This Comedian Auditioned for Michael Scott on ‘The Office’ But Ended Up Playing a Different Part
For seven seasons, Steve Carell epitomized the role of Michael Scott on the NBC hit comedy television series The Office. As the beloved regional manager of the fictional Scranton paper company, Dunder Mifflin, The 40-Year-Old Virgin alum led a cast of talented actors who launched their careers on the popular show. While the Golden Globe winner was the breakout star on The Office, he almost didn’t get the role. Producers actually had comedian Bob Odenkirk in mind for the lead role in The Office, but it didn’t end up happening. Here’s why:
Bob Odenkirk worked with comedy legends early in his career
Bob Odenkirk is best known for his role as Jimmy McGill (aka Saul Goodman) in the long-running AMC television series Better Call Saul. But before he originated the character in Season 2 of Breaking Bad, the 60-year-old actor was a well-regarded comedy writer.
Growing up in Naperville, Illinois, he discovered his love for comedy after being exposed to the Second City performers in Chicago. In 1990, he performed on the Second City mainstage with Tim Meadows and Chris Farley. Odenkirk later became a comedy writer for Saturday Night Live, where he remained for four years, learning from some of the best writers in the business. His claim to fame during that time was writing the sketch “Motivational Speaker” for Farley. He has since made countless guest appearances in television sitcoms and dramatic series since. He has also done voiceover work for the animated Disney film The Incredibles 2.
Bob Odenkirk almost landed the role of Michael Scott on ‘The Office’
The Office could have been a very different show, and Better Call Saul may have never happened. That’s because Odenkirk was a frontrunner for the role of Michael Scott in The Office. According to the New York Times, he was selected and presented as part of the cast to network executives. However, Carell was chosen after a project he was working on was canceled and his schedule freed up.
Despite losing out on the role of Michael Scott when the show was in development, Odenkirk ended up playing a completely different character in a later season. In the episode “Moving On,” Pam (Jenna Fischer) interviews for a new job in Philadelphia with a real estate firm. She encounters Mark (played by Odenkirk), who is exactly like her zany Dunder Mifflin boss, giving her some serious deja vu.
According to Mashable, in a podcast episode of Office Ladies, Fischer revealed, “I knew Bob Odenkirk when I was auditioning for The Office, and we were both called. I was called to do Pam and he was called to do Michael, so we got together and practiced together.” She further explained, “He did this very funny audition where he brought in this guitar and sang along to Pam. We had worked it all out.”
‘Lucky Hank’ is now airing on AMC
Odenkirk is now appearing in his third AMC television series. He plays a very different role as an English professor struggling with a midlife crisis while working in a small Pennsylvania college. Lucky Hank is a dark comedy based on the 1997 novel Straight Man by Richard Russo.
The How I Met Your Mother actor revealed in an interview with Wired that “Lucky Hank is a unique show in that it’s kind of 50-50 comedy and drama.” He explained, “There are no zombies. There are no guns. There are no drugs,” continuing, “There’s people in academia that are professors and students at a small college that’s having financial problems, and they try to make a go of it, which is to say it’s like life.”
