From Television to the Big Screen, Rainn Wilson is Emerging as One Fine and Hilarious Actor

From socially inept mortician intern Arthur on Six Feet Under to socially inept “Assistant to the Regional Manager” Dwight on The Office, Rainn Wilson has emerged as one of TV’s finest character actors, with two Best Supporting Actor Emmy nominations to show for his efforts. Now, after strong supporting turns in films such as Sahara and Juno, he’s making his leading actor debut in The Rocker, in which he plays a failed 40-year-old drummer given a second chance at fame with his nephew’s band. We recently sat down with Wilson at Atlanta’s W Hotel for this exclusive one-on-one interview.

At what point in your life did you realize you were interested in performing as more than a hobby?

I always had a dream in the back of my head that I would like to be an actor, and I don’t even know where it came from. I was always the nerdy goof-off in school, and I loved watching other nerdy goof-offs. Growing up, I loved the Marx Brothers, silent comedies, Bob Hope, sitcoms, and character actors like the guy who played Howard on the Bob Newhart Show and Jamie Farr on M*A*S*H. Jerry Lewis was my absolute favorite. Then I went to a high school that had a really good drama program, I got the lead in my first school play, and all of a sudden chicks were interested in me!

How do you think your training in theatre helps you now that you’re acting in film and TV?

That’s a great question. I’m really proud of my theatre background. I went to a 3-year acting academy, the graduate program at NYU, and then I did regional theatre, off-Broadway and Broadway, including a lot of the classics. I think what theatre teaches you is how to make strong choices with the material and really use the text, the language and your body to express yourself. I think it’s helped me immensely, and the problem for people who start out in film or TV without that kind of training is that, because they think of film and TV as being very small, they tend to get very disconnected from their bodies. They use emotions and facial expressions, but they kind of negate the physical side of their work. You need those different tools.

Do you miss the immediacy of performing live in the theatre?

I do, very much. I really love that immediate payoff you get, because it is kind of like a rock concert. When things are going good, you can have the audience in the palm of your hand for literally three hours. There’s no more amazing feeling than having people exactly where you want them, laughing when you want them to laugh and crying when you want them to cry.

Obviously the first place a lot of people saw you was on Six Feet Under.

I’m so grateful for that show, and it’s very interesting how I got hooked up with that part. I knew the casting directors, who had cast me for this movie called America’s Sweethearts; they kept bringing me in to read for all these parts [on SFU] and I kept not getting booked. I read for a priest, a guy who died, and for two different members of David’s gay choir, but I kept kicking myself and wondering why I couldn’t get on this frickin’ show. I went in to read for another gay choir member and read on the call sheet that they were looking for Arthur Martin, who was described as a childlike, Peter Sellers-type mortician intern. I was like, oh man, I HAVE to do this, so I begged them to let me read for the role. They said OK, so I went out in the alley, read over the sides for about half an hour, came in and got the part that launched my career.

Do you have any favorite memories from your time on the show?

There’s too many great memories. There’s the head-rubbing scene with Ruth… they told me they actually cast me because they really loved the way I said frittata in the first episode, where I said, “Would you like a frittata?”

Neither Arthur or Dwight seem to possess much in the way of social skills. What draws you to these socially incompetent characters?

Well, growing up I was a little bit lacking in the social skills department. I’ve gotten a little bit better at it now, but I’ve always felt like an outsider, a little bit alienated. I’m just drawn to misfits, freaks and losers. I just love those parts, and don’t think I’m capable of playing someone popular or well-adjusted.

Steve Carell and Jenna Fischer have both admitted having trepidations about tackling an American version of The Office. How did you initially feel about the concept?

I did not have any trepidation whatsoever. I really believed that we could make a great American version of that show. It was an amazing template and a brilliant show, but they only made 13 episodes total [of the British original] and we’re almost up to 80 episodes now. I thought there were great characters and great relationships between them, and the way the mockumentary format works for comedy is brilliant, so I thought there was nothing but potential there. Luckily we’ve been able to find our audience.

I wanted to ask you about that. In the first season you guys were constantly verging on cancellation, but you’ve gradually built this great grassroots following via webisodes and blogging. Do you think this sort of value-added content is the future of network TV?

When our show first started is also when the Internet was establishing its connection to television. The Office was one of the first shows iTunes offered, I was the first person blogging in character and MySpace was just really getting going. Jenna has like 300,000 MySpace friends, and I think back then it really helped. Nowadays it’s de rigeur for all shows to be doing this stuff, but we were pioneers in that way.

Why do you think Dwight has connected so strongly with the audience?

I have no idea! (Laughs) That is one of life’s great mysteries: How does an Amish beet farmer/hierarchical control freak/fascist dork resonate so much with audiences? Not only with nerds, but frat guys, teenagers, pre-teens… people just love them some Dwight Schrute! To toot my own horn for a little bit, I have to think that, as absurd as he is and all the ridiculous things that he says, it’s somehow made believable enough that people really identify with him as a real character and not as a caricature or a cartoon.

You obviously limited time during your hiatus from The Office to do films. What drew you to The Rocker?

I laughed out loud over and over again when I read the script, but at the same time I was struck by how heartwarming and moving the story was. There are real characters there. Plus I just love rock ‘n’ roll. The first movie I ever did was Almost Famous– I played a Rolling Stone reporter. To get to bring all those things together was a dream come true. Plus, this character was about as different from Dwight as you could get. Dwight is so tight and controlled, where Fish is anything but.

Have you been a big music lover all your life?

I grew up spending countless hours listening to FM radio and my cassette collection. Remember BMG Music Group, where you could join and get 12 cassettes for a penny? I joined that a couple of times and got all these different tapes. I loved it!

Is there anything in life that you’d love to get a second chance at, like Fish does in the film?

Well, maybe this pretend rock ‘n’ roll fantasy will lead to a real rock ‘n’ roll fantasy and I can hook up with some rock band and hit the road for a while. That would be fantastic! I’d give it all up for that.

What’s the deal with you being cast in Transformers 2?

What were they thinking, right? No, I just came in and did a little cameo as a college professor, so it was no big deal.

I just heard that you earned your second Emmy nomination this morning. How do you feel?

It’s pretty exciting. I was a starving actor for the first 10 years of my career, and this is a great rollercoaster to be on right now.

Steve and Jenna have both said that they’re going to stick with The Office for as long as it’s on the air. What makes it such a special show that you guys remain dedicated to it despite these other opportunities to become big movie stars?

The most important thing is that it’s actually funny. It’s not a bunch of people sitting around on a couch telling lame jokes. It’s human characters in interesting situations, and it’s funny. Simple as that.