Steve Carell interview: Turns out to be a romantic hero at heart
By Stephen Whitty - The Star-Ledger - NJ.com
July 24, 2011

In the new Steve Carell comedy, “Crazy, Stupid, Love” — which is neither crazy nor stupid — Carell’s character is dumped, after 20-odd years of marriage, by Julianne Moore.

Carell moves out, and tries to move on. But every so often he sneaks back to his old home in the middle of the night just to clip the hedges and fertilize the grass — like some lost John Cheever character.

“There is a sadness to it,” says Carell, 48. “That’s what I loved about that scene, and what I found very appealing about the script. It felt very human to me. It felt very real.”

It was that feeling that helped the star — also acting as producer — attract a strong cast including Ryan Gosling as a local Lothario who gives Carell pickup lessons, and the charmingly awkward Emma Stone and ferocious Marisa Tomei as the objects of their attentions.

“We got people we knew wouldn’t give the easy, expected performances,” Carell says. “Because it’s not a simple subject matter and it’s not something that we wanted to be cloying or sentimental. It’s a comedy, but you want it to be true.”

At its best — “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” “Date Night,” a long run on TV’s “The Office” — Carell’s comedy always has been.

He grew up in Acton, Mass., where his mother was a psychiatric nurse, his father an electrical engineer. Carell played hockey, played the fife, and played around with radio broadcasting. He majored in history in college, and thought perhaps he’d go to law school.

Except when it came down to actually filling out the application, he couldn’t answer one of the first questions — the one asking, simply, why he wanted to be a lawyer.

“I had never considered acting as a career choice, although I’d always enjoyed it,” he says. “I enjoyed hockey and singing in the choir, and I didn’t think of them as potential careers, either. ... But I began to realize I really loved acting, and telling stories. Reading a book, watching a movie, going to a play, it’s transporting, and very, very exciting. And to be a part of that, creating things with your imagination, whoa.”

Which is exactly what he told himself when he began to dare think about doing it for real. Whoa. Stop. Don’t.

“I just felt that, after all of the education they had given me, I owed my parents a more — for want of a better word — ‘legitimate’ career,” he says. “But they’re the ones who sat me down and said, ‘Look, you need to do what makes you happy.’ And a few months later I moved to Chicago. I thought Los Angeles, New York — I’d get lost in the shuffle. I wanted to learn and I wanted to work and I figured Chicago was the best place to do that — and also the best place, potentially, to fail and then pick yourself up afterward. And pretty soon I started getting plays.”

They were tiny plays and even tinier roles. There was restaurant work in between, and at first only the smallest steps forward.

“People ask, ‘Oh, when did you realize you had made it?’ expecting some major success,” he says.

“I remember exactly when I knew I had made it. It was 1988, when I finally stopped waiting tables, when I could finally pay the rent just by being an actor. There were other things that came later — Second City and off-Broadway and TV — but that moment, realizing I was making a living just by acting, that was a huge demarcation.”

ROLLING WITH IT

There were other big changes to come.

Carell moved to New York, and began getting regular roles — mostly one-shot guest appearances — on sitcoms. He auditioned for “Saturday Night Live” (and lost the gig to Will Ferrell). He married SNL cast member Nancy Walls, and started a family, an apparently happy union that gives “Crazy, Stupid, Love” even more relevance for him.

“I’ve been married 16 years next month and I can’t even comprehend (splitting up),” he says. “Some people fantasize about it, thinking ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be great to be back on the market again, dating?’ I don’t think the reality would be anywhere near the fantasy of it. I think it’d be a scary, potentially very sad place to be.”

In 1999, Carell got a gig on “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart, where he and a few other deceptively straight-arrow comedians began to do some terrific slashing satire.

“There were a lot of smart, funny people there, and you put a lot of smart, funny people together, and you can get all this infighting, and intrigue,” he says. “But ‘The Daily Show’ wasn’t like that. People were there to work and to have fun. You really just couldn’t wait to go into the office every day and make other people laugh. And the other people, they were really stand-up guys. I’ve known Stephen (Colbert) since ’88, and he’s one of the smartest, most talented people I’ve ever met.”

Carell stayed with the show for five years. Then, in 2005, came the one-two punch of “The Office” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.”

“Almost everyone was betting against ‘The Office,’ ” he said. “We did the pilot and I think five more shows, and then (the network) just wanted to wait and see. And the show did evolve a bit. ... But I think from the very beginning on it, my take was that Michael needed to be — well, ultimately not likable but someone who could possibly be sympathetic. It couldn’t get warm and fuzzy, but you didn’t want it to be too harsh.”

Purists who loved the original British show would claim that was exactly what made the first series so brilliant. But, Carell points out, that was a completely different format.

Creator “Ricky Gervais’ take on it was perfect, but he had it structured as a 12-episode arc,” Carell says. “And there’s a real elegance to that. Series like that, like ‘Fawlty Towers,’ where Basil Fawlty is such an awful human being — they’re little capsules of wonderful television. But for a show that’s trying for a long run, you need the character to have some qualities you can identify with. He can’t be too much of a jerk.”

TOUCHY SITUATIONS

Carell’s Michael was just enough of a jerk to make people laugh, and enough of a real person to keep people watching. And just as the show ended its first season, “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” came out, with Carell playing a character who remains, well into adulthood, untouched by human hands.

It was the first in an ever-more raunchy series of Judd Apatow comedies — and the most cringe-worthy moment had to be when Carell’s hero, talked into some “manscaping,” got his chest waxed.

As painful as the real-life scene was, the recuperation was, somehow, even worse.

“It started to grow back, but then I got all these ingrown hairs, and a rash broke out,” Carell confides. “And I had to keep shaving it, to match it for shots later in the film, so I’d be getting razor stubble, too. It was a mess. It took a solid two months to fully grow back after the film. My wife couldn’t bear to look at it. She made me wear a T-shirt all the time.”

“The 40-Year-Old Virgin” was an amazing hit, and although not every movie followed in its successful path — “Evan Almighty” remains a movie-comedy disaster to rank alongside “Ishtar” — more than enough were hits. The obvious Hollywood move for Carell, then, would have been to hire a sharp lawyer, find a way to tear up his TV deal, and jump into films full-time.

But he didn’t do that.

“I definitely wanted to honor my contract,” Carell says. “And I wanted to make sure the show was going to continue after I left — I didn’t want my leaving to end anything for anyone else. … So I’m confident now the show is not only going to go on, but thrive — I think adding James Spader is a great choice. And going when my contract was up, it felt like the right thing for me. Isn’t it better to leave before people want you to? Otherwise, it’s like being at a party too long, you know?”

He sighs.

“I don’t know,” he says after a moment. “Who knows, maybe in retrospect it’ll seem like the dumbest choice I could have made, but I really don’t have any second thoughts. Only about leaving my friends, really. They’re people I spent a lot of time with and grew very close to, and that’s the part that’s painful. Right now they’re two weeks away from starting the next season and I won’t be there. It’s like they’re getting ready to go back to school and I already graduated. It’s odd.”

SPREADING THE LOVE

Not that he has too much time to mope. He’s got this movie to promote. He’s also filming another one, “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World,” a dark indie comedy he describes as “pretty much the flip side of ‘Armageddon’ — instead of being about how the president sends up astronauts to blow up the asteroid, it’s about how you spend your life when you know everything is going to be over in two weeks.”

Carell’s character spends it looking for his childhood sweetheart. It’s a pretty romantic theme, but then many of the movies he’s been in — playing the lonely widower in “Dan in Real Life,” the heartbroken gay uncle in “Little Miss Sunshine,” the stuck-in-a-rut spouse in “Date Night,” the nice-guy naïf in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” the dumped husband in “Crazy, Stupid, Love” — are about people looking for love, or trying hard to hold on to it.

For an actor who’s made a lot of money — and a lot of people laugh — by being cluelessly annoying, it seems he’s really a sensitive, flowers-and-candy guy at heart.

“I guess I am drawn to those stories,” he admits. “I mean, this movie is all about love — the love between a husband and a wife, first love, puppy love, the love between friends, family — and how important that is. … That’s not a sexy way to sell a summer comedy I guess, But it’s definitely a bit different from the other comedies that are out there now, which I hope is a good thing.

“And if it makes people happy and feel good then that makes me feel good. It’s like, I’m sending this little boat of positivity out there and just hoping it causes some ripples.”

Steve Carell Calls James Spader’s ‘Office’ Casting ‘Excellent’
NBC Universal
July 18, 2011

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Steve Carell may have left “The Office,” but he has a few things to say about the replacement for Michael Scott – James Spader’s Robert California. z,pz. “I think it’s an excellent choice,” Carell told Access Hollywood on Monday of the new addition to the Dunder Mifflin group. “I think it’s great and he will infuse all this new energy into the show.”

