Steve Carrell almost passed on playing Michael Scott in The Office after a warning from Paul Rudd.
Today, Michael Scott is widely regarded as one of TV comedy’s most recognisable characters — a manager who constantly overvalues his own importance, but remains endearingly (and painfully) misguided.
The American adaptation of The Office took its inspiration from the original UK series created by Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais, with Gervais starring as David Brent.
At the time, the idea of remaking the show for US audiences raised plenty of doubts. Even so, the American version quickly developed a different identity from the UK series.
Compared with the UK show’s harsher, drier deadpan style, the US series leaned into a slightly warmer tone and expanded into longer seasons.
That approach paid off: the US run lasted nine seasons and produced more than 200 episodes, becoming one of the defining roles of Carrell’s career.
But the casting of Michael Scott was far from inevitable.
Carrell has explained that when he was considering auditioning, Paul Rudd spoke with him and strongly encouraged him to steer clear of the project.
In hindsight, the show’s success seems obvious — but early signs suggested it might never take off.
“Our pilot was the lowest testing pilot in the history of NBC,” Carell told Amy Poehler on her Good Hang podcast. “People really hated it. They actively hated it. And I don’t quite know how it got legs after that.”
Looking back on Rudd’s advice, Carrell said: “Rudd pulled me aside and was like, ‘Don’t do it, man. Don’t audition’. It was like, ‘There is no way.'”
Carrell added that he’d also been told not to go anywhere near The Office — describing it as something to avoid with a “10-foot-pole”.
Rudd wasn’t the only one who doubted the remake. Poehler admitted she also questioned whether it could work at all.
During the conversation, she recalled thinking: “This is a terrible idea. No one can be as good as Ricky Gervais, no one can do that show.”
Carrell also described his own hesitation after seeing the UK series, saying: “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.’
“I won’t be able to even imagine it a different way.”
Despite the early uncertainty, Carrell’s take on Michael Scott became a standout, earning him six Emmy nominations over the show’s run.
And the US version’s mockumentary format — complete with characters shooting knowing looks toward the camera — helped shape a wave of TV comedies that followed, including Parks and Recreation, which starred Poehler.