Rainn Wilsonwouldn’t have been the face behindThe Office’s beloved Dwight Schrute if it hadn’t been for a “miserable” period of his life on stage.In PEOPLE’s exclusive look at his appearance onGood Trouble with Nick Kyrgios, the actor, 58, recalls the early days of his career where he tried to make it on the Broadway stage in New York City until he realized he wasn’t being true to his identity and his craft.As a “trained actor” who studied at Juilliard, Wilson shares how he was expected to “stand a certain way” and maintain a “certain comportment” in order to fit in with the New York theater crowd.Rainn Wilson.Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios/Hana Kuma"I got my first Broadway show and I was trying to do that and I was trying to please other people and to fit in and be this idea of like, what a New York theater actor was," he explains. “And I sucked and I was bad in the play, had a miserable experience, bombed and coming out of that, I was like, ‘F— that. I’m never going to do that again.'“Eventually he realized he “needed to be myself,” he shares. “I’m an ungainly, weird and wonderful guy and I wear glasses and I get my clothes at thrift stores and I need to be true to who Rainn Wilson is,” he jokes.Wilson adds that he believes that he would have never been able to “successfully” take on his iconic character onThe Office, if it weren’t for the “really miserable experience” he had on Broadway.Rainn Wilson and Ed Helms as Dwight Schrute and Andy Bernard on ‘The Office’.Byron Cohen/NBCU Photo Bank"It helped me find my authentic voice, which is, you know, a little, little left of center,” he continues. “It is different.“Speaking to his similarities with Dwight, Wilson adds, “Dwight and Rainn, both are kind of socially awkward and don’t fit in and have kind of a skewed way of seeing the world. Which is good trouble, but beyond that, there’s not really that many similarities.“Now that it’s been a decade sinceThe Officeaired its series finale, the actor says he has the career he’s always wanted. With a hit show, “a good dozen movie roles” and top billing in a few plays, he shares how he’s been able to “make a living and play some cool characters.““People may not be watching the stuff that I’m doing, but I don’t really care as much. You know?” he says. “Unlike being a professional athlete, we have a very narrow shelf life and I want to die on stage doingKing Lear. I want to keel over in a heart attack at age 89. But that’s the cool thing about acting. You don’t retire. You just keep going.““The thing I love about the theater is you get trained in the theater to just play characters. I played dozens of characters before I played Dwight. Dwight, who was the one that really took off,” he later adds. “I’ve played dozens of characters since I played Dwight, and that’s where I get off the most, like a get a script. And there’s some kind of offbeat dude and like, how am how am I Rainn in a suit who I am and portray that offbeat dude. And I’m so lucky. I’m so blessed that I get to make a career of doing that for a dorky kid from suburban Seattle with the weird family in that and the pimples and the giant head. It’s beyond a dream come true.“Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute on ‘The Office’.Nbc-Tv/Kobal/ShutterstockIn October 2020, Wilson acknowledged the impact the acclaimed comedy series — whichaired 201 episodes between 2005 and 2013— had on viewers during an Instagram Lives series with his on-screen bossSteve Carell.While discussing the show’ssurprise resurgence of popularityduring the pandemic lockdowns, Wilson said, “One thing that’s been really gratifying for me is during this really dark time, I’ve heard from so many people that they’ve really appreciated havingThe Officethere — that it has a warmth and humanity to it, kind of a family feel that makes it a special thing and that’s helped them during this time, and even helped their mental health.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.The full episode ofGood Trouble with Nick Kyrgioswill air on Wednesday, March 20 at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT domestically on Tennis Channel platforms, onHana Kuma’s YouTube channel, and on all podcast platforms.
Rainn Wilsonwouldn’t have been the face behindThe Office’s beloved Dwight Schrute if it hadn’t been for a “miserable” period of his life on stage.
In PEOPLE’s exclusive look at his appearance onGood Trouble with Nick Kyrgios, the actor, 58, recalls the early days of his career where he tried to make it on the Broadway stage in New York City until he realized he wasn’t being true to his identity and his craft.
As a “trained actor” who studied at Juilliard, Wilson shares how he was expected to “stand a certain way” and maintain a “certain comportment” in order to fit in with the New York theater crowd.
Rainn Wilson.Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios/Hana Kuma
Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios/Hana Kuma
“I got my first Broadway show and I was trying to do that and I was trying to please other people and to fit in and be this idea of like, what a New York theater actor was,” he explains. “And I sucked and I was bad in the play, had a miserable experience, bombed and coming out of that, I was like, ‘F— that. I’m never going to do that again.'”
Eventually he realized he “needed to be myself,” he shares. “I’m an ungainly, weird and wonderful guy and I wear glasses and I get my clothes at thrift stores and I need to be true to who Rainn Wilson is,” he jokes.
Wilson adds that he believes that he would have never been able to “successfully” take on his iconic character onThe Office, if it weren’t for the “really miserable experience” he had on Broadway.
Rainn Wilson and Ed Helms as Dwight Schrute and Andy Bernard on ‘The Office’.Byron Cohen/NBCU Photo Bank
“It helped me find my authentic voice, which is, you know, a little, little left of center,” he continues. “It is different.”
Speaking to his similarities with Dwight, Wilson adds, “Dwight and Rainn, both are kind of socially awkward and don’t fit in and have kind of a skewed way of seeing the world. Which is good trouble, but beyond that, there’s not really that many similarities.”
Now that it’s been a decade sinceThe Officeaired its series finale, the actor says he has the career he’s always wanted. With a hit show, “a good dozen movie roles” and top billing in a few plays, he shares how he’s been able to “make a living and play some cool characters.”
“People may not be watching the stuff that I’m doing, but I don’t really care as much. You know?” he says. “Unlike being a professional athlete, we have a very narrow shelf life and I want to die on stage doingKing Lear. I want to keel over in a heart attack at age 89. But that’s the cool thing about acting. You don’t retire. You just keep going.”
“The thing I love about the theater is you get trained in the theater to just play characters. I played dozens of characters before I played Dwight. Dwight, who was the one that really took off,” he later adds. “I’ve played dozens of characters since I played Dwight, and that’s where I get off the most, like a get a script. And there’s some kind of offbeat dude and like, how am how am I Rainn in a suit who I am and portray that offbeat dude. And I’m so lucky. I’m so blessed that I get to make a career of doing that for a dorky kid from suburban Seattle with the weird family in that and the pimples and the giant head. It’s beyond a dream come true.”
Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute on ‘The Office’.Nbc-Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock
Nbc-Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock
In October 2020, Wilson acknowledged the impact the acclaimed comedy series — whichaired 201 episodes between 2005 and 2013— had on viewers during an Instagram Lives series with his on-screen bossSteve Carell.
While discussing the show’ssurprise resurgence of popularityduring the pandemic lockdowns, Wilson said, “One thing that’s been really gratifying for me is during this really dark time, I’ve heard from so many people that they’ve really appreciated havingThe Officethere — that it has a warmth and humanity to it, kind of a family feel that makes it a special thing and that’s helped them during this time, and even helped their mental health.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The full episode ofGood Trouble with Nick Kyrgioswill air on Wednesday, March 20 at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT domestically on Tennis Channel platforms, onHana Kuma’s YouTube channel, and on all podcast platforms.
source: people.com
