Coulda been an Asian Jim
August 7, 2013 7:15 AM Subscribe
Watch Famous Actors' Failed Auditions for 'The Office.' Watch Seth Rogen, John Cho, Eric Stonestreet, Adam Scott and other now successful actors on failed auditions for key office characters.
Bob Odenkirk actually appeared as a "parallel" Michael Scott in the final episode.
posted by sourwookie at 7:25 AM on August 7, 2013
posted by sourwookie at 7:25 AM on August 7, 2013
interesting! I wasn't really watching by the final episode.
posted by sweetkid at 7:27 AM on August 7, 2013
posted by sweetkid at 7:27 AM on August 7, 2013
I'm fascinated by the idea of Adam Scott as Jim. I think he would have been good, but it would have robbed the world of his insane chemistry with Amy Poehler.
posted by lunasol at 7:34 AM on August 7, 2013 [6 favorites]
posted by lunasol at 7:34 AM on August 7, 2013 [6 favorites]
Bob Odenkirk was terrific as "parallel" Michael Scott, but that was before the final episode!
The final episode was much better than the last few seasons had otherwise been. The best part was that Jim and Dwight finally developed an interesting, post-Michael Scott relationship, and it made me sad that they didn't just develop that relationship sooner.
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:35 AM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]
The final episode was much better than the last few seasons had otherwise been. The best part was that Jim and Dwight finally developed an interesting, post-Michael Scott relationship, and it made me sad that they didn't just develop that relationship sooner.
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:35 AM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]
And yeah, John Cho and Adam Scott would have both made for excellent Jims.
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:36 AM on August 7, 2013
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:36 AM on August 7, 2013
I'm fascinated by Adam Scott as Jim too -- though I'm pretty much in the "Adam Scott in all the things" club, so that's not surprising.
Bob Odenkirk was terrific as "parallel" Michael Scott, but that was before the final episode!
What was great about him is that not only did that character work as a plot point for Pam, but it also showed so clearly how much Michael had changed/grown as a character without even having Steve Carell on the screen. For all the missteps, The Office ended really quite strong I think.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:38 AM on August 7, 2013 [4 favorites]
Bob Odenkirk was terrific as "parallel" Michael Scott, but that was before the final episode!
What was great about him is that not only did that character work as a plot point for Pam, but it also showed so clearly how much Michael had changed/grown as a character without even having Steve Carell on the screen. For all the missteps, The Office ended really quite strong I think.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:38 AM on August 7, 2013 [4 favorites]
lunasol: It would have also robbed the world of his character on Party Down. The two seasons of that show are perfect to me.
posted by Jeff Morris at 7:40 AM on August 7, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by Jeff Morris at 7:40 AM on August 7, 2013 [5 favorites]
What was great about him is that not only did that character work as a plot point for Pam, but it also showed so clearly how much Michael had changed/grown as a character without even having Steve Carell on the screen.
That had to be one of the best scenes of the last season. DJANGO!
There were some obvious duds (and too much Nard Dog), but I liked it most of the way through.
Also, it wasn't Michael leaving that left the biggest hole, it was Kelly and Ryan. They were not adequately replaced.
posted by mrgrimm at 7:43 AM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
That had to be one of the best scenes of the last season. DJANGO!
There were some obvious duds (and too much Nard Dog), but I liked it most of the way through.
Also, it wasn't Michael leaving that left the biggest hole, it was Kelly and Ryan. They were not adequately replaced.
posted by mrgrimm at 7:43 AM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
I saw it a couple times post Carell but never got into it that much - I was a little confused by the Dwight and Jim jrs. I did notice that junior Dwight was 10x better than junior Jim.
Jim and Pam's marriage kind of bored me. I thought the show was at its best when they had the will-they-won't-they-27-seconds-of-silence bit going on. Maybe that's because I had a similar situation a few years later. That didn't end in marriage and babies and pie though, only no-contact and he's in a relationship now and I'm not.
Sigh.
posted by sweetkid at 7:47 AM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
Jim and Pam's marriage kind of bored me. I thought the show was at its best when they had the will-they-won't-they-27-seconds-of-silence bit going on. Maybe that's because I had a similar situation a few years later. That didn't end in marriage and babies and pie though, only no-contact and he's in a relationship now and I'm not.
