The (Understandable) Reason Steve Carell Has Seen ‘Less Than A Minute’ Of The British Version Of The Office
NBC’s The Office is highly regarded as one of the best sitcoms of all time, and was the blueprint for decades of mockumentary-style workplace sitcoms, such as Parks and Recreation, Abbott Elementary, and St. Denis Medical. However, real Office fans know that another version of the show paved the way for its success. The UK Office premiered on the BBC in 2001 to delayed critical and audience accolades, prompting its adaptation by Greg Daniels for US audiences in 2005. Surprisingly, Steve Carell didn’t watch the British version of The Office before auditioning for his legacy character, Michael Scott, but I totally understand his reason behind this decision.
Before Michael Scott even handed out a single Dundie or even set foot into Dunder Mifflin, Ricky Gervais originated the role on the UK Office. The British comedian created the series for the BBC and starred as David Brent, the boss at Wernham Hogg Paper Merchants. It would seem logical for Carell, who at the time was on the cusp of launching his acting career (his breakthrough role The 40-Year-Old Virgin came out the same year as The Office), to prepare for his Office audition by watching the original. Yet he revealed to Ladbible the reason why he didn’t, and it totally makes sense:
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 prior to auditioning for the American Office. 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.
It’s hard to imagine nowadays that anyone could be as perfect as Carell for the role of the obnoxious paper company boss, but that was the mentality when the US adaptation was announced. Paul Rudd even advised Carell against auditioning for Michael for fear of falling short of Gervais, and Jeremy Piven was originally offered the role, but turned it down for the same reason.
Article continues belowThe irony of this makes me laugh. The Little Miss Sunshine actor couldn’t have known it when he auditioned, but his portrayal of Michael Scott is far more iconic than Gervais’ David Brent. Carell’s peers widely consider it a masterclass in TV comedy (which you can stream with a Peacock subscription). Where Gervais plays Brent as cocky, Carell’s Michael Scott has a more “fake it ‘til you make it” approach to him, sporting a false, often naive, confidence.
The two versions might share a passion for “That’s what she said jokes” among other traits, but Carell’s choice to interpret the character separately from the source material is what makes the Threat Level Midnight star so celebrated.
A huge reason why the flawed paper salesman is so beloved is his character growth over seven seasons, something the UK Office didn’t get to explore due to its short run of only 14 total episodes. I still struggle to watch Season 1’s cringe-worthy “Diversity Day” episode, and if you had told me I would cry over the same Michael Scott returning for Dwight and Angela’s wedding, I wouldn’t have believed you.
Instead of trying to imagine what David Brent might have become, the Bruce Almighty actor was able to develop Scott’s personality and character arc from scratch, giving a unique heart to Michael. Clearly, the Crazy, Stupid, Love actor made the right call. A little bit of a risk, but in the words of Michael Scott and Wayne Gretzky, “You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take,” and Carell’s certainly paid off.
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