Steve Carell shared something interesting about the UK version of The Office. He barely watched it. That version, which came from Ricky Gervais, felt very specific and sharp. Carell knew he could copy it, and he did not want that. So he stopped watching almost immediately, and his performance became different, not copied, but built separately.
Steve Carell says he’d hasn’t seen much of the UK version of The Office
Steve Carell is widely known for leading the American version of The Office. He played a major role in that success. He helped shape Michael Scott’s character. The role was inspired by David Brent, originally portrayed by Ricky Gervais.
However, despite that connection, Carell revealed he barely watched the original UK version. That detail surprised many fans. It also explained how he built his own version of the character.
Speaking on LADbible’s Swipe StuffSteve Carell opened up about why he watched less than a minute of the UK show. He said, “I will admit this I’ve only watched about less than a minute of The Office, because I had not seen it prior to auditioning for the American The Office.”
He added, “I started to watch a tiny bit, and I knew instantly that if I watched anymore, I would just do a copy of Ricky and I didn’t wanna do that because I figured if it has any chance of success, it’s not going to be the same show, it has to be different in some way and his depiction of that character was so specific and so great that I knew I could never, ever come close to that level.”
Carell also praised Rowan Atkinson and Gervais for their work. He called both of them comedic geniuses. He said, “I don’t say that about many people, but I believe both of these guys are.”
The American version went on to become one of the biggest series globally. It ran for nine seasons and gained massive popularity over time, while Carell left the show at the end of season 7.
Comments are closed.