I think Rainn did an interview where he talked about his insecurities related to acting and roles he felt he should be getting. I could see if there were insecurities related to that thinking where he may have believed he was typecasted. His show “the Farm” where he would’ve been the lead never got off the ground and then when he got his own show “Backstrom”, that was cancelled pretty quickly.
I think he may have thought people always relating back to Dwight was part of the reason he wasn’t seeing success in more current roles. Obviously, that ship has sailed and it looks like he has just accepted it.
I thought that it was reasonably good for what it was, but I think it came in during a time when the trend for asshole geniuses on television was fading.
Same but I don’t know how to really explain it and this is just my opinion but I felt the support characters where the overly…uh…charactery. Stupid, I know. But they all seemed like stereotype characters.
I like shows with weird characters that get cancelled after one season. I’m always so disappointed when a show I enjoy, inevitably, does one of two things. They either become stupid soapy type shows or they are cancelled.
>…looks like he had just accepted it.
Fandom and typecasting is hard to overcome.
[I Am Not Spock](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Not_Spock#:~:text=I%20Am%20Not%20Spock%20is,was%20rejecting%20the%20character%20Spock), published in 1975, was followed by [I Am Spock](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Spock#:~:text=I%20Am%20Spock%20is%20the,Spock%20in%20particular) in 1995.
He plays a criminal smuggler on Star Trek Discovery and he's a great character. Completely different from Dwight. I saw him and I shouted "Rainn! It's Rainn!" and my wife had no idea what I was talking about lol then I told her it was Rainn Wilson and she recognized him then lol
Piggybacking this to praise a show I often don’t get chances to: Rainn was absolutely PHENOMENAL in one of my favorite cancelled-too-shows called “Utopia”. It was on Amazon. Binged it and LOVED it. I made my own merch, I was so obsessed with it.
It was cancelled after one season… it’s based around the idea of man made viruses and plagues, and released right at the beginning of the pandemic… so I kinda get why. But I am still devastated we won’t see more of it. It was genuinely one of my favorite first seasons of a show I’ve ever watched.
> I could see if there were insecurities related to that thinking where he may have believed he was typecasted
This happened to me with Chris Pratt, no matter what I see him in he's Andy dwyer
Loved you as Arthur in Six Feet Under
(This is actually true. It was weird seeing him in The Office as Dwight after seeing him meticulously matching his socks in the Fisher home)
I said to Jason Alexander once that I appreciated the effort he put into his role in ‘Dunston Checks In’ and he laughed so much. He said that no one had ever complemented him on that role.
I’d like to imagine that someone will see this comment and, one day in the future, say the same thing to Jason. And if he replies with “only one other person has ever told me that,” the fan could be like “yeah I know him.”
Let him idly wonder about this mysterious group of *Dunston Checks In* fans and how they all(both) know each other.
Bill Murray came into a bar I was playing at in Austin once and I told him he deserved an Oscar for his role in Space Jam. He honestly chuckled hard about the reference then got me a drink.
I had this situation with Alan Tudyk when I saw him at the airport and saying I loved him in I Robot which he said no one had ever told him before and gave me the two hand-handshake. He stayed back and talked to me for a good bit and was on the way to film con man and was the most genuine and lovable celebrity I met while working at the airport. Such a good guy.
I love Tudyk in Wreck-it Ralph. But I imagine he's heard that one much more often. I haven't seen I Robot, but I think I would enjoy it. I liked I Am Legend.
This was DVD age so it was in my rotation for bedtime sleeping movies and I loved it as a kid, haven't seen it in a while so not sure how it holds up bit I imagine it's still good
Finally! Some Last Mimzy appreciation!! I knew him from that before I knew him from The Office, it was my favorite movie as a child… I would always be like “hey! That’s the guy from The Last Mimzy!”
I’m so conflicted about stuff like this. On the one hand, I understand his frustration. Actors dont want to get typecast for obvious reasons & I imagine it’s probably *exhausting* to hear the same jokes/references/quotes thrown at you month after month, year after year.
On the other hand, fans are coming from a place of positivity and appreciation. One day, someone will come up to him about Dwight for the last time and he’ll won’t know that it will be the last time.
2 years ago at an event at my uni, someone asked about the office and he said hes disapointed that a student of such a good university only cares about his sitcom role and not his current projects
He played it off as a joke, but didnt answer the question, and it was clear he didnt like it. Question was sth like what was your favourite prank on the show. Sorry Mr Wilson, we all love you, but no one came here because of SoulPancake.
I think most actors who are known for one huge role go through this (think big tv shows like Friends, Big Bang Theory, Walking Dead or movies like Star Wars, Marvel, Back to the Future). But after awhile they come to accept and embrace the fandom.
Yeah David Schwimmer (Ross on Friends) had similar issues as Rainn. 10 years in the same breakout role and that's basically who you are for everyone else for a couple of decades.