Sigh.
posted by sweetkid at 7:47 AM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
What was great about him is that not only did that character work as a plot point for Pam, but it also showed so clearly how much Michael had changed/grown as a character without even having Steve Carell on the screen. For all the missteps, The Office ended really quite strong I think.
The last few episodes were good. The last season would have been perfectly fine, except for 1) Boss Andy and 2) Boom Operator. Boss Andy was not funny or relatable - he was just frustrating and annoying. As for the Boom Operator - screw that whole subplot.
And you're right, I didn't notice that about Bob Odenkirk. Parallel Michael Scott was everything Michael Scott was before he evolved. He was hilarious, but his appearance also illustrated how the American version of The Office found a way to create a sort of brilliant character arc for Michael Scott. He's genuinely lovable by the end. Even during the Scott's Tots fiasco, I kept pulling for him and hoping that things would work out.
I think they did a good job with Dwight as well. They should have moved his final few stories up to the beginning of the final season. It would have been a different show, but it also would have been a fun (and sort of sweet) show. I liked Jim as the mischievous, but good-natured foil to Dwight's pompous, but also ultimately good-natured officiousness. It was sort of like a mutant version of Blackadder, by the very very end.
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:48 AM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
The last few episodes were good. The last season would have been perfectly fine, except for 1) Boss Andy and 2) Boom Operator. Boss Andy was not funny or relatable - he was just frustrating and annoying. As for the Boom Operator - screw that whole subplot.
And you're right, I didn't notice that about Bob Odenkirk. Parallel Michael Scott was everything Michael Scott was before he evolved. He was hilarious, but his appearance also illustrated how the American version of The Office found a way to create a sort of brilliant character arc for Michael Scott. He's genuinely lovable by the end. Even during the Scott's Tots fiasco, I kept pulling for him and hoping that things would work out.
I think they did a good job with Dwight as well. They should have moved his final few stories up to the beginning of the final season. It would have been a different show, but it also would have been a fun (and sort of sweet) show. I liked Jim as the mischievous, but good-natured foil to Dwight's pompous, but also ultimately good-natured officiousness. It was sort of like a mutant version of Blackadder, by the very very end.
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:48 AM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
Oh also Ellie Kemper. She was the only reason I tried to catch episodes in the last few seasons.
posted by sweetkid at 7:52 AM on August 7, 2013
posted by sweetkid at 7:52 AM on August 7, 2013
Yes, the whole (admittedly somewhat ridiculous) plot with her birth parents that was resolved in the finale actually made me cry (which is admittedly somewhat ridiculous)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:00 AM on August 7, 2013
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:00 AM on August 7, 2013
I'm pretty sure I remember the comedian Chris Fairbanks saying on a podcast that he was a finalist for the Jim role. Jon Krasinski did a great job, but damn it would have been awesome to see Fairbanks in that part. And also on every other TV show.
posted by saladin at 8:05 AM on August 7, 2013
posted by saladin at 8:05 AM on August 7, 2013
Rainn Wilson put this up a few months ago: Office Audition Sign-up Sheet. It shows some of the other contenders.
Also, releasing casting videos must be tricky. These people are all SAG, and I doubt there was any contract signed back in 2003 providing for them to get paid for these videos, so they must have had to go back and work with these people just for the little 10 second clips.
posted by smackfu at 8:19 AM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
Also, releasing casting videos must be tricky. These people are all SAG, and I doubt there was any contract signed back in 2003 providing for them to get paid for these videos, so they must have had to go back and work with these people just for the little 10 second clips.
posted by smackfu at 8:19 AM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
There were some obvious duds
Does anyone else remember that time they killed off Will Ferrell? Sometimes I think I saw the alternate universe version of the show.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 8:20 AM on August 7, 2013
Does anyone else remember that time they killed off Will Ferrell? Sometimes I think I saw the alternate universe version of the show.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 8:20 AM on August 7, 2013
Rainn Wilson put this up a few months ago: Office Audition Sign-up Sheet.
Oh that's adorable.
posted by sweetkid at 8:27 AM on August 7, 2013
Oh that's adorable.
posted by sweetkid at 8:27 AM on August 7, 2013
Does anyone else remember that time they killed off Will Ferrell? Sometimes I think I saw the alternate universe version of the show.
