Steve Carell played the iconic role of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.
Despite season 1's low ratings, The Office went on to become a cultural behemoth. In an interview with 40-Year-Old Virgin comes out, and the world goes, “Oh my God, look at this guy. Look how funny he is, and look how kind he is, and look how talented he is.” And NBC goes, “Well, we have this giant movie star under contract...” That, along with the of network executive Kevin Reilly and some tweaking of Carell's character by the show's creator Greg Daniels, who made Scott more likable than his British counterpart David Brent (played by Ricky Gervais), paved the way for The Office's successful second season.
It's difficult to imagine an actor other than Better Call Saul actor's take on Scott was "tougher and meaner," and Jones thought Odenkirk was as funny as Carell but "darker". Odenkirk did a cameo during The Office's final season, playing Pam Halpert's (née Beesly) possible employer: a man very similar to Michael Scott.
Rainn Wilson, who played Dwight Schrute on The Office, also auditioned to play Michael Scott, but according to Vulture, Wilson characterized his own performance as a “terrible Ricky Gervais impression". Other performers who didn't make it far into the casting process include Robert Townsend, David Arquette, Jason Lee, Dave Foley, Dan Castellaneta, Mark McKinney, Horatio Sanz, Ben Falcone, Owen Wilson, David Koechner, Hank Azaria, Rick Moranis, Kevin Nealon, Dan Aykroyd, Jon Favreau, Eugene Levy, Christopher Guest, Jason Segal, Andy Richter, Cedric the Entertainer, Richard Kind, Matthew Broderick, William H. Macy, Paul F. Tompkins, Stanley Tucci, Steve Buscemi, Stephen Colbert, and John C. Reilly.
currently streaming on Peacock, declined in quality after Carell's exit. Ed Helms' Andy Bernard took charge, turning out to be a bigger but less entertaining trainwreck than Scott.