Rainn Wilson Explains Why He Was ‘Mostly Unhappy’ While Filming ‘The Office’
Rainn Wilson was part of one of the most popular and critically acclaimed TV shows of the 2000s, but the Emmy-nominated actor was “mostly unhappy” at the time.
The Dark Winds star opened up about his time on The Office while appearing on Bill Maher‘s Club Random podcast, revealing that he was unhappy for “several years” because he felt unfulfilled.
“When I was in The Office, I spent several years really mostly unhappy because it wasn’t enough,” admitted Wilson. He played the neurotic Dunder Mifflin salesman Dwight Schrute across all nine seasons of the hit NBC sitcom.
“I’m realizing now, like, I’m on a hit show, Emmy nominated every year, making lots of money, working with Steve Carell and Jenna Fisher 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. And I wasn’t enjoying it,” he added.
Wilson confessed that part of his frustration at the time was that he wished to be a film star. “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?'”
Despite making “hundreds of thousands” on The Office, Wilson said “it was never enough” for him. “I wanted millions, and I was a TV star, but I wanted to be a movie star,” he shared.
Looking back now, Wilson said he appreciates his time on the show and the impact it had on viewers. Maher himself told Wilson he is a big fan of The Office, calling it “therapeutic” to be able to switch the show on and laugh at the end of the day.
“I think the word you use, ‘therapeutic,’ is really interesting because I can’t tell you how many times a day online and in person I hear from people, ‘Thank you for The Office, the laughter that it gave me, that it gave my family, healed us during COVID,’” Wilson stated.
With his focus elsewhere at the time, Wilson said he “wasn’t thinking about giving laughter as a therapeutic remedy and a balm and a salve to a hurting populace… What an honor it was to be a part of something like that.”
The Office, Seasons 1-9, Streaming, Peacock
