Paul Feig Says Steve Carell’s “Humanity” Saved ‘The Office’: “The Whole Show Turned Around”

He may not be the “world’s best boss,” but Steve Carell brought an undeniable quality to his The Office character Michael Scott.

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While reminiscing about his first time directing the NBC mockumentary sitcom, Paul Feig credited Carell with making the show “the giant hit that it is” after the actor put his own touch on the role, a counterpart to Ricky Gervais ‘ David Brent in the original UK series.

Although he recalled being offered to develop the US version after Freaks & Geeks ended, Feig turned down the opportunity, noting the original was “an iconic show.” Meanwhile, he said Carell’s performance in the debut season strayed too close to Gervais’ unlikable boss character.

“It’s British humor. British humor is very different. The Brits love tearing down a boor. So, they love when the lead character is an unlikable character because they love poking holes in those guys, seeing those characters have a downfall,” explained Feig on the Dinner’s on Me podcast. “American audiences don’t like that. They go, like, ‘This my this is my hero? Because I don’t like this person,’ and it drives them crazy, and so they’ll tune it out.”

Feig directed his first episode of The Office toward the beginning of Season 2, ‘Office Olympics’, which he noted came shortly after Carell’s star-making performance in The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005). “So, Steve was this huge star all of a sudden, and they had this huge star in the show that they thought wasn’t working, and it wasn’t working in the ratings,” he explained.

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“It was the scene we were shooting when everybody was supposed to be working, and they’re screwing off doing this thing,” Feig recounted. “And in order to not get in trouble with Michael, they’re gonna give him a gold medal. We’re shooting it, and Steve gets emotional — Steve as the character — because he’s had this terrible day. And so, he starts, like, kinda crying. Like, a tear goes down his eye. And we’re like, ‘Oh my God.’ And I’m going, like, ‘Oh, do that again.'”

He explained, “I think that was this moment of, like, ‘That’s him. He’s got a humanity about him.’ And everybody figured out, no, he not an a—hole. He’s a misguided idiot who is an a—hole because he’s trying to be funny. So, you go, like, ‘Okay, he means well.’ And once the audience goes, like, ‘He means well,’ then you’re, like, ‘We’ll follow him.’ And the whole show turned around and obviously became the giant hit that it is.”

Adapted from the 2001-’03 UK series, The Office ran for nine seasons on NBC from 2005 to 2013. Meanwhile, a followup series is set at Peacock , and Prime Video is preparing to release an Australian Original adaptation of The Office on Oct. 18.

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