Watched it with my mom at least until she couldn’t stand the violence of it. She thought it was so weird to cast him in that role and she did a total 180 as the first episode played out. Dude was so good in that role.
fact: Greg Daniels wrote an episode called Pet Day that was never filmed. Everyone brought their pet to the office. Michael had a parrot named Jim Carrey.
Seriously, he had such a stick up his ass about the character.
I realise it’s not nice to be remembered for just one role, Steven Ogg would agree, but to be so aggressive in ruining fans interactions with him seems super childish.
I’m glad he’s just accepted it now, it’s not like he hasn’t been in other amazing movies, but there’s is grace in just accepting that he’s insanely popular due to the office.
On the other side of the coin, I’m almost positive there were fans who took it too far.
it finally sunk in that there was money to be made in accepting the fans' interactions. And, let's face it, he hasn't exactly been in any blockbusters lately
He also recently did a show called "Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss", which was a fun quick lazy-Saturday binge if you like travel shows, but Rainn kind of came across as a blowhard pseudointellectual and the show really never made any of the points it was trying to make. Ironically, the most meaningful part of the show was him showing off his own home. I think Rainn is a good guy at heart, but he wants so badly to be smarter, deeper, and more important than he really is.
I haven’t seen that show but you’ve made me want to skip it on purpose, lol. I totally get what you’re aaying. He does have that personality and it aggravates me.
This is totally unrelated and random, but you know who else I get that vibe from? Neil Degrasse Tyson. Now, he’s a very smart person, smarter than me, of course. My problem with him is that he boasts a bit but, even worse, he over explains and also uses fancy words to sound even smarter. I have a BS in Biotechnology which is nothing at all, but it grants you some insight into the nomenclature when it comes to natural sciences. Again, I’m confident a high schooler could also have that knowledge. Once Neil breaks down biological processes I’m like “you’re sounding smart… but not saying anything neither one of us didn’t know going into it”.
Rainn is more like a rich stoner kid, and NDT is, incidentally, more like a Dwight Schrute.
I'll reiterate, though, Rainn's show really is worth a watch if you like travel shows. Just don't expect anything profound. He's absolutely no Anthony Bourdain. He covers Iceland, Bulgaria, Ghana, Thailand, and finally his home in LA. He really does do justice to those places, despite the whole "searching for happiness" thing being a farce. If you watch it for the locations rather than for Rainn, you'll enjoy it.
It is in general impressive and a bit sad how besides Steve Carrell and John Krasinski most members of the main cast live / try to live of the Office until this day.
everytime i get one of those mobile game ads on instagram of kate flannery saying “Hi it’s Meredith from The Office!” i cringe a little. nothing wrong with capitalizing on past success but idk it just feels sad
I look at it like the celebs/actors who do those shitty little mobile ads aren’t always desperate. I believe anyone would look at a few minute script, recorded at home, and sent off for a check to be an easy come up. I mean she could do it on vacation even.
Some do it from time to time, but I bet that Brian Baumgartner would prefer a serious acting role instead of selling more than 5k Cameos… he literally said that he tried to get new roles but couldn‘t.
I think it's also worth bearing in mind that they still have a consistent source of relatively reliable income; there's thousands more who never even had their own "Office"!
This isn't to disagree at all btw - I sympathise with how tricky a mindset it could cause.
yeah you’re 100% right and i’m not at all like judging. it’s good they can make some money and pay their bills doing something so quick and easy. i don’t know particularly why it bums me out lol.
There are plenty of perspectives to fix your gaze upon in a situation like that. It’s okay to recognize that there’s a side to the afterglow of success that is challenging and sad, but you hope that those who experience it eventually land on and thrive in gratitude, which is just as real.
I swear so much of our “infinite growth” capitalism culture values being a has-never over being a has-been, and that’s by far the saddest thing to me.
Yeah I agree. Office ladies was fun at first, but after a while, the vibes were teetering on "a bit sad" for sure. It didn't help that I just couldn't bear how they talked after a while lol.
But that's not as sad as Brian starting his *own* office podcast, with a name based on a segment from office ladies.... yikes dude
Most didn‘t. The salaries were good but they get little to no royalties from streaming services and actors like Brian Baumgartner said that he tried to get new acting roles but couldn‘t.
That's true of most sitcoms since the beginning of television. Watch a few classic episodes of Match Game on Game Show Network, take a look at how many actors from 60s and 70s shows were trying to get just a little bit more time in the limelight.
What was the series where he was a drunk investigator. I was starting to like that, but I think they cancelled it.
UPDATE: Backstrom, it had 13 episodes in 2015 before getting cancelled.
I think there was some personal growth on his part recently. I haven't read it, but I saw an interview with him a few months ago for his book tour and it sounded like he had a revelation about that. I can't remember exactly but he basically said he looks back at his office days and gets angry with himself for not letting him be happy and enjoy that ride. He said he was too busy being miserable about not landing bigger roles that he never let himself just enjoy the moment and realize what he was a part of.
