Steve Carell’s starring role on The Office was almost played by two other A-list actors.
Casting director Allison Jones, 69, revealed on the Office Ladies podcast — hosted by the sitcom’s Jenna Fischer, 50, and Angela Kinsey, 53 — that NBC initially wanted a well-known star to play lead character Michael Scott.
‘I remember vividly the first meeting we had with the network when [creator Greg Daniels] had a list of names and they were like, “Let’s try Philip Seymour Hoffman. And then, you know, let’s go for Paul Giamatti or whatever,”‘ she spilled.
She also noted that Bob Odenkirk and Patton Oswalt would have been good fits for the role that came to be synonymous with Carell, 62.
The media professional added that she felt ‘jaded’ because she believed neither of the aforementioned actors would want to do the show: ‘Nobody did TV. Comedy was the bottom of the barrel.’
Steve Carell’s starring role on The Office was almost played by two other A-list actors
Carell made the role of Michael Scott famous on the mockumentary-style show; pictured with John Krasinski
However, Daniels, 61, preferred to keep the new series similar to the original British series they were recreating, which used regular-looking people in its cast.
According to an account from People, Jones emphasized, ‘This was the first time, other than [casting] Freaks and Geeks, I had the opportunity to get real people who didn’t have to be, you know, vaudeville funny or sitcom funny, which is a very difficult thing to be.’
She also shared that the network’s aim to use a ‘big name’ for the show was out of the ordinary.
‘NBC was more into standups at the time,’ the director said. ‘In fact, Steve Carell, who would ultimately be cast as Michael Scott, was part of one of those stand-up-led shows, Tom Papa’s Come to Papa, meaning he couldn’t audition for The Office.’
Recounting how it all unfolded, she continued: ‘Nancy Perkins, who was the head of casting at NBC Universal, always knew Steve would be a top choice for this.’
The casting team auditioned others before going with the Morning Show actor.
‘We brought in the best of the best. Everybody was a different version of Michael Scott that could have worked. Patton Oswalt could have worked. Bob Odenkirk would have been amazing,’ she listed.
As fate would have it, Come to Papa was canceled after just four episodes, making Carell free to join The Office.
Casting director Allison Jones, 69, revealed on the Office Ladies podcast that NBC initially wanted a well-known star to play lead character Michael Scott with Phillip Seymour Hoffman (L) and Paul Giamatti (R) suggested
The Office Ladies podcast is hosted by the sitcom’s Jenna Fischer , 50, and Angela Kinsey, 53
Jones also noted that Bob Odenkirk and Patton Oswalt would have been good fits for the role that came to be synonymous with Carell, 62
Elsewhere in the episode Kinsey, who played Angela, revealed that she originally auditioned for the Pam role, which ended up going to Fischer.
And she shared that Kathryn Hahn also auditioned with Jones agreeing, ‘We had famous people on that couch. I recall it was a small, crappy little couch.’
She was called back to read for the part of Angela, but was apprehensive because she was then-married to Warren Lieberstein, whose sister was married to Daniels.
But Jones assured her she wasn’t given the role due to nepotism: ‘You did not get it because you were related to Greg. You got it because you were really good.’
The Office ran for nine seasons between 2005-2013.
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