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Louise Thomas
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Bob Odenkirk has opened up about missing out on the lead role in the US remake of The Office.
The Better Call Saul star was originally a frontrunner for the role of gauche office manager Michael Scott, but the part ultimately went to Anchormanactor Steve Carell.
Odenkirk talked through the Sliding Doors moment during an appearance on the popular Office rewatch podcast Office Ladies, hosted by actors Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. Fischer and Kinsey played the roles of Pam Beesly and Angela Martin on the hit sitcom.
“I am, in a strange way, a very earnest person for a person in comedy,” Odenkirk said. “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.”
He noted that Carell had beaten him to several roles in the past, commenting: “It’s because he’s better at being genuinely fun. I think I bring with me a little bit too much earnest seriousness. And it’s just kinda there. And there’s nothing I can do about it except play other roles where it’s helpful to have that.”
Years after losing the part to Carell, Odenkirk guest-starred on the show in the ninth season episode “Moving On”.
Carell played Michael Scott for the first seven seasons of the show, before leaving the show and being replaced by The Hangover star Ed Helms. He returned in a guest capacity for The Office’s final season.
In the podcast interview, Odenkirk suggested that he was not credible as a “purely light character”, something that had pushed him towards more dramatic roles.
“You just are looking for the darkness [in me], and that’s actually great in drama,” he said. “That’s a plus, you know? But in comedy, it’s not a plus.”
Odenkirk rose to prominence on US television as one of the two leads of the influential HBO sketch series Mr Show.
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His role as sleazy lawyer Jimmy “Saul Goodman” McGill, which originated in the crime series Breaking Bad and was the focus of his own spin-off Better Call Saul, saw Odenkirk draw wide acclaim.
Earlier this year, it was reported that a new spin-off series set in the same universe as The Office had been commissioned by Universal Television.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new cast will be led by The White Lotus star Sabrina Impacciatore, and About Time’s Domhnall Gleeson.