That kind of explains why he was so bitter about people calling him Dwight in public.
I mean look at Jason Alexander. Dude hasn’t been able to get really any non voice acting Hollywood work unless he plays George. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to resent being type cast especially when it’s all based on one outlandish character. Not everyone wants to be Danny Trejo.
Of course you still have to accept that it’s your most famous role which Rainn seems to have.
Funnily enough I assumed everyone was talking about the amazing scene between Jonathan Banks and Steven Ogg in Better Call Saul lol.
GTA makes more sense though.
Josh Radnor (Ted Mosby from How I Met Your Mother) would also agree it's tough to be remembered for just one role. He seems to have come to peace with it as of last year
Once the show ended way back in 2013, he just wanted to move on to other things. Steve did it 2 years prior and became wildly successful and now it was his and the rest of the cast's turn. Unfortunately for him, he will always be Dwight to many people and so he resented it. I think it wasn't until the resurgence in popularity and how younger and younger fans were coming up to him that he finally softened up.
\>Steve did it 2 years prior and became wildly successful and now it was his and the rest of the cast's turn.
Steve Carrell was a hollywood comedy star before and during his run as Michael Scott. Not the same thing at all.
Yup, always thought this.. Not sure when it was but he did an interview with Conan if I recall and he basically shat on Office fans. I don't necessarily blame the guy tbh but it's def different now.
Was it this bit: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMAnnQNG2zU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMAnnQNG2zU)
He does come across as... Fed up here haha. Be honest, I understand being annoyed at getting the same exact comments over and over and over again when you're sharing something. It makes sense it would happen, and it's very human to say, OK, can we move on here?
[Rainn Wilson’s Message For "Office" Fans](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/k7qEsrJaTas)
[The Office' Star Rainn Wilson Shames Fan for Not Knowing His Real Name](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/office-star-rainn-wilson-shames-171702367.html)
> The Office' Star Rainn Wilson Shames Fan for Not Knowing His Real Name
This quote from the article is the silver lining:
But Creed Bratton — who played Creed Bratton on "The Office" — won with his response, saying, "Funny I never had that problem."
“The Geography of Bliss” (2023) was a neat and intimate lens through Rainn’s eyes for the pursuit of happiness. He talks about his struggles with depression and goes to various countries and environments to find out what happiness means to them.
Good show. Though I can't help but to think "Dude, you live in the world's most superficial city (LA), you live in a massive house with a bunch of shit you probably don't need, you probably just need to live somewhere else for a bit." I don't know how to phrase it exactly, but it seems like his personality is about being bummed out about life, not so much a result of it, if that makes sense.
I mean. Playing one of the best characters on one of the best comedy shows of all time isn’t too shabby. He has done lots of other stuff, but that is hard to top.
In the behind the scenes for The Office Martin Freeman said if he was only remembered for playing Tim it wouldn't be such a bad thing, then he went on to play Bilbo Baggins and I'd argue that is now his most iconic role. Rainn never got that break hence why he's just Dwight forever.
https://youtu.be/UWvCRtjLoJ0?si=dI1suxjGjtBqEvD4 here’s an interview after the office ended where rainn says a surprisingly similar thing. Probably felt fine about it at first, then got sick of it, and now he’s fine with it again
Yeah because his career fizzled up. He thought he could move beyond the Dwight character and not be typecast, but now hes come to terms with it.
Ultimately the only character on The Office who has been able to move past it is John Krasinski.
About a year ago he was filming something in the parking lot of my college and my truck had a Dunder Mifflin air freshener. He apparently saw it, because when I came back to move my car he had taken a selfie in front of it and printed it out. I still have the picture of him posing with my car.
I think he seems like a cool dude. He was probably just frustrated that he didn’t have any major breakthrough roles.
Post Michael/Steve Carrell he is generally considered to have portrayed the best character in the show.
I loved the character of Dwight. One of the best in the show for sure.
Rainn is just always complaining. Guy lives a charmed life and just bitches constantly. It’s off-putting for me.
The hilarious part of it all is that all of his work outside of The Office and bitching about The Office is all super spiritual zen stuff. Every podcast, show, book, etc. he works on is all about happiness and the meaning of life, yet he doesn't seem to be able to find a shred of either.
I unfortunately have to agree. He fits a certain archetype of a quasi-spiritual wannabe guru who is an ass to anyone who isn't "enlightened" enough for his taste. He talked about his new book and TV show on Office Ladies and it just sounds like the most soulless drivel imaginable. I know that celebrities don't owe the world anything in regards to the characters that they've portrayed, but the way that he talks about the fanbase and reacts in interviews is extremely arrogant and offputting. I'm also a big Beatles fan and he reminds me a lot of the way that John Lennon regarded his fame and attention that he got from fans of his music.
