‘The Office’: Who Rainn Wilson Blames for Dwight’s Disloyalty to Michael
No matter how much time passes, the humor and brilliance of The Office seems to be immortal. There are so many factors that contribute to making the NBC show such a classic staple in comedy. From the tight-knit bond of the cast to the exceptional scripts provided by the writers, The Office set the bar for a new type of sitcom. But perhaps what truly makes this show one that fans want to watch again and again is the dynamic between the incredible characters. Just one interaction between Dwight and Michael is enough to keep us laughing for days.
The Office is chock full of phenomenal characters, but perhaps none are as infamous as Michael G. Scott and Dwight K. Schrute. For seven seasons, Michael plays the role of the clueless, but well-meaning boss of Dunder Mifflin Scranton. Dwight, on the other hand, plays his loyal sidekick. But, Dwight’s personality is much harder to pin down. An accurate portrayal of Dwight’s persona after nine seasons might best be described as “chaotic good”, but even that doesn’t seem to fully explain the scope of the character.
Dwight K. Schrute
But fans of the show aren’t the only ones to have trouble describing the paper salesman. Even Rainn Wilson, the brilliant actor who plays Dwight, had trouble nailing the character down description wise. “Dwight is hard to put your finger on, and I’ve spent years trying to describe him in interviews,” Wilson confessed in an interview with NPR. However, what eventually helped Wilson was something that Greg Daniels, who served as the showrunner for The Office, shared with him about his character.
Loyal to a fault
“Greg said, Dwight has an adolescent love of hierarchies, and to me, that phrase sums it all up. It’s kind of all you need to know. The other thing, so Dwight is a militant dweeb ass-kisser,” The Office alum said candidly about Dwight. And while Dwight seemed to take complete joy in following the rules and being Michaels second-in-command, there was a time when he did try to usurp Michael’s power for himself.
The Coup episode
In the third season of The Office, during the third episode, appropriately named “The Coup”, Dwight attempts to take Michael’s role of Regional Manager as his own by going behind his back and having a secret meeting with Michael’s boss, Jan. Of course, we know that the attempt was unsuccessful and resulted in Dwight doing Michael’s laundry for a year as well as sporting a sign that read Liar. But what made the episode so compelling and hilarious, is that it was completely against the beet farmer’s nature to shirk his loyalty to Michael even in pursuit of his dream job.
So what caused Dwight to break ranks in his role as Assistant to the Regional Manager? Wilson believes that his love interest Angela Martin (played brilliantly by Angela Kinsey, co-host of Office Ladies) is to blame for Dwight’s lapse in loyalty. “It wasn’t in Dwight’s nature to do that. He only did it when encouraged by his little Lady Macbeth, Angela. So when Angela, the head accountant, whispered those thoughts of power into his ear, you know, much like Macbeth, Dwight tried to rise to the challenge,” Wilson explained.
Is Angela to blame
We’re honestly not surprised that Angela got the blame for this. While she did plant the bug in Dwight’s ear, it was always his choice to act on it. But, regardless of whose fault it was, it certainly made for a hysterical episode of The Office, and for that, we are eternally grateful.
