Rainn Wilson Says He Almost Missed Out On Being In ‘The Office’

Fans of The Office know what a tragedy it would have been if anyone other than Rainn Wilson played Dwight Schrute. Well, that almost happened according to Wilson.

In a recent chat with Theo Von on his podcast This Past Weekend, Wilson recalled the moments leading up to his casting. He says he learned of the American remake when the series was first entering preproduction and was disappointed that he couldn’t be involved since he was a fan of the English version.

The problem was that the actor was already attached to a separate comedy series pilot starring Janeane Garofalo, as Wilson explains.

“I was supposed to be on this Janeane Garofalo TV show, and on the way to the table read for it, I ran into this TV executive. He’s like, ‘Oh, I’m so excited, we’re going to do the American version of The Office.’ I had seen the English version and I loved it. Outside, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s great!’ Inside, I was like, ‘F***, I want to be on that.'”

Although the show had an impressive cast attached, the pilot itself “wasn’t very good,” as Wilson admits. He said the readthrough for the pilot went so poorly that the project was immediately scrapped. That led to Wilson auditioning for The Office and the rest was history.

“Janeane’s lovely. It’s not about her. But the pilot wasn’t very good. We read the pilot. Bob Odenkirk was in it, me and Bob Odenkirk, and Marc Maron. The readthrough went so badly, they pulled the plug on the spot. By the time I got home, they were like, ‘They’re not shooting that.’ Inside, I was like, ‘I get to audition for The Office!’ Sure enough, a month later, I audition for The Office, and got Dwight a few months after that. So, you never know, kiddies. Sometimes, a rejection and a disappointment is a good thing, and it just is a path forward where other doors can open.”

If not Wilson, some other hopefuls for the Dwight character included Seth Rogen, Matt Besser, Patton Oswalt, and Judah Friedlander. While any one of those funny men could have done a fine job, it’s hard to imagine anyone else nailing it as much as Wilson did.

Speaking with Theo Von, Wilson expressed his overwhelming gratitude for his casting and the overall experience of The Office.

“I never thought I’d have a better show than The Office. Nine seasons, 200 episodes, everyone got along. Made a big impact. Was funny as hell. It’s a great character. Great money. Fun people everywhere.”

All nine seasons of The Office are available to stream on Peacock.