Rainn Wilson Says He Took A Role On 'The Office' To Buy A House, Spent Years 'Mostly Unhappy'
Rainn Wilson's motivation for taking a role in "The Office" was simply money, and it wasn't all sunshine and roses.
The star actor became famous for playing Dwight Schrute on the classic NBC series, and he'll forever be remembered for giving an all-time performance.
Following Steve Carell's exit from the series, Wilson really help carry "The Office" past the finish line. Well, it turns out his goal when signing up wasn't to create one of the greatest shows ever made.
Rainn Wilson, Steve Carell and John Krasinski of "The Office" (Photo by Robin Platzer/FilmMagic)
He revealed during an interview on Bill Maher's "Club Random" podcast that it was all about the money when he first signed up.
"When I signed up for 'The Office,' it's like, I want to buy a house, Bill Maher, I want to buy a house...I wasn't thinking about giving laughters as a therapeutic remedy and a balm and a salve to a hurting populace. What an honor it was to be a part of something like that," Wilson told Maher when talking about why he took the job, according to a transcript provided early to OutKick.
Rainn Wilson wasn't always happy chasing success.
Being a hit TV show would probably be awesome for a lot of people. However, it wasn't for a long time for Rainn Wilson.
"When I was in 'The Office,' I spent several years really mostly unhappy because it wasn't enough. This is what I'm looking at now, and I'm realizing now, like, I'm on a hit show, Emmy nominated every year, making lots of money working with, like, Steve Carell and Jenna Fisher and John Krasinski and these amazing writers and incredible directors like Paul Feig. I'm on one of the great TV shows. People love it. I wasn't enjoying it. I was thinking about, "Why am I not a movie star? Why am I not the next Jack Black or the next Will Ferrell? How come I can't have a movie career? Why don't I have this development deal," Wilson explained later in the interview when talking about how he couldn't stop chasing the dragon that is success.
Rainn Wilson wasn't always happy starring on "The Office." (Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images)
He also noted even making a ton of money never fulfilled him because it always felt like he could make more.
"When I was on 'The Office,' I was clutching and grasping at okay, I was making hundreds of thousands. I wanted millions, and I was a TV star, but I wanted to be a movie star. It was never enough. Humans have lived for hundreds of thousands of years, and never enough has helped us as a species," the popular actor further added.
Wilson gave fans an incredible ride with Dwight and "The Office."
While Wilson apparently had some struggles along the way, it shouldn't detract from the fact he gave fans an absolute masterclass of a comedy performance.
Even if giving fans a legendary show wasn't Rainn Wilson's original intent, it's exactly what he accomplished.
Nobody else could have played Dwight. That was the perfect role for Rainn Wilson, and it wouldn't have been the same if any other actor had played the character.
It's also interesting to hear Wilson speak bluntly and openly about how it just wasn't enough at times. He was making money, was on one of the most successful shows ever made and still couldn't be happy.
His comments are a great reminder to take a step back at times and appreciate how lucky you are. We all have something to be grateful for.
Feels like a good time to crack a beer and fire up some old "Office" episodes. It's never a bad time to enjoy the chaos of Dunder Mifflin.