Ricky Gervais Says He Was Initially Offered the Michael Scott Role in The US Office

The almost-cast list for the character of Michael Scott on The Office (US) is long and illustrious. In the run up to filming the remake’s pilot episode, Better Call Saul’s Bob Odenkirk was in contention for the part, as were Oscar-nominee Paul Giamatti and Oscar-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman. US comedy stars Patton Oswalt, Adam Scott, Rainn Wilson and more all were auditioned (see the evidence here), before Steve Carrell made the role undeniably his own.

Another name to add to that already starry list? Ricky Gervais.

The Office co-creator and star was quick to rubbish the idea, as he told British TV producers Peter Fincham and Jon Plowman in a 2021 episode of BBC comedy podcast What’s Funny About…, but was apparently offered the remake’s lead role in very early discussions. Gervais described getting his first phonecall from US producer Ben Silverman about a potential remake, and arranging a meeting there and then at a nearby Starbucks in Soho, London:

“We met. He told me about the thing. I introduced him to my English agent – I didn’t have an American agent – and I said fine. And that was it. Then we chose the showrunner and the first episode was word-for-word of the first episode [of the original The Office].

“In fact, initially they said ‘You could play the main character’, I said ‘What would be the point of that? This has to be made by Americans for Americans’. That was why The Office worked, it was made by someone who knew about what it was to be English in an office, you know, and as soon as they started doing their own thing, it just got better and better.”

The conversation about Gervais playing the main character in the US remake obviously was shut down quickly, as the actor-writer confirmed to David Letterman months before the US pilot was filmed in February 2004 and days before the original’s second series debuted on BBC America, that while a US version was happening, he wouldn’t star in it.

In 2011, Gervais did eventually make a cameo appearance in The Office (US) as his original character David Brent. In season seven, after which Steve Carrell left the show, Brent and Michael Scott ran into each other in the Dunder Mifflin building and share a few gags.  

If they haven’t already, then fans of The Office would do well to listen to Gervais’ 2021 interview. In it, he goes into some surprising influences on the show, including The Marx Brothers and 1938 gangster flick Angels with Dirty Faces, as well as explaining how his real-life experiences fed into the acclaimed comedy, how the lead cast were assembled, and what saved The Office (US) from cancellation before it became the huge hit it remains today – hence Peacock currently prepping a reboot starring Domhnall Gleeson.

The Office (US) is available to stream on Netflix in the UK and on Peacock in the US.