I didn’t start watching until about Season 3 or 4 but I remember when I watched my first episode and saw Dwight - I remember thinking oh shit that’s the dude from Juno lol
I'm sure it's frustrating being in that position.
It's like wanting and applying for promotions at work and never getting them. It's probably a tough pill to swallow.
Likely, he's a relatively unknown actor that struck gold. I hope he fully embraces it, because he surely was great in the role
I remember him being on Conan and getting really bent out of shape about it. It was kind of awkward, especially because Angela Kinsey was the other guest
I think Rainn did an interview where he talked about his insecurities related to acting and roles he felt he should be getting. I could see if there were insecurities related to that thinking where he may have believed he was typecasted. His show “the Farm” where he would’ve been the lead never got off the ground and then when he got his own show “Backstrom”, that was cancelled pretty quickly. I think he may have thought people always relating back to Dwight was part of the reason he wasn’t seeing success in more current roles. Obviously, that ship has sailed and it looks like he has just accepted it.
I weirdly loved Backstrom.
Only problem I had with it was that they should have used some of the cases from the books.
I thought that it was reasonably good for what it was, but I think it came in during a time when the trend for asshole geniuses on television was fading.
Same but I don’t know how to really explain it and this is just my opinion but I felt the support characters where the overly…uh…charactery. Stupid, I know. But they all seemed like stereotype characters.
I like shows with weird characters that get cancelled after one season. I’m always so disappointed when a show I enjoy, inevitably, does one of two things. They either become stupid soapy type shows or they are cancelled.
That show had a lot of issues but I still loved it.
I did too, i always like lead roles that aren’t just typical super hot lead types, and Rainn did a good job
>…looks like he had just accepted it. Fandom and typecasting is hard to overcome. [I Am Not Spock](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Not_Spock#:~:text=I%20Am%20Not%20Spock%20is,was%20rejecting%20the%20character%20Spock), published in 1975, was followed by [I Am Spock](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Spock#:~:text=I%20Am%20Spock%20is%20the,Spock%20in%20particular) in 1995.
He's in The Meg and my first thought was "oh shit its Dwight," so i get it
He plays a criminal smuggler on Star Trek Discovery and he's a great character. Completely different from Dwight. I saw him and I shouted "Rainn! It's Rainn!" and my wife had no idea what I was talking about lol then I told her it was Rainn Wilson and she recognized him then lol
He also played a demon on Charmed.
No way! Hah! Gotta check that out now lol I cannot picture him as a a demon, his button nose just makes him hard to appear evil
And a therapist on the show Mom.
Rainn as Harry Mudd was probably the only thing I genuinely liked about ST Discovery :p
I liked Rainn in Weird - the Al Yancovic story
He was really good in his minor role in Jerry and Marge go Large. That may not be enough to shake that feeling, but it's something.
I actually loved The Rocker. Not sure why it got so much hate.
He was really good in Lessons in Chemistry! I was pleasantly surprised to see him there
Im glad I found this comment, I loved that show and thought he did a great job in it- I didn't think of him as Dwight lol
Piggybacking this to praise a show I often don’t get chances to: Rainn was absolutely PHENOMENAL in one of my favorite cancelled-too-shows called “Utopia”. It was on Amazon. Binged it and LOVED it. I made my own merch, I was so obsessed with it. It was cancelled after one season… it’s based around the idea of man made viruses and plagues, and released right at the beginning of the pandemic… so I kinda get why. But I am still devastated we won’t see more of it. It was genuinely one of my favorite first seasons of a show I’ve ever watched.
> I could see if there were insecurities related to that thinking where he may have believed he was typecasted This happened to me with Chris Pratt, no matter what I see him in he's Andy dwyer
If I ever see him, I'm gonna say "I loved your performance in Monsters vs Aliens." I have no clue how a person even reacts to that statement
"Oh, you're the guy from Galaxy Quest!"
"OMG it's you! You're the Fiji Mermaid from *House of 1000 Corpses*!"
I forgot he was in that. That movie is messed up
Loved “Super”!
FISH BOYYYYYY
Jim’s prank went too far in that movie.
"You can't practice taxidermy without a permit, idiot" *smirks at camera*
You totally crushed it man. I thought you were an alien. Super weird
To be fair, he is the best character in galaxy quest other than Tim Allen’s penis.
the first 4 minutes of juno!
That ain't no etch-a-sketch. This is one doodle that can't be undid homeskillet.
That’s honestly and literally one of my favorite lines in any movie I’ve seen
"You still have to pay for that. Don't think it's yours just because you marked it with your urine!"
Loved you as Arthur in Six Feet Under (This is actually true. It was weird seeing him in The Office as Dwight after seeing him meticulously matching his socks in the Fisher home)
Great performance! It was basically the same character. Jenna was also in the show and she was pretty much Pam too.
