See Seth Rogen, Adam Scott, And More Audition For ‘The Office’ In 2003
After nine seasons ofThe Office, it’s all but impossible to picture anyone but John Krasinski affecting Jim Halpert’s smug mug, or anyone other than Brian Baumgartner sounding out Kevin Malone’s slow drawl. But as star Rainn Wilson reminded the world when he posted theaudition sign-in sheetlast spring, those choices weren’t always totally obvious.
A recently surfaced featurette shows some of the actors who didn’t make the cut during the audition process, specificallySeth Rogenfor the part of Dwight,Bob Odenkirkfor Michael,Eric Stonestreetfor Kevin,Kathryn Hahnfor Pam, andJohn ChoandAdam Scottfor Jim. Check it out after the jump.
Bizarre, right? I feel like I’ve been sucked into one of those parallel universes that’s exactly like our universe, but with one small change. That change, in this case, being the cast of the AmericanOffice. Considering how much time I’ve invested in that show, it probably would’ve had a not-insignificant impact on my life.
Some of these auditions feel all wrong, while others are odd but intriguing. I’m a little sorry we’ll never get to see Odenkirk run a paper company, or Hahn and Scott (who went on to work together inParks & Recreation) attempt to play out the Jim-Pam romance.
Not that you have to feel bad for any of the actors in this reel for not getting the part. I’m sure they were all bummed at the time, since this reel pre-datesBreaking Bad,Modern Family,Party Down,Knocked Up, andHarold & Kumar Go to White Castle. But these days, they’re doing better than fine.
Odenkirk’s on the verge of getting his own spinoff after four seasons onBreaking Bad, while Eric Stonestreet’s been raking in Emmy nominations as Cam onModern Family. Scott is one-half of TV’s sweetest love story as Ben onParks & Recreation. Cho’s gone on to feature in twoStar Trekfilms, Hahn’s got a steady stream of big- and small-screen comedy work, and Rogen is one of the biggest comedy stars of our time.
Now, what do we have to do to see Mary Lynn Rajskub’s tryout for Pam, Alan Tudky’s for Michael, or — perhaps strangest of all — Rainn Wilson’s for Michael?
