Steve Carell Says Paul Rudd Warned Him ‘Don’t Audition’ for ‘The Office’ and ‘Our Pilot Was the Lowest-Testing Pilot in the History of NBC’

By Zack Sharf

Zack Sharf

Digital News Director

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Steve Carell appeared on the latest episode of Amy Poehler’s “Good Hang” podcast (via Entertainment Weekly) and remembered how everyone warned him against starring as Michael Scott in NBC’s “The Office” given the acclaimed reputation of Ricky Gervais’ original version from the U.K. Even Poehler admitted that when she first heard NBC was remaking the sitcom that she thought: “This is a terrible idea. No one can be as good as Ricky Gervais, no one can do that show.”

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