As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, earlier this month, NBC confirmed Spader was joining the show, first taking over as branch manager, before quickly moving up to the parent company – Sabre – and becoming their CEO.

Carell, who was promoting his upcoming film “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” during the interview, said his former “Office” mates were also pleased with Spader joining the crew.

“In talking to the cast, everyone’s very excited and I know it’ll be a good season,” he said.

As for his latest big screen project, Carell plays Cal, a dad whose wife cheats on him and asks for a divorce.

“I’m very dramatic in it. There’s a lot of pathos,” Steve laughed of his dramatic, and funny, turn.

“What I liked about the movie – it’s very human,” he added.

There are plenty of comedic moments in the film, including one that finds his head in the vicinity of Ryan Gosling’s nether regions.

“We laughed a lot through that scene. It was pretty ridiculous,” Carell said.

“Crazy, Stupid, Love.” hits theaters on July 29.

Will sixth time be the charm for Steve Carell?
DAWN.COM
July 18, 2011

NEW YORK: His ”Office” character Michael Scott may be utterly clueless, but Steve Carell knows a thing or two. And when it comes to his sixth shot at the best actor Emmy, Carell jokes that he’ll win this one for sure.

”Of course, what could possibly go wrong? How could I lose? I don’t even know if that’s even a remote possibility,” the 48-year-old said with a laugh.

Carell’s latest nomination was for his final season on the hit NBC comedy – his last chance to take home the trophy for his role as the inept Dunder Mifflin branch manager.

Carell says he’ll be attending this year’s awards on September 18 with low expectations and no regrets.

”I’m very proud of having been on that show and all the friendships that I got out of it,” he said. ”An Emmy would be great, but it wouldn’t make my experience on ‘The Office’ any better because it was already so good.”

Carell, who stars alongside Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore and Emma Stone in the upcoming romantic comedy ”Crazy, Stupid, Love,” says he’s still not comfortable with being famous. The movie opens July 29.

”It’s something that I never expected or never dreamt of happening. I just don’t want my kids to have a warped perception of me or my relationship with them,” he said. ”I remember driving around with my daughter and I think posters for some movie had gone up and she was just a little girl … and she was like, ‘Why are there pictures of you everywhere?’ And I think it was as weird for me as it was for her.”

The Associated Press: James Spader hired full-time for 'The Office'
July 6, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) NBC has signed James Spader as a full-time cast member of "The Office."

The network announced Wednesday that Spader will reprise his guest role as manipulative salesman Robert California when the comedy returns this fall.

California will have been hired over the summer as the new manager of the Scranton office of Dunder Mifflin paper company. But within hours, he wangled a promotion to CEO of Sabre, the parent corporation of Dunder Mifflin.

This leaves the branch manager's position vacant again. An actor to replace departed series star Steve Carell is yet to be announced by NBC.

Spader appeared as one of several guest stars on "The Office" this spring. He's previously starred in the drama series "Boston Legal" and "The Practice."

Gervais discusses 'Office' season finale
UPI.com
May 20, 2011

LOS ANGELES, May 20 (UPI) -- Ricky Gervais, creator and star of the British version of "The Office," admits he doesn't think of the U.S. edition of the workplace comedy as "art."

The award-winning actor and writer, who also wrote and starred in the show-business satire "Extras," was blasted by some critics earlier this year for mercilessly teasing celebrities at the Golden Globes ceremony in Los Angeles.

He took to his blog to weigh in on Thursday night's Season 7 finale of the U.S. version of "The Office," in which he, Will Arnett, Ray Romano, Jim Carrey, James Spader and Warren Buffett made cameos.

"Watching 'The Office' finale may remind some of the Chris Martin episode of 'Extras,'" Gervais wrote on his blog, referring to how the Coldplay front-man made an unlikely cameo as himself on a factory-set sitcom in the "Extras" show-within-a-show "When the Whistle Blows."

"If you're going to jump a shark, jump a big one," Gervais added. "Still we've had good innings. Ha ha. I assume most people know I didn't do the U.S. remake for the art. I did my version for the art. That's why I stopped it after a few hours of telly. Don't get me wrong. I'm very proud of the U.S. version. It was not only a very, very good network comedy but it was also a massive success story. But you know, I did it for different reasons, ambitions and with slightly different emotional attachments to the project. And once and for all... I would never ever in a million years take a permanent role in the show as an actor. It really would be [expletive] mental. You don't start a company to work on reception. Can't wait to start work on the Chinese version. Bill Gates is in that one. Anyway, as you may know there's been 10 years of 'The Office' in some form or another. Happy Birthday."

Steve Carell, who played the boss in the U.S. version of "The Office," left last month after seven seasons, prompting fans to speculate about who might replace him. Many viewers have suggested Gervais should reprise his role from the original version of the show in the Americanized "Office."

The British edition ran for 14 episodes.

Paul Lieberstein of 'The Office' on Steve Carell's Exit & the Star-Studded Season Finale
By Joel Keller
TV Squad.com
May 18, 2011

On the seventh season finale of 'The Office' (Thurs., May 19, 9PM ET on NBC), it feels like everyone on the planet is coming to Dunder Mifflin Scranton to interview for Michael Scott's old job. Jim Carrey, Ray Romano, Warren Buffett, Ricky Gervais, Will Arnett, James Spader and Catherine Tate will all be appearing in the episode as possible replacements.

But, as NBC Entertainment president Bob Greenblatt said during the network's upfront presentation, they won't reveal who the new boss is until next season. Still, with the departure of Steve Carell and the guessing game about who might be the new boss, it's been an interesting season for 'The Office,' one that's seen the writers meet the challenge some weeks and miss it others.

Paul Liberstein, who's best known for playing hapless HR rep Toby, is also the showrunner of 'The Office.' He talked to AOL TV about the challenges of Season 7, Carell's farewell episode and where the show goes from here.

What was the feeling around the set the first week after Steve Carell's departure?

It was weird. It felt weird around here. The last week with Steve had been so emotional that it really felt like ... it was just very odd to be here without him. It was like oh, life goes on, OK. I guess we'll just keep doing our jobs. But it didn't take long for the mood to switch to kind of this very hopeful, excited and anticipatory feeling that anything could happen now. And that turned out to be very creatively exciting for everyone.

Where does that feeling come from?

Well, we had come to understand what an episode is with Michael, you know. And we played a lot of them -- we played about 150 of them. I think he got to episode 149. So it's a little bit different when you don't have someone taking the majority of the lines for an episode. When you don't have the show centered around a buffoon who tends to make a bad decision and then spends the rest of the episode trying to dig his way out of something. It was kind of a feeling that we get to do something new again, that we are kind of reinventing the show a little. And granted, not much. It's the same people that you've seen before, for years and years. It's just someone's role, I guess, is a little slightly different when the show is centered around them.

Was the whole move of having Steve leave before the season ended to give you guys a couple episodes to find your way a little bit without him?

That came from the idea that what we would do is continue to tell a story about an office. And what happens in an office when the manager leaves is about, if we were making the spring about that, it doesn't end with the manager leaving. There's quite a bit of fun afterwards in the struggle to find an appropriate successor.

But does that parallel what you guys are trying to figure out in the writer's room a little bit?

Um, not as much, really. No, it's not happening here. I mean, I would think that at NBC ... well we witnessed a few regime changes in our seven years here. And it's a little closer to what happened over there. Steve was the star of the show, but he wasn't the president of the show, you know what I mean? It's not that type of leadership.

For fans and critics who think the show's emotional center has been taken away, how is the void going to be filled?

Well, it's on us to provide you with a new heart. It's our job to win you back, win you over. It's not something we don't know. We know that Steve provided a lot of heart, and we know we're going to have to come up with it from places you haven't seen yet.

Is this the type of thing where we might not see some of that until next year, perhaps?

Um, yeah. That's fair.

How emotionally wrung out was everybody by the end of Steve's last week?

It was incredibly real. There were takes where we call it a reaction pass, where the camera isn't even pointed at Steve, and Steve was crying. When I did my last scene with Steve, it felt monumental. And I'm sure it did with John [Krasinski] as well. It was kind of great that we all had a private scene with him to end that way. It felt very cathartic.

Is that the reason why you guys wrote it that way, so he could have a last scene with everybody?

No, we didn't write it that way for personal reasons. But we felt like the audience would like to see that. We wanted to do something that felt like a real last day. It wasn't a giant "TV last day," but closer to the last days that we've had in offices, where it's, you know, sometimes we loved it, sometimes we didn't, but it's a big deal to leave people.

Before Will Ferrell signed on to help transition Steve's exit, did you have a different scenario in mind for those four episodes? And what might that have been?

