someone else in The Office. But what character would Carell have wanted to take a stab at had he not been cast as Michael? In an interview with BuzzFeed, The Morning Show actor weighed in.
“I think Dwight was a really fun character,” Carell shared. “I can’t imagine anybody but Rainn Wilson playing Dwight. I can’t imagine any of the characters being played by anyone else, but I think that’s a fun, crazy character to play.” Carell wasn’t the only one who had an affinity with Dwight. Wilson, who portrayed the militant character in The Office, was immediately drawn to the beet farmer despite his initial audition being for Michael Scott.
Rainn Wilson despised his audition for Michael Scott
In an interview with NPR, Wilson revealed that his first audition for The Office was for Carell’s character. “They keep wanting to put it on the DVD of my audition as Michael,” Wilson recalled of his first audition. “I was terrible. It was awful. It was never meant to be. It was just one of those things that I just basically did my Ricky Gervais impersonation because I really didn’t know what to do with the character.”
Wilson always knew he wanted to play Dwight K. Schrute in ‘The Office’
Continuing on, Wilson shared that, like Carell, he always thought Dwight would be a fun character to embody. “And I knew I was hungering for Dwight,” The Office alum communicated. “And I knew Dwight was the one that was right in my wheelhouse. And I was like, oh, let me at this one. This one is – I’ve got to get this guy. And I remember there was some monologue I was doing about how I could drink my own urine. And I was like, aw, I want to say that. I want to say that line so bad. So my Dwight audition, needless to say, was a lot better than my Michael Scott audition.”
Clearly, both Carell and Wilson were ultimately cast in the roles that they were destined to play. However, if they ever wanted to do a sketch where they switched parts, we’re sure fans of The Office would love a chance to see it.
