Steve Carell Explains Why He's Seen 'Less Than a Minute' of the British Version of “The Office”
Steve Carell Explains Why He's Seen 'Less Than a Minute' of the British Version of “The Office”
Angela AndaloroThu, April 23, 2026 at 8:49 PM UTC
0
Credit: Justin Lubin/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty -
Steve Carell took on his audition for The Office without paying much attention to its British predecessor
Carell explains the reason why he didn't want to immerse himself in Ricky Gervais' version of the show
Carell starred as Michael Scott on the mockumentary comedy series from 2005 to 2011
Steve Carell was determined to approach The Office his way.
In a recent sit-down with LAD Bible, the actor, 63, talked about his awareness of the British version of the sitcom, which preceded the American version, which he starred in.
"I will admit, this Office, I've only watched about less than a minute of that, of this Office because I had not seen it priot to auditioning for the American Office," he explained.
"I started to watch a tiny bit, and I knew instantly that if I watched any more, I would just do a copy of Ricky [Gervais], and I didn't want to do that because I figured if it had any chance of success, it's not going to be the same show. It has to be different in some way and his depiction of that character was so specific and so great that I knew I could never, ever come close to that level."
— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Carell appeared as regional manager Michael Scott on the mockumentary comedy series The Office from 2005 to 2011, before making a surprise cameo in the series finale in 2013.
During a recent appearance on Amy Poehler's Good Hang podcast on Tuesday, March 24, that his friend, Paul Rudd, initially advised him not to audition for the beloved sitcom. The Ant-Man star apparently thought that a revival of the show was a bad idea.
Advertisement
“I remember Rudd pulled me aside and was like, ‘Don't do it, man. Don't audition.' It was like, 'There is no way,' ” Carell recalled.
“Yeah. Everyone was like, don't even touch this,” podcast host Poehler, 54, said of the show. “10-foot pole,” added Carell.
Steve Carell as Michael Scott and Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute in 'The Office'.Credit: Justin Lubin/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
On the June 19 episode of Good Guys Podcast with Josh Peck and Ben Soffer, Rainn Wilson, who played Dwight Schrute, talked about how the environment on set shifted after Carell's exit.
"When Steve left, then it was a little bit chaotic of trying to figure out the tone of the show and who's the lead and how are we telling these stories without the comic engine of the show, which is Michael Scott, and without one of the greatest comic actors in American history at the center of our show," Wilson said. "So that was also a struggle."
The podcast hosts asked if it was a “gut punch” to learn Carell was leaving. “We knew it was coming for a long time,” Wilson said, because Carell was “such a big movie star.” The actor starred in The 40-Year-Old Virgin just months after The Office premiered and then in movies like Little Miss Sunshine, Dan in Real Life, Get Smart, Date Night and Crazy Stupid Love.
“Of course, he's gonna leave The Office when he can. So we were prepared for it, but that was definitely a struggle to find the tone of the show without Steve,” Wilson said. The series ultimately ran for two more seasons without Carell — helped in part by a series of guest stars — before ending in 2013 with season 9.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