We did have a plan. It wasn't so shockingly different than what you saw, although we didn't have anything like ['The Inner Circle'] in mind, where Will just kind of juggled his way through the episode. Yeah, I mean, Steve's exit was going to be the same. But we had known about Will for a while, for months before we'd put it out. So he was part of the plan for a long time.

What were the interesting parts and challenges about writing for Will?

We really embraced what he was and who he is, which we love. I do. I'm incredibly entertained by Will Ferrell. I'm a giant Will Ferrell fan. So I saw it as, let me just gather up all my favorite Will Ferrell things and try to create a character that can let him do what, in my opinion, he does best. I feel he grounds the outrageous. And he embraces it, too. And commits like nobody.

If he had seriously thought about staying, how would you have embraced that?

Oh I would have taken it. Oh sure.

You would've taken it, no problem?

No problem, yeah. He'd be a great addition to the show. (chuckling)

It would kind of quell the questions about who's going to replace Steve, at that point.

Oh yeah! I mean, for every person we lose who is not into the Will Ferrell thing, we would gain three.

How did knowing there was going to be a lot of publicity and a lot of attention put towards Steve's departure and his replacement affect you, the writers and the actors? Did you guys feel more pressure?

Well, I guess there was an idea about a very quiet, soft exit for Steve that we abandoned, to really downplay it. And we realized there was no downplaying this. It was that people are interested, that's where the excitement is, so let's go ahead and make the season about a manager leaving. Or at least the second half of the season. And the first half of the season about slowly adjusting his character to someone who can go.

Someone who can emotionally become more mature ... that was, from the first day, he kind of transformed a little bit in every episode.

Yeah. Yeah, thanks. I'm glad you caught that. Because we were trying to do that.

It seemed like from the beginning, the obvious scenario would be that Holly would come back and they'd fall back in love and they'd get married.

Yeah. It wasn't the surprise scenario.

Was there any temptation to go away from that and say "Hey, that's what everybody thinks we're going to do"?

Well, there was talk about it. But I didn't really want to send him off. I mean, the other way to do it is the more Ricky Gervais way where we fire him. But you know, to me, that's just a different kind of cliché. I mean, if we're going to send him off realistically, and we're going to do it in a way that's familiar, we weren't going to completely rewrite how someone can leave a show. Or if we do, I just don't think it would be satisfying. It's not who we are. We're not a farcical show with these giant story moves.

You told me over the summer that you had thought about and dismissed an idea where he'd be caught up in some sort of investment scandal or something like that?

Oh yeah. Well we thought of all the ways that Michael should have been fired, for all the reasons. None of that matters; something little that happened, he gets blamed for and fired. We thought that was kind of a fun, ironic thing. But ultimately, I don't think it would have been as satisfying.

Because people were rooting for Michael and Holly to get together?

Yeah. I don't know. For me, to follow someone over seven years and see them grow enough to just embrace the beginnings of happiness is kind of a great, you know, Dickens-like story. You know, Michael Scott as the guy who couldn't get a friend, you know, really gets a life.

And it did also seem like the latter half of the season, you were trying to de-emphasize Michael and Steve as the center. Like you had a lot more stories about the other people in the office. I'm guessing that was on purpose, trying to kind of ease the transition.

Yeah.

How well do you think that worked in setting up the departure?

I have to say, I think it worked. Because I mostly hear from people who are very excited about the future of the show. They're wondering what we do, and they say they love our characters and they want more of them. So that's mostly what I hear.

That's good. What characters would you say that people have wanted to see more from?

People always say, generally someone starts off with their favorite character, which is one of our smallest characters. They want to see more Creed, or more Gabe. And then it comes around to one of our major characters, like Darryl, Andy, Dwight.

Anybody requesting like Kelly and Ryan? They work very well in those 'Subtle Sexuality' webisodes.

I'm really excited about putting more of that on the air. And the truth is that we've shot a lot more, and it didn't quite make it into the episode, because of a big center story that just requires more scenes. So I think now we'll get a chance to actually air more of this show that we shoot, and air more characters. Sometimes they make deleted scenes, or sometimes we hold it off just because we think, oh look, we'll try to come back to it and do it for another show, another episode.

Do people actually come up to you and talk to you as if you're the guy playing Toby, or do they talk to you knowing that you're a writer and you're one of the big producers of the show?

Most people only know me as Toby. And while I was out, when Holly was here, people asked what am I doing these days, am I going to do movies?

Yeah, they don't really know I'm running the show.

Now the finale. Obviously, we've been hearing so many different names -- it's like night of 100 stars in this finale. Is this basically just going to be like the montage of people applying for a job, and you're just going to see them ...

No, it's not a montage.

Then how are we fitting all of these people into this, what I'm guessing is only going to be an hour episode, right?

Yeah, it's just an hour. It's just an hour. Well, you know, you don't see a tremendous amount of the interview, but no, it's more than a montage. It's a number of scenes. We fit it in. We stuff it in. (laughs)

Is there anybody that hasn't been mentioned so far?

No, there are no secret surprises. There aren't. We tried, but they all got out. It's hard to keep a secret these days.

Are we going to see the next manager come out of that episode? Or is there going to be more searching next season?

Um ... uh ... I'm not saying. I just think you won't enjoy the episode as much as you could.

What are you looking for in someone to replace Steve next season?

I think we're looking for an addition to the ensemble. We're not looking to fill a star's role with another star, or really just like continue to center the show around the manager. I think it'll be much more of a shared experience.

What would you tell the fans should look forward to in the finale and season 8?

That's such a great question. I'm personally looking forward to so much. You know, we're such in the beginning stages of talking about season 8. This is really our first week. I feel like I can go so much deeper into the lives of our characters that we've just been kind of skating the surface for a while. You know, we got to know so many levels of Michael. As a writer, I'm looking forward to delving into all the levels of Jim and Dwight and Andy and Darryl, you know. We did Michael. And I'm interested in writing episodes that center around a different person in each episode. So I guess I would say look forward to more of what you liked in the show of our cast. There just is more. (laughs)

Because of the nature of Michael's character, can you bring the level of discomfort he brought, using these other characters? Can there be another 'Scott's Tots'?

I really think we can. And they have different aspects of ... It'll be in a slightly different way, but I do think we could have pulled the 'Scott's Tots' story with Andy. And there are other episodes that you could point to, that you could say ah, I could see that we would've done that with Dwight. Or that one could have been Jim. You know?

By the way, any rekindling of Andy and Erin?

We'll be exploring that for sure. Yeah.

Can you see the show going on beyond next season?

I can see us going for a few more years.

Is it because of this renewed sense that you're telling everybody else's stories?

I think so. You know, I think we probably could go longer than we could have gone before. In the way that 'Cheers' went longer than it probably could have gone, had the cast not changed.

Are we ever going to see the documentary that these filmmakers have been making for the last 6 or 7 years?

Eventually.

When Pam got through security and talked to Michael at the airport, did she have her microphone on?

Well, I'd imagine that maybe they had her take it off at security. I don't know. Maybe.

Because you wanted to have that mystery of what they said to each other, right?

Yeah. Well, no, you don't really. I mean, Pam tells you.

It wasn't more than what she said at the end of that, right?

Yeah. No, I think that was basically it.

It was all a good reminder to people that this is still a documentary that's being shot.

Steve Carell's Scott slips out of 'The Office'
By Bryan Alexander
USATODAY.com
May 2, 2011

Steve Carell and his Office character, Michael Scott, share at least one trait: a desire to avoid goodbye parties.

In a surprisingly low-key departure on his farewell episode last Thursday, Scott didn't even make it to his goodbye party at Dunder Mifflin. Carell had similar inclinations and happily would have slid away after the final "cut" to avoid the attention of a get-together. But the perpetually self-effacing actor made it to the on-set wrap party after his last scene, which capped seven seasons on the hit NBC show.

"I was a bit leery of a big going-away party," he says. "I get embarrassed by stuff like that." In fact, there were two parties.

Carell says he was "overwhelmed" by the support and tributes at the main goodbye fete, held on the soundstage where The Office warehouse scenes were shot. Still wearing his Michael Scott suit, Carell was given a giant cake in the shape of his coffee mug and a video farewell from the crew.

The actor concedes that the fact that he was actually leaving the show "crept up" on him during the season but truly sunk in during the final stretch.

"It wasn't until the last week or two that it started to hit home to me and other members of the cast," he says. "When you're doing scenes and you realize this is the last scene we're going to do together in this context - it takes on weight."

When asked whether he cried in the final days Carell responded with a "not really."

He was, however, too preoccupied to take a souvenir from the now-famous set. Oddsmakers would have predicted he would have grabbed the iconic World's Greatest Boss mug or at least a handful of office pencils. "I didn't steal anything," he says with a laugh. "I didn't even think to."

