Rainn Wilson Has Admitted That He Was ‘Mostly Unhappy’ While Playing Dwight Schrute On ‘The Office’

Rainn Wilson recently stopped by Bill Maher’s podcast where The Office star made a surprising confession: He did not have a great time playing Dwight Schrute, one of the wildly popular mockumentary series’ most well-known characters.

“I wasn’t enjoying it,” Wilson revealed. However, it wasn’t The Office or his role that was the problem. Wilson candidly shared that obsessing over the state of his career ruined what should’ve been an amazing experience.

“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 said.

The actor has since changed his perception. Via The Hollywood Reporter:

“When I was in The Office, I spent several years really mostly unhappy because it wasn’t enough,” Wilson told Maher. “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 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.”

Fans coming up to him after the pandemic and saying how The Office “healed” them during COVID also helped Wilson appreciate being a part of the show. In another candid confession, the actor shared that when he joined the show, his main concern was being able to buy a house.

“I wasn’t thinking about giving laughter as a therapeutic remedy and a balm and a salve to a hurting populace,” Wilson told Maher. “What an honor it was to be a part of something like that.”