Steve Carell Remembers When Paul Rudd Tried to Stop His ‘The Office’ Audition: ‘Don’t Do It, Man’

Steve Carell remembered when Paul Rudd tried hard to get him not to audition for “The Office.”

While on Amy Poehler’s “Good Hang” podcast, “The Office” alum explained that his “40-Year-Old Virgin” co-star pushed to get him to drop his interview to play Michael Scott. Part of the concern was that anyone attached to the Americanized version of the cult-hit U.K. version of the show would be maligned along with the new series.

“I remember Rudd pulled me aside and was like, ‘Don’t do it, man. Don’t audition,'” Carell said. “It was like, ‘There is no way.’”

“Yeah. Everyone was like, don’t even touch this,” Poehler added.

“10-foot pole,” Carell finished.

It makes sense that both seasoned and up-and-coming comedy actors were skittish about auditioning for the American version of “The Office” after the beloved but short-lived U.K. season starring Ricky Gervais. Carell continued explaining to Poehler that he never checked out the original show before jumping into his iconic role as Michael Scott.

“I watched, like, a minute of one of the shows of [Gervais] and he was so good and so specific and so funny, I thought, ‘If I watch a second more, I’m just gonna go on an audition with that,’ ” Carell said. “I  won’t be able to even imagine it a different way.”

“The Office” quickly grew to be one of the biggest show’s at NBC and has become a streaming juggernaut since then. The U.S. show has also been spun off on Peacock with a new show called “The Paper.” It stars Domhnall Gleeson as a man trying to bring a local newspaper back into relevance. Former “The Office” star Oscar Nuñez even reprises his role as Oscar Martinez in the new show.

“The Paper” has been renewed for a second season.

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