He says his colleagues and co-stars presented him with a box of presents, which he is still working through. So that coffee mug might end up on his desk yet.

Michael Scott's hoopla-avoiding exit showed the continuation of his emotional growth for the once-lampoon-worthy boss. "I thought it would be nice to see that the character has matured to a certain extent," Carell says. "He hasn't become a different person. But he has learned."

It also kept the comedy on the rail. "We didn't want it to be maudlin or overly sentimental - it still had to be funny. Early on, I said it should, in some way, go against what you might expect Michael Scott to do on his last day."

But the move also shows how Carell has continued to deflect the attention of his departure for the greater good of the show - which still has three more episodes left in the season. Thursday's final episode, in his mind, did not have the momentous impact - or pressure - of other popular characters' final chapters.

"A part of the reason my departure takes place before the end the year is the simple fact that it's not the end of the show," he says. "It's not the show that people will remember as wrapping it all up. I didn't want to take anything away from that episode."

Instead, the crew at Dunder Mifflin will be left, for now, in the incompetent hands of new boss Deangelo Vickers, played by Will Ferrell. Carell insists he had "nothing to do" with getting his good friend on the show.

"Unbeknownst to me, Will contacted our producers and pitched himself as a character, saying he wanted to help send me off," Carell says. "That was such a gift."

For his part, Ferrell says it's a credit to Carell that so many actors - from Jim Carrey to Office originator Ricky Gervais - want to be part of the season's final episodes. He called Carell's final episode "the show at its best."

"If he doesn't win an Emmy for his role this year, it's kind of a travesty," Ferrell says. He adds with a laugh: "But if I win, then it will be OK."

Moving forward, Carell is focusing on his movie career, with Crazy, Stupid, Love opening July 29. He's also giving more attention to his family: his actress wife, Nancy, and their children, Elisabeth, 9, and John, 6.

The actor has said family time was the major reason behind his decision to leave The Office. Since the show wrapped, he has backed that up with two trips with the kids.

The family went skiing in Utah and then jetted off to Disneyland - just like countless Super Bowl winners.

"We lived the cliche," he says, laughing. "It was just great. I have never been able to spend spring break with them. So this was a big deal."

It is the luxury of this quality time that let Carell never look back on his decision to leave Scranton behind. "That's the sign of a good life decision, when you don't waver from it," he says. "It's not to say it wasn't hard and not an emotional choice to make - but I never second-guessed it."

Steve Carell's Final Episode on 'The Office' Extended
April 12, 2011

Fans will have enough time to say goodbye to Steve Carell before he leaves "The Office". NBC has announced that the final episode for his character Michael Scott will be extended to 50 minutes when it airs on April 28. Thus, it will run from 9:00 to 9:50 P.M.

"Parks and Recreation" will immediately follow with its own super-sized episode from 9:50 to 10:30 P.M. "30 Rock" will continue the studio's Thursday night line-up from 10:30 to 11:00 P.M.

Before Carell bids farewell, Will Ferrell will join the drama comedy on April 14 as DeAngelo Vickers, the new boss at Scranton branch. He will stay on "The Office" until May 5, a week after Carrell's last episode.

Recently, Ray Romano, Catherine Tate and James Spader have reportedly been cast for the May finale, adding more candidates of the full-time replacement for the Scranton branch manager.

British The Office star Ricky Gervais will audition to be the boss in the US version of the hit TV show
thetelegraph.com.au
March 24, 2011

BRITISH 'boss from hell' David Brent, who's returning for the season finale of NBC's The Office, will be gunning for Michael Scott's job at Dunder Mifflin, the New York Post reported Friday.

Brent, who was created and played by Ricky Gervais in the BBC's The Office - the predecessor to NBC's Americanized version - will "be vying for the manager's job" vacated by Scott, played by Steve Carell, according to an NBC spokesman. "But, in typical David Brent style, he won't make it easy for them to hire him," the spokesman said, according to the Daily Mail.

Gervais and Will Arnett are joining Will Ferrell on the roster of A-listers who will appear on The Office in the next few months.

Gervais played his original "Office" boss, David Brent, in a January cameo appearance.

Carell taped his final episode -- set to air with four more episodes left in the season -- on March 4.

The season seven finale of The Office is scheduled to air May 19 on NBC.

Gervais, Arnett set for 'Office' season finale
Reuters
March 22, 2011

Will Arnett and Ricky Gervais are set to appear in the seventh season one-hour finale of NBC's "The Office," The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

No details were provided about what Arnett and Gervais will be doing in the episode, which is scheduled to air May 19.

Gervais appeared earlier as David Brent in late January in a scene with Steve Carell's Michael Scott, making this his second round on the veteran comedy.

The season finale would mark Arnett's first go on the show.

Carell's upcoming departure from "The Office" has attracted high-profile names to the NBC series, including comedian Will Ferrell, who will be appearing in a multi-episode arc.

Carell's last episode is slated to air in late April.

"The Office" was recently renewed for an eighth season.

John Krasinski Working It
Parade.com
March 11, 2011

John Krasinski knows how much it means to have a steady job. Many actors, after all, don’t work most of the time-at least not in their chosen profession. “I’ve won the lottery,” he says of playing Jim Halpert, Dunder Mifflin’s smart, self-aware, occasionally mischievous paper salesman, on NBC’s The Office. But even a series regular worries about his next gig. “You would think there’s a confidence level,” says Krasinski, who has also worked as a summer camp counselor, an intern for Conan O’Brien, a bartender, and a theater ticket-taker. “But it’s a genuine fear. No matter how long you’ve been doing it, there’s that moment it’ll all change instantaneously.”

There was a time early on when acting looked iffy for Krasinski. He was a freshman at Brown and taking a theater class because it sounded fun and interesting. But the idea, he thought, was to do scenes, say lines, play a character—not spend inordinate amounts of time on exercises where everyone pretends to be an animal.

“It was the thing I hated most,” recalls the tall (6-foot-3), good-natured 31-year-old as he sits in the leafy courtyard of a Hollywood hotel. “I thought, ‘This is where actors are too actor-y and self-absorbed. I’ll never take it seriously.’”

Then he got cast in his first part, playing a transvestite in a Tennessee Williams play. In a flash of insight before stepping onstage in heels and women’s clothing-as he weighed the potential for “my social stock plummeting”-all that outsize rolling around and noisemaking in class suddenly made sense. “It wasn’t about how good you were being a wolf,” he says. “It was about taking you out of your element, so that you would be okay with being embarrassed and you could move forward.”

His Office alter ego, he says, had a similar epiphany about his work. At first, the talented but unambitious Jim held a certain contempt for what he perceived as the life of an office drone. “He had other options-possibly going to Australia, maybe being the head of a branch office-but once he got married and had a baby, it was, ‘How do I make this job work for me? How can I be the best salesman?’” Krasinski says. “At no point did he give up, and I thought that was really a nice message.”

Jim's wedding to Pam (Jenna Fischer) in season six was a bit of a dry run for Krasinski’s own to The Devil Wears Prada actress Emily Blunt last July. “Having the family I’ve been with for years out in the audience for the fake wedding was, believe it or not, a really emotional thing,” he says. “The reactions when we kissed, when we said ‘I do,’ were all so genuine. I almost think a company should be started that will enact a fake wedding for you just to get your jitters out.”

Krasinski-whose film work, which he fits in when The Office is on hiatus, includes Leatherheads, Away We Go, It’s Complicated, and the romantic comedy Something Borrowed, due May 6—is glad that he and Blunt share the same vocation. “I had always heard, ‘Never date an actress—it’s too competitive, too dramatic,’” he says. “But we’re so lucky to have each other. She understands the stress level involved, the amount of work. That’s completely priceless. For many reasons, Emily is perfect for me.”

Whereas Jim and Pam have a baby, John and Emily don’t-yet. But they do have a fox-red Labrador named Finn, and it sounds like another rehearsal of sorts. “We wanted to get a dog together,” he says. “It’s a huge boost to your confidence in the other person when you see how willing and able they are to take care of something with you. Normally you’ll see one person get sidelined with ‘I don’t want to pick up poop’ or ‘I forgot to give the flea-and-tick medicine.’ The fact that we both do it is fantastic.”

Check out the full interview in the Sunday, March 13, issue of PARADE, available in your Sunday newspaper:

John Krasinski on Steve Carell's Departure from 'The Office' and More
Parade.com
March 11, 2011

In these exclusive extras from PARADE's March 13 cover story, John Krasinski talks about past odd jobs, his new movie, and Steve Carell's departure from The Office.

