The Office casting director Allison Jones has revealed that Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti were in the running to play Michael Scott before Steve Carell.
READ MORE: ‘The Office’ review: Amazon’s workaday Australian remake is dogged by déjà vu
During an appearance on Office Ladies, the podcast hosted by series stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, Jones offered some insight into the casting process behind the hit NBC sitcom.
“I remember vividly the first meeting we had with the network when [creator Greg Daniels] had a list of names, and they were like, ‘Let’s try Philip Seymour Hoffman,’ and then, ‘Let’s go for Paul Giamatti or whatever,’” Jones said. She then added that she was “so jaded” she didn’t think either actor would be interested because “nobody did TV. Comedy was the bottom of the barrel”.
Carell, who eventually ended up taking on the role of Michael Scott, was busy with the stand-up-led show, Come To Papa, when The Office first began the casting the process, but he had always been viewed as a top choice.
Steve Carell, B.J. Novak, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer and Rainn Wilson from ‘The Office’. CREDIT: Getty Images
“Nancy Perkins, who was the head of casting at NBC Universal, always knew Steve would be a top choice for this,” said Jones, before adding that his commitment to the Tom Papa series forced them to audition other people for the role.
“We brought in the best of the best,” she added. “Everybody was a different version of Michael Scott that could have worked. Patton Oswalt could have worked. Bob Odenkirk would have been amazing.”
However, when Come To Papa was cancelled after four episodes, Carell was free to join The Office.
Michael Scott wasn’t the only role that nearly ended up with notably different casting. Kinsey, who portrayed Angela, first auditioned for Pam, which eventually went to Fischer. Kathryn Hahn, Aubrey Plaza, Kristen Schaal and Zach Woods also auditioned for the show on the same day.
“We had famous people on that couch,” Jones remembered. “I recall it was a small, crappy little couch.”
Elsewhere, the female-led Australian version of The Office recently released on Amazon Prime Video and received a far from positive reaction from viewers.
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