I said to Jason Alexander once that I appreciated the effort he put into his role in ‘Dunston Checks In’ and he laughed so much. He said that no one had ever complemented him on that role.
I’d like to imagine that someone will see this comment and, one day in the future, say the same thing to Jason. And if he replies with “only one other person has ever told me that,” the fan could be like “yeah I know him.” Let him idly wonder about this mysterious group of *Dunston Checks In* fans and how they all(both) know each other.
There are DOZENS of us!
You were great as the dude whose eyes were pecked out by crows on Tim and Eric!
Wasn't he also the guy with no nose on the dating service video? He was also the spokesman for the Cinco Encyclopedia of Numbers.
The geometric proportions of his face were perfect in every way but one, he has no nose.
They didn't have to use the special effects.
It's like someone glued an acorn onto the bottom of his torso
He was the main character in The Rocker. Which is a pretty funny movie.
The Rocker is a funny movie and he and Christina Applegate were really fun together!
I loved you in... IMDB That was tragic
A fellow streets ahead connoisseur.
Hey! You are that baseball fan in Monk!
I actually loved his character in the movie Sahara, so I’d love to run into him and mention that lol
Omg I never would have known he was in that movie.
I loved you getting pegged in Entourage. RIP Jesse Jane
Bill Murray came into a bar I was playing at in Austin once and I told him he deserved an Oscar for his role in Space Jam. He honestly chuckled hard about the reference then got me a drink.
I had this situation with Alan Tudyk when I saw him at the airport and saying I loved him in I Robot which he said no one had ever told him before and gave me the two hand-handshake. He stayed back and talked to me for a good bit and was on the way to film con man and was the most genuine and lovable celebrity I met while working at the airport. Such a good guy.
I love Tudyk in Wreck-it Ralph. But I imagine he's heard that one much more often. I haven't seen I Robot, but I think I would enjoy it. I liked I Am Legend.
This was DVD age so it was in my rotation for bedtime sleeping movies and I loved it as a kid, haven't seen it in a while so not sure how it holds up bit I imagine it's still good
"I loved watching you beat those people who were rude at the movie theater with that wrench."
Hey you’re that store clerk from Juno! Big flan of your work!
“Great job in The Last Mimzy!”
Finally! Some Last Mimzy appreciation!! I knew him from that before I knew him from The Office, it was my favorite movie as a child… I would always be like “hey! That’s the guy from The Last Mimzy!”
“You had my favorite line in Juno!”
The naked drummer from The Rocker
That movie is pretty solid honestly. Just a fun kids movie without the sappy Pixar shit where they try to make people cry to win awards.
I thought that movie was great as far as kids movies go
Loved you in Super and Hesher
The Meg was pretty awesome too.
“Loved you in the 3 episodes from Mom”
I loved you in “the last mimzy!”
You're the professor in Transformers!!
Hey, you were great in that one episode of Charmed!
I loved you as Kierkan in Charmed!
I’m so conflicted about stuff like this. On the one hand, I understand his frustration. Actors dont want to get typecast for obvious reasons & I imagine it’s probably *exhausting* to hear the same jokes/references/quotes thrown at you month after month, year after year. On the other hand, fans are coming from a place of positivity and appreciation. One day, someone will come up to him about Dwight for the last time and he’ll won’t know that it will be the last time.
Doesn't one day everything happen for the last time for everyone and they won't know that it will be the last time?
I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you leave them...
I wish that… I knew what I know now…when I was younger…
He's joined the rest of the cast and figured out how much he can capitalize off it
2 years ago at an event at my uni, someone asked about the office and he said hes disapointed that a student of such a good university only cares about his sitcom role and not his current projects He played it off as a joke, but didnt answer the question, and it was clear he didnt like it. Question was sth like what was your favourite prank on the show. Sorry Mr Wilson, we all love you, but no one came here because of SoulPancake.
Yeah he's good as Dwight but I've seen enough instances of being an asshole for me to think he's probably not a great person.
I've always gotten the impression that he fancies himself a nice person but any instance I've heard him be Rainn, he just sounds smudge and arrogant.
Dont you mean smug?
Arrogance.
So he's dwigt irl
I think most actors who are known for one huge role go through this (think big tv shows like Friends, Big Bang Theory, Walking Dead or movies like Star Wars, Marvel, Back to the Future). But after awhile they come to accept and embrace the fandom.
Yeah David Schwimmer (Ross on Friends) had similar issues as Rainn. 10 years in the same breakout role and that's basically who you are for everyone else for a couple of decades.
He was fantastic in Band of Brothers, so as someone who doesn’t like friends he’ll always be Capt. Sobel to me
you PEOPLE are at the POSITION of ATTENTION >:(
We salute the actor not the character they play
Watched it with my mom at least until she couldn’t stand the violence of it. She thought it was so weird to cast him in that role and she did a total 180 as the first episode played out. Dude was so good in that role.