On making a living while he was a struggling actor:

"I held down as many jobs as I could find, from being a waiter to working at a yoga studio and as a ticket-taker at a small theater company--anything that would allow me to go out and do auditions. Everywhere I got hired, it was like, 'Oh that's great [that you want to act]! You should go after that passion.' And then three weeks later, moving around their shifts for you, they're like, 'You know what? We're good.'

"I got fired from being a lunch-shift bartender because I had a reading of a play. I had covered my shift and everything--it wasn't me ripping off my apron and running out the door saying, 'I'll see you later, suckers!' I found a replacement, she came, and as I was leaving, the bar manager said, 'If you walk out that door, don't bother coming back.' I said, 'I won't.' And he said, 'It just doesn't seem that your heart's really in this.' I said, 'You mean being a lunch-time bartender? It's not.' And I walked out."

Going to Scranton, PA., to research his role on The Office:

"When I got the part, the first thing I did was get extremely nerdy and call the executive producer and say, 'I'm gonna drive to Scranton,' because I had never been. So a couple of friends and I went with a video camera, and those images are the opening to our show. [The producer] said, 'Oh, this is great. It looks just bad enough to work.' "

On Steve Carell's departure from The Office this season:

Shooting the last episodes with Carell has been "completely bittersweet," says Krasinski. "It's an insanely special relationship we have with each other on the show, and Steve's leaving is the first time we've been snapped out of it and had to think about how much we all rely on each other. No one can replace him. That goes for him as an actor, because no one has the sense of humor he does, but also there's no person who has his incredible positivity and professionalism, and just a really good heart. So we're losing a friend first and foremost."

On Will Ferrell guesting on The Office:

"I am the biggest fan of Will's and always have been. Other than Steve [Carell], he's probably the biggest star we've had on the show, and I think he's the type of person who fits into that world. Yes, he's Will Ferrell, but he's so talented he can slide in as a normal person."

Ferrell's guest arc "was his idea. He's such a fan of the show, and he knew we would be in a tight spot, and he wanted to help relieve the tension in a way. So he called our producers, and asked if they could ever use him to step in. It speaks volumes about him as a person. He wants to make sure that the show doesn't get hurt in this big transition."

On his upcoming film projects:

"Something Borrowed is coming out May 6. Ginnifer Goodwin and Kate Hudson play best friends, and Kate's character is getting married to someone Ginnifer has secretly been in love with forever. I play Ginnifer's friend Ethan, who's sort of the voice of reason. It's fun to explore a thirtysomething version of romance, where there are a lot of things to consider as an adult.

"Everybody Loves Whales [due in theaters January 2012] was really fun. It's based on a true story about three California gray whales that were trapped in the ice in Alaska in 1988. It started as a tiny news story in Anchorage and became a huge story the entire country was watching. With that came everyone trying to get a piece of it--from the oil companies trying to make good, to the environmentalists saying that there's a right way and a wrong way to do this, to the local Inuit people, who believe that these whales have such a small chance of survival that they would love to harvest them to feed their people in the respectful and necessary way they've been doing for years. I play the reporter who finds the story in the beginning and later has the entire media world descend on him. We were up in Alaska shooting, which was great. We really got to experience the cold, the early days and the darkness. I loved it."

John Krasinski: Will Ferrell Volunteered For ‘The Office’
NBC Universal
March 11, 2011

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Earlier this week, a clip emerged of Will Ferrell’s upcoming guest stint on NBC’s “The Office” and series star John Krasinski revealed that the move came about after a suggestion from the “Saturday Night Live” veteran.

”[It] was his idea,” John, who plays Dunder Mifflin paper salesman Jim Halpert, told Parade.com.

John said that Will’s suggestion had to do with Steve Carell’s departure from the long-running comedy.

“He’s such a fan of the show, and he knew we would be in a tight spot, and he wanted to help relieve the tension in a way. So he called our producers, and asked if they could ever use him to step in,” John explained of Will, who also starred with Steve in “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.” “It speaks volumes about him as a person. He wants to make sure that the show doesn’t get hurt in this big transition.”

Steve reportedly filmed his last “The Office” episode just last week. John said shooting those scenes with his pal, knowing they were the last ones, made the moments “completely bittersweet.”

“It’s an insanely special relationship we have with each other on the show, and Steve’s leaving is the first time we’ve been snapped out of it and had to think about how much we all rely on each other,” John said. “No one can replace him. That goes for him as an actor, because no one has the sense of humor he does, but also there’s no person who has his incredible positivity and professionalism, and just a really good heart. So we’re losing a friend first and foremost.”

John is also featured on the cover of Parade’s Sunday edition - the “What People Earn” issue - and he told the magazine version of Parade about something else that meant a lot to him on “The Office” set – his TV wedding to Pam (Jenna Fischer).

“Having the family I’ve been with for years out in the audience for the fake wedding was, believe it or not, a really emotional thing,” John said. “The reactions when we kissed, when we said ‘I do,’ were all so genuine. I almost think a company should be started that will exact a fake wedding for you just to get your jitters out.”

Steve Carell's The Office Farewell Gets An Airdate
By Michael Schneider
TVGuide.com
March 10, 2011

NBC's Steve Carell exit from The Office promises to be a big one - that's what she said - and it now has an airdate.

The episode, which wrapped production last week, is expected to air on Thursday, April 28. That's the first night of May sweeps, when the networks load up on events and special episodes. And the departure of Carell certainly qualifies.

Although the network remains mum on how Michael Scott (Carell) departs the Scranton office of Dunder Mifflin, here's what we do know: The man who brought the character into the world is now the man taking him out. Greg Daniels, the Simpsons and King of the Hill alum who originally adapted Ricky Gervais' The Office for American audiences (starting with the show's pilot), was the writer on Carell's final episode as well. Daniels continues to serve as an executive producer on The Office, as well as another Thursday night NBC series, Parks and Recreation.

Leading up to the Carell exit, guest star Will Ferrell will first show up on the April 14 episode of The Office. He'll also appear on April 21, and again on the April 28 Michael Scott farewell.

After Carell departs, Ferrell will stick around for one more episode (May 5). Ferrell, of course, is not the show's permanent Michael Scott replacement. The fate of the Dunder Mifflin regional manager job will play out on the show's season finale, an hour-long episode set to run on May 19.

The Office writer and co-star Mindy Kaling recently gave TV Guide Magazine a list of three potential scenarios for Carell's exit that were ultimately nixed, including an untimely death: "That was something we pitched forever. If it had been my decision, he would have been leaning on a pane of glass in the conference room and fallen to his death."

And in honor of Carell's last day, Rainn Wilson ("Dwight Schrute") tweeted on Friday that "the angels of comedy wept."

'The Office': Steve Carrell Gets Farewell Date
Stars Entertainment.com
March 10, 2011

We all knew this day was coming and now that it has an actual date, it seems much more real.

Steve Carell's last episode as Dundler Mifflin's regional manager is set to air on April 28, the first night of May sweeps, when networks try to up the ante by loading episodes with great guest stars and events.

It is still unknown as to how Michael Scott will depart the show, but it's bound to be a great one since Greg Daniels, the man that brought The Office to the U.S. penned the episode. Daniels (The Simpsons, King of the Hill) was the man that took Ricky Gervais' U.K. TV series and adapted it for American audiences, he also wrote the pilot episode. He is current the executive producer for The Office and Parks and Recreation.

Helping to lead the way to Carell's swan song is guest star Will Ferrell who will start is guest stint on the series April 14. He will also appear on April 21 and April 28 (Carell's exit) and will finally appear on May 5.

Fans of the show will not find out who will become the new regional manager until the series' one-hour season finale on May 19.

Cody Horn Cast in THE OFFICE
Daemon's TV
February 16, 2011

Looks like THE OFFICE is going to live on quite nicely, even after series star Steve Carrell leaves later this season. TVLine.com reports that model-turned-actress Cody Horn (Rescue Me) has been tapped to fill one of the three new roles that NBC has added to the NBC comedy.

So far, not much info is being released about her character, except that she’ll be a pleasant and smart addition to Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch. It also looks like she might just be getting hot and heavy with a longtime staffer.

Executive producer and costar Paul Lieberstein (Toby) had this to say:

“We’re very excited to have found Cody. We’ve been searching for a love interest for Creed for a long time. So just sit back and get ready to be disgusted.”

In addition to her role in Rescue Me, Horn also played in the Rob Reiner-directed teen romance Flipped. Horn will start her Office gig as a recurring but there is reportedly some potential for that to grow into a series regular, so we’ll have to wait and see.

The other two Office roles being added to the show include Stanley’s other daughter and a new male addition to the accounting department, no casting news on them yet.

