Steve Carell is known far and wide for his incredible performance as Michael Scott in The Office. Had it not been for the actor, the fame that his character got would have been either less or completely nonexistent. Proof of that came quite frequently following his departure when Carell left some big shoes to fill. However, the series was a retelling of the UK’s The Office, which starred Ricky Gervais as his British counterpart.
Despite both Gervais and Carell representing an arrogant yet somewhat careless manager of their respective paper companies, there was a stark difference between the two. Carell’s Scott is a much likable character as compared to Gervais’s David Brent. The credit for the same would go to the latter considering he gave the Despicable Me actor some integral advice.
Ricky Gervais’s Advice to Steve Carell
British humor and American humor are two very different categories of jokes that can make people laugh. Some might bend with one, while others might bend with another. This makes it impossible to flesh out a show from one region to another without making certain specific changes. According to Jenna Fischer in her podcast, Office Ladies, Ricky Gervais gave some important advice to Steve Carell that made his part more likable to the audience.
“He said, ‘In England, you can be really, really bad at your job for a long time, and you never get fired,’” Fischer remembered. “‘In America, that’s gonna frustrate people. So my one piece of advice is that Michael can be a buffoon, he can be silly, he can be irritating, but you should show glimpses of him actually being a good salesperson.’”
According to Gervais, getting fired in America for being incompetent at your job is much easier than in the United Kingdom. To incorporate that idea, Carell must show the fact that Michael Scott is good at what he does, which is why people at Dunder Mifflin tolerate his attitude regardless of his questionable behavior.
Steve Carell Proved Michael Scott’s Worth
Steve Carell did not take this advice lightly. He gave Michael Scott his moments to shine. He was a good person, a good boss, just peculiar to be around. To prove that, Carell had to show qualities regarding the same. Angela Kinsey, who co-hosts Office Ladies, added to this idea, saying that he would always be redeemed by just how wonderful of a person he was.
“As awkward and cringey as he could be and really not aware of the things he said and how they affected people, they would give him one moment that was redeeming, one moment in the episode where you rooted for him or felt bad for him so that it wasn’t just all like, ‘Oh, that guy is such a j*rk.’”
When it came to Michael’s job, there was a reason he was appointed the position of Regional Manager. To prove that to the audience in Season 2 Episode 7, The Client. The episode saw Jan questioning Michael’s abilities as he took a client to Chili’s. He got drunk with the client and allowed him to open up to him. This in turn built trust between the company and the client. Not only was Michael able to bring in a new client, but he got his loyalty along the way.
