Bob Odenkirk Reveals Why He Missed Out On One Of TV’s Most Iconic Roles
Steve Carell famously played the bumbling boss Michael Scott on The Office, but a number of other actors auditioned for the part, including Bob Odenkirk. Appearing on an episode of the Office Ladies podcast, Odenkirk said he was too earnest and that Carell is simply better at being “fun.”
“I am, in a strange way, a very earnest person for a person in comedy,” he said (via Entertainment Weekly). “I am oddly earnest, and … it’s one of the reasons I think Steve Carell is a better, you know–is the one who got the role. It’s because he’s better at being genuinely fun.”
Odenkirk said he brings a little bit “too much earnest seriousness,” and that makes him good for some roles and not ideal for others. The Michael Scott character is a “purely light character,” Odenkirk said, and that’s not the actor’s wheelhouse–Odenkirk likes to bring the darkness as well.