Veterans of 'The Office' help launch new Fox sitcom 'Traffic Light'
NOLA.com
February 8, 2011

David Denman and Nelson Franklin are supremely trained as actors -- Juilliard and the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, respectively – but you might say their graduate studies came on NBC’s “The Office.”

Denman was one of the original cast members, playing Roy Anderson to Jenna Fischer’s Pam Beesly.

Franklin has made “Office” appearances as two different characters, most recently as Nick the Graphic Design Guy, the only actor who can claim that distinction.

Together, they’re part of the ensemble cast of “Traffic Light,” a new single-camera Fox sitcom making its debut Tuesday (February 8) at 8:30 p.m. on WVUE-TV.

Like “The Office,” “Traffic Light” is an adaptation of an overseas series -- Ricky Gervais’ brilliant British creation in the case of the NBC series, the Israeli series “Ramzor” in the case of the new Fox show.

“I don’t think any of us thought it would be as big of a success as it was,” said Denman, during the recent Winter TV Tour in Los Angeles, of “The Office.” “We all loved it, and we believed in it. I think most of us, except Steve (Carell), had seen the original and were fans of it.

“That show grew as time went on. That first season is very different from season two and on. In the first season, we spent a lot of time trying to imitate the British show to some extent, and we were so influenced by (its actors). It’s impossible not to be influenced when the original was so good. But once it sort of took legs and they started writing (for) that cast of characters, it all of a sudden got a new life.”

Franklin had seen the British original as well, and was skeptical about the remake’s chances.

“I was like, ‘I don’t even want to. There’s no touching the original,’” he said. “But it became one of my favorite shows ever.

“My first appearance on ‘The Office’ was the first job I ever got as an actor … and it was the biggest thrill of my life.”

“I think it speaks a credit to this show that David and I were both on ‘The Office,’ because they are very selective with actors who seem natural and real. If somebody looks like they’re acting on that show, it blows the whole cover of the fake documentary, and we continue this legacy on our show as well.”

There had been successful single-camera comedies before “The Office,” but “there was a subtlety to some of the comedy on ‘The Office’ that allowed a landscape for ‘Modern Family’ and our show,” Denman said. “I learned so much sitting on that set watching Steve Carell and Rainn Wilson and everybody that was there.”

‘Office’ Stars Emotional Over Carell’s Exit
Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc.
January 31, 2011

The stars of NBC’s “The Office” aren’t ready to say goodbye to their co-star Steve Carell just yet. In fact, some are feeling the waterworks coming.

Access Hollywood caught up with many of the show’s cast members on the Screen Actors Guild Awards red carpet on Sunday, where they dished on Steve’s departure.

“I think we’re all in a little bit of denial. We’ll get emotional, but we’ll act like nothing happened right away,” Jenna Fisher told Access. “It’s going to be a hard last episode, but luckily we have a few more before we have to worry about it.”

Jenna’s on-screen husband, John Krasinski, agreed with his co-star.

“It’s definitely going to be a huge change and a big impact on the show, but it’s something that we’re really excited about,” John explained. “It’s going to be a different show for sure, but I just am super psyched because we’re on a show that has so many great characters that have been so well developed, that now that he’s leaving, everybody steps up together that it becomes this ensemble show that I think it’s always been, which is great.”

Rainn Wilson appears to be taking Steve’s exit the hardest.

“I think once Steve is gone and the trucks come and tow his trailer away, then I’ll probably shed a tear and then I’ll show up at his house in the rain, like tear soaked, like a weird stalker,” he told Access.

Producer/writer/star Mindy Kaling is also still adjusting to her co-star’s departure.

“I start hearing that, like, sentimental music in the back of my mind that it’s like his last moments. So yeah, it’s getting a little emotional,” she explained.

Despite Steve’s exit, the cast is excited to have some new faces around the Dunder Mifflin office.

“Will Ferrell, joins us in a few weeks,” Jenna told Access. “I’m sure it’s going to be an amazing place to work for a month… seeing Steve and Will perform together is going to be really magical. I can’t wait. I’m just going to sit at my desk and take in the show.”

Ed Helms described Will’s appearance as “world class banana cakes.” Adding, “It’s going to be epic.”

As for Steve himself, he thinks his exit will benefit the show and his co-stars.

' “It’ll be very emotional yeah, because a lot of these people are my best friends… I don’t have a lot of friends and it’s going to be a really sad day. ‘Cause I’ll never see any of them again,” Steve joked with Access’ Shaun Robinson on the SAG Awards red carpet. “It will be sad. But it will be exciting too because I think it’s good for the show. It’ll kind of generate some story lines. It’ll be great.”

During a recent table read for his last episode, Steve told Shaun his emotions were running high.

“We’re very close. We’re a tight cast, so I’m going to miss them a lot,” he continued. “I don’t know if they’re going to miss me, I’m going to miss them. I was crying. They were very happy.”

Steve’s last episode is expected to air sometime in April, four episodes before the season finale of the hit NBC comedy.

Will Ferrell heads to The Office
By Vicky Allison
Monsters and Critics
January 27, 2011

Funnyman Will Ferrell is set to star in several episodes of The Office later this series, just in time for Steve Carell's departure.

The 43-year-old, who co-starred with Steve in Anchorman, will play a branch manager from the home office in the US version of the programme.

NBC Universal made the announcement yesterday but they did not specify how many episodes Will would feature in.

The Office executive producer Paul Lieberstein said: 'We found Steve Carell when he was nothing but a movie star and we turned him into a television star.

According to Entertainment Tonight, Paul added: 'We are proud to continue The Office's tradition of discovering famous talent, and we do hope that once America gets a good look at Will, they'll see what we see: tremendous raw sexuality.'

Carell had said he would not be returning to the award-winning series after this season.

The Office actor Rainn Wilson later tweeted: 'Yes it's true! Will Farrell is joining the Office 4 (at least) a 4 episode arc! Were psyched!'

Will Ferrell to Temp on "The Office"
By Michael Preston
NBC Los Angeles
January 27, 2011

If you though that Dunder Mifflin could only stand one hilariously inept and inappropriate boss, think again.

Funnyman Will Ferrell has been tapped to play a branch manager who is the equal to Steve Carell's Michael Scott - in all the wrong ways - during a four-episode story arc on The Office that will close out the hit sitcom's seventh season, reports Entertainment Weekly.

The two Anchorman co-stars will be featured together in three episodes, while the fourth will give Ferrell space to shine as Carell's character is set to depart the show four episiodes before the season finale.

The show's executive producer was thrilled with their "discovery" of Ferrell.

"We found Steve Carell when he was nothing but a movie star and we turned him into a television star," said Paul Lieberstein in an interview with EW. "We are proud to continue The Office's tradition of discovering famous talent, and we hope that once America gets a good look at Will, they'll see what we see: tremendous raw sexuality."

Will Ferrell to Appear on 'The Office'
The Hollywood Reporter
January 26, 2011

Will Ferrell will be making his way to Scranton, just in time for Steve Carell's farewell.

Ferrell will appear in a multi-episode arc on NBC's veteran workplace comedy The Office this season as an inappropriate branch manager who arrives from the home office.

Ferrell's guest stint would mark a reunion with Carell as the two starred in Anchorman.

Carell announced last year that he would be exiting the series, and it was recently reported that he would be leaving before the season finale, most likely at some point in April.

Ferrell was a regular cast member on the network's Saturday Night Live. He also produces Eastbound and Down on HBO.

Will Ferrell hired as NBC's 'Office' temp
By James Hibberd
EW.com
January 26, 2011

With Steve Carell stepping out of NBC’s The Office, producers have enlisted Will Ferrell to help boost the show’s numbers during the season’s home stretch.

Ferrell will reunite with his Anchorman co-star in a four-episode arc later this season. He’ll play a branch manager who arrives from the home office and proves to be just as inept as Michael Scott.

“We found Steve Carell when he was nothing but a movie star and we turned him into a television star,” says executive producer Paul Lieberstein. “We are proud to continue The Office‘s tradition of discovering famous talent, and we hope that once America gets a good look at Will, they’ll see what we see: tremendous raw sexuality.”

Three episodes will feature Carell and Ferrell together (they’re not co-workers, they’re co-people), then Ferrell will have one episode working with the Office gang solo after Carell departs (he’s leaving the show four episodes before the season finale, you’ll recall).

Will Ferrell and Steve Carell to Reunite on 'The Office'
TheHDRoom
January 26, 2011

Steve Carell may be on the way out of Dunder Mifflin but he won't make it out the door before crossing paths with an old acquaintance.

NBC has confirmed that Will Ferrell is signed on to guest-star in a four-episode arc of 'The Office' due to air before the end of this season. He'll play a higher up at Dunder Mifflin who visits and spends some time at the Scranton branch for reasons still unknown.

