steve carell said Paul Rudd pulled him aside and urged him not to audition for the American version of The Office on the March 24 episode of Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast (ET). The actor—who would go on to play Michael Scott for seven seasons—recalled Rudd’s blunt counsel that the U. S. adaptation would be hard to live up to the British original. Carell told host Amy Poehler the warning came before his decision to take the role and before he watched more than a minute of the U. K. series.
Steve Carell explains Paul Rudd’s warning
When steve carell described the exchange, he said Paul Rudd “pulled me aside and was like, ‘Don’t do it, man. Don’t audition. ‘ He was like, ‘There is no way. ‘” The comment, offered early in the project’s life, reflected concern that the American show was an adaptation of a U. K. series starring Ricky Gervais and might be impossible to match. Carell added with a laugh that many people reacted with the same caution, and he echoed the sentiment that some advised not to touch the material “with a 10-foot pole!”
Immediate reactions from the podcast
Quotes on the episode came from those directly involved. Steve Carell, actor and star of The Office, recounted: “Rudd pulled me aside and was like, ‘Don’t do it, man. Don’t audition. ‘” Amy Poehler, host of Good Hang podcast, replied in their exchange: “I’m sure. Everyone was like, ‘Don’t even touch this. ‘” Those remarks framed Carell’s account of how hesitant peers were when the American adaptation first surfaced.
steve carell also described his own approach to the role: he watched only “about a minute” of the British version because he worried that seeing more would force him into imitating Ricky Gervais. He said, “[Ricky] was so good and so specific and so funny, I thought, if I watch a second more, I’m just going to go on an audition with that. I won’t be able to even imagine it a different way. ” The candor underscores why some close to the project counseled caution.
Quick context and what’s next
The Office became a long-running U. S. series with Carell as Michael Scott for seven seasons; Carell left in 2011 and the show concluded after two additional seasons in 2013. The actor noted the program struggled early—calling the pilot “the lowest-testing pilot” for the network and saying “people really hated this show” before it found an audience.
Listeners should expect more memories and behind-the-scenes remarks as steve carell continues to reflect on the series in conversations with peers. Podcast audiences may hear additional context in future episodes as Carell and guests revisit why early warnings from collaborators like Paul Rudd did not stop the actor from taking a role that became central to his career.
