The Office star Rainn Wilson admits he was "unhappy" filming sitcom
Rainn Wilson starred as Dwight Schrute in the beloved comedy.
If you're a fan of The Office US, chances are that you have your firm favourite batch of characters and moments from the beloved comedy series.
One of the characters that most often springs to mind for an array of memorable moments is Dwight Schrute, the awkward and often hilarious Dunder Mifflin employee who strives to be Michael Scott's (Steve Carell) right-hand man throughout the show's seasons.
But despite being one of the mainstays, actor Rainn Wilson, who played Dwight, has now revealed that he was "unhappy" while filming The Office, believing it "wasn't enough".
Chatting to Bill Maher on the Club Random podcast, Wilson said: “When I was in The Office, I spent several years really mostly unhappy because it wasn’t enough.
“I’m realising now, like, I’m on a hit show, Emmy-nominated every year, making lots of money, working with Steve Carell and Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski and these amazing writers and incredible directors like Paul Feig. I’m on one of the great TV shows. People love it. I wasn’t enjoying it."
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He continued: “I was thinking about, ‘Why am I not a movie star? Why am I not the next Jack Black or the next Will Ferrell? How come I can’t have a movie career? Why don’t I have this development deal?'”
Wilson admitted that while he was working on The Office and "making hundreds of thousands", he "wanted millions". He said: “I was a TV star, but I wanted to be a movie star. It was never enough. Humans have lived for hundreds of thousands of years, and ‘never enough’ has helped us as a species.”
The Office had a successful run from 2005 to 2013, releasing a staggering 201 episodes and continuing to be a comedy favourite 10 years later.
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More recently, The Office fans have been getting excited about an upcoming Australian remake which will be coming to Prime Video in 2024.
Stand-up comedian Felicity Ward will be at the centre of the show as Hannah Howard, manager of packaging company Flinley Craddick.
This new Australian series will be the first in many remakes of The Office to feature a female lead and will see Howard "go into survival mode" when she finds out her branch is closing down, with all the staff set to be working from home instead.
The Office US is available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.
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Authors
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