Carell's exit has already been confirmed to take place before the season finale. With Ferrell taking part in four episodes, the odds are favorable that his presence will somehow tie-in to Carell's exit as either the man sending Michael Scott packing or the man responsible for selecting Scott's replacement.

If you're imagining Ferrell playing an equally neurotic character as Michael Scott then you're barking up the right tree. NBC says Ferrell's character will be "just as inappropriate" as Michael Scott setting up what should be some classic 'The Office' moments.

Carell and Ferrell previously shared the big screen together in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Ferrell played the title character while Carell portrayed an extremely simpleton weatherman who typically spoke in single-word outbursts.

Will Ferrell Helping Steve Carell’s Exit From ‘The Office’ With Four-Episode Arc
By Mike Fleming
Deadline.com
January 26, 2011

EXCLUSIVE: Will Ferrell has committed to a four-episode arc on NBC's comedy The Office. He will play a branch manager who comes from the home office and is just as inappropriate as Steve Carell's Michael Scott character. NBC is still figuring out exactly when the episodes will air, but Ferrell has committed to one episode beyond Carell’s finale, to help create a bridge.

Ferrell called the producers, offering his services because he's a fan and wanted to commemorate Carell’s swan song by taking part in The Office star's seventh and final season on the show. Ferrell and Carell are close friends who co-starred in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. The stint brings Ferrell back to NBC, where he launched his career on Saturday Night Live. Additionally, he has done arcs on such series as NBC's 30 Rock and HBO's Eastbound & Down, which he also produces.

“We found Steve Carell when he was nothing but a movie star and we turned him into a television star,” said The Office exec producer Paul Lieberstein (who doubles as the annoying Dunder Mifflin HR executive Toby Flenderson, Michael Scott’s arch-nemesis. “We are proud to continue The Office’s tradition of discovering famous talent, and we hope that once America gets a good look at Will, they’ll see what we see, tremendous raw sexuality.”

Will Ferrell To Appear In Four Episodes Of The Office Later This Season
By Eric Eisenberg
Cinema Blend
January 26, 2011

The departure of Steve Carell from his post on The Office is set to be a monumental television event. This season has already had a good number of guest stars, including the awesome Timothy Olyphant and the return of Amy Ryan, but a newly announced guest should be able to blow them all out of the water.

Deadline is reporting that Will Ferrell, who previously starred alongside Carell in Anchorman, has signed on for a four episode arc that will actually extend past Carell's final episode. Ferrell will play another branch manager who is sent to the Scranton branch from corporate and is "just as inappropriate" as Michael Scott. It's unknown exactly when the episodes will air.

This has potential written all over it. Both Ferrell and Carell are comedians cut from the same cloth and I can only imagine how they're going to play off each other. There seems to be some suggestion by this news that Ferrell will be the first temporary boss before a more permanent solution is found. Here's hoping they can possibly convince him to stay.

The Press Association: Gervais for US remake of The Office
January 20, 2011

(UKPA) - Ricky Gervais is to make a guest appearance in the US version of The Office, playing blundering boss David Brent.

The comic will come face-to-face with Steve Carell who plays his counterpart, Michael Scott, in the US remake of the hit BBC show.

Writing on his blog, Ricky confirmed the news and said: "Blink and you'll miss it, but just a little thanks to Steve Carell. A pleasure to work with the great man."

The British star became a worldwide name when he co-wrote, directed and starred in the original version of The Office as the well-meaning but foolish Brent.

Earlier this week, he was criticised for delivering a string of acerbic put-downs while hosting the Golden Globes.

Ricky was condemned for making near-the-knuckle jokes at the expense of shocked Hollywood A-listers in the audience.

He cracked jokes about Charlie Sheen and Robert Downey Jr and also talked about Scientology and gay celebrities pretending to be straight while hosting the show.

Alec Baldwin was seen wiping a tear from his eye at the wisecracks, while Robert De Niro, who was handed a lifetime achievement award, dissolved in laughter.

But the New York Daily News called him "tasteless, bordering on nasty", while the LA Times said his jokes set "a corrosive tone" for the night.

Ricky Gervais to appear on ’The Office’ as David Brent
Examiner.com
January 20, 2011

Ricky Gervais is set to reprise his role as office manager David Brent from the original British version of "The Office" in the Jan. 27 episode of the NBC remake. According to Vulture, Gervais' character is expected to somehow cross paths with his American counterpart, Steve Carell's Michael Scott, in a "small cameo" appearance during the show's cold open.

"It's a little more than if you blink, you'll miss it, but if you don't set your TiVo right, you'll miss it," said 'Office' show-runner Paul Lieberstein. "Ricky had wanted to do something [with the U.S. Office] and it felt like we shouldn't go the whole series without them connecting."

The top secret cameo has been kept under wraps since filming of the scene took place in September. While Lieberstein admits it was difficult to bring the two office managers together in a way that made sense, they ultimately decided to have them meet outside of Dunder-Mifflin.

"It's outside of the office, and it's just the two of them interacting," he says. "It's just a little nod to Steve and his final year."

The recent Golden Globes host is not only the creator and star of the original series, but also serves as executive producer and has written one episode of the U.S. adaptation, though he has never appeared on screen.

The episode featuring Ricky Gervais will air Thursday, Jan. 27 on NBC at 9/8c.

CBC News - Television - Gervais gets cameo on NBC's The Office
January 20, 2011

British actor Ricky Gervais will make a cameo next week on the U.S. version of The Office, playing the character he created for the original British series.

Gervais will reprise the role of acerbic paper salesman David Brent, who drops into the Dunder-Mifflin office run by Michael Scott, played by Steve Carell. The show will air Jan. 27.

Carell is in his final season on the U.S. version of the comedy Thursdays on NBC.

Gervais, who was criticized by many in Hollywood for his insults while hosting the weekend Golden Globes, is an executive producer of the American series. One of his Golden Globe insults was aimed at Carell, calling him "ungrateful" for leaving a show that made both of them great.

The British version of The Office ran just two seasons, but catapulted Gervais to fame in the role of the patronizing and offensive Brent.

It has been remade in France, Germany, Brazil and Israel, as well as the U.S.

Gervais made no apologies for his Golden Globe remarks, which were also jabbed at Charlie Sheen, Cher and the Hollywood Press Association itself, in an interview Thursday with CNN's Piers Morgan.

"I don't think I did anything wrong," Gervais said. "Those were like gibes at these people, and I'm sure they've got a sense of humour."

Gervais said his job as host was not to "come out there as everyone's mate and schmooze" but to roast Hollywood.

Gervais said he wasn't mocking people. But in mentioning Robert Downey Jr.'s stints in the Betty Ford Clinic and Los Angeles County Jail, "I'm confronting the elephant in the room."

Piers Morgan's interview with Gervais airs at 9 p.m. ET on CNN.

BBC News - Ricky Gervais to make cameo in US version of The Office
January 20, 2011

Comedian Ricky Gervais is to reprise his David Brent character from The Office on the US version of the show.

Gervais, who attracted controversy on Sunday as host of the Golden Globes, will make a brief appearance as Brent on 27 January.

Co-created by Gervais and Stephen Merchant, The Office was a hit in the UK before it was remade in the US by NBC.

Steve Carell plays Brent's counterpart in the US version, Michael Scott.

Gervais, 49, is an executive producer on The Office, now in its seventh series.

The British original ran for two series before signing off with two Christmas specials.

Charlie Sheen, Bruce Willis and Robert Downey Jr were among the celebrities Gervais poked fun at during his controversial second stint as Golden Globes host.

Yet in an interview on Piers Morgan's CNN chat show, to be shown in the US on Thursday, Gervais is unrepentant.

"It's not my job to worry about what people think of me," he will be heard saying. "That's the job of a politician.

"They hired me for a job," he continues. "If they didn't want me, they shouldn't have hired me."

Local company's items featured prominently on NBC's 'The Office'
Sheetz meets Dunder Mifflin
By Cory Dobrowolsky
AltoonaMirror.com - Altoona, PA
January 16, 2011

Fans of the NBC comedy "The Office" can catch glimpses of a local staple around the desks of Dunder Mifflin.

When Dwight Schrute sips at his coffee while plotting against co-worker Jim Halpert, it's from a Sheetz cup. When Michael Scott stands in the Dunder Mifflin kitchenette and complains about Sabre corporate lackey Gabe Lewis, the refrigerator boasts a Sheetz magnet.

The convenience store franchise is one of the brands used through product placement on the comedy series in its attempt to be authentic and representative of everyday life in Pennsylvania.

"It's pretty exciting," said Monica Jones, the public relations manager for Sheetz. "People think it's really cool to see our brand and our stuff on the show. Our guys think it's great to get some exposure and have more people touched by the brand."

