“Trying his best”: When Steve Carell revealed why he liked playing Michael Scott in The Office

You can't discuss The Office without imagining Michael Scott, regional manager and cringeworthy comedy icon. But behind the painful meetings and strange motivational strategies was Steve Carell, whose performance as Michael transformed what could have been a forgettable sitcom boss into a pop culture phenomenon. What, then, was it about this character that Carell loved so much? The odd office hijinks? Not exactly!

During an interview with Mashable, Carell revealed what it was about Michael Scott in The Office that made him such a pleasure to play. He said,

"[Michael's] trying his best! There's a difference between being intolerant and being ignorant. Sometimes intolerance and ignorance go hand in hand, for sure. But I think he was a very earnest and decent human being. He just didn't… get it all the time, you know?"

The response wasn't as expected. Carell didn't talk about the character's humor peaks or silly gags. Rather, he homed in on something less complex—Michael's sincerity. That's correct! Carell enjoyed the aspect that, fundamentally, Michael was a good-hearted person. Even when he was agonizingly off-target, he was "trying his best," and that fundamental quality made the character a lot more fascinating than another TV boss cliche.

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Steve Carell's surprising interpretation of Michael Scott in The Office

Carell didn't treat Michael as a mere joke machine. Rather, he saw him as a person who wanted desperately to be liked and admired—someone with good intentions if not good delivery. According to him,

"He's a person with an enormously good, kind heart who lacked a great deal of information about the world around him. He was as asleep in a woke world as you could be."

But despite this, he kept giving it his all. This feeling was the emotional anchor of the character. Michael's cringeworthy speeches, disastrous parties, and perpetual quest for approval all emanated from a place of truth, and that's what made the role worthwhile for Carell.

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The richness of emotion underneath the humor

Whereas The Office lived on cringeworthy pauses and offbeat humor, the show also depended on the emotional baggage that characters such as Michael bore. Carell felt that Michael's vulnerability made him both infuriating and endearing. He wasn't attempting to be humorous—he was attempting to connect.

This contradiction provided Carell with room to make Michael a flawed but human character in The Office. That combination of sympathy and humiliation is a large part of why the character remains relevant.

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Not just a laughable character in The Office

Carell saw Michael not just as a source of laughs but as a deeply human character. He often mentioned that what made the role fulfilling was the balance of humor and heart. As per Mashable, he said,

"[Michael] put his foot in his mouth all the time, saying inappropriate things, but I don't think he ever valued one type of person over any other," Carell said. "And in that way, I think he was a very pure character."

He continued,

"He's very dumb in terms of political correctness and being appropriate in public. But at the same time, I just don't think there was hardness in his heart towards anyone."

Unlike traditional sitcom leads, Michael in The Office had layers. Carell explained he felt like defending him sometimes, and it translated to his work, particularly later on, where audiences were able to witness Michael's development. His need for love, family, and friends lent gravity even to the most ridiculous plot points.

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Why sincerity mattered to Carell

Michael Scott's sincerity in The Office was what remained with Carell the longest. In a sitcom world of characters created to provide punchlines, Michael's intent set him apart. Carell believed that such honesty made the character tragic as well as funny.

We come to know this when Carell said,

"It's always about intention. If Michael has a purity of intention, he can do the worst things in the world for comedy. But as an audience, you sense that he didn't do it in order to be cruel or to be a jerk. He's trying, and he just has poor social skills."

Rather than ridiculing Michael, the show frequently invited people to empathize with him. Carell's performance treads this thin line tactfully, and it's this emotional sensitivity that provided the show with its longevity.

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Even though Carell departed The Office during its seventh season, he never lost affection for the character. Even years after leaving, when discussing Michael, he doesn't mention the humorous aspects first.

He discusses the heart. The care. The sincerity. That's what was important to him. As Carell already established, "He's trying his best." That is probably the reason why so many fans could never truly resent the character to date.

Also read: "None of those things": When The Office star Steve Carell shared funny details about his character in the classic workplace comedy