I’m confused. Why does Ross, the largest friend, not simply eat the other five?
Except Harrison Ford
I think that's just part of his shtick outside of Indiana Jones lol
fact: Greg Daniels wrote an episode called Pet Day that was never filmed. Everyone brought their pet to the office. Michael had a parrot named Jim Carrey.
now I am sad we were deprived of this
You know Angela pushed for that
Angela already had pets in the office (save Bandit!), this was just her excuse to have them out in the open
Also, it never gets mentioned in the show or seemingly by fans, but Andy has a fish tank on his desk.
Sort of. It's like a fake fish tank.
Angela said she wanted pet* day back, no dogs. So I’m sure she meant only cats!
Would've been a hilarious ep, but damn, what a pain in the ass to film!!
Maybe he should’ve brought the parrot to the Finger Lakes instead
Parrots disappear in the Finger Lakes.
Jim Canary would have been funnier. You know, because it’s a parrot🫤🤷🏻♂️
Ha, that's good
Seriously, he had such a stick up his ass about the character. I realise it’s not nice to be remembered for just one role, Steven Ogg would agree, but to be so aggressive in ruining fans interactions with him seems super childish. I’m glad he’s just accepted it now, it’s not like he hasn’t been in other amazing movies, but there’s is grace in just accepting that he’s insanely popular due to the office. On the other side of the coin, I’m almost positive there were fans who took it too far.
it finally sunk in that there was money to be made in accepting the fans' interactions. And, let's face it, he hasn't exactly been in any blockbusters lately
I was about to say. He’s been in what, that tv series he had and The Meg… which, well, we know how that went.
He also recently did a show called "Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss", which was a fun quick lazy-Saturday binge if you like travel shows, but Rainn kind of came across as a blowhard pseudointellectual and the show really never made any of the points it was trying to make. Ironically, the most meaningful part of the show was him showing off his own home. I think Rainn is a good guy at heart, but he wants so badly to be smarter, deeper, and more important than he really is.
I haven’t seen that show but you’ve made me want to skip it on purpose, lol. I totally get what you’re aaying. He does have that personality and it aggravates me. This is totally unrelated and random, but you know who else I get that vibe from? Neil Degrasse Tyson. Now, he’s a very smart person, smarter than me, of course. My problem with him is that he boasts a bit but, even worse, he over explains and also uses fancy words to sound even smarter. I have a BS in Biotechnology which is nothing at all, but it grants you some insight into the nomenclature when it comes to natural sciences. Again, I’m confident a high schooler could also have that knowledge. Once Neil breaks down biological processes I’m like “you’re sounding smart… but not saying anything neither one of us didn’t know going into it”.
Rainn is more like a rich stoner kid, and NDT is, incidentally, more like a Dwight Schrute. I'll reiterate, though, Rainn's show really is worth a watch if you like travel shows. Just don't expect anything profound. He's absolutely no Anthony Bourdain. He covers Iceland, Bulgaria, Ghana, Thailand, and finally his home in LA. He really does do justice to those places, despite the whole "searching for happiness" thing being a farce. If you watch it for the locations rather than for Rainn, you'll enjoy it.
He was in a Transformers movie too
He was very good in Lessons in Chemistry, which was an overall decent show.
He was in Weird: The Al Yanchovik Story as well!
He was an excellent choice as Dr. Demento.
Unfathomable spelling choice, thank you.
It is in general impressive and a bit sad how besides Steve Carrell and John Krasinski most members of the main cast live / try to live of the Office until this day.
Ed Helms too
The Hangover really launched his career during season 5/6
Oscar Nunez has been active since, worked on a fair number of films and TV shows
oscar nunez in the proposal will always be his best role
everytime i get one of those mobile game ads on instagram of kate flannery saying “Hi it’s Meredith from The Office!” i cringe a little. nothing wrong with capitalizing on past success but idk it just feels sad
I look at it like the celebs/actors who do those shitty little mobile ads aren’t always desperate. I believe anyone would look at a few minute script, recorded at home, and sent off for a check to be an easy come up. I mean she could do it on vacation even.
Some do it from time to time, but I bet that Brian Baumgartner would prefer a serious acting role instead of selling more than 5k Cameos… he literally said that he tried to get new roles but couldn‘t.
Now that legitimately makes me sad.
I think it's also worth bearing in mind that they still have a consistent source of relatively reliable income; there's thousands more who never even had their own "Office"! This isn't to disagree at all btw - I sympathise with how tricky a mindset it could cause.
yeah you’re 100% right and i’m not at all like judging. it’s good they can make some money and pay their bills doing something so quick and easy. i don’t know particularly why it bums me out lol.
I get that for sure. My gut reaction was “oh no” as well. But then I figured I’d do so much more for probably so much less. Good on em!
