Steve Carell’s leading role in The Office was almost played by two other A-list actors.
Casting director Allison Jones, 69, revealed on the Office Ladies podcast, hosted by the sitcom’s Jenna Fischer, 50, and Angela Kinsey, 53, that NBC initially wanted a well-known star to play the lead character. , Michael Scott.
“I vividly remember the first meeting we had with the network when (creator Greg Daniels) had a list of names and they said, ‘Let’s try Philip Seymour Hoffman. And then, you know, let’s go for Paul Giamatti or whatever.”‘ she spilled.
He also noted that Bob Odenkirk and Patton Oswalt would have been a good fit for the role that has become synonymous with the 62-year-old Carell.
The media professional added that she felt ‘fed up’ because she believed that none of the aforementioned actors would want to do the program: ‘No one did television. Comedy was the bottom of the barrel.
Steve Carell’s leading role in The Office was almost played by two other A-list actors.
Carell made famous the role of Michael Scott on the mockumentary-style show; Pictured with John Krasinski.
However, Daniels, 61, preferred to keep the new series similar to the original British series they were recreating, which used normal-looking people in its cast.
According to a story by PeopleJones emphasized, “This was the first time, other than Freaks and Geeks (casting), I had the opportunity to get real people who didn’t have to be, you know, vaudeville or sitcom funny people, which is very difficult.” “. what it should be.”
He also shared that the network’s goal of using a “big name” for the show was out of the ordinary.
“At that time, NBC was more into stand-up comedy,” the director said. “In fact, Steve Carell, who would eventually be cast as Michael Scott, was part of one of those stand-up shows, Tom Papa’s Come to Papa, which meant he couldn’t audition for The Office.”
Recounting how it all unfolded, he continued, “Nancy Perkins, who was the head of casting at NBC Universal, always knew that Steve would be the best choice for this.”
The casting team auditioned others before choosing the Morning Show actor.
‘We brought the best of the best. They were all a different version of Michael Scott that might have worked. Patton Oswalt could have worked. “Bob Odenkirk would have been amazing,” he listed.
As fate would have it, Come to Papa was canceled after just four episodes, allowing Carell to join The Office.
Casting director Allison Jones, 69, revealed on the Office Ladies podcast that NBC initially wanted a well-known star to play lead character Michael Scott, with Phillip Seymour Hoffman (left) and Paul Giamatti (right) suggested.
The Office Ladies podcast is hosted by comedy’s Jenna Fischer, 50, and Angela Kinsey, 53.
Jones also noted that Bob Odenkirk and Patton Oswalt would have been good candidates for the role that became synonymous with the 62-year-old Carell.
Elsewhere in the episode, Kinsey, who played Angela, revealed that she originally auditioned for the role of Pam, which ended up going to Fischer.
And he shared that Kathryn Hahn also auditioned and Jones agreed: “We had famous people on that couch.” I remember it was a small, crappy sofa.
She was called back to read the role of Angela, but she was worried because she was then married to Warren Lieberstein, whose sister was married to Daniels.
But Jones assured him that he hadn’t been given the role because of nepotism: ‘You didn’t get it because you were related to Greg. You got it because you were really good.’
The Office aired for nine seasons between 2005 and 2013.