Sheetz was founded by Bob Sheetz in 1952 as a single store on Union Avenue in Altoona. With its corporate offices still in town and still under the ownership of the Sheetz family, it has expanded into a multimillion dollar corporation with 385 stores throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, as far west as Ohio and as far south as North Carolina.

"The Office" began broadcasting on NBC in 2005, adapted from a British comedy of the same name. It stars Steve Carell as Michael Scott, a regional manager of a fictitious paper supply company called Dunder Mifflin, based in Scranton. The comedy details the sometimes mundane, sometimes outrageous day-to-day activities of the office's employees. It also stars John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Ed Helms and B.J. Novak, among others, and airs at 9 p.m. Thursdays.

"'The Office' is a unique show," said Philip Shea, the property master for "The Office." "It's a 'mockumentary' that takes place in a real town, with nothing fictionalized.

"With other shows, we always have to fabricate stuff, but with 'The Office' taking place in modern day Scranton, we can use local stuff. It's a wonderful thing."

Shea, who has also worked as prop master on shows such as "Entourage," "American Dreams" and "Andy Barker, P.I.," has been with the program since its first episode.

Before the start of the show's second season, Shea and his crew flew from Los Angeles, where the show is filmed, to Scranton to find actual items and brands to recreate the city on the small screen.

"It adds that realism and authenticity," Shea said.

A "prop drop" was arranged at the Steamtown Mall in Scranton, where Shea gathered "whatever props people wanted us to get on the show."

"We thought a couple hundred people would show up throughout the two days we were there, but when we first got there, 400 people were waiting in line," Shea said. "This was our first introduction to the Sheetz brand."

Jones said that there is one Sheetz store within the Scranton city limits, but "probably 10 or 12 throughout that northeast corner."

The Sheetz items made their way with the other props back to L.A. and into the Dunder Mifflin offices.

"The first time, (the show's crew) didn't contact us," Jones said. "They used something, and someone saw it. We thought, 'Hey, they gave a nod to Sheetz; let's send a bunch of stuff as a thank you.' I loaded up a whole box of T-shirts, pens, mugs and stuff, and little by little, they placed them throughout the show."

More plotlines would soon strengthen the relationship between the show and the convenience store.

"Later, we wanted to get more travel coffee cups, in case someone on the show was making a coffee run or whatever," Shea said. "Mari Potis told us about Sheetz."

Potis, the membership director of the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, has been working with representatives of the show for seven years.

"I love Sheetz, and they were looking for very specific branding," Potis said. "Sheetz is one of those places where everyone is, and they have great branding. When he called about a specific place for coffee, I said, 'Listen, Sheetz is right there.' I went over and got the number for corporate, got to the right people and made it happen.

"The show wants branding, very specific branding, and Sheetz is a great company to provide that branding."

That Sheetz brand has made some memorable appearances on the program to those with an eye for details. Specifically, a Sheetz magnet has appeared on several episodes, as characters gather in front of a refrigerator in the office's kitchenette.

There is no hierarchy of props, though, Shea said. All product appearances are left to the whim of the camera.

"That is all coincidental," he said. "We like to call that prop serendipity. Our show is a single camera show. There are just two camera operators with hand-held cameras. Unlike other shows, we have no idea where the camera man will shoot, so we go in before they start shooting and put stuff up, a magnet, a menu. We just place it wherever. So it's all what the camera catches.

"There is a lot of Sheetz stuff out there (on the set), so chances are good that (viewers) will see a local product."

Sheetz is not the only locally familiar brand that gets airtime on "The Office."

"There's Herr's chips on top of the refrigerator," he said. "Kate Flannery (who plays Meredith Palmer) is from Philadelphia, and she's a huge fan of Tastykake, so there are Tastykakes in the vending machine."

Shea said the cast and crew love bringing an authenticity to the show with the different local brands.

"As more and more people from the show go to Scranton, it's a thrill for them to see products that are real," Shea said. "It's nice when you can bring out Scranton's idiosyncrasies, to try as much as you can to portray Scranton. It makes us all happy. It's a layer of job satisfaction, makes the job have a deeper meaning than just a paycheck."

Sheetz is quite grateful for the national exposure, Jones said, between the NBC comedy and an appearance on another television comedy, Comedy Central's "Big Lake," starring "Saturday Night Live" alums Horatio Sanz and Chris Parnell and also set in Pennsylvania. A Sheetz store appears in the closing credits to the Comedy Central show.

"Between that and 'The Office' and other projects we've been involved in, it's good to see Sheetz represented nationally," Jones said. "It's one more way our brand personality gets out there; we're not just a gas station, we're a cool store. People like seeing things from their hometown represented. It is still exciting for me to see the place where I work and our stuff represented."

Steve Carell Leaving The Office Before The Season Finale
By Katey Rich
cinemablend.com
January 14, 2011

The moment we learned Steve Carell was leaving The Office at the end of this season, we all imagined the kind of tearful season finale you usually get when a show goes off the air: hugs, goodbyes, maybe a bittersweet finale for poor beleaguered Michael Scott. But as it turns out that farewell is going to happen a lot sooner than any of us assumed; talking to Vulture, show-runner (and player of Toby) Paul Lieberstein said Michael will be leaving Dunder Mifflin about a month before the season finale, leaving time for us to see how the office moves on without him, and how his successor fills his shoes:

"Steve will have a number of episodes that dramatize and lead up to Steve leaving. Then we'll continue on for about four more episodes, and the spring will prove to be not about an actor leaving, but what happens in an office when a manager leaves and the chaos ensues and people vie for the job and are uncertain about their future."

The idea is to not center the entire rest of the season around a finale, but put some focus on the rest of the characters. And yet they're still not revealing when we'll find out who Michael's replacement will be, only admitting that there will be some people interviewing for the job from outside the office-- cue guest stars!-- and that Kelly, having gone through executive training over the summer, will definitely be vying for it. Oh, and despite the fact that everyone's sad about Carell leaving, they're no longer panicking:

"This time last year there was probably a lot of dread. But right now there's a lot of excitement. We're having the kinds of conversations we had in seasons one and two about, 'What is the show?' It feels like we ... can really influence the show in a way we couldn't last year. It feels really cool."

Everyone has their favorite candidates for the new Regional Manager at Dunder Mifflin-- I'd love to witness Darryl's laid-back reign of terror--but I'm kind of enjoying having no idea where they're headed with it. When new episodes of The Office start back up next week I imagine we'll see Michael's departure start up in full force, but right now, it seems like anyone-- even flaky, wonderful Kelly-- could become Regional Manager. It's a mystery I'm really enjoying.

Steve Carell Will Exit ‘The Office’ Early
By Georg Szalai
The Hollywood Reporter
January 14, 2011

Possible replacements for his character Michael Scott include internal and external candidates.

NEW YORK – Steve Carell will leave The Office early.

His Michael Scott character will leave Dunder-Mifflin about a month before the season ends in May, according to show runner Paul Lieberstein, Vulture reports.

"Steve will have a number of episodes that dramatize and lead up to Steve leaving," the producer told the New York magazine blog. "Then we'll continue on for about four more episodes, and the spring will prove to be not about an actor leaving, but what happens in an office when a manager leaves and the chaos ensues and people vie for the job and are uncertain about their future."

Lieberstein confirmed that the show will explore both internal and external candidates as replacements for Scott. "We are talking about guest stars" coming in to basically interview for the position, he explained. Kathy Bates, for example, confirmed Thursday that she will return for a few episodes later in the season.

As for internal candidates, such names as Darryl, Dwight, Andy as well as Mindy Kaling's Kelly have been mentioned. About the latter, head writer Daniel Chun said: "Now that she has executive training, she's going to want that job."

TCA: Dunder Mifflin to Lose Carell Well Before Season's End
By Tim Molloy
TheWrap.com
January 14, 2011

Let "The Office" politics begin: Steve Carell will leave the series early this season, leaving its last four episodes to focus on the search for his replacement.

The end-of-the-season search will include candidates from both inside and outside the Dunder Mifflin office, show runner Paul Lieberstein, who also plays Toby, told TheWrap.

The show stopped following storylines from the British "Office" long ago, but Lieberstein and "Office" co-creator Greg Daniels said Michael Scott's departure would share at least one thing with the firing of David Brent (Ricky Gervais) on the original show: The new boss will be cooler than the old one.

Not that that's saying a lot, Lieberstein said: "Most people are cooler than Michael Scott."

Daniels and Lieberman declined to say who was on the new-boss shortlist, or even to rule anyone out. They wouldn't even outright shoot down our suggestion that Gervais, an executive producer on the show, should fill in for an episode or two. Lieberman said the subject hasn't come up.

Carell's early departure was first reported by Vulture.