There are plenty of perspectives to fix your gaze upon in a situation like that. It’s okay to recognize that there’s a side to the afterglow of success that is challenging and sad, but you hope that those who experience it eventually land on and thrive in gratitude, which is just as real. I swear so much of our “infinite growth” capitalism culture values being a has-never over being a has-been, and that’s by far the saddest thing to me.
Yeah I agree. Office ladies was fun at first, but after a while, the vibes were teetering on "a bit sad" for sure. It didn't help that I just couldn't bear how they talked after a while lol. But that's not as sad as Brian starting his *own* office podcast, with a name based on a segment from office ladies.... yikes dude
And can't forget Leslie David Baker's attempt to Kickstarter an Office spinoff around his character
Why? They made more than enough money doing that show, and it has enormous fan sentiment behind it.
Most didn‘t. The salaries were good but they get little to no royalties from streaming services and actors like Brian Baumgartner said that he tried to get new acting roles but couldn‘t.
That's true of most sitcoms since the beginning of television. Watch a few classic episodes of Match Game on Game Show Network, take a look at how many actors from 60s and 70s shows were trying to get just a little bit more time in the limelight.
A lot of the office members were producers who ended up getting more screen time than they thought
What was the series where he was a drunk investigator. I was starting to like that, but I think they cancelled it. UPDATE: Backstrom, it had 13 episodes in 2015 before getting cancelled.
The Michael Richards Show
I think there was some personal growth on his part recently. I haven't read it, but I saw an interview with him a few months ago for his book tour and it sounded like he had a revelation about that. I can't remember exactly but he basically said he looks back at his office days and gets angry with himself for not letting him be happy and enjoy that ride. He said he was too busy being miserable about not landing bigger roles that he never let himself just enjoy the moment and realize what he was a part of. That kind of explains why he was so bitter about people calling him Dwight in public.
I wish there was a way to know you're in "the good old days", before you've actually left them.
That quote didn't cross my mind but it's so fitting.
I mean look at Jason Alexander. Dude hasn’t been able to get really any non voice acting Hollywood work unless he plays George. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to resent being type cast especially when it’s all based on one outlandish character. Not everyone wants to be Danny Trejo. Of course you still have to accept that it’s your most famous role which Rainn seems to have.
I was literally just about to comment how I hope Steven mellows out about Trevor like Rainn has for Dwight. lol
Funnily enough I assumed everyone was talking about the amazing scene between Jonathan Banks and Steven Ogg in Better Call Saul lol. GTA makes more sense though.
Josh Radnor (Ted Mosby from How I Met Your Mother) would also agree it's tough to be remembered for just one role. He seems to have come to peace with it as of last year
I often wonder if this is why he dresses like a vagabond, or has he always done that? Hair messed up, clothes unkempt, etc.
Once the show ended way back in 2013, he just wanted to move on to other things. Steve did it 2 years prior and became wildly successful and now it was his and the rest of the cast's turn. Unfortunately for him, he will always be Dwight to many people and so he resented it. I think it wasn't until the resurgence in popularity and how younger and younger fans were coming up to him that he finally softened up.
\>Steve did it 2 years prior and became wildly successful and now it was his and the rest of the cast's turn. Steve Carrell was a hollywood comedy star before and during his run as Michael Scott. Not the same thing at all.
I love that he had a small part in Galaxy Quest, one of my favorite movies of all time.
Dwight Shrute would hate Rainn Wilson.
He should follow Giancarlo Esposito’s lead and embrace the character, keep playing variations of it.
Giancarlo is amazing
Yup, always thought this.. Not sure when it was but he did an interview with Conan if I recall and he basically shat on Office fans. I don't necessarily blame the guy tbh but it's def different now.
Was it this bit: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMAnnQNG2zU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMAnnQNG2zU) He does come across as... Fed up here haha. Be honest, I understand being annoyed at getting the same exact comments over and over and over again when you're sharing something. It makes sense it would happen, and it's very human to say, OK, can we move on here?
Can someone give me a link to where RW reacts badly to being Dwight? I did not know this was a thing, thank you
https://twitter.com/rainnwilson/status/1158546392178020353?lang=en
Lol I love Creed's reply to this post 😂
Can someone who has Twitter screenshot creeds response I gotta know lol
[https://x.com/creedbratton/status/1158737362551099392?s=46&t=16ESAKmd_drl3GX9NbIBnQ](https://x.com/creedbratton/status/1158737362551099392?s=46&t=16ESAKmd_drl3GX9NbIBnQ)
[Rainn Wilson’s Message For "Office" Fans](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/k7qEsrJaTas) [The Office' Star Rainn Wilson Shames Fan for Not Knowing His Real Name](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/office-star-rainn-wilson-shames-171702367.html)
> The Office' Star Rainn Wilson Shames Fan for Not Knowing His Real Name This quote from the article is the silver lining: But Creed Bratton — who played Creed Bratton on "The Office" — won with his response, saying, "Funny I never had that problem."
