Overview
- Carell, who spoke on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang on Tuesday, said Paul Rudd pulled him aside and told him “Don’t do it” as he weighed an audition he later took for NBC’s remake.
- He said he watched only a minute of Ricky Gervais’ original to avoid copying that performance when crafting Michael Scott.
- Carell recalled the U.S. pilot posted the lowest test scores in NBC history and said early viewers “actively hated” it.
- He said he mapped out Michael Scott’s exit with producer Greg Daniels about a year before leaving the show.
- Coverage links the recollection to the show’s long tail, noting its nine-season run, Carell’s 2005–2011 tenure with a 2013 cameo, and Peacock’s spinoff The Paper getting a second season.