More than a decade after The Office concluded, Rainn Wilson is still enjoying the benefits that come with playing Dwight Schrute.
No, we’re not talking about the fact that Wilson is beloved for his role on the long-running sitcom or even the lifelong friendships he’s forged with castmates like Steve Carrell and John Krasinski. During a panel at Fan Expo in Chicago this past weekend, Wilson revealed the true secret benefit to playing Dwight: He gets to be a jerk to strangers without facing any consequences.
“Here’s the great thing: There’s not very much [about me that’s] like Dwight, although obviously there’s some mannerisms because I played him for 200 episodes over nine years,” Wilson began. “But one of the things that’s great — and maybe you noticed this — is that Dwight is a little bit of a dick. And Rainn is a little bit of a dick.”
Wilson continued, “Having played Dwight allows me to kind of be a dick to people… and people laugh.”
Indeed, those familiar with Wilson’s onscreen persona might expect the intense, eccentric beet farmer who spent 10 seasons annoying Jim (Krasinski) and the rest of his Dunder Mifflin co-workers. Which means Wilson gets a free pass to behave just like the socially inept paper salesman he once played.
“I can be kind of an a‑‑hole and people are like, ‘Isn’t that charming?’ So it’s one of the benefits of playing like Dwight,” he said. Wilson added that he’s also better off than some of his costars, who played characters with personalities even more different than their own.
“I talked to Jenna [Fischer] — Jenna plays Pam, who’s so sweet — and she can’t tell any really edgy jokes because people are like, ‘Pam would never say that!'” he explained. “So Jenna has to kind of keep her kind of dark, raunchy sense of humor in check because people really recoil.”
The Office aired from 2005 to 2013, during which time Dwight evolved from wannabe alpha male to a still strange but much more likable member of the staff. Along the way, he quickly earned the status of fan favorite among viewers, partially owed to his penchant for saying some of the show’s funniest and most memorable lines.
Asked which of Dwight’s lines is his favorite to have quoted at him, Wilson said, “What’s funny is fans will come up to me and say, ‘Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica,’ which Dwight never said.”
The line was actually said by Krasinski’s Jim when he pranks his colleague by dressing up as him and mocking his behavior. As for actual quotes from Dwight, Wilson shared that he prefers to be surprised.
“I like the quotes that are a little more out-of-the-box,” he said. ” There’s, you know, ‘Identity theft is not a joke, Jim,’ and, ‘The eyes are the groin of the head.’ But I like it when people find quotes that are a little more obscure.”
He continued, “One time a guy came up and he showed me a text chain with his daughter where they were exchanging Dwight quotes and it said, ‘Fact, I can and do cut my own hair.’ And I thought that was, okay, that’s good, that’s good. That’s not one I ever hear.'”
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Since the sitcom concluded, Wilson and several of his castmates have continued to celebrate the show and its lasting legacy. Along with reuniting for photos and fan events, Wilson has made a habit of joining Fischer and Angela Kinsey on their Office Ladies podcast to break down storylines and swap behind-the-scenes stories about their days at Dunder Mifflin.
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