I just found out this Breaking Bad actor almost played Michael Scott in The Office

Imagining any other actor other than Steve Carell as Michael Scott is hard for any The Office fan, but one Breaking Bad actor almost landed the role for the World's Best Boss.

Back when creator Greg Daniels was searching for the lead actor for his NBC workplace sitcom, he had many names in mind.

From Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour, Adam Scott, Patton Oswalt and even Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute), many leading actors were in the race to become Michael Scott.

However, it all came down to Steve Carell and Breaking Bad actor Bob Odenkirk. In their book, Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office, Brian Baumgartner (Kevin Malone) and executive producer Ben Silverman revealed how the Saul Goodman actor almost landed the role of Michael Scott, until Steve Carell was brought on board.

More on this in our story.

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The Office: The Michael Scott battle between Steve Carell and Bob Odenkirk

While the creators considered many actors for the role of Michael Scott in The Office, the battle was down between two actors, Steve Carell and Bob Odenkirk.

Bob Odenkirk is certainly a talented actor, but the network executives were impressed with Carrell's tongue-twisting news report scene in Bruce Almighty.

They wanted to lock in Carell for Michael Scott's part but he was already locked in with another NBC sitcom, Come To Papa, which created scheduling conflicts.

While the executive producers also loved Breaking Bad star Bob Odenkirk's take on the character, they were gravitating towards Steve Carell, as Silverman noted:

''Steve, even though he’s from the Northeast, had such a Midwestern-accessible, lovable comedic energy, like the great primetime sitcom stars of the fifties and sixties. He had that thing. There was something about us that wanted to soften the character.''

Fortunately for The Office fans, Come To Papa got cancelled after just four episodes, freeing up our future Michael Scott's schedule and the rest is history.

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What has Breaking Bad actor Bob Odenkirk said about his missed opportunity in The Office?

While Bob Odenkirk is now known as the shady lawyer Saul Goodman from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, the actor started as a comedian.

Ardent fans might recall that Odenkirk started his career by writing for shows like Saturday Night Live and The Ben Stiller Show. While the actor has certainly come a long way from his comedic beginnings to more serious roles in Breaking Bad, he, too, believes that Steve Carell was a better fit to play Michael Scott in The Office.

On the Office Ladies podcast with Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsley, Odenkirk discussed his missed opportunity on the NBC sitcom:

''I am, in a strange way, a very earnest person in comedy. I am oddly earnest, and … it’s one of the reasons I think Steve Carell is a better, you know — is the one who got the role [in The Office]. There were other parts that I think I was up for that Steve got, and it’s because he’s better at being genuinely fun.''

He continued:

''And there’s nothing I can do about it except play other roles where it’s helpful to have that. And, you know, you just don’t believe me as a purely light character. You just are looking for the darkness, and that’s actually great in drama.''

While each actor originally considered for Michael Scott is brilliant and talented in their own way, fans cannot imagine anyone other than Steve Carell in the role.

While he is highly unprofessional and chaotic, he balances off those qualities by being equally sweet, kind and humorous with his employees.

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