Chief entertainment reporter Jenni Mortimer with the latest in entertainment. Video / Ryan Bridge TODAY
Paul Rudd urged Steve Carell not to audition for The Office.
Carell, 63, played Michael Scott in the United States reboot of the sitcom from 2005 to 2011 before making a surprise cameo in the 2013 finale, but he has admitted his friend advised him against the project becausehe thought remaking the British show was a bad idea.
Speaking to Amy Poehler on her Good Hang podcast, he said: “I remember Rudd pulled me aside and was like, ‘Don’t do it, man. Don’t audition.’ It was like, ‘There is no way.’”
Poehler replied: “Yeah. Everyone was like, don’t even touch this.”
Carell decided against watching the British version of The Office because he had caught a glimpse of Ricky Gervais – who co-created and wrote the programme, as well as having the lead role of David Brent – and worried he would feel too much pressure to match his performance.
He said: “I watched, like, a minute of one of the shows of [Gervais] and he was so good and so specific and so funny, I thought, ‘If I watch a second more, I’m just gonna go on an audition with that.’ I won’t be able to even imagine it a different way.”
The Office went on to be a huge success in the US, but Carell is still amazed because he remembered it having the “lowest testing pilot” on NBC.
“People really hated it. They actively hated it. And I don’t quite know how it got legs after that.”
Steve Carell avoided watching the UK version of The Office so he wouldn't imitate Ricky Gervais' performance. Photo / Getty Images
The actor also revealed he had a lot of input into his own exit from the show and made suggestions a year before he departed.
He said: “A year before I knew I was going to leave, I talked to [producer] Greg [Daniels] about what potentially the last arc for him would be. And I did want there to be a sense of growth for him.
“[I pitched] that the last day is not the last day. Everyone thinks that they’re gonna have a party for him. But he leaves the day before, because he doesn’t need it. He wants to say goodbye on his own terms ... that I thought would be an interesting way for him to go out.”
