‘The Paper’ Cast Reacts to ‘The Office’s John Krasinski, Steve Carell Crashing Their Set
Dunder Mifflin would’ve looked very different had Steve Carell listened to Paul Rudd’s advice.
Though Michael Scott has become one of Steve’s most iconic roles, he revealed that his 40-Year-Old Virgin costar wasn’t initially in favor of him auditioning for the series in the early 2000s.
The reason? Steve said Paul felt the show—which was an American adaption of the U.K. series, starring Ricky Gervais—would be hard to live up to its predecessor.
“It’s funny that you guys all heard, ‘Oh they’re doing an American version,’ and everyone had the same reaction,” Steve told Amy Poehler on the March 24 episode of her Good Hang podcast. “Rudd pulled me aside and was like, ‘Don’t do it, man. Don’t audition.’ He was like, ‘There is no way.'”
Amy, 54, admitted she could understand where Paul, 56, was coming from as she noted, “I’m sure. Everyone was like, ‘Don’t even touch this.’”
With a laugh, Steve, 63, added, “With a 10-foot pole!”