My wife and I love this whenever it comes up on reruns. It's one of the few standout instances of every character on the show being completely terrible, and not even intentionally. They took this sort of weird man and actually broke him, mentally and physically. I loved how it showed that Michael wasn't just a random idiot, but The Idiot.
posted by cellphone at 8:43 AM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]
My wife and I love this whenever it comes up on reruns. It's one of the few standout instances of every character on the show being completely terrible, and not even intentionally. They took this sort of weird man and actually broke him, mentally and physically. I loved how it showed that Michael wasn't just a random idiot, but The Idiot.
posted by cellphone at 8:43 AM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]
I'm just getting lost in the What Ifs of that sign in sheet.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:31 AM on August 7, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:31 AM on August 7, 2013 [3 favorites]
Watching this, I thought, you know what John Krasinski has that Adam Scott and John Cho don't have? Goofy eyebrows. Adam Scott's eyebrows in particular always make him look a little tense, like he's the Michael Keaton Bruce Wayne.
posted by knuckle tattoos at 9:31 AM on August 7, 2013
posted by knuckle tattoos at 9:31 AM on August 7, 2013
I'm fascinated by the idea of Adam Scott as Jim. I think he would have been good, but it would have robbed the world of his insane chemistry with Amy Poehler.
Or of the gem that is Party Down.
posted by CosmicRayCharles at 9:35 AM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
Or of the gem that is Party Down.
posted by CosmicRayCharles at 9:35 AM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
Adam Scott has a tragic face. it's the key to his comedic appeal. He always looks like he's just heard he has cancer of the puppy and every single family member perished in a tragic orphanage fire. It's why Party Down was so good. He always had an air of being one bad day away from jumping off a bridge.
posted by The Whelk at 9:49 AM on August 7, 2013 [14 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 9:49 AM on August 7, 2013 [14 favorites]
Rainn Wilson put this up a few months ago: Office Audition Sign-up Sheet
Alan Tudyk as Michael? No. But I think he would have made an awesome Andy.
posted by zombieflanders at 9:51 AM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
Alan Tudyk as Michael? No. But I think he would have made an awesome Andy.
posted by zombieflanders at 9:51 AM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
Coulda been an Asian Jim
But nobody's Asian in the movies.
posted by yoink at 10:21 AM on August 7, 2013
But nobody's Asian in the movies.
posted by yoink at 10:21 AM on August 7, 2013
Coulda been an Asian Jim
But nobody's Asian in the movies.
Yeah but as an Indian American now we have Aziz and Mindy on the TeeVee and I never get over it.
posted by sweetkid at 11:40 AM on August 7, 2013
I am the only one who liked the boom mic plotline! But I thought it wasn't resolved realistically at all. Jim was pretty much a huge turd through most of the last season.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 1:28 PM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 1:28 PM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
I also hated the boom mic guy and plotline ... although the actor is very good in recurring roles on Community (Reinhold) and Arrested Development (Marky Bark).
I thought the TV documentary itself was (surprisingly) well handled in the US Office narrative.
posted by mrgrimm at 2:34 PM on August 7, 2013
I thought the TV documentary itself was (surprisingly) well handled in the US Office narrative.
posted by mrgrimm at 2:34 PM on August 7, 2013
Jeez, that 5-second Adam Scott demo is a better Jim than the Jim John Krasinski ever did.
posted by mathowie at 3:38 PM on August 7, 2013
posted by mathowie at 3:38 PM on August 7, 2013
The way I heard it years ago was that they narrowed the candidates down to four Jims and four Pams and tested them all against each other, with Krasinski and Fischer having the best chemistry (to the extent that both actors secretly hoped the other would also win the role). But yeah, that sign-up sheet shows they had some crazy good talent to pick from.
All that said, I was a little underwhelmed by these actual clips. By the same token, I think it's interesting and telling that both Fischer and Krasinski have had trouble getting fulfilling movie roles.
posted by dhartung at 4:06 PM on August 7, 2013
All that said, I was a little underwhelmed by these actual clips. By the same token, I think it's interesting and telling that both Fischer and Krasinski have had trouble getting fulfilling movie roles.
posted by dhartung at 4:06 PM on August 7, 2013
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Now I'm trying to imagine Steve Carell as Saul Goodman.
posted by triceryclops at 7:20 AM on August 7, 2013 [5 favorites]