Carell decided against watching the British version of The Office because he had caught a glimpse of Ricky Gervais – who co-created and wrote the programme, as well as having the lead role of David Brent – and worried he would feel too much pressure to match his performance.
He said: “I watched, like, a minute of one of the shows of [Gervais] and he was so good and so specific and so funny, I thought, ‘If I watch a second more, I’m just gonna go on an audition with that.’ I won’t be able to even imagine it a different way.”
The Office went on to be a huge success in the US, but Carell is still amazed because he remembered it having the “lowest testing pilot” on NBC.
“People really hated it. They actively hated it. And I don’t quite know how it got legs after that.”
Steve Carell avoided watching the UK version of The Office so he wouldn’t imitate Ricky Gervais’ performance. Photo / Getty Images
The actor also revealed he had a lot of input into his own exit from the show and made suggestions a year before he departed.
He said: “A year before I knew I was going to leave, I talked to [producer] Greg [Daniels] about what potentially the last arc for him would be. And I did want there to be a sense of growth for him.
“[I pitched] that the last day is not the last day. Everyone thinks that they’re gonna have a party for him. But he leaves the day before, because he doesn’t need it. He wants to say goodbye on his own terms … that I thought would be an interesting way for him to go out.”