"Rudd pulled me aside and was like, 'Don't do it, man. Don't audition,' Carell said. 'It was like, 'There is no way.''"
"Our pilot was the lowest testing pilot in the history of NBC. People really hated it. They actively hated it. And I don't quite know how it got legs after that."
"I watched a minute of one and [Gervais] 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.'"
Steve Carell faced skepticism about his role in The Office, with peers like Paul Rudd advising him against auditioning. The pilot received the lowest test ratings in NBC's history, with audiences expressing strong dislike. Carell chose not to draw from the UK original to avoid comparison with Ricky Gervais. Despite a rocky start, The Office became a success, running for 201 episodes and winning multiple awards, including five Primetime Emmys and a Golden Globe for Carell.
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