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'The Paper' Cast Reacts to ‘The Office’s John Krasinski, Steve Carell Crashing Their Set
Dunder Mifflin would’ve looked very different had Steve Carell listened to Paul Rudd’s advice.
Though Michael Scott has become one of Steve’s most iconic roles, he revealed that his 40-Year-Old Virgin costar wasn’t initially in favor of him auditioning for the series in the early 2000s.
The reason? Steve said Paul felt the show—which was an American adaption of the U.K. series, starring Ricky Gervais—would be hard to live up to its predecessor.
“It’s funny that you guys all heard, ‘Oh they’re doing an American version,’ and everyone had the same reaction,” Steve told Amy Poehler on the March 24 episode of her Good Hang podcast. “Rudd pulled me aside and was like, ‘Don’t do it, man. Don’t audition.' He was like, ‘There is no way.'"
Amy, 54, admitted she could understand where Paul, 56, was coming from as she noted, “I’m sure. Everyone was like, ‘Don’t even touch this.’”
With a laugh, Steve, 63, added, “With a 10-foot pole!”
But the Crazy, Stupid, Love alum clearly did not listen to his friend’s advice and went on to star as the regional manager of Dunder Mifflin paper company for seven seasons.
During his run on the show—which also starred John Krasinski, Mindy Kaling, B.J. Novak, Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey and Ed Helms—Steve picked up dozens of Emmy nominations, including six for Outstanding Lead Actor.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Comedy Central
And surprisingly, he did all that without having a frame of reference from the original series. In fact, Steve revealed that he never watched the British show before taking on the role.
“I watched about a minute, and [Ricky] was so good and so specific and so funny,” he explained. “I thought if I watch a second more, I'm just going to go on an audition with that. I won't be able to even imagine it [in] a different way.”
The Rooster star also joked about the American show’s initial success—or lack thereof.
“Our pilot was the lowest-testing pilot in the history, I think, of NBC,” he said. “People really hated it. They actively hated this show. And I don’t quite know how it got legs after that.”
Chris Haston/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images
Following his departure from the series in 2011, The Office aired for two more seasons before concluding in 2013. Ultimately, Steve felt "the timing was right” for his decision to leave the comedy.
"It was time for other characters to step to the forefront and other storylines to be pursued," he said on the Office Ladies podcast in March 2023. "There was just a sense of joy for me that we had experienced all of this and we were getting—I was getting a chance to take a lap with everybody."
"The way those last two episodes were structured," he said of the episodes, in which Michael said goodbye to the office, "it felt very rich to me to simultaneously be saying goodbye as Michael and us as friends in this moment of work together. It was a lot, it was a very emotional thing."
For more of Steve's greatest moments as Michael Scott, keep reading…
NBC
Prison Mike
"The worst thing about prison was the Dementors. They were flying all over the place and they were scary and they sucked the soul out of your body and it hurt!"
NBC
Bacon-Related Injury
Warning: do not attempt to make bacon in the morning if you do not have a butler!
"Most nights before I go to bed, I will lay six strips of bacon on my grill. Then I go to sleep. When I wake up I plug in the grill and I go back to sleep again," Michael explained of his grill-related foot injury. "Today I got up, I stepped onto the grill and it clamped down on my foot. That's it. I don't see what's so hard to believe."
NBC
Little Kid Lover
What better way to let women on an online dating site know how serious you are about wanting kids someday than with that username?
NBC
CPR Sing-A-Long
When it doubt, do chest compressions to the beat of the Bee Gee's "Stayin Alive," OK?
NBC
Date Mike
"Hi, I'm Date Mike. Nice to meet me. How do you like your eggs in the morning?"
NBC
Every Michael vs. Toby Moment
"If I had a gun with two bullets and I was in a room with Hitler, Bin Laden and Toby, I would shoot Toby twice."
NBC
"9,986,000"
"This is going to hurt like a motherf--ker." Have truer words ever been spoken than when Michael realized just how hard leaving Dundler Mifflin was going to be for him after his team sang this to him?
NBC
"Lazy Scranton"
"Lazy Scranton the Electric City, they call it that 'cause of the electricity."
NBC
Boss of the Bride
In what was supposed to be the highlight of Phyllis' wedding, Michael called "bulls--t" when her father was able to get up from his wheelchair to finish walking her down the aisle.
"I can't believe I pushed that guy's lazy ass around all day until he was ready to stand up and steal the show," Michael said.
NBC
"Forever"
We dare you not to get emotional over Michael leading a flash mob dance at Jim and Pam's wedding!
NBC
Safety Training Gone Wrong
"Dwight, you ignorant slut."
NBC
Hide the Turtles
"WHERE ARE THE TURTLES?!"
NBC
Do Not Try This at Your Office
Hardcore! Parkour!
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