How Steve Carell nearly missed the shocking chance to play Michael Scott

Steve Carell recently got candid about being warned not to audition for the part that became his iconic Michael Scott on The Office.

During a recent interview, the 63-year-old actor revealed it was his longtime friend and co-star Paul Rudd who urged him not to audition.

“Don’t do it man. Don’t audition. Don’t audition. It is like—there is no way,” he recalled his co-star from The 40-Year-Old Virgin telling him, laughing on the podcast Good Hang with Amy Poehler. “Yeah, everyone was like: ‘Don’t even touch this.’”

Meanwhile, Poehler, who was already a Saturday Night Live star in 2005, admitted she also doubted a U.S. version of Ricky Gervais’ British hit.

She stated, “And everyone was like: ‘This is a terrible idea. No one can be as good as Ricky Gervais. No one can do that show.’”

She added, “And then we heard it was you. And we were like: ‘Oh… oh, whoever’s making this show wants it to be funny.’”

Even after the pilot tested low, his performance helped make The Office one of the most beloved American sitcoms ever.

Additionally, the interviewer then compared her own experience on Parks and Recreation to Steve's early days, recalling how critics labeled her “not Steve” during the show’s rocky launch.

Notably, Steve and Paul have since teamed up on several projects, including the Anchorman films and 2010’s Dinner for Schmucks.