Famous actors who auditioned for the US cast of The Office but were rejected

What do you mean by Cam Tucker and Dwight Schrute could have been the same person?

Most fans of The Office US probably can’t imagine the characters any other way, but the cast could have been very different. The special combination of all the actors creates a dynamic that is so specific to the show that if any of them were different, I think the whole thing would be somehow out of balance. Steve Carrell, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson and John Krasinski are, after all, so integral to the show’s unparalleled vibe.

The casting team for The Office US had a somewhat unorthodox audition process: instead of giving the actors a specific script, the producers asked them a series of questions that the actors then had to answer in character for the role. Despite this unusual casting approach, I think the team hit the nail on the head with their cast members. So here’s a look at the other actors who could have made it onto the show and made it so different from what we know today:

Adam Scott

via NBC

Adam Scott is best known for his role as Ben Wyatt in Parks and Recreation, but he also auditioned for the role of Jim Halpert. His audition tape shows him playing Jim in a very similar way to how John Krasinski interpreted it, but there’s something about the way Krasinski plays Jim that just makes sense. And I couldn’t imagine anyone else in the role of Ben Wyatt – who is mostly dubbed as Jim Halpert from Parks and Recreation anyway.

John Cho

via Paramount Pictures

Another actor who ultimately failed to land the role of Jim Halpert is John Cho. His audition tape shows him playing Jim’s introductory scene where he is bored while talking about his job. Cho landed a recurring role in the rebooted Star Trek films.

Eric Stonestreet

about ABC

Eric Stonestreet is best known for his role as Cam on Modern Family, but the role he auditioned for on The Office might surprise you: Kevin Malone. Stonestreet’s role on Modern Family is so different from the somewhat clueless Dunder Mifflin accountant that he was certainly better suited for the role. Although Stonestreet’s audition for the role of Kevin is quite convincing, Brian Baumgartner brings a certain quality, a certain je ne sais quoi, a certain lights-on-but-nobody-is-home feeling to the character that no one could pull off quite like he does.

Bob Odenkirk

about AMC

Bob Odenkirk, of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fame, also auditioned for the role of Michael Scott. Again, his audition video shows him playing a pretty decent version of Michael Scott, but the self-proclaimed “world’s best boss” is so modeled on Steve Carrell that I really can’t imagine the show would have been the same if anyone else had played him.

Odenkirk actually appeared in a season 9 episode of The Office, playing Pam’s potential future boss at a job interview.

Seth Rogen

about Columbia Pictures

Comedy veteran Seth Rogen auditioned for the role of Dwight Schrute, who we all know as Rainn Wilson. Rogen’s take on Dwight is a little less intense than what we ultimately saw on screen – that might have made for a less creepy viewing experience, but Wilson’s Dwight is so important to the dynamic of the office that I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Patton Oswalt

about Pixar

If, like me, the name Patton Oswalt isn’t familiar to you at first, you probably know his voice: He played Remy in Disney’s Ratatouille. He also later appeared in Parks and Recreation. Oswalt’s audition for the role of Dwight shows a more sarcastic version than the one we know today, which would have changed the dynamic of the iconic rivalry between Jim and Dwight.

Kathryn Hahn

about Columbia Pictures

The last actress to audition for a role on The Office is none other than Kathryn Hahn. Kathryn auditioned for the role of the other half of everyone’s favorite TV couple, Pam Beasly. Her version of Pam in the audition videos is a little more quirky than the one we know thanks to Jenna Fischer, and I just can’t imagine that the romance between Jim and Pam would have been the same if Pam had been played by someone else.

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Selected images via Columbia Pictures, ABC and NBC.