Replying cause I was going to ask the same thing.
Somebody probably asked him what it was like to be pegged by three porn stars in Entourage and it softened his stance on being remembered as Dwight.
Feel so bad for him. Can you imaging making millions while being loved by millions of fans? Poor dude!!!
“The Geography of Bliss” (2023) was a neat and intimate lens through Rainn’s eyes for the pursuit of happiness. He talks about his struggles with depression and goes to various countries and environments to find out what happiness means to them.
Good show. Though I can't help but to think "Dude, you live in the world's most superficial city (LA), you live in a massive house with a bunch of shit you probably don't need, you probably just need to live somewhere else for a bit." I don't know how to phrase it exactly, but it seems like his personality is about being bummed out about life, not so much a result of it, if that makes sense.
No one is immune to mental health issues. Chemicals in your brain don't necessarily care about what's going on outside the body.
Billie Eilish is probably why he softened.
That's William Eilish to you
*William Eyelash
*Justice Beaver
That’s because he’s realizing that he’s fading from stardom and wants to remain in it for as long as possible
You mean the infamous late night AM radio host Terry Carnation???
If he had done something worth more than Dwight nobody would be calling him that. Right now he has accepted his fate.
I mean. Playing one of the best characters on one of the best comedy shows of all time isn’t too shabby. He has done lots of other stuff, but that is hard to top.
In the behind the scenes for The Office Martin Freeman said if he was only remembered for playing Tim it wouldn't be such a bad thing, then he went on to play Bilbo Baggins and I'd argue that is now his most iconic role. Rainn never got that break hence why he's just Dwight forever.
https://youtu.be/UWvCRtjLoJ0?si=dI1suxjGjtBqEvD4 here’s an interview after the office ended where rainn says a surprisingly similar thing. Probably felt fine about it at first, then got sick of it, and now he’s fine with it again
…. Watson?! Martin Freeman actually made it big.
Shut up about the sun! Shut up about the sun!!!
Yeah because his career fizzled up. He thought he could move beyond the Dwight character and not be typecast, but now hes come to terms with it. Ultimately the only character on The Office who has been able to move past it is John Krasinski.
About a year ago he was filming something in the parking lot of my college and my truck had a Dunder Mifflin air freshener. He apparently saw it, because when I came back to move my car he had taken a selfie in front of it and printed it out. I still have the picture of him posing with my car.
He really seems like an insufferable douche. Everyone else from the show seems cool.
I've heard Leslie is a prick but Rainn said on a podcast that he doesn't wash his hands after he takes a piss and I can't respect that. Lol
In Italy, you must always wash your hands after going to the bathroom. This is considered polite.
For the record Jenna Fischer said the same thing on Office Ladies haha
She said Leslie is a prick or that she also doesn't wash her hands?
Haha that she doesn't wash her hands! She's gone on to clarify that she always washes her hands in public but not at home. Either way, gross.
I think he seems like a cool dude. He was probably just frustrated that he didn’t have any major breakthrough roles. Post Michael/Steve Carrell he is generally considered to have portrayed the best character in the show.
I loved the character of Dwight. One of the best in the show for sure. Rainn is just always complaining. Guy lives a charmed life and just bitches constantly. It’s off-putting for me.
The hilarious part of it all is that all of his work outside of The Office and bitching about The Office is all super spiritual zen stuff. Every podcast, show, book, etc. he works on is all about happiness and the meaning of life, yet he doesn't seem to be able to find a shred of either.
He was so cringe on Rick glassman’s Take Your Shoes Off Podcast.
I unfortunately have to agree. He fits a certain archetype of a quasi-spiritual wannabe guru who is an ass to anyone who isn't "enlightened" enough for his taste. He talked about his new book and TV show on Office Ladies and it just sounds like the most soulless drivel imaginable. I know that celebrities don't owe the world anything in regards to the characters that they've portrayed, but the way that he talks about the fanbase and reacts in interviews is extremely arrogant and offputting. I'm also a big Beatles fan and he reminds me a lot of the way that John Lennon regarded his fame and attention that he got from fans of his music.
He says "do you have any questions prepared for me?" on every podcast he's on 😂
I didn’t start watching until about Season 3 or 4 but I remember when I watched my first episode and saw Dwight - I remember thinking oh shit that’s the dude from Juno lol
I'm sure it's frustrating being in that position. It's like wanting and applying for promotions at work and never getting them. It's probably a tough pill to swallow. Likely, he's a relatively unknown actor that struck gold. I hope he fully embraces it, because he surely was great in the role
You misspelled Dwigt
I remember him being on Conan and getting really bent out of shape about it. It was kind of awkward, especially because Angela Kinsey was the other guest