Steve Carell appeared on the latest episode of Amy Poehler’s “Good Hang” podcast (via Entertainment Weekly) and remembered how everyone warned him against starring as Michael Scott in NBC’s “The Office” given the acclaimed reputation of Ricky Gervais’ original version from the U.K. Even Poehler admitted that when she first heard NBC was remaking the sitcom that she thought: “This is a terrible idea. No one can be as good as Ricky Gervais, no one can do that show.”
“Anchorman” was in production at the time of NBC’s remake announcement, which left Carell mulling over whether or not to audition while in close proximity to his comedy co-stars. Carell remembered Paul Rudd pulling him aside during production and warning him against auditioning for “The Office.”
“Rudd pulled me aside and was like, ‘Don’t do it, man. Don’t audition,’” Carell told Poehler. “It was like, ‘There is no way.’”
Carell said many people in the industry advised him not to touch NBC’s “The Offfice” remake with a “10-foot pole.” He didn’t listen and booked the job anyway. Poehler said that it was only when Carell’s casting as Michael Scott became public that she changed her tune and started thinking maybe an “Office” remake could work, but the rest of the industry did not follow suit.
“Our pilot was the lowest testing pilot in the history of NBC,” Carell said. “People really hated it. They actively hated it. And I don’t quite know how it got legs after that.”
Saying the show found its legs is an understatement. Headlined by Carell, “The Office” would become one of NBC’s most iconic sitcoms across nine seasons and 201 episodes. Carell earned six Emmy nominations for playing Michael Scott, as the role made him a household name worldwide following his movie breakout in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.” Given all the pressure Carell faced from remaking Gervais’ original, he revealed he only watched one minute of the U.K. version before turning it off.
“I watched a minute of one and he was so good and so specific and so funny, I thought, ‘If I watch a second more, I’m just gonna go on an audition with that,’” Carell said. “I won’t be able to even imagine it a different way.”
Love Film & TV?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in music, film and TV in Australia and abroad.
“The Office” franchise returned last year with the Peacock original spinoff “The Paper,” which has the same set up as Carell’s show but focuses on a group of employees at a struggling newspaper. Carell has long said he has no desire to reprise Michael Scott.
“I think it’s maybe best to leave well enough alone and just let it exist as what it was,” he told Collider in 2018. It was a special thing. It was a special thing before people thought it was a special thing. It was special to us, before other people started feeling that way. So, no.”
Watch Carell’s full interview on the “Good Hang” podcast in